IS 
 
 V- 
 

 OK THE 
 
 tfoaaiaaiaai sanaiiiaaia^ 
 
 AT 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 UOX.A.TIOX <J It* 
 
 SAMUEL AG NEW, 
 
 OF PHILADELPHIA. PA. 
 
 Case Divlsion . 
 
 Shelf, 
 
 Book, 
 
 SCg 
 
 11057 
 

 jfr n 'C.%iH*t**£Lr 
 
 X 
 
ft* 
 
( JU 
 
 THE \ /> 
 
 CATHOLIC DOCT^^g_6ICAL 
 
 TRINITY 
 
 PROVED BY ABOVE 
 
 AN HUNDRED SHORT AND CLEAR ARGUMENT*,. 
 
 EXPRESSED IN THE TERMS OF THE 
 
 HOLY SCRIPTURE, 
 
 COMPARED AFTER A MANNER ENTIRELY NEW, 
 
 AND 
 
 Digested under the Four following Titles : 
 1. The Divinity of Christ. j 3. The Plurality of Perseus. 
 
 r The Divinity of the Holy Ghost. ] 4. The Trinity in Unity, 
 
 WITH 
 
 A FEW REFLECTIONS, OCCASIONALLY INTERSPERSED, 
 
 UPON SOME OF THE ARIAN WRITERS, 
 
 PARTICULARLY DR. S. CLARKE*. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, 
 
 A LETTER TO THE COMMON PEOPLE, 
 
 IN ANSWER TO 
 
 SOME POPULAR ARGUMENTS AGAINST TEE TRINITY 
 
 BJT THE LATE 
 
 WILLIAM ^JONES, M.A. F.R.S. 
 
 RECTOR OF PASTON, IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, AND MINISTER 0? 
 NAYLAND, IN SUFFOLK. 
 
 Thvru. shalt answer for me, Lord my God, Psal. xxxriii. 15. 
 Not in the words which man's wisdom teach eth, but which. tAe Holy Ghost 
 teach eth ; comparing spiritual things with BDiritual. lC?^ ii. 13. 
 
 THE EIGHTH EDITION. 
 
 Ionium : 
 
 PRINTED FOR F. C. AND J. RIVING"! 
 no. 62, st. pall's church-yard; 
 3y Law and Gilbert, St. John's Square, Cletkentcell 
 
This Tract is in the List of Books, dispersed by 
 " The Society for promoting Christian 
 " Knowledge/ as a Work zcell calculated to dis- 
 seminate the Knowledge of evangelical Truth, at a 
 Time zchen the Enemies of our holy Faith are busy in 
 their Endeavours to undermine it; audit may be had, 
 by the Members, on the Terms of the Society. 
 
TO THE 
 REVEREND AND WORTHY 
 
 THE VICE-CHANCELLOR, 
 THE HEADS OF HOUSES, 
 
 AVD OTHER 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD,, 
 THE FOLLOWING DEFENCE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DOCTRINE OF THE EVER-BLESSED TRINITY 
 IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 
 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THF 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 31 Y Bookseller having solicited me to republish this 
 little Treatise, I have corrected the typographical 
 errors of the last edition, and enlarged some passages of 
 the work itself. 
 
 The attempt of the late Bishop of Clogher to propa- 
 gate Arianism in the Church of Ireland, induced me 
 to keep the Doctrine of the Trinity in my thoughts 
 ior some years ; and I had a particular attention to it 
 as often as the Scriptures, either of the Old or New 
 Testament, were before mc. This little bock was the 
 fruit of my study; of which I have seen some good 
 effects already, and ought not to despair of seeing more 
 tefore I die. 
 
 Many other observations have occurred to me since 
 the first publication, which I should willingly have 
 added. But some readers might have been discouraged. 
 
 a if 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 if I had preseated them with a book of too large a 
 size : and the merits of the cause lie in a small com- 
 pass. 
 
 The republication of this work, though merely ac- 
 cidental, is not unseasonable at this time, when we 
 are taught from the press*, (and the author seems to 
 be very much in earnest) that the only sure way of re- 
 ducing Christianity to its primitive purity, is to abolish 
 all Creeds and Articles. But the great rock of offence , 
 with this writer, is the Trinity ; to get rid of which, he 
 would at once dissolve our whole ecclesiastical consti- 
 tution and form of worship. 
 
 This wild. project furnishes a melancholy confirma- 
 tion of the censure passed upon us by some learned 
 protestants abroad ; who have reflected upon England 
 as a country productive of literary monsters + ; where 
 some old heresy is frequently rising up as old comets 
 have been supposed to do, with new and portentous 
 appearances. And the reader whose sight can pene- 
 trate through the vehement accusations of Popery, 
 Bigetry, Persecution, Inposition, and other fiery vapours 
 with which this author has surrounded his performance, 
 will difcover little, if any thing, more than Arianism 
 at the centre. 
 
 The Scripture is the only rule that can enable us to 
 judge, whether that or the Catholic Doctrine of the 
 
 * In a new work, intitled The Csrfcsnonal. 
 f Cj-Jzov. Pref. in Pseudo Critic: Wfoitcnil. 
 
 Tiinitv 
 
PREFACE. Va 
 
 Trinity is more agreeable to truth : therefore I have 
 confined myself to this unexceptionable kind of evi- 
 deace for the proof of the latter, and have made the 
 Scripture its own Interpreter. But our adversaries, 
 though they allow the sufficiency of the Scripture, and 
 unjustly pretend to distinguish themselves from us by 
 insisting upon it, do nevertheless make such frequent 
 use of a lower sort of evidence to bias common readers, 
 and shew the expediency of what they are pleased to 
 call Reformation ; that I have thought proper to exhibit 
 a specimen of their method of proceeding in that re- 
 spect, by adding to this edition A Letter to the Common 
 People, in answer to same popular Arguments against the 
 Trinity. These arguments are extracted chiefly from a 
 small book, intitled, An Appeal to the Common Sens* 
 tf all Christian People-; a thing very highly commended 
 by the author of the Confessional *. But in this au- 
 thor's estimation, every writer that opposes the faith of 
 the Church of England, is ipso facto invincible : and 
 consequently, this retailer of Dr. Clarke's opinions, who. 
 
 * w Which boork," (says he) " has passed through two editions 
 " without any so#t of reply that I have heard of. This looks as if 
 " able writers were not ivill'mg to meddle with the subject, or thit 
 M willing writers were not able to manage it," p. 320. The Rev 
 ^Mr. J^andon published an answer to this book in 1 764, printed for tfCbktm 
 jLTidpybite: and he has mentioned another himself in a note. Hut had the 
 case really been as he hath reported in his text, it will by no means fol- 
 low, that a book is therefore unanswerable, because it hath received n« 
 , answer. If this be good logic, I could present hin with a conclusion 
 or two, which he would not very well like. 
 
 a £ ever 
 
Viii PREFACE. 
 
 ever he is, must come in for his share of merit and 
 applause ; which I by no means envy him. 
 
 So far as the Scripture itself hath been thought to 
 furnish any objections to the received doctrine, I 
 judged it the fairer and the surer way, to answer them 
 as they were offered by Dr. Clarke himself; and have 
 therefore no apology to make for neglecting some of 
 his disciples, who have not made any improvement on 
 Lis arguments ; as I do not find that this gentleman 
 hath : the second edition of whofe Appeal was pub- 
 lished in 1754, since which there have been two edi- 
 tions of the Catholic Doctrine in England^ and one or 
 more in Ireland. 
 
 By all the observations I have been able to make, the 
 crrcater number of those who disbelieve the Trinity 
 upon principle (for many do it implicitly, and are 
 .credulous in their unbelief) do not profess to take 
 their notions of God from the Bible, but affect to 
 distinguish themselves from the common herd by draw, 
 ing them from the fountains of Reason and Philo- 
 sophy. We cannot be persuaded, that the Trinity is 
 denied by reasoners of this complexion, because the 
 Scripture hath not revealed it : but do rather suspect, 
 that some philosophers dissent from this point of 
 Christian doctrine, because they are not humble 
 enough to take the Scripture as a test of their re- 
 >us opinions. In which case, the whole labour 
 collecting texts, and framing of comments, and 
 
 fishing 
 
PREFACE. I* 
 
 fishing for various readings, is an after-thought. It 
 is submitted to rather for apology than proof : to re- 
 concile readers of the Scripture to that doctrine, 
 which they would be more jealous of receiving i£ 
 they knew it to have been originally borrowed from 
 another quarter. He that would deceive a Ckrist:a?? y 
 can seldom do his work effectually without a Bible 
 in his hand : a consideration, which may help us to a 
 sight of the consequences, if persons were permitted 
 to teach in our churches without any previous En- 
 quiry concerning their religious sentiments, and so 
 allowed to take the same liberty, either through mis- 
 take or ill design, as was taken by the arch deceiver 
 in the wilderness *, who never meant to use the 
 Scripture for edification, but only for destruction ; 
 net to apply it as an instrument of good, but to turn 
 it, c.s far as he was able, into an instrument of evil. 
 The Bible was given us for the preservation of the 
 kingdom of Christ upon earth ; as the Book of Sta- 
 tutes in this kingdom is intended to secure the au- 
 thority of the government, together with the life, 
 peace and property, of every individual : and we 
 want no prophet to foreshew us the consequences, if 
 all the malecontents in the nation were allowed to be 
 public interpreteis of the laws. 
 
 These considerations 1 leave the judicious to apply 
 as they find occasion. I use them chiefly as hints, for 
 
 * Matt. iv. 6. 
 
 a 3 tlie 
 
X frREFACS. 
 
 the benefit both of such as may be in danger of wrest- 
 ing the Scriptures to their own destruction, and of 
 such philosophers as those alluded to by St. Paul *, 
 who through the profession of fancied wisdom fell into 
 real folly ^ and purchased a reputed knowledge of 
 things natural and metaphysical, at the lamentable ev* 
 pence of losing the knowledge of God^ 
 
 * Rom- \. ia. i Cor. i. ax. 
 
 PLUCKLIY; 
 
 Jan, 2, 1767, 
 
 A TAftLE 
 
TABLE 
 
 OT THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY DISCOURSE* 
 
 _^ Page- 
 
 I HE Christian Religion is distinguished from ether 
 
 Religions y by its object of worship - xiv — xviii 
 
 Difference of opinions no argument against the truth xix 
 
 Whence this difference proceeds ... XX — XXV i 
 
 Men differ about plain facts, as <iuell as Christian 
 
 Doctrines - - -.- - - XXVI 
 
 Men are subject to a state of mind y in which they cannot 
 
 bear the Truth - xxvii 
 
 Remedy rgainst Error - - - - - xxix 
 
 The fundamental Error of mode) u Arianibm - - xxx 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 The Divinity of Christ demonstrated 6f a comparison of 
 
 such texts as serve to interpret eve another - X 
 
 Single texts abused by Arians, cleared up by a compa- 
 rison with other texts - - - - 24, 
 
 Divinity of Christ proved, by another series of argu- 
 
 ?nents - - - . . . - 32 
 
 The <zvord Consubstantial justified by the terms of 
 
 Scripture - - - „ _ - 35 
 
 a 4 CHAP, 
 
*ii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Page 
 The Divinity of the Holy Ghost demonstrated by a 
 
 comparison of different texts - •• - 42 
 
 Objections answered by the Scripture - - . a 
 The great usefulness of the Old Testament, in this 
 
 subject of the Trinity - - . _ rg 
 
 Dr. Clarke'/ sophistical treatment cf the Bible - 59 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 God is distinguished in the Old Testament, by a great 
 
 variety of 'Plural names and expressions - . 63 
 
 The Divine Plurality is a Trinity of persons - - n \ 
 
 The controverted text of I John v. 7. cited by the 
 
 Latins before the council of Nice 79 
 
 An instance of Dr. Clarke'/ distress and sophistry, in 
 evading the terms Lord cf Hosts, as applied to 
 Christ by St. John ' - - - -S3 
 
 A caution against a trite artifice of the Arian writers 85^ 84 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 The Unity of the Trinity demonstrated, I. By the appli- 
 cation of the incommunicable name Jehovah, and 
 ether Supreme appellations, to the three Persons 85 
 
 2. By the same divine Attributes equally ascribed to 
 
 them - - - - - - - 92 
 
 3. By an iwiftibie communion, in the same acts of om- 
 
 nipotence - - - - - - 94 
 
 A Summary of the whole work, in a conclusion - 98 
 
 A practical address to the Catholic reader - - 1 04 
 
 A LETTER TO THE COMMON PEOPLE. 
 
 The origin and issue of Arianism - - - 1 10 
 
 I. Arian writers work upon the pride of the common 
 
 people - . - - - - - 1 1 r 
 
 II. They 
 
CONTENTS. Mii 
 
 Page 
 
 II. They tell them their common sense is a sufficient 
 
 guide without the CI rgy - - - - r I J 
 
 III. They invest the people vcith a right of judging as 
 
 they please - - - - - -11^ 
 
 IV. They try to set them against the Athanasian Creed I I J 
 Their objection returns much stronger upon themselves . i i 8 
 
 V. They forge a contradiction, and put it into the 
 
 Athanasian Creed .... - ibid, 
 
 VI. Fallible Arians rail at the orthodox for being 
 fallible men ; yet these fallible ?nen do not deliver 
 iSeir own doctrines, but such as they receive from 
 
 an infallible Gid - - - - - I19 
 
 VII. Their prostitution of Protestant Principles - 120 
 
 VIII. Faith of the first Reformers reflected upon by 
 Arian writers; but is an argument against them* 
 
 selves - - - - - 12 J 
 
 IX. They think the reformed faith as bad as Popish 
 Idolatry ; but the ground of their accusation is 
 
 vueak and blasphemous - . - - 1 2 5 
 
 They alter the Scripture to- keep this accusation in coun- 
 tenance - - - 
 
 X. A sophistical objection to the Lit any, by the author 
 
 of The Confessional - - - -131 
 
 XI. Th: Arians plead seriously for th-' removal of the 
 orthod x fai/h y because it is offensive to Jews 
 
 and Turks - j vz 
 
 XII. They encourage the people vcith the example of 
 
 some Arian Clergymen - - - • - 156 
 
 They court the ?nob for their assistance against the 
 
 Church - - - - - -138 
 
 A --warning to the people not to be cheated once more inii 
 
 their ozvn ruin; from which lie re will probably 
 
 he no second Restoration. - - - \ ]<) 
 
 129. 
 
 a 5 to 
 
TO THI 
 
 R E A D E R. 
 
 JLhe Christian Religion is best known and distinguished 
 by the God proposed in it, as the object of our faith 
 and obedience : and as there is no true religion, but the 
 religion of Christian*, so there is no true God, but the 
 iGod of Christians, 
 
 Before the coming of Christy and the fulfilling of the 
 Law, God was known by the name of Jehovah, the God 
 of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. The Israelites, 
 •who were the seed of Abraham, and drew their whole re- 
 ligion from a divine revelation, and the knowledge of the 
 true God ; and the people of every other nation, who 
 we're aliens from the commor^vealth of Israel, and strangers 
 from the covenants of 'frowis?, were also without God in the 
 world*. Though they talked much of God. and wrote 
 much of him, and offered him many sacrifices, yet they 
 knew him net : the Being they served, was not God, but 
 another in the place of him, falsely called by his name. 
 And though some modern Christians have forgot there was 
 any difference, yet the very heathens themselves, upon some 
 occasions, were ready enough to allow it. Naaman the 
 Syrian, when Tie was cured of his leprosy by the prophet 
 
 Elisha, made a public confession of it Beheld, now I 
 
 & now that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel b . 
 The same is affirmed by the inspired Psalmist — All the Gods 
 of the heathens are idols c ; and God himself declares them 
 4sH to have been vanities*. 
 
 a Epb. i». IZ. b % Kings v. 15. * Psal xcy'u 5. * Jer, 
 
 * The 
 
[ xv ] 
 
 The case is now with the Christians under the Gospel, 
 as it anciently was w th the Jews under the Law ; they 
 believe in the only true God ; while the unchristian part 
 of mankind, who are by far the majority, either know 
 him not, or wilfully deny him ; as Pharaoh did the God 
 of the Hebrews when he was told of him. And we a#e 
 now got to such a pitch of indevotion and ignorance, that 
 among those who profess and call themselves Christians, 
 thtrj are too many who are almost come to be Heathens, 
 without knowing it. For there is a fashionable notion pro. 
 pagated by most of our moral writers, and readily sub. 
 scribed to by those who say their prayers but seldom, and 
 can never find time to read their Bible, that all who wor- 
 ship any God, worship the same God ; as if we worshipped 
 the three letters of the word God, instead of the Being, 
 meant and understood by it. The Vniverfal Prajer a&f 
 Mr. Alexander Pope was composed upon this plan ; wherein 
 the supreme Being is addressed as a common Father of all, 
 under the names, Jehovah, Jove, and Lord. And this 
 humour of confounding things, which ought to be distin- 
 guished at the peril of our Souls, and of comprehending 
 BAkvcrs and Idolators under one and the same religion, is 
 called a catholic spirit, that shews the very exaltation of 
 Christian Charity. But God, it is to be feared, will re- 
 quire an account of it under, another name ; and though 
 the Poet could tee no difference, but has mistaken Jrut or 
 Jupiter for the same Father of ail with the Lord Jehovah ; 
 jet the Apostle has instructed us better; who, when the 
 Priest of Jupiter came to offer sacrifice, exhorted him very 
 passionately to turn from thofe vanities unto the living God\; 
 well knowing that he whom the Priest adored under the 
 name of Jupitet, was not the Mating God, but a creature, 
 a nothing, a vanity. Yet the catholic spirit of a moralist 
 can discern no difference ; and while it pretends some 
 zeal for a sort of universal religion, common to bJievert 
 and infidels y betrays a sad indifference for the Christian- 
 religion in particular. This error is sj monstrous in a 
 
 * Aati xiv. 15, 
 
 a d land 
 
• [ xvi ] 
 
 land enlightened by the Gospel, and yet so very common 
 amongst us at present, that 1 may be pardoned for speaking 
 of it in the manner it deserves. And let me beseech every 
 serious person, who is willing to have his prayers heard, 
 to consider this matter a little better, and use a more cor- 
 rect form ; for God, who is jealous of his honour, and has 
 no communion with idols, will certainly reject the petition 
 that sets him upon a level with Baal and Jupiter. 
 
 The true God is He that was in Christ reconciling the 
 world to himself; there is none other but He ; and if this 
 great Characteristic be denied, or any other assumed in its 
 btead, a man is left without God ; after which, he may call 
 himself a Deist, if he will; but his God is a mere idol of 
 the imagination, and has no corresponding reality in the 
 whole universe of beings. 
 
 The modern Jews, by denying their God to have been 
 ?nanifest in the flesh, are as effectually departed from the true 
 God, as their forefathers were, when they danced before 
 the golden calf, and called their idolatrous service a feast 
 to the Lord, For the Being of God is not an object of 
 sight, but of faith ; it enters first into the heart ; and if it 
 be wrong there, the first commandment h broken ; if a 
 figure of it be set up before the eye?, then the second is 
 broken likewise. The first forbids us to ha<ve any other 
 God ; the second, to make any graven image of him. Now 
 though we make no image, yet if with the heart we believe 
 in any God different from the true, the Idolatry indeed 
 may be less, but the Aposaey is the same. And this seems 
 to be the case of the J&w. 
 
 '1 he Mahometans are another set of infidels, who abhor 
 idoh, but have in express terms denied the Son of God, and 
 set up an idol of the imagination, a God in one Person. 
 They inveigh bitterly against the Christians for worship- 
 ping three Gods; for so they state, the doctrine of a Trinity 
 in Unity, as some others have done beside them. 
 
 in answer to all these abominations of the Deist, the Jt<vc, 
 and the Mahometan, and to shew that no unbeliever of any 
 denomination can be a servant cf the true God, it is writ- 
 ten 
 
[ xvii ] 
 
 ten whosoever denuth the Son, the same hath not the 
 
 Father*: and again nvhosoe-uer transgr^s.cir and alid- 
 
 eth not in the dociri:c of Christ, haih not GOD k . And let 
 the Soc'mians, who have not only vindicated the religion 
 of Mahomet^ but preferred it to the Christianity of the 
 Church of England, which wit:, them is no better cr ether 
 than a sort of Paganism and Heathenism *, let them consider 
 what a share they have in this condemnation. 
 
 And to bring this matter home o the Avians ; it is to be 
 observed, that every article of the Christian Faith depends 
 upon the Doctrine of a Trinity in Unity. If that be given 
 up, the other doctrines of our religion must go with it, and 
 so it has been in t::c, } lhat the authors who have written 
 against the Trinity, have also disputed away some other 
 essential parts of Christianity:; particularly the doctrines 
 of the Satisfaction, and of original sin. 
 
 The whole Bible treats of little else but our creation, re- 
 demption, sane t if cat ion, resume t ion y and glorification, by the 
 power of Chnst and the Holy Spirit: and the reader will 
 find hereafter, that there is neither name, act, nor attri- 
 bute of the Godhead, that is not shared in common by all 
 the persons of the Trinity. If, therefore, the persons of 
 Christ and the Spirit are not God in the Unity of the Fatter, 
 then the prayers and praises we offer to them, as the 
 authors of every blessing, will not be directed ro the su- 
 preme Lord and God, beside whom no other is to be wor- 
 shipped, but to his creatures and instruments : which over- 
 throws the sense of our whole religion : and drives us upon 
 a sort of second-rate faith and worship, which, beside the 
 blasphemy of it, can be nothing but confusion and contra- 
 diction. It is no wonder then, that the Arans and Scci- 
 nians, with their several under-sects and divisions, who 
 
 * I John ii. 2?. *> 2 Jckn 9. 
 
 * See Leslie's Theological works, Fol. Vol. J. p. 21S, where the 
 reader may find a great deal more to the same purpose; and particu- 
 larly an Epistle of the Soar.ians y to the Morocco Embassador, in the 
 time oF Cbartti II. a great curiosity, wherein their who.e scheme is 
 laid open to the bot'.om by themselves. 
 
 fcife 
 
[ xviii ] 
 
 have fallen tnto this snare, and departed from the divioe 
 Unity, while they pretend to be the only men who assert 
 it, have never yet been able to agree in the forms of reli- 
 gious worship. Some of them allowing that Christ is to 
 receive divine worship, but always with this Teserve, that 
 the Prayer tend ukimately to the person of the Father* So 
 that Christ is to be worshipped, only he is not to be wor, 
 shipped : and if you should venture, when you are at the 
 
 point of death, to say with St-. Stephen Lord Jesus, 
 
 receive my Spirit 3 — ' — and confess the person of Jesus to be 
 the God of the Spirits of all flesh b by committing your own 
 Spirit into his hands ; you are to take care riot to die with- 
 out throwing in some qualifying comment, to assure him 
 you do it only in hypocrisy, not meaning him but another. 
 •Others, again, knowing this distinction to be vain and in. 
 defensible, and the same for substance with the Latvia and 
 Dulia by which the Church of Rome excuses her adoration 
 of the blessed Virgin, &c. have fairly got rid of it, by 
 denying to the person of Christ any divine 'worship or in- 
 vocation at all ; which is the case with our Socinian Uni- 
 tarians here in England ; for those of Poland are quite of 
 another mind. 
 
 How far such differences as these must needs affect a 
 Liturgy., it is very easy to foresee : and that it will for ever 
 be as impossible to frame a Creed or a Service to please all 
 those who bear the name of Christians , as to make a coat 
 that shall fit men of all sizes*. Prayer and divine <wcr- 
 ?bij> and religious confession, are the fruit and breath of 
 Faith ; and out of the abundance of the heart, the ?nou:h 
 
 a Acti vii. 59. b Numb. xvi. 22. 
 
 * Hales of Eton, in his sarcastic and malicious Tract upon Schistx, pro- 
 poses it as a grand Expedient tor the advancing of Unity, that we should 
 •• consider ail the Liturgies., that are and ever have been j and remove 
 " trom them whatever is scandalous to any Party, and leave nothing 
 ** but what ail agree on." Ke should have closed this sentence a little 
 sooner; and advised us fairly and honestly to leave nothing) for that 
 will certainly be the event, when the objections of all parties are suf- 
 fered to prevail ; there being no one page of the Liturgy i wherein all 
 who pretend to worship God as Christians, are agreed* 
 
 tj>eaketh z 
 
I <■ ] 
 
 spcahih 1 : so that until we are agreed in matters of faith, 
 there is neither hope nor possibility of our agreeing in any 
 form of worship. God is the fountain-head, and religion 
 the stream that descends from it. Our sentiments as to re- 
 ligion, always flow from the opinion we have formed of 
 the divine nature ; and will be right or wrong, sweet or 
 bitter, as the fountain is from whence they are derived. It 
 is the having a different God, that makes a different reli- 
 gion. A true God produces a true religion ; a false God, 
 a false religion. jew** Turks, Pagaiis, Deists, An'ans, 
 Socinians, and Christians, all differ about a religion, be- 
 cause they differ about a God. 
 
 These few observations will be sufficient, I hope, to raise 
 the attention of the reader ; and persuade him, that a right 
 faith in God is a much more serious affair than some would 
 make it ; that it is of the last concern, and hath a -necessary 
 influence upon the practice and holiness of our lives; that 
 ^s no other demotion is acceptable with God, but that 
 which is seasoned with love and charity and uniformity, 
 the very mark and badge whereby his disciples are to be 
 known from the men of this world, it is the principal duty 
 of every Christian to know in whom he ought to believe^ 
 that with one ?nind and one mouth ive may glorify God h : for 
 a right notion of God, will as surely be followed by a 
 sound faith and an uniform profession in all other points ; as 
 false faith and a discordant worship will grow from every 
 wrong opinion of him. 
 
 All that can be known of the true God, is to be known 
 by Revelation. The false lights indeed of reason and na- 
 ture are set up and recommended, as necessary to assist and 
 ratify the evidence of Revelation : but enquiries of this 
 kind, as they are now managed, generally end in the de- 
 gradation of Christ, and the Christian Religion * : till it 
 can be shewn therefore that the Scripture neirher does nor 
 
 * Matt. xii. 34. to R?m. xv. 6. 
 
 * You may have a proof ©f this from the Essay on Sfrit, by comparing 
 t u e book with its fit It, which runs thus — — The Dutrlte of the Trinity 
 icnjidtHd w tbt Light of Reason and Nature, ^c. 
 
 can 
 
[ x* I 
 
 can shine by a light and authority of its cmm, the evidence 
 we are to rest in, must be drawn from thence ; and as we 
 all have the same Scripture, without doubt we ought all to 
 have the same opinion of God. 
 
 But here it is commonly objected, that men will be of 
 different opinions ; that they have a right to judge for 
 themselves; and that when the best evidence the nature 
 of the case will admit of is collected and laid before them, 
 they must determine upon it as it appears to them, and ac- 
 cording to the light of their own consciences: so that if they 
 adhere as closely to their errors after they have consulted 
 the proper evidence as they did before, we are neither to 
 wonder nor to be troubled at it. 
 
 This very moderate and benevolent way of thinking, 
 has been studiously recommended by those, who found it 
 necessary to the well-being of their own opinions, that not 
 a spark of zeal should be left amongst us. And surely it is 
 no new thing, that the advocates of any particular error, 
 next to themselves and their own fashion, should naturally 
 incline to those who are sofrest and stand least in the way. 
 Hence it is, that however magisterial and insolent they may 
 carry themselves in their own cause ; they always take care 
 to season their writings with the praises of this frozen in- 
 difference ; calling that Christian Charity, which is nothing 
 but the absence of Christianity : and any the least appear- 
 ance of earnestness for some great and valuable truth* 
 which we are unwilling to part with, because we hope to 
 be saved by it, is browbeaten, condemned, and cast out of 
 their moral system, under the name of heat, want oftc?nper % 
 fi?e, fury, &c. 1 hey add moreover, that articles of faith 
 are things mrrely speculative : and that it is of little signi- 
 fication w 7 hat a man believes, if lie is but hearty and sincere 
 in it : that is, in other words, it is a mere trifle whether 
 we feed upen bread * or poison +; the one will prove to 
 be as gcod nourishment as the other, provided it be eaten 
 with an appetite. Yet some well-meaning people are so 
 
 * See and compare Veut. viii. 3,. Atnoi viii, II. £ icti xx. 28. 
 i Jtrr.es lii. 8. 3 Tim. iv, J. 
 
 puzzled 
 
[ xxi ] 
 
 puzzled and deceived by this sophistry, that they look upon 
 concord among Christians as a thing impracticable and des- 
 perate ; concluding a point to be disputable because it is 
 disputed ; and so they fall into a loose indifferent humour 
 of palliating and thinking charitably, as it is called, of 
 every error in faith and practice ; as if the Church of 
 Christ might very innocently be turned into a Babel of 
 confusion. 
 
 Now that men do maintain opinions strangely different 
 from one another, especially on subjects wherein it most 
 concerns them to be agreed, is readily confessed ; we are 
 all witnesses of it : and, allowing them to be equally in- 
 formed, there are but three possible sources from whence 
 this difference can arise. It must be either from God, or 
 from the scripture, or from themselves. From God it can- 
 not be, for it is a great evil ; it is the triumph of Deists 
 and reprobates, and the best handle the enemies of Chris- 
 tianity ever found against it : and God is not the author of 
 evil. Nor can it be from the scripture: to draw it thence, 
 is but another way of imputing it to God. The scripture 
 is his word ; and he is answerable for the effect of his 
 words when written or reported, as when they are suggest- 
 ed at first hand by the voice of his Holy Spirit. It remains 
 therefore, that the only source of this evil must be the 
 heart of man : and that it really is so, will be evident from 
 the scripture, and the plainest matters of fact. The ac- 
 count we have of this affair is, in short, as follows — Ever 
 since the fall, the nature of man has been blind and cor- 
 rupt ; his understanding darkened*^ and his affections pol- 
 luted : upon the face of the whole earth there is no man, 
 Jfe-zv or Gentile, that understandeth and seeketh after God*; 
 the natural man y or man remaining in that state wherein 
 the fall left him, is so far from being able to discover or 
 know any religious truth, that he hates and flies from it 
 when it is proposed to him ; he receiveth not the things of 
 the Spirit ofGod c . Man is natural and earthly; the things 
 of God are spiritual and heavenly ; and these are contrary 
 
 * Efbci. iv. i?. * Rem. iii. u. « i Cor. ii. 14. 
 
 one 
 
[ xxii ] 
 
 one to the other : therefore, as" the wisdom of the world it 
 foolishness with God*, so the wisdom of God is foolishness 
 with the world. In a word, the sense man is now possessed 
 of, where God does not restrain it, is used for evil and 
 not for good : his wisdom is earthly, sensual*, -devilish^ \ it 
 is the sagacity of a brute c , animated by the malignity of 
 an evil Spirit. 
 
 This being the present state of man, the Scripture doe3 
 therefore declare it necessary, that he should be transformed 
 by the renewing of his mindly and restored to that sound 
 +rrind e and light of the understanding*, that spiritual disc em- 
 ixe*t*i WItn which the human nature was endued when it 
 came from the hands of God, but to which it has been dead 
 from the day that evil was brought into the world. And 
 where the grace of God that should open the eyes, and 
 prepare the heart to receive instruction 1 ', has been obsti- 
 nately withstood and resisted ; this blindness, which at first 
 was only natural, becomes judicial; from being a defect, 
 iris confirmed into a judgment ; and men are not only un- 
 able to discern the truth, but are settled and rivetted in 
 error : which is the case with all those to whom God sends 
 strong delusion that they should believe a lie, and have pleasure 
 in unrighteousness { . It is then tbey sit down in the seat of 
 the scornful, as foots that make a meek at sin Y , and despisers 
 cf those that are good 1 -; hating and railing at their fellow- 
 creatures, only because they are endued with the ,fear of 
 God ! This is the last stage of blindness ; and it is referred 
 
 to in those words of the Apostle If our Gospel be hid, it 
 
 Js hid to them that are lost m : as also in that lamentation of 
 
 our bhssed Lord orer the City of Jerusalem If thou 
 
 had it knows., ft** thou, <at least in this thy day , the things 
 that belong to thy peace! but now they are hid from thine, 
 eyes \ 
 
 * Vvx,txn, Natural. 
 a i G»: in. 19. b JamuWi. 15. c Judt 10. d Rom. xii. 2. 
 
 * 2 Tim.'i. 7. f Epb. i. 18. S I Cor. *ii. 14. h Prc-v. xx. 12. 
 
 irA xvi. 1. ' * 2 Thas. it. If. k[Prcv. xiv. 9. * 2 'Tim. Hi. 3 
 
 •A* 2 Cr. iy. 3. R LuU X\X. 42. 
 
 The 
 
[ xxiii ] , 
 
 The absolute necessity of God's grace to lighten cur 
 darkness has often been largely and faithfully insisted up- 
 on by the writers and preachers of the Church of Eng* 
 Land: but since the Spirit of Deism has crept in among us, 
 it has been openly slighted and contemned by some, and 
 too much neglected by others ; which has given an op~ 
 portunity to several sorts of Enthusiasts to make a wrong 
 use of it : such as our Quakers, Melhodists y and particu- 
 larly the Reverend Mr. William La<w, who, after writing 
 too excellently upon the vanity of the world, and the fol- 
 lies of human life, (on which subjects he has no superior) 
 has left us nothing to depend upon but Imagination, and 
 reduced the whole evidence of Christianity to fancied im. 
 pulses and inspiration : so as to render the scriptures use- 
 less, and the appointed menus of grace contemptible. I 
 have observed the like to have happened in many other in- 
 stances ; that where any essential point of doctrine has been 
 dropt by the writers of the Church, or at least not brought 
 out to view so often as it should have been, it has been 
 taken up by others, (as all tares are sown while the hus. 
 bandmen are asleep) and employed, under some false state 
 of it, to the no small disadvantage of the Church and the 
 Christian Religion. 
 
 To illustrate this subject a little farther, I shall make it 
 appear by a few plain examples, that where mankind have 
 been divided in their opinions with regard to any divine 
 truth, it baa not been owing to the ambiguity of its terms, 
 •©r the defect of its evidence, but wholly and solely to the 
 state and temper of the hearers. And thus Christ himself 
 has instructed us in his parable of the sower ; that where 
 the good seed of the word perishes, it is to be imputed to 
 the ground and not to the seed. How else can we account 
 for it, that when St. Paul bud the evidence of the Gospel 
 nefore a large assembly of Jews at Rome, some believed the 
 things which were spoken, and some believed not a , though the 
 -same things were spoken to all ? Such in general was the 
 
 * Afii xxviii. 24. 
 
 surcess 
 
[ xxiv ] 
 
 success of the Apostolical preaching; some few receiving 
 the werd -with gladness, while others opposed themselves 
 and blasphemed. And though it be supposed, that words 
 are more easily misunderstood than facts, and may admit 
 of a greater latitude : yet here we shall find, that the same 
 spirit which has divided mankind in what are called the 
 more speculative points of faith, will also divide them in 
 the plainest and most striking matters of fact. The re- 
 surrection of Lazarus was a matter of fact, seen and attested 
 by a competent number of witnesses : but how different 
 was the effect of it upon different persons! for while it 
 had its free course with many of the Jevjs, and moved 
 fhern to believe on Jesus, it only moved the chief Priests 
 to hate him the more ; and they consulted how they might 
 fat Lazarus also to death a . When Jesus cured the blind 
 and cast out devils, some rightly concluded — Rabbi, thou 
 art a teacher come from God ; for no man can do these miracles 
 that thou dost, except God be with him b : yet there were 
 not a few, and they of the most learned and knowing too, 
 who concluded far otherwise, that he cast out devils by 
 Beelzebub the prince of devils c . So likewise, when the 
 Holy Ghost descended on the Apostles, and inspired them* 
 with the gift of tongues, some devout men were amazed and 
 confounded at the miracle ; plainly seeing the hand of God 
 in it, and asking what it meant, what was the end and de- 
 sign of it ? and being informed by St. Peter's discourse, 
 that it was to confirm the mission of Jesus of Nazareth, re. 
 ceived his word gladly, and nvere baptized 6 ; while others, 
 to avoid the conclusion, mocking, said, these men are full of 
 nevj iuine c . Here is a great multitude assembled toge- 
 ther ; all of them witnesses to the same fact : yet, in their 
 opinions of it, they are as far asunder as drunkenness is from 
 inspiration. But in this case no Christian will raise a doubt 
 about the real inspiration of the Apostles ; or deny the 
 power of Gad to have been sufficiently manifested* because. 
 
 a JibttxYi. 10, |I. b Job/i iii. 2. c Matt. x\\. 24., 
 
 d <ieti 11. 41. c Acti v. i\. 
 
 some 
 
[ x^v ] 
 
 some were so profane and senseless as to ridicule it, und.; 
 the name of drunkenness 
 
 This self-deceit always operates by the assistance of some 
 false principle contrary to the scripture ; which gets pos- 
 session of the heart by ministering to the passions. And till 
 that be dispossessed, no truth will be suffered to enter 
 which can in the least affect to destroy it. A man in euch 
 circumstances may see the truth staring him in the face'; 
 and the clearer he sees it, the more he will be enraged at 
 it. Ke may be convicted, and left without a word to say, 
 but what will expose the hardness and perplexity of his 
 heart ; but till it be emptied of its evil treasure, and he be- 
 comes as a little child that has nothing of its own to oppose 
 to the Revelation of God, he cannot be convrtcd: but 
 will either shut his eyes and deny the evidence that is of- 
 fered to him, or pretend it is a vice point, very difficult to 
 be underitood ; and so give a perverse turn to it, though 
 it be ever so plain and intelligible. 
 
 Till the Disciples of Christ resigned themselves up to be 
 led irrto all truth by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, they 
 were in the state of mind I am now describing; dull of 
 hearing, and doubtful, and slow of heart. They were 
 often warned of ic ; particularly in the following words 
 
 / have jet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot 
 
 Bear them novo a . And as the divine wisdom made choice 
 of such men for the good of those who should come after, 
 50 these things are written of them :or our admonition. 
 They had laid it down as a first principle, that their mas- 
 ter's kingdom wa> to be of this ivcrlJ : and formed all 
 their reasonings and expectations accordingly. One was to 
 sit at his right bandy another at his left ; and they were 
 ever disputing which should be the greatest. Any occur- 
 rence that flattered this notion, was gladly received and 
 made the most of; ani every thing that could not be re- 
 conciled with it was thrust out of sight. When the son cf 
 man began to teach them, that he must suffer many things^ 
 
 John xvi. 12, 
 
[ xxvi ] 
 
 and he rejected of the elders, and of tie chief priests and 
 scribes, and he killed, and after three days rise a gam a ,• all 
 these things were so destructive of their principle, that 
 Peter began to rebuke him y as if he had heard blasphemy * 
 Christ took an opportunity of inculcating this doctrine 
 afresh, when they were in a state of conviction at seeing 
 him perform a miracle ; endeavouring, as it were, to sur- 
 prize them into a confession of its truth : but the time was 
 
 not yet. Whde they wondered every one at all things 
 
 which Jesus did, he said unto his discipLs, let these sayings 
 sink down into your ears : for the sp?i of man shall be delivered 
 into the hands of men. But they understood net this say- 
 ing ; it <w as hid from them, that they perceived it not b * 
 The terms were clear and intelligible enough ; and the 
 ideas conveyed by them were all common and familiar ; 
 but if that saying were admitted, they must part with their 
 beloved principle : therefore it follows, that they avert 
 afraid to ask hm of that saying; lest he should carry on the 
 subject, and leave them no way to escape. They had al- 
 ready heard more than they would believe, and therefore, 
 as to any thing farther, thought it best to remain in the 
 dark. 
 
 In short, where there is a taste and relish for the things 
 ihat he of men, more than for the things that bt of God, and 
 some principle is imbibed wherein the passions are strongly 
 engaged, men are to be persuaded of any thing and of 
 nothing : ready to take up with every despicable pre. 
 tence, to prop and support their favourite opinion ; and 
 deaf to the plainest words and most infallible proofs, if 
 they tend to establish the other side of the question. For 
 example; that a Messiah .was to deliver their nation, was 
 allowed by all the Jews; and they were well agreed as to 
 the time of his coming, and the place where he should be 
 born. It was to be shewn, that Jesus cf'Nas&areth was the 
 person : and for a proof of it, they were bid to compare 
 the scripture -with the things he did aud taught. j5*/ 
 
 a Ma * vuj. 31. I Luht ix. 43, 44. 
 
 though 
 
[ xxvii ] 
 
 though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they 
 believed not on him a ; and as if he had left the proof of his 
 mission obscure and defective, they came very formally to 
 him to ask a sign of him, after they had seen so many 
 signs ; and called out to the very last for better evidence, 
 bidding him come down from the Cross, that they might see 
 and believe b . One would take these fe-ws to have been 
 Sceptics, who would persevere in their doubtings against 
 every proposition that could be offered. But if we judge 
 from their behaviour upon some other occasions, there 
 never was a more credulous generation upon the face of the 
 earth. They could receive full bat'sfaction from the most 
 childish and inconsistent tales that ever were invented. The 
 self-contradiction of Sain?; casting c-ut Satan ; or the report 
 of a few heathen soldiers, who witnessed what was done 
 while they were asleep, could pass for good gospel ; while 
 the most evident miracles, and the clearest prophecies, were 
 all nothing to the purpose, where they did not like the 
 conclusion. And for the same reason, the whole gosr>e! 
 itself, while it is the savour of life to some, is a savour of 
 death to others! as different as life and death! yet never- 
 theless one and the same gospel. It is like the pillar that 
 stood between the camp of Israel and the host of Egypt; 
 which was a cloud to the one, and hght to the other c # 
 But who will deny that the light was clear to the 7j- 
 taelitesy because the Egyptians saw nothing but a cloud of 
 darkness? 
 
 Behold then the true source of all our religious difle- 
 fences : thty proceed from the blindness and corruption of 
 the ha man -heart, increased and cherished by some false 
 principle that suits with its appetites : and all the prudence 
 and learning the world can boast will ejeccapt no child oi 
 Adam from this miserable weakness : nothing but tke 
 grace of God can possibly remove it. .Where that is suf- 
 fered to enter, and the heart, instead of persisting in its 
 osvn will, is surrendered to tfce will of God, the whale 
 
 * John xii. 37. * Mark xv. 31. « -Exed. xiv, 20. 
 
 gospel 
 
[ xxviii ] 
 
 gospel is sufficiently clear, because no text of it is any 
 longer offensive. 
 
 Of this happy change we have the best example in the 
 apostles of our blessed Saviour; who when they first en. 
 tered the School of Christianity, had a veil upon their 
 hearts like the rest of their countrymen, and were strongly 
 possessed by a spirit of the world, promising itself the full 
 enjoyment of temporal honours and preferments. But the 
 sufferings and death of their master having shewed the 
 vanity of such expectations, and served in a great measure 
 to beat down this earthly principle, they were ready for 
 conviction ; and then their understanding tvas Gj>en?d, that 
 they might understand the Scriptures*. The evidence that 
 before was dark and inconclusive, became on a sudden 
 clear and irresistible ; and they, who had lately fled from 
 disgrace and death as from the greatest of evils, could now 
 rejoice that they were found nxorthy to suffer. Their opinion 
 was altered, because their affections were cleansed from 
 this world : that mire and clay was washed off from their 
 eyes in -the true waters of Siloam, and now they could^ see 
 all things clearly. 
 
 What has been here said upon the conduct of our Sa- 
 viour's disciples and the unbelieving Jcivs, may be applied 
 to all those who dispute any article of the Christian Faith; 
 and particularly the doctrine of the ever blessed Trinity, as 
 revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures. For we shall cer- 
 tainly find, that some false principle is assumed, which flat- 
 ters the pride of human nature. It abhors restraint and 
 subjection ; and is ever aspiring, right or wrong, to be 
 distinguished from the common herd, and to exalt itself 
 agaiyist the knowledge ofGod b . What this principle is, we 
 shall very soon discover : it is publickly owned and gloried 
 in by every considerable writer that of late years has med- 
 dled with this subject. I shall instance in the learned Dr. 
 Clarke ; because he is deservedly placed at the head of the 
 Ariun disputants in this kingdom. 
 
 a Luke xxiv. 45. * 2 Car. x. 5. 
 
 He 
 
[ xxix J 
 
 He affirms to his first Proposition, that the one GODy 
 spoken of in Matth. xix. 17, and elsewhere, is only one 
 PERSON; and then adds, « This is the first principle of 
 " Natural Religion*." 
 
 So then here are two different religions ; by one of 
 which it proved, that the one God is the Father, the Son, 
 and thejrloly Ghost : that he is therefore three persons. 
 Bat it is the first principle of the other religion, that he is 
 but one person: though how that can be reconciled with 
 the practice of the whole heathen world, who were so far 
 from discovering this one person, that they held Gods many 
 and Lords manj z , is not very easy to determine. And 
 whence comes this Religion ? it is confessed to be drawn: 
 from nature t it is the Gospel of the natural man, un- 
 sanctified by divine grace, and uninstructedby any light from 
 above ; and owes its birth to that fountain of darkness and 
 self-conceit, from whence has sprung all the confusion and 
 imagination that ever was introduced into the religion of 
 God. And what wonder, if nature should operate as 
 strongly in an Arian or a Socinian against the mystery of 
 the Trinity, as it did in the Je*ws against the Laiv and the 
 ProphetSy and in the unconverted disciples against the doc~ 
 trine of the Cross P If it be laid down as a first principle, 
 that God is but one Person ; then it will be utterly impos- 
 sible, so long as this principle keeps possession, that ary 
 person, of common sense enough to know the meaning of 
 words, should quietly receive and embrace a Revelation in 
 those parts of it, where it teaches us that God is three Per* 
 sons: these two principles being so diametrically opposite* 
 that while he holds to the one, a voice from the dead will 
 not persuade him of the other.. Therefore,, I say again, 
 we ought not to wonder, if that man should remain for 
 ever invincible,, who BRINGS to the Scripture that know. 
 ledge of God, which he is bound, as a. Christian, to 
 RECEIVE from it. 
 
 * See Script. Doct. p. ii. $, r. 
 a 1 Cor. viii. 5, 
 
 W'^z 
 
 
[ XXX ] 
 
 What then will be the consequence in this case ? The 
 practice of the Deist, who carries on this argument to its 
 proper issue, is to deny the Scripture-revelation, because 
 his natural Religion is contrary to it ; and they cannot both 
 be true. But the partial unbeliever, who allows the Scrip- 
 ture to be supported by such external evidence as he can- 
 not answer, while his reason objects to the matter contain* 
 ed in it ; must follow the example of the Jews, and recon- 
 cile the Scripture where he cannot believe it. Thus they 
 treated the Law of Moses. We knovj, said they, that God 
 spake unto Moses a : therefore they readily granted bis Law 
 to have a divine authority : but as it would not serve their 
 turn in its own proper words, they put a false gloss of tra- 
 dition upon the face of it, to hide its true complexion ; and 
 then complained that the Scripture was not clear enough : 
 and if you used it as a testimony to Jesus Christy they would 
 stone you for a blasphemer. 
 
 What shall we say then ; that the Jews were of a dif m 
 ferent opinion from the Christians f and that this was their 
 ivay of understanding the Scripture ? No 2 God forbid. For 
 if we will believe the Scripture itself, it was their way of 
 denying- it. Had ye believed Moses, says our Lord, ye 
 vxould have believed me: and he gives us upon this occa- 
 sion the true grounds and reasons of their unbelief; be- 
 cause they received honour one of another, and had not the 
 love of God in them b . Every hypothesis of human growth, 
 which was pretty sure to agree with their complexion, ard 
 reflected some honour upon themselves by exalting the na- 
 ture of man, that can make a religion for iiself and comes 
 in its own name ; that they would gladly receive. But if 
 any thing was offered to them in the name of God, to be 
 received for the love of him, and the spiritual comfort of a 
 pure conscience, and the hope of a better world : it was 
 rejected, as an encroachment upon their natural rights , 
 and an invective against the innocent pleasures of a carnal 
 Jerusalem. And so it is with us at this time ; for if an Au- 
 thor does but hang out the sign of Nature and Reason in his 
 
 a Jckn ix. 29, b See Jcbn-v. $$.—adfin, 
 
 title- 
 
 8 
 
[ xxxi ] 
 
 title-page, there are readers in plenty, who will buy up 
 and swallow his dregs by wholesale : but if God, of his in- 
 finite mercy and condescension, shews to them the way of 
 Sahation, his words are to be abstracted from the evidence 
 upon which he requires us to believe them, then put into 
 this Alembic of reason y and demonstrated to be no poison^ 
 before they can be brought to taste thenu And if they 
 should happen to be a little disagreeable to flesh and blood,, 
 and the operation should miscarry, the fault is charged up- 
 on God, and not upon themselves who ought to have 
 gone another way to work ; as they will certainly find. 
 
 We conclude, therefore, because Christ has affirmed it, 
 that every degree of doubt and disputation against the 
 words of God, is just so much unbelief; proceeding not 
 from the head or understanding, but from the heart a and 
 affections. And the World is filled with the vain jangling 
 
 of uncertainty, for this short reason all men have not 
 
 Faith* . 
 
 * Hd. iii. 12 > *> 2 Tbeti. iii. 2. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 In all the Texts which are compared together in the fol- 
 lowing work, those particular words,, whereon the stress 
 of the comparison lies, are printed in Capitals ; that the 
 argument obtained from them may shew itself to the 
 reader upon the first inspection. And I hope, after what 
 has been observed to him in the foregoing discourse, that 
 this is the only admonition he wilL stand in need of. The 
 arguments I have drawn from the Scripture are, to the 
 best of my knowledge, most of them new ; and, if I may 
 judge from my own mind, the manner in which they are 
 laid down r is more likely to convince, than any I have 
 yet seen. Had I thought otherwise, I could easily have 
 forborn to trouble myself or the world with the tran. 
 scribing and printing them. The end I have proposed is 
 not to obtain any reputation (to which this is not the way) 
 but to do some little good, of which there is much need. 
 I do therefore sincerely recommend the following work,, 
 and every reader of it, to the grace and blessing of Al- 
 mighty God, well knowing, that unless the Lord keep the- 
 City, the watchman waketb but in vain* 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 R 
 
 La. viii. 13, 14. Sanctity the Lord of Hosts 
 Himself, and let him be your fear, and let 
 him be your dread: and he shall be for a 
 sanctuary; but for a stoxe or stumbling 
 and rock of offence to both houses of 
 Israel. 
 
 1 Pet. ii. 7, 8. The stone which the builders 
 disallowed, the same is made the head of the 
 corner, and a stone of stumbling and 
 
 ROCK OF OFFENCE. 
 
 Instead of reasoning upon these words of the Prophet 
 haiahy according to any private interpretation, I add ano r 
 ther passage of Scripture, wherein they are expressly ap- 
 plied to the person of Christ ; and then shew what must be 
 the result of both. If the Scripture, thus compared with it- 
 self, be drawn up into an argument, the conclusion may in- * 
 deed be denied, and so may the whole 3ible, but it cannot be 
 amv:end % For example, 
 
 B The 
 
• THE DIVINITT 
 
 The Stone of Stumbling and Rock of Offence, as the former 
 text affirms, is the Ltrd cf Hrfs himflf; a name which the 
 Avians allow to no other but the one, only, true, and fu- 
 preme God a . 
 
 But, this Stone of Stumbling and Rock of Offence , as it 
 appears from the latter text, is no other than Christy the 
 same stone which the builders refused ; therefore, 
 
 Christ is the LORD OF HOSTS HIMSELF: and the 
 Arian is confuted upon his own principles. 
 
 II. 
 
 Isa. vl 5, Mine eyes have seen the King, the 
 
 LORD OF HOSTS. 
 
 John xii. 41. These things said Esaias, when 
 he saw his (christ's) glory, and spake of 
 
 HIM. 
 
 Jesus is the person here spoke of by St. John; whose 
 fkry> Esaias is declared to have seen upon that occasion, 
 where the prophet affirms of himself, that his eyes had seen 
 the Lord of Hosts: therefore, 
 
 Jesus is the LORD OF HOSTS. 
 
 III. 
 
 Isa. xliv. 6. Thus saith the Lord, the King of 
 Israel and ftis Redeemer, the lord of hosts, 
 I am the first, and I am the last, and 
 besides me there is no god. 
 
 a Sec an Essay $n Spirit, p. 65, Clarke's Doctr, of the Trin. C. id. 
 
 \ s. 40*. 
 
 8 Rev- 
 
OF CHRIST. 
 
 Rev. xxii. 1 3. I (Jesus) am Alpha and Omega, 
 the Beginning and the End, the first and 
 
 THE LAST. 
 
 These titles of the first and the last are confined to him 
 alone, beside 'whom there is no God; but Jesus hath assumed 
 these titles to himself: therefore, Jesus is that God, besides 
 whom there is no other. Or thus: there is no God besides 
 him who is the first and the last: but, Jesus is the first and 
 the last; therefore besides Jesus there is no other G$d. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Isa. xliii. 11. I even I am the lord, and be- 
 
 sides me there is xo saviour 5 *. 
 2 Pet. iii. 18. Our lord and saviour jesus 
 
 CHRIST, 
 
 Jesus Christ then, is our Saviour ; or, as he. is called, 
 John iv. 42, The Saviour of the World. But unless he were 
 God, even the Lord, Jehovah, as well as man, he could 
 not be a Saviour ; because the Lord has declared, there is 
 no Saviour beside himself. It is therefore rightly observed 
 by the Apostle, Phil. ii. 9, that God, in dignifying the man 
 
 a The argument drawn from this text will be equally convincing 
 which ever way it be taken ■ Je^us Christ is a Saviour, therefore he 
 is Jebot'ahy the Lord Jesus Christ is Jekzvab, therefore he is the 
 "Saviour. The best observations I have ever met with upon the n3mc 
 Jtboiab, and its application to the second Person of the Trinity, are 
 to be found in a V\nd'ic*non of the Doctrine of the Trinity from tbe Exception 
 of a late paizpkiet^ en'itled an Essay on Spirit by the learned Dr. 
 T. Randolph, President of C. C. C. in Oxford', which I would dexirethc 
 reader to consult, from p. 6 1 to 71 of part I. 
 
 R 2 Christ 
 
4 THE DIVINITY 
 
 Christ with the name of JESUS, hath given him a name 
 above every ?iame, even that of a Saviour ; which is his o*wm 
 name, and such as can belong to no other. 
 
 Rev. xxii. 6. The loud god of the Holy Pro- 
 phets SENT HIS ANGEL tO slieii) UntO h'lS 
 
 Servants the things which must shortly be 
 done. 
 Rev. v. 16. I jesus have sent mine an- 
 gel to testify unto you these things in the 
 Churches. 
 
 The Angel that appeared to St. John was the Angel of 
 the Lord God, and the Lord God sent him : but he was the 
 Angel of Jtsus t and Jesus sent him : therefore, Jesus is the 
 Lord God of the Holy Prophets. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Lake i. 76. And thou Child shalt be called 
 the Prophet of the highest, for thou shalt 
 go before the face of the lord to pre- 
 pare his ways. 
 
 Matth. xi. 10. Behold I send my messenger 
 
 BEFORE THY FACE, to PREPARE THY WAY 
 
 before thee. 
 
 John the Baptist goes before the face of the Lord, that is, 
 
 of the Highest, whose prophet he is, to prepare his way. 
 
 But, he was sent as a Messenger before the face of Christ, 
 
 to prepare his way ; who, therefore, is the Lord } and tie 
 
 Highest, 
 
 VII. 
 
oi< ciirist.. 5 
 
 VII. 
 
 The two following texts are but a repetition of the same 
 argument: but. as they speak of Christ under a difFerent 
 name, they ought. tpJiave a place for themselves. 
 
 Luke i. 16, 17. ' And many of the children of 
 Israel shall he turn to the lord their god: 
 and he shall go be/ore him. 
 
 Mutth. iii. 11. He that cometfr after me is 
 mightier than I, — &c. 
 
 Here again, the Baptist is said to go before the Lord God 
 ef the children of Israel: but it is certain, "he went before 
 Jesus Christ, the only person who is said to come after\im : 
 therefore, Jesus Christ is the Lord God of the children of 
 Israel. And the same title ^s given to him in the prophet 
 
 Hosea, / will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and 
 
 will save them by the Lord their God : which can be no 
 other than the voice of God the Father, promising Salva- 
 tion by the person of God the Son. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Matth. xi. 10. Behold I send my messenger 
 before thy face, to prepare thy way before 
 thee. 
 
 Mai iii. 1. Behold I send my messenger to 
 prepare the way before me. 
 
 As this prophecy is worded by St. Matthew (as also by 
 St. Mark* and St. Luhe h ) there is a personal distinction ' ! 
 
 » Mark i. 2. b Luke vii. 17. 
 
 b 3 between 
 
THE DIVINITY 
 
 between Him who sends his Messenger, and Christ, before 
 
 whom the Messenger is sent / send my messenger 
 
 to prepare thy way before THEE. But the Prophet himself 
 has it thus ■/ send MY messenger, to prepare the way 
 
 before Me. Yet the Evangelist and the Prophet are both 
 equally correct and trne. For though Christ be a different 
 per/on, yet his he one and the same God with the Father. 
 And hence it is, that with the Evangelist, the persons are 
 not confounded; with the Prophet the Godhead 'is not divided* 
 This argument may serve to justify an excellent observa. 
 lion of our Church in the Hcmily upon the Resurrection 
 
 " How dare we be so bold to renounce the presence 
 
 i( of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? for where one is, 
 <c there is God all whole in Majesty, together with all his 
 " power, wisdom, and goodness." 
 
 Ps. Ixxviii. 56. They tempted and provoked 
 
 the MOST HIGH GOD. 
 
 1 Cor. x. 9. Neither let us tempt christ as 
 
 some of th&n also tempted. 
 
 These texts do both relate to the same rebellious acts 
 of the Israelites in the wilderness. In the former of them, 
 the person they tempted is called the most High God : in 
 the latter he is called Christ : therefore, Christ is the m§st 
 High God. 
 
 X. 
 
OF CHRIST* 7 
 
 X. 
 
 John iii. 29. He that hath the Bride, k the 
 bridegroom* — (meaning Christ.) 
 
 But, according to the Prophet, 
 
 Isai. liv. 5. Thy Maker is thine husband, the 
 lord of hosts is his Name. 
 
 And the Church, which is the Bride of Christ, can no 
 more have two distinct husbands, than Christ can have two 
 distinct Churches. As the Church is the Bride, the Body, 
 the Building of God ; and as there is one Bride, one body, 
 $ne building ; so is there on the other hand, one God, who 
 is the husband ox Bridegroom ; one Christ, who is the Head; 
 §ne God with the Lamb, who is the Light of it. Compare 
 
 * Another title of eminence, that shews Christ to be upon an equa- 
 lity with God the Father, is to be collected from the following Scrips 
 tures. 
 
 Psalm xxiii. i. The Lord (Hcb. Jehovah) is my Shepherd, 
 John x. 16. There shall be one fold, and one Shepherd. 
 
 If Christ be not the Lerd, in Unity with the Father, there must of 
 course be two distinct beings, to whom the Scripture has appropriated this 
 Character of a Shepherd-, and that would make tivo Shepherds. But 
 Christ has affirmed there is but one Shepherd, that is himself, THE\ 
 SHEPIIFRD of the Sheep, v. 2. whom St. Peter calls the chief Shep- 
 herd, i Pet. v. 4. So again— 
 
 Psal. c. 3. Know ye that the Lorb he Is God — — we are His pea- 
 pie, and tke She-ep of His Pasture. 
 John x. 3. He (that is Christ himself) calleth His own Shsep. 
 
 And again John xxi. 16. Feed my Sheep said Christ to St. 
 
 Peter: which, in the language of St. Peter himself, 2 Pet. v. 2. is— 
 feed the Flock «f God. 
 
 also, 
 
O THK DIVINITY 
 
 also, jfer. iii. i. and $t, 32. Ezek. xvi. J3W.il. M?//£, 
 
 ix. 15. xxv. 1. 2 Cor. ii. 2. £/£. v. 23. Rev. xix.7. 
 
 and xxi. 2, 9. 
 
 XL 
 
 Here follow some single texts, to which I add no 
 parallels ; there being no danger of mistaking their ap. 
 plication* 
 
 John xx. 28. And Thomas answered and said, 
 
 MY LORD, and MY GOD. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Rom. ix. 5. Of whom as concerning the flesh 
 christ came, who is over all, god blessed 
 for ever. Amen. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 £ Pet. I 1. Through the righteousness of our 
 god and Saviour jesus christ. 
 
 The Greek is - t» 0e» vpuv *} Xo>Trp@* I»?cra Xp*f* 
 
 ■ ■ the very same, as to the order and Grammar of the 
 
 words, with the last verse of this Epiftle -t» Kv. 
 
 fix yfjLvv, xj Xwnjp^ I*j0-tf Xprt? which is thus ren- 
 dered in our English version of our Lord and Sa- 
 viour Jesus Christ. And so, without doubt, it should be 
 in the other passage : there being no possible reason why, 
 t« ®£8 r,(Auvy should not signify, our God y as well as t» 
 Kwty e/xwv, our Lord. It is not my design to cast any 
 reflection upon the wisdom of our excellent and orthodox 
 Translators (whose version, taken altogether, is, without 
 
 exception, 
 
OF CHRIST. y 
 
 exception, the best extant in the world) or to advance this 
 as any discovery of my own: for the Translators themselves 
 have preserved the true rendering in the margin; declaring 
 it, by their customary note, to be the literal sense of the 
 Greek. 
 
 There is another expression, Tit. ii. 13. that ought to 
 be classed with the foregoing. Looking for that blessed hope, 
 and the glorious appearing, ra piyxhs Qbh xj Ea/Tr/p^* Tjuwr 
 lycx Xprtf* of our Great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 
 Of which a great man, deep in the Arian scheme, gives 
 
 this desponding account. " Many understand this 
 
 11 whole sentence to belong to one and the same Person, 
 " viz.. Christ : as if the words should have been render. 
 ,c ed, The appearing of our great God and Saviour jfesus 
 tf Christ. Which construction, the words will indeed 
 " bear; as do also those in 2 Pet. i. x. But it is much 
 <( more reasonable, and more agreeable to the whole tenor 
 " cf Scripture, to understand the former part of the words, 
 i( to relate to the Father \" As for the whole temr of 
 Scripture, it is a weighty phrase, but very easily made use 
 of in any cause, good or bad : so I shall'leave the reader to 
 judge of that, after it has been exhibited to him in the fol- 
 lowing pages. And as for .the reasonableness of the thing 
 itself, let any serious person consider, whether the doctrine 
 of the Scripture is not more rational under the orthodox 
 application of these words, than under that of this author. 
 Fcr to allow, as he does, that Christ is God, <but not the 
 Great God, is to make two Gods, a greater and a lesser, 
 
 * Chrkii Dectr. of th« Tjin. C, a. £. 1. C4i. 
 
 w 
 
 which 
 
10 THE DIVINITY 
 
 which is no very rational principle. And I make not the 
 least doubt but this author, had he been dressing up a sys- 
 tem of natural religion, would have protested against a no- 
 tion so absurd and impious. But when the Scripture was to 
 be dealt with, he chose it as the lesser of two evils, the 
 greater of which, was the doctrine he had subscribed to. ' 
 
 XIV. 
 
 2 Cor. v. 19. God was in christ, reconciling 
 the world to himself. 
 
 It is allowed on all hands, that the world was reconciled 
 by Christ Jesus to the one, only, great, and supreme God. 
 But, this very same God (for the word is but once used in 
 the whole sentence) was in Christ; manifest in the flesh, 
 and reconciling the world to himself. And were there no 
 other passage of Scripture to be founds this alone is suffi- 
 cient to overthrow the whole doctrine of Ariauism; which, 
 as far as the Scripture is concerned, depends upon this one 
 
 assertion that *' the word GOD, in Scripture, NE- 
 
 •' VER signifies a complex notion of more persons than one; 
 u but ALWAYS means one person only, viz. either the 
 •* person of the Father singly, or the person of the Son 
 u s ingly V Which is absolutely false : for here it signifies 
 hoth* The text considers God as agent and patient at the 
 tame time, and upon the same occasion ; as the reconciler 
 of the world, in the person of the Son; and the object to 
 whom the y e conciliation njoas made y in the person of the Fa- 
 ther \ yet tkere is but one word (God J to express them 
 
 • Clarkft S. D. P. II. §. 33. 
 
 bath. 
 
OF CHRIST. II 
 
 iotfj. So that the word God, though of the singular num- 
 ber, is of a plural comprehension. And thus I find it tp 
 have been taken by some of the most eminent writers be- 
 fore the council of Nice, ?! Rlasmatus in initio homo per. 
 « manus DEI, id est, FILII & SP1RITUS," says Ire. 
 ncsus a ; putting the singular name of God, for the two per. 
 sons of the Son and Spirit. And the same word, in the 
 language of On'gen, (if we are allowed to take the version 
 of Ruffinus as genuine) includes the whole three persons 
 
 Igiiur de DEO, id est, de PATRE 13 FILIO & 
 
 SPIRITU saucto b . And our excellent church has used 
 the word God in the same comprehensive sense; as in the 
 lie swig after the communion service GOD AL- 
 MIGHTY, the Father, the Son, and the Hcl X Ghost. 
 
 XV. 
 
 John xiv. 11. I am in the Father, and the Fa- 
 ther IX ME, 
 
 Compare this with the foregoing article* 
 
 XVI. 
 
 1 Cor. v. 20. We are ambassadors for Christ, 
 as though god did beseech you by us. We 
 pray you tn curist s stead be ye recon- 
 ciled tO GOD. 
 
 The usefulness of this text to our present subject, lies 
 in these words M In Christ's stead we praj, as though 
 
 a Lib. y. §. 23. * Deprlncipuu Lib. JV. €. 2. 
 
 " Gad 
 
t& THE DIVINITY 
 
 i( God did beseech" where the interchanging of the 
 
 names God and Christy shews the same person to be incitled 
 to both. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 1 John v. 20. We are in him that is true, even 
 in his son jesus christ : this is the true 
 god and eternal life. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Col ii. 8, 9. Beware lest any man spoil you 
 through philosophy and vain deceit, after the 
 tradition of men, after the rudiments of the 
 world, and not after christ: for in him 
 
 DWELXETH ALL THE FULNESS of the GOD- 
 HEAD BODILY. 
 
 The Apostle foresaw, that a thing calling itself Philoso- 
 phy would set all its engines at work to destroy the notion 
 
 of Christ's true and absolute Divinity " For i?i hurt 
 
 M (says he) dnxielhth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily y 
 " Philosophy will dispute this : and undertake to demonstrate 
 €i the contrary. But if you listen to such vain deceit, it 
 t€ will overthrow your faith, and sptil you for a disciple 
 " of Jesus Christ; therefore beware." 
 
 XIX. 
 
 John i. 1. The word was god. 
 
 XX. 
 
 Itai. ix. 6. For unto us a Child is born, unto 
 
 us 
 
01 CHRIST. 13 
 
 us a Son \k given, and the government shall 
 
 be upon hie shoulder : and bis name shall be 
 called Wonderful, Counsellor, the migu'iv 
 
 GOD, the EVERLASTING FATHER. 
 
 XXL 
 
 Jer. xxiii. 6. This is the name whereby he shall 
 be called, the Lord (jehovah) our Righte- 
 ousness. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Iscti. ii. 17, 18". The lord alone shall be 
 exalted in that day: and the idols he shall 
 utterly abolish. 
 
 %i Idolatry is the reverse, and direct opposite to Christi- 
 u anity (or, the day of Christ.) To destroy this, was the 
 
 4< great end of Christ': coming into the world. But 
 
 i( except he were God, the very and eternal G:d, of one 
 " substance with the Father, his Religion would be so far 
 M from destroying Idolatry , that it would only be a more 
 " refined and dangerous species of it. The prophet there- 
 11 fore, concludes all, that so he might acquit the worship 
 11 of Christ from all charge of Idolatry, with this positive 
 f( assertion ; that it would prove the most effectual means 
 (( of putting an end to all false and idolatrous worship : 
 " the Idols he shall utterly abolish. The like conclusion we 
 " meet with in the Apostle St. John; who having affirmed 
 €( that Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life, imme- 
 (i diately subjoins and closes all with this advice, — Little 
 i( children, keep yourselves from IDOLS/' 
 
 This 
 
M THE DIVINITY 
 
 Tliis remark is taken from the first volume of an Essay 
 upon the prop, r Lessons ; written, as I am- told, by a gentle, 
 man of the Laity. There needs no apology for setting 
 it down ; it being of good use in the subject I am upon. 
 And it also gives me an occasion of return ng thanks to the 
 pious and learned author of that excellent work, not for 
 myself only, but for many sincere friends- to the religion 
 of Christ and the Church of England, among whom his la- 
 bours are not without their fruit ; and I am confident they 
 will not be without their reward: but the author must be 
 content to wail for it, till Wisdom shall be justified of all her 
 children* 
 
 XXIIJ. 
 
 Rev. i. 8. I am Alpha and Omega, the begin- 
 ning and the ending, saith the loud, which 
 is, and which was, and which is to come, the 
 
 ALMIGHTY. 
 
 If the reader will be pleased to examine the 13th and 
 17th verses of this chapter, it will appear that this 8th 
 verse was undoubtedly spoken from the mouth of Christ : 
 who therefore has a just title to every name and attribute 
 expressed in it ; and among the rest, to that of the 4J- 
 mighty. 
 
 Origen, who certainly was no Arian, though often re- 
 presented as such, by some who would be pleased to have 
 the vote of so celebrated a genius, has the following obser- 
 vation.— — fC Now that you may know the Omnipotence of 
 ** the Father and the Son to be one and the same as HE is 
 " ONE and the SAME GOD and LORD with the FA. 
 
 <' THER, 
 
OF CHRIST. 1J 
 
 " THER, hear what St. John had said in the Revelation 
 
 << These things, saith the Lord, which is, a?id ivhich 
 
 " was, and <wbicb is to come, the Almighty." For who is 
 the Almighty that is 10 csme, but Christ*? 
 
 XXIV. 
 The texts that follow^ with this mark (+) prefixed to 
 them, are such as have been abused by the Arians to sup- 
 port their heresy: and to the best of .my knowledge, there 
 are some of every sort. But when the Scripture is brought 
 to declare its vwn sense of them, they will either appear 
 to be nothing to the purpose, or confirm and preach the 
 faith they have been supposed to destroy. 
 
 \ Matt. xix. 17. Why callest thou me good? 
 there is none good but one, that is, god. 
 
 The objection is founded upon the Greek , which runs 
 thus — Ovoaq irw ocyech'^y £» w hj, 0t^-. There is mne 
 good but tK, one ; and that (one) is, 0s®-, God. Whence 
 it is- argued, that the adjective ek being in the masculine 
 gender, cannot be interpreted to signify one being or na- 
 ture (for then it should have been EN, in the neuter) but 
 one person : so that by confining the attribute of goodness to 
 the single person of the Father, it must of course exclude 
 the persons of the Son and Holy Ghost from the Unity of the^ 
 Godhead. 
 
 * Ut autem unem Sc tandem omnipotent'wm Patris & Filii esse cognos- 
 ces sieut unut a*<jue idem est cum Patre Deus & Dcminus, audi hoc modo 
 Joan, in dfocalypsi diceatem : Hare dkit Dcmir.us Veut qui est, & qui 
 erit % &f qui venturut est omnipotent. Qui enim venturus est 4mr,i£otens, 
 $uis est alius nisi Ckri:tu$?—De principiis Lib, i. c. 2. 
 
 To 
 
16 THE DIVINITY 
 
 To say the truth, I think this is the most plausible ob- 
 jection I have ever met with; and I have sincerely endea- 
 voured to do it justice. It it is capable of being set in a 
 stronger light, any man is welcome to add what he pleases 
 to it. For supposing the word fi£ to signify one person (and 
 in that lies the whole force of the argument) then if one 
 person only is goody and that person is God ; it must also 
 follow, that there is but one person who is God: the name 
 of God being as much confined hereby to a single person, as 
 the attribute of goodness. But this is utterly false ; the 
 names of Gsd, Lord, Lord of Hcsts y the Almighty, most High, 
 Eternal, God of Israel, Sec. being also ascribed to the second 
 and third Persons of the blessed Trinity. Take it this way, 
 therefore, and the objection by proving too much, confutes 
 itself, and proves nothing. 
 
 The truth is, this criticism, upon the strength of which 
 some have dared to undeify their Saviour, has no founda- 
 tion in the original. The word ek is so far from requiring 
 the substantive person to be understood with it, that it is 
 put in the masculine gender to 2gree with its substantive 
 02^, and is best construed by an adverb. If you follow 
 the Greek by a literal translation, it will be thus — There is 
 nine good — « ^r t it; o 0g^ — but the one God ; that is, in 
 common English — but God only. And it happens that 
 
 the same Greek, word for word, occurs in Mark ii. 7. 
 
 Who can forgrve sins — up* eic 0e(^ — but God only: so 
 it is rendered by our translators : and we have a plain 
 matter of fact, that ni in this place cannot possibly admit 
 the sense of one person, because Christ, who is another per- 
 son, took upon him to forgive sins, In the parallel place 
 
 of 
 
OF CHRIST. 17 
 
 of St. Luke's Gospel*, th^ expression is varied, so as to 
 
 make it still clearer — « pn fXo9&> i <Bi<& not a<; but 
 
 (ao;(& } another adjective of the masculine gender : which, 
 though it agree with its substantive 0**^, is rightly con- 
 strued as an adverb — either the alone God, or God only. 
 And the Greek itself uses one for the other indifferently — 
 as, nr ctpru (azvV) by bread only b — tv Xoyto povov, in nxord 
 only c . The utmost that can be gathered, therefore, from 
 these words, is no more than this ; that there is one God 
 (in which we are all agreed) and that there is noye good 
 beside him ; which nobody will dispute. Whether in this 
 God, there be one ferson, or three, remains yet to be con- 
 sidered: and the Scripture is so express in other places, as 
 to settle it beyond all dispute. 
 
 If it should here be asked, for what reason Christ put 
 this question " Why callest thou me good? 1 * I an- 
 swer; for the same reason that he asked the Pharisees, why 
 David in Spirit called him LORD 6 ; and that was to try if 
 they were able to account for it. This ruler, by addressing 
 our Saviour under the name of good Master, when the in- 
 spired Psalmist had affirmed long before, that there is none 
 that doeth GOOD, no NOT ONE e ; did in effect allow 
 him to be God; no mere man, since the fall of Adam, 
 having any claim to that character. And when he was 
 called upon to explain his meaning, for that God only was 
 good; he should have replied in the words of St. Thomas 
 " My Lord, and my GOD;" which would have 
 
 a Luke v. 2i. b Matt. iv. 4. «* 7bess. i. 5. 
 
 d Matt, xxii 43. c Psalm xir. 3. 
 
 been 
 
18 THE DIVlNtl Y 
 
 been a nobler instance of Faith, and have cleared up the 
 whole difficulty. If the case be considered, this man was 
 a very proper subject for such a trial. Fnlly convinced of 
 his own sufficiency, he comes to Christ in the presence of 
 his disciples, to know what good thiug he might do to me- 
 rit everlasting life. Whence our Saviour takes occasion to 
 correct his mistake as to the nature oi goodness; and having 
 tried this good and perfect man in a tender point, sent him 
 away grievously dissatisfied. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 t 1 Cor. xv. 24. Then cometh the end, 
 when he shall deliver up the kingdom to 
 god, even the father. 
 
 Luke 1. 53. He (Jesus) shall reign over the 
 house of Jacob for ever; and of his king- 
 dom there shall be no end. 
 
 This of St. Luke, being a contradiction in terms to that 
 of the Apostle , shews the former to be spoken only of 
 Christ's humanity ; as the latter relates only to his Divinity* 
 When both are laid together, it is evident to a demon- 
 stration, that Christ is perfect God, as well as perfect man. 
 As man, he received a kingdom, which again, as man, he 
 shall deliver up, when his mediatorial office, for which he 
 took trie nature of man, shall be at an end. But there is a 
 kingdom pertaining to him, which shall have no end. And 
 this cannot be true, unless he is a person in that God, who 
 after the Humanity has delivered up the kwgdom shall be all 
 in all. The distinction in this case between the God and 
 man in the joint person oi Christ Jcsus } is warranted by an. 
 
 other 
 
OF CHRIST. ly 
 
 ether part of the Chapter, wherein the Apostle hds given us 
 a key to his own meaning. Swot by MAN says he) came 
 dec thy by MAN came also the resurrection of the dead. For 
 <fi in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made 
 alrve. Here, it is evident, he is drawing a contrast be. 
 tween the man Adam and the man Christ; so that unless it 
 be done on purpose, no reader can easily mistake the mean- 
 ing of what follows. Then comet h the End, nxhen PIE 
 
 (that is the man Christy the second Adam) shall deliver up 
 the kingdom. Sec. for so it must be, according to the tenor 
 of the Apo tie's discourse. 
 
 The Neiv Testament abounds with expressions of this na- 
 ture ; but they have no difficulty in them, if it only be re- 
 membered that Christ is man as well as God ; which the 
 Arians are willing upon all occasions to forget. And it has 
 been chiefly owing to an abuse of these texts, that they 
 have been able to put any tolerable gloss upon their He- 
 resy. The ®ld Testament seldom speaking of Christy but 
 •as a Person of the Godhead before his Incarnation, does not 
 afford them so many opportunities : and hence it is, that 
 most of them confine their enquiries to the AVou, which 
 is the history of him after his Incarnation, when he ap- 
 peared as the first-born cf many brethren a , anointed above 
 his Fellows {Mankind) receiving authority and dominion 
 from God, who by a power superior to that of his human 
 soul and bod)', put all things in subjection under the feet 
 of it. 
 
 But some, for whose sake he thus humbled himself, and 
 became obedient to the flesh, instead of receiving it with 
 
 a Rom. viii, 29. 
 
 humility 
 
20 the Divixrrr 
 
 humility and devotion, even cast it in his teeth, and make 
 it an argument against him : vainly imagining that they do 
 honour to their supreme God, while they say with Peter — ■ — - 
 Lord, be it far from thee : this shall not , it cannot, be unto 
 thee. And it is worth their while to consider, whether 
 they may not fall under the same rebuke, when it will be 
 too late to retract and change their opinion. 
 
 A solemn advocate of theirs, whom I take to be a dissetu 
 ter, tells us— his present con&fk it with the New Testa. 
 went onlj b . And another writer of some figure, who, yon 
 are to suppose, is addressing himself to ftytung Clergyman, 
 puts it into his head, that he " may reject Arguments 
 11 brought from the Old Testament to prove the Trinity, as 
 (( trifling, and proving nothing but the Ignorance of those 
 '< that mah me of them c ." And I could wish that were 
 all ; for I hud much rather be accounted a fool in their 
 judgment, than find myself under a necessity of charging 
 them with the horrible guilt, of denjittg the Lord that hath 
 bought them* 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 f Acts x. 42. — That it is he, which is ok- 
 Pained of god to be the judge of quick and 
 dead. 
 
 This passage will help us to detect, once for all, that 
 common fallacy of our Adversaries, in misapplying such 
 words as relate only to the human nature of Christ, and 
 
 b A sequel to the Fss^y c-r. Spirit, p. 8. 
 
 c Letter to nycung Clergyman upon the Dfficulties and Discouragements 
 which attend the study of the Scripture* in the way of private judgment. 
 
 erecting 
 
OJ C Ilk 1ST. 41 
 
 trectiag arguments thereupon to the degrading of his su- 
 preme Essence. Christ is ord.timd of God, it is true : and 
 the nature that receives power, must be inferior to the na- 
 ture that confers it. But is his Godhead therefore ordained? 
 They tell you it is ; and their scheme requires it : But the 
 
 Scriptures declare the contrary. GOD (saith St. Paul) 
 
 hath appointed a daj wherein HE will JUDGE the world in. 
 righteousness by that MAN tv aiift, (IN that MAN) whom 
 he hath ORDAINED l . The supreme God that was ma- 
 nifest in the fleshy and IN Christ reconciling the world to 
 HIMSELF, shall remain in the same personal union with 
 him, till he has judged the world, and is ready to deliver up 
 the k-ngdem. And though our Judge shall even then retain 
 the Character of a Man, yet as God who ordained him, shall 
 fee present with him in the same person, the act of the last 
 judgment is equally ascribed to both natures. In the text 
 
 just above cited, it is s_aid He (God) will judge the 
 
 world ; tho* it immediately follows, that a man_ y even the 
 man Christy is ordained to this office. And so we have it 
 
 again in the Epistle to the Romans we shall all appear 
 
 before the judgment seat <^ Christ. For it is written, as I 
 live* saith the Lord, every knee shall bonp to ME, and every 
 tongue shall confess unto GOD D . We are to give an account 
 of ourselves at the judgment seat of Christ. And how does 
 the Apostle prove it ? Why, because it is written, that we 
 shall give an account of ourselves to the Lord God, who 
 swears th.it he liveth. But unless Christ, who is a man, be 
 also this living God and Lord, this proof is not to the 
 purpose. 
 
 • Acii xvii. 31. b fa, x * v 25. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
22 THE DIVINITY 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 -f Acts x. 40. Him god raised up and shewjsb 
 him openly to us who did eat and drink with 
 him after he rose from the dead. 
 
 John xxi. 1. After these things jesus shewed 
 himself again to his disciples at the Sea 
 of Tiberias ; and on this wise shewed he 
 
 HIMSELF. 
 
 The former text takes something from Christ, as man ; 
 in which capacity he was at the disposal of the Father* But 
 the latter restores it to him again as God ; under which 
 character he is at his oivn disposal, and in unity with the 
 Father. The same is to be said of the two articles which 
 follow. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 -J- John iii. 16. God so loved the world, that 
 
 he gave his only begotten Son. 
 Ephes. v. L 25. Christ also loved the Church, 
 
 and gave himself for it. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 -\ Eph. iv. 32. Forgiving one another, even 
 as god, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven 
 you. 
 
 CoL iii. 13. Forgiving one another — even as 
 
 CHRIST FORGAVE 1)011. 
 
 XXX. 
 
of cnnisT. 2J 
 
 XXX. 
 
 f John vi. 38, I came down from heaven, 
 kot to do my own mill, but the will of 
 
 HIM that SENT ME. 
 
 Klatt. viii. 2. And behold there came a Le- 
 per and worshipped him, saying, lord, if 
 thou wilt thou canst make me clean. 
 And jesus said, (®i\u) I will, be thou 
 clean, 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 f Jets xiv. 29, 30. And now, lord 
 
 grant — that signs and wonders may be clone 
 
 by the NAME Of THY HOLY CHILD JESUS. 
 
 It seems here, that signs and wonders were not to be 
 wrought "by Jesus Christy as the author of them ; but by as 
 higher jovver of the LORD, put into action by the name. 
 Merits, or Intercession of the Holy Child Jesus. Yet St. 
 Peter makes this same Jesus, though in heaven, the imme- 
 diate author of the signs and wonders wrought by his dis- 
 ciples upon earth.— " Eneas (says he) JESUS CHRIST 
 maketh the whole ." Acts ix. 34. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 f Mat;, xx. 2:3. To sit on my right hand 
 and on my left, is not' mixe to giye, but 
 (it shall he given) to them for whom it is 
 prepared of my father. 
 
 Yet our blessed Saviour has promised elsewhere, to be- 
 stow this reward in his brum right — " To him that o<ver- 
 
 " comcth 
 
%f THE DIVIX1TV 
 
 ft cometh will I grant to sit with me in MY throne." 
 Rev. iii. 21. This is sufficient to rescue the text from any 
 heretical use that may have been made of it. But still there 
 remains some difficulty, which with God's help, I shall 
 endeavour to clear up. It will appear to any person, not 
 ignorant of Greek, that the original in this place does re- 
 serve to Christ that act of power and authority, of which 
 the English version, by inserting a few words, seems to 
 
 have divested him. The Greek is this *v. ir« tuov Jot- 
 
 >at it is not mine to give, ot.XK oi; ijTo./uaf a», but to them 
 
 for whom it is prepared u nisi quibus paratum est." 
 
 For in the eleventh verse of the foregoing Chapter, there 
 
 is an expression exactly parallel u>.x w$ hkrou 
 
 save ihey to whom it is given ; or as Beza hath it 
 
 <f sed // quibus datum." Now there can be no gramma. 
 
 tical reason, why w r e should not take u»l etc Y,Tottxct<rcn 
 
 —in the same manner ; and then the text will affirm 
 what it now seems to deny. For to say, that Christ cannot 
 give any particular reward, save to them for whom it is 
 prepared of his Father, is the same as to say, that to such 
 he can and will give it; according to the common maxim 
 
 « Exceptio probat regulam in nou-exceptis. 
 
 The scope of the Text therefore, is to bhew, that no- 
 thing can be granted even by Almighty power itself, where 
 there is not a suitable merit or disposition in the persons 
 who claim it. fi God shall give this honourable place to 
 " those, for whom it is prepared by an invariable rule of 
 <c justice ; whose 'victory of Faith being foreknown and ac- 
 s: cepted, a seat is allotted them according to it." And the 
 two passages being laid together, supply us with this prin- 
 ciple, 
 
OF C II III ST. - C 2J 
 
 ciple. As if oar $a<viour t who is the speaker in bi:h places, 
 
 had said t€ Tho' it be not mine to give ; yet, to him 
 
 " that ci^rcometh, will / (even I myself) grant to w/ with 
 " me in ap> Throne ; because for him this seat is prepared '.'* 
 It is not owing to a defect of power in the Trinity, or in 
 any person of it, that the divine purpose cannot be chang- 
 ed : but because it is impossible for the power of God to 
 break in upon the order of his distributive justice. And it 
 is upon this account only, that we read of Christy Mark 
 \i. 5. « He COULD there do NO mighty work." For 
 the po-ver of doing a miracle was always present with him ; 
 but the place being improper because of their unbelief , made 
 the thing impossible. In the same manner, that declara- 
 tion of the Lord in Gen. xvii. 22, is to be accounted for, 
 — Haste thee, escape thither, for I CANNOT do any thing 
 till thou be come thither. No man would hence conclude, 
 that the hand of God is straitened, or his power limited ; 
 but only that he does, and by his own nature must, act 
 agreeable to the disposition of things and persons, known 
 to himself. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 f 1 Cor. viii. 6. To \:s there is but one goi>, 
 
 THE FATHER. 
 
 If we compare this with that expression of St. Thomas % 
 —John xx. 28,— MY LORD, and MY GOD, we have 
 the following argument : 
 
 To us there is but one god, the father. 
 
 But to us jesus christ is gjd: therefore, The 
 
 Gospel has either preached tivo Gods to us, one distinct from 
 
 C the 
 
fff THE DIVINITY 
 
 the other : or that one God the Father \s here the name of a 
 7iature i under which Christ kimself, as God, is also compre- 
 hended. And the same may be proved of it in several 
 
 other places. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 I Ma tilt. Kxiii. Q. Call no man your Father 
 upon earth, for one is your father which 
 is in heaven-. 
 
 Ibid v. 10. Neither be ye called masters, for 
 
 ONE is YOUR MASTER, even CHRIST. JollU 
 
 iii. 1 3, which is in heaven. 
 
 Dr. Clarke has a particular Section 3 , wherein he pre- 
 tends to have set down the Passages that ascribe the highest 
 Tills, Perfections, and Powers to the second Person of the 
 rrinity. Yet he has wholly omitted the latter of these 
 verses ; though by a rule of his own making, it allows to 
 Christ an higher title than any other in the whole Scripture. 
 J i ib this same Author, who has laid so great a stress upon 
 the word ck> one, which he has insisted upon it can signify 
 nettling else, but one Person ; and the criticism is thought 
 to be of such use and importance to his scheme, that his 
 book begins with it ; and in the course of his work it is 
 repeated three times, nearly in the same words. But the 
 passage now before us, it he had produced it, would have 
 turned his own weapon against himself. For the word ek 
 is here an attribute of Christ ; and if we argue from it in 
 this place, as he has done in the other, it must prove, that 
 
 a Chap. ii. \. 3. 
 
 fine- 
 
OF CHRIST. 27 
 
 Que person only is our Master, and that this person is Christ : 
 which excludes the Persons of the Father and the Spirit 
 from the honour of that title ; and so reduces that learned 
 author's reasoning to a manifest absurdity. 
 
 We are to conclude then, that as the phrase, one Master, 
 cannot be meant to exclude the Father; so neither docs. 
 
 that other one is good (supposing that were the sense of 
 
 the Greek) or, one is yctfr Father, exclude the person of 
 Christ. And if the reason of the thing teaches us that it 
 cannot, so the Scripture assures us in fact that it does not : 
 the title of Father, being a!so ascribed to the second person 
 of the Trinity. For Christ, the Alpha and Omega, says of 
 
 Himself He that c-jcrcometh shall inherit ail things ', 
 
 and I <wiB he HIS GOD, and hi shall be MY SO:- \ 
 
 Isaiah calls him The Euerlasii-g FATHER 13 . And 
 
 agaia it is written They are the CHILDREN" of 
 
 GOD, being tbt children of the RESURRECTION c ; 
 
 But, says Christ- / am the RESURRECTION* 1 ; 
 
 therefore he is God, and hath us for his Children. If this 
 be the case, the word Father cannot always be a name that 
 distinguishes God from another person of God: but is often to 
 be understood as a term of relation between God and Man: 
 or as a modern Divine of our Church has well expressed 
 
 it " A word not intended for God the Father only, 
 
 u the First Person of the Trinity ; but as it is referred un- 
 x< to the Creature made and conserved by God ; in which 
 u sen-se k appertains to the nvhole Trinity," 
 
 * &v. xxi. 7, b i x . 6, c Luke xx, 36. <* Join xi. 25, 
 
 c z XXXV. 
 
2b THE DIVIX1TV 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 f John xiv. 28. My father is greater 
 than I. 
 
 The two preceding Articles will sufficiently justify what 
 
 the Church has asserted with a view to this passage 
 
 That Christ is "vpj erior to the Father as touching his Man- 
 x< hood." And the stream of the whole Scripture is 
 2gainst that use the Ariaus generally make of it ; who stand 
 in need to be reminded at every turn, that in the person 
 Of Christy there is a human soul and body, the nature of a 
 max, which as it cannot lay claim to what is spoken of 
 Christ in unity with the father, so must it receive to its 
 cwn account whatever seems to degrade and disjoin him 
 from the Father. It is indeed hard to say, which of the two 
 heresies is the most unreasonable and unscriptural ; that 
 of the Socitrkms, which never considers Christ as any thing 
 but a mere man ; or that of the Arians y who never look 
 upon him as any thing but a supposititious God. Between 
 these two gross errors, lies the true Catholic Faith ; which 
 as it allows him to be perfect God and perfect man, is never 
 offended, or put to its shifts, by any thing the Scripture 
 may have said about him in either capacity. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 | I Cor. xi. 3. The head of Christ is God. 
 
 The name Christ does here stand, as in other places out 
 of number, for the man Christ ; otherwise it must follow, 
 that as Christ is God, Gcd is the head of himself; which 
 
 i- 
 
of Christ. £y 
 
 -is a contradiction; or that one God is the head oft another 
 God ; which also is a contradiction. 
 
 This Text is capable of a good illustration from Genes. 
 iii. 15, where we read, that the heel of the promised seed 
 should be bruised : by which, the Church has always un- 
 derstood the sufferings of his huma?i nature, metaphorically 
 represented by the inferior part in man. So in this place, 
 his Divinity or superior -nature is as aptly signified by the 
 head or superior part of the human body, 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 t Mark xiii. 32. But of that day and hour 
 knoweth no man, no not the Angels which 
 are in heaven, neither the sox, but the 
 
 FATHER. 
 
 It is declared of Christ in another place, that he increased 
 in wisdom a : why should it be incredible then, that during 
 the whole term of his humiliation in the flesh, something 
 should still be left, which as man upon earth he did not 
 know ? If you suppose him to be ignorant of this matter 
 as God, how is it that St. Peter confesses him to be om- 
 niscient, without receiving any rebuke for it, or being 
 
 reminded of any particular exception r LORD, 
 
 knu-west ALL THINGS b . 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 -\ John i. 18. Xo man hath SEEN god at any 
 time. 
 
 * Luhiii. 52. b Jobr.xx). 17, 
 
 c 3 John 
 
?0 THE DIVINITY 
 
 John xiv. 8, 9. Philip saith unto him, Lord 
 
 SHEW US THE FATHER — hast tllOU not SEEN 
 
 me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen 
 
 THE EATHEU. 
 
 <( These words (says Dr. Clarke) do not signify, that 
 i( he who hath seen the Person of Christ hath seen the Per- 
 " son of the Father." No surely ; but that he who hath 
 se£n ail that was visible of Christ, hath seen the person, to 
 whom was joined that invisible and divine Nature, which 
 ihe Scripture has called by the name of the Father. And 
 to shew that Christ (though he was God manifest in the 
 flesh 3 ) is yet no other than the same invisible Geo 7 , whom 
 no man hath or can see and liz-e, we are told, that ci when 
 *< he shall appear (glorified, not with any secondary divi- 
 " nity, but with the FATHER'S OWNSELF b j <we shall 
 i( be like Bi/H (fashioned like unto his Q-jjn glorious body c y 
 " and confirmed to his Image d ) for ive shall SEE him AS 
 *< HE IS ;'• which no man ever yet hath done. 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 t 1 Cor. xv. 27. But when he saith all things 
 are put under him, it is manifest that he is 
 
 EXCEPTED (iXTQS T'd V7tot<z%xvtq;) which did 
 
 put all things under him. And when all 
 things shall be subdued (WoT«yu) unto 
 
 HIM— 
 
 a 1 Tim. ill . 1 5. * J>bn xvii. 5. « Fbii. iii. 2r. 
 
 & Rem. viii. 29. 
 
 PhiU 
 
OF CHRIST, 31 
 
 Phil. iii. CO, 2L We look for the saviouk, 
 the Lord jescs cuiust — who— is able. 
 even to subdue all things (ipr»ra£ai t* 
 
 -Brxyra) tO IHMSELF. 
 
 It is manifest, therefore, that the exception in the for- 
 mer text, is not meant to set one Person of God above au- 
 other Person, of God '; bat only to distinguish the Power of 
 the Divine Nature from that of the human in its greare-t 
 exaltation. As Christ is SftZffj a// things are snbducd unto' 
 him by another ; as Christ is G^, he himself /i that 
 e//vr, and #£/f to subdue all things to HIMSELF. A id 
 this will be sufficient to confirm the reader in what I hive 
 already observed, that the cause of Arianism borrows its 
 chief support from the humiliation cf Christ it tie JL sh. 
 Search the very best of their arguments to the bottom, by 
 a diligent comparing of the Scripture with itself, and tl.ey 
 
 all amount to this great absurdity Man is in frier to 
 
 God ; therefore God is inferior to himself: and this "they 
 prove, by imputing to Christ's Divinity what is said only of 
 his humanity. 
 
 I have now presented to the reader's consideration the 
 most noted texts, which, under the management of Avian 
 or Socinian Expositors, may seem to have favoured their 
 Doctrine. Many, I hope, will be of opinion, that the 
 Catholic cause is rather beholden to them, particularly in 
 this last instance, for the opposition they have made a.ai ist 
 it ; inasmuch as the objections they have drawn frim the 
 holy Scriptures have directed us to some very clear proofs, 
 which might otherwise have escaped our notice. It there 
 be any other Texts mere for their purpose than what I 
 c 4 have 
 
52 THE DIVINITY" 
 
 have here set down, they have my free consent to produce 
 and enlarge upon them as much as they please. In the 
 mean time I shall proceed to give the reader some farther 
 satisfaction, and endeavour to convince him, with the 
 JBIessing of God, that while Heresy is obliged to glean up 
 a few scattered passages, hard to be understood, and for 
 that reason, easy to be wrested by men of perverse incli- 
 nations : the Faith of the Church has the suffrage of the 
 whole Bible, speaking in such words, as need not be re- 
 » fined upon by any metaphysical expositions, but only ap- 
 plied and considered. 
 
 XL. 
 
 June, 4. Denying the only lord god, and 
 
 OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST to> [xovov SiZTnuw 
 
 $£0V H«» Kt'piOV njiw Ir,<T0W XplGTQl/. 
 
 As there is no article before Kvpiov, the first and second 
 comma are both meant of the same person ; and the plain 
 sense, when freed from the ambiguity of the English ver- 
 sion, is this Denying the only Lord God and our Lord, 
 
 Jesus Christ. This literal sense of the Greek may be 
 supported by the parallel Greek of Phil. iv. 20. To; 0= 
 Sjw y.ca ararpi ifjiMr. There being here no article before 
 uarpi, it would be violent and unnatural, to refer Seo? to 
 one person and ttarpi to another : whence Grotius para- 
 phrases the expression by — Deo qui IDEM est Pater nosier ; 
 and thus may the other be rendered with equal strictness 
 and propriety — hcirorxv qui idem est Kvp»©- %fua% : and 
 though we do not rest the proof of the Trinity on any 
 
 single 
 
OF CHRIST. 33 
 
 single passage, yet is the more natural construction of this 
 text very strong and conclusive for it. 
 
 If this should be denied, I think the sense also is capable 
 of demonstration. The words include this proposition — 
 There is, o po*®* AESIIOTHZ, one supreme Go-vemour a : 
 Now if this term be applied to Christ, it must follow that 
 HE is that one supreme Governor, in the Unity of the Fa- 
 ther. But it is applied to him in fhe parallel place of 
 2 Pet. ii. I. Denying (AEZ110TKN) the Lord that hath 
 
 bought them rev ttyopuo-xvra, wjtk$. And if it should 
 
 be doubted, whether this latter text be meant of Christ, 
 
 it is demonstrated by another THOU ivast slain, and 
 
 ba* BOUGHT us [xyofmam) unto God by thy Blood*. If 
 this chain of reasoning be inverted, the force of it. will be 
 clear and undeniable. i # Christ hath bought us. 2. He 
 that hath bought us, is AEEIIOTHE, the Lord, or supreme 
 Grvemour. But $&ly 9 there is, o p.o>©- AEEHOTHE, one 
 &;:fy supreme G&vernour. Therefore Christ is be- 
 
 xu. 
 
 Jude, 24, 25. Unto him that is able — to 
 present you faultless before the presence 
 
 Of HIS GLORY tO the ONLY WISE GOD OLU 
 
 SAVIOUR. 
 
 Eph. v. 27. That he {Christ) might pres: 
 
 it to himself a glorious Church, &c. 
 
 It is the only wise G.d, who is cblt to present us be-fore 
 the presence of bis Glory : but Christ is to pre sen: u$, as 
 
 a So U . trued it, C, i. $; 3, 41 1, * £«*, 
 
 € 5. ttw&l 
 
34 THE DIVINITY 
 
 members of the Church in glsry, to himself: therefore he 
 is the only wise God, to whom also appertains the presence 
 ef Glory ; for that is no other than his own presence, him- 
 
 This is another express instance, that ^o>^ &©-, the 
 only God, is not God in one person, but the Unity of the Tri. 
 mitjm For if you confine this phrase, with the Arians, to 
 the single Person of the Father, then of course you exclude 
 the person of Christ, and then, it is manifest, you contra- 
 dict the Scripture. For though it be affirmed in this place, 
 that the only wise God is to present us before his own pre- 
 sence, yet the same is elsewhere expressed by Christ present- 
 ing us to himself. Which is no way to be accounted for, 
 unless you believe Christ to be a partaker in the Being, at, 
 tributes, and offices of the one, undivided, only wise God, 
 nsr Saviour. Then there is no farther difficulty. 
 
 XLIL 
 
 \ iii. % 3. The Dispensation of the 
 
 Grace of god, which is given me to you_- 
 ward : How that by Revelation he {God} 
 made known unto me the mystery. 
 GuL i. \St. I neither received it of man, nei- 
 ther was I taught it, but by the revela- 
 
 ; 1!ua Of JESUS CHRIST,, 
 
 XLIII. 
 
 IJCiffgsvm 39. Thou, even thou only 
 k nov/ est the hearts of all the children of 
 
 mc:i, 
 
 This,. 
 
OF CHRIST. $S 
 
 This, it seems, is the privilege of God only : but this- 
 God \s Christ ; for says he, 
 
 Beg. ii. 23. All the Churches shall know fcHat 
 I am he which searchetfy the reins and. 
 
 HEARTS. 
 
 Indeed this latter verse speaks plain enough for itself 
 
 tiout being compared with the former. It implies, 
 
 that there is one o?ily who searclteth the hearts of Men, and 
 
 that Christ is he. And the Greek will very well bear it - r 
 
 as the learned reader will easily perceive. It is this 
 
 tyu Eijut o *?■•*>*; There is o epetftow, one ttuU searchtth ,• 
 
 but iyu him 1 am He. 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 9 Pet. i. 4. ^-Exceeding great and precious 
 
 promises, that by these you might be (3?*** 
 
 KOiKWii pU««^ PARTAKERS of 'dl3 DIVJNE 
 NATURE. 
 
 Ilebr. hi. 14. For we are made (^eto^o* ^ 
 
 Xpifa) PARTAXKRS of CHRIST, if \\ C hokJ \ 
 
 beginning of our confidence (in the precious 
 
 promises of God) steadfast unto the en 
 
 What St. Peter proposes > as the end o^ c . 
 promises, is to he partakers of the a . bur rhisj 
 
 according to St. Paul, is to be fa . 
 fore Christ is in or ©/" the Dtvim 
 
 mighty God 3 ' and Lad, who declared to .. 1 
 
 ■ { - , 1 1 . : . 
 
 c 6 
 
56 THE D1VIXITV 
 
 am thy Shield, and thy EXCEEDING GREAT RE- 
 WARD a . So that these being compared together, are de- 
 cisive for the Catholic Hofnoousian Doctrine, at which the 
 Avians y from the Council of Nice to this very day, have 
 been so grievously offended. And it has not been without 
 reason. For if the word Q on substantial^ applicable to the 
 Person of Christy it makes short work with their Heresy. 
 To this end, it was fixed upon and agreed to by the Bishops 
 of the whole Christian World"*, as the most proper Bar 
 and Badge of distinction between the Avium and them- 
 selves. But they object, that the term is not scriptural; 
 nnv, there are some, of no ordinary figure amongst them, 
 who have not stuck to call it an invention of P apery h ; 
 though it is well known, that at the time this was adopted 
 by the Chnrch, there was no such thing as Popery in the 
 world. But the name is found to be of great use in amusing 
 : people, who have no ready stock of learning to ccn- 
 
 2 Gen. xv. I. b Essay on SgirJ s p. 151. 
 
 • I say, of the ivbde Christian TVorldi though a late Author calls 
 this Oecumenical Curc'dy summoned for the condemnation of Anus, M a 
 * ... ■ . :. '• as if one half cf the world had been divided against 
 the other." And he says, it was " determined by a majeitfyvf near 
 i^e.t-i to onef whereas, in truth, there were but Jive out of three 
 \fundri\ /.;?/, who denied the, Catholic Fai:b. I mention this 
 
 xo she\ l things may be represented by some sort of people, who 
 
 if they arc not ignorant, must think it their interest to Impose upon you. 
 What think of a man, who having been present at an As sine,. 
 
 I bring a report of it home to his family, and tell them he had been 
 at a r re was a majority of near ten Jury-men, six. 
 
 Witnesses, and a Judge, ag-.-.in.t the crimnal^ See Did. to an Essay on 
 Sprite p. 9; xo. 
 
OF CHRIST. 37 
 
 tradict them, and, in some cases I fear, no good desire 
 of being better informed. Who can think it a notable proof 
 of their zeal as Protestants* that they take a pleasure in 
 seeing their poor Mother, the Episcopal Qfourok of England, 
 the honour of the Reformation, and the dread of Popery, 
 painted and dressed up for a Jezebel, by men of her own 
 host hold ; who have shipwrecked their consciences by sub- 
 scribing articles they never believed, and are growing fat 
 upon the provision allotted by the Providence of God, only 
 to support the Church in her journey through this world 
 to the kingdom of heaven. A sight that would raise the 
 indignation of a Mahometan I and almost move a Purist 
 himself to pity and pray for us ! 
 
 But I would hope there are some few amongst the favour- 
 ers of Arianism, who y.re not gone quite so far out of the 
 way, and would be a-hamed of such low and base artifices, 
 as can only serve to expose and discredit their cause with 
 anv man of common learning and honesty. To these I 
 ress myself: and now the Scripture is before us, let me 
 ask them a plain question or two. Is not the word Essence 
 or Substance of the same signification with the word Ka- 
 tun f and have not the Fathers of the Church thus ex- 
 pounded it : and is not this phrase of the same na- 
 ture as conclusive for the Divinity of Christ, as that 
 
 oihcr of the sa?::e substance? why then should that 
 
 expression cf the Nkene Creed be thought so offensive, 
 when there is another in the Scripture so near of kin to it, 
 is must be sensible they could gain nothing 
 by the exchange r for the divine Nature, we all agree, can 
 b: but star ,* three divine tiatures of com - ; e making three dif- 
 ferent 
 
38 THE DIVINITY 
 
 ferent Gods. But the Scripture, compared as above, has 
 asserted Christ to be of this divine Nature. And if people 
 were once persuaded of that, all farther disputes about the 
 word Cotimhstanmtl would be at an end. But peace and 
 unity for Christ's sake, is a blessing of which Gel has de- 
 prived this Church for the punishment of it's sins-: and as 
 we do not seem to be in any posture of repentance, it is to 
 be feared he will never restore it to us again in this world; 
 but suffer us to go on from bad to worse, till the measure 
 is filled up. 
 
 XLV. 
 
 It is a rule, laid down by St. Paul, that GOD swears by 
 HIMSELF, for this reason, because he can swear by NO 
 GREATER. Heb. vi. 13. 
 
 But Christ has sworn by himself: 
 
 Isal xlv. 23. I have sworn by myself. — 
 that unto me every knee snail bow, every 
 tongue shall swear. 
 
 Which words being compared with Rom. xlv. 10, 11,. 
 
 are proved to be the words of Christ. V/e- shall all stand 
 
 before the judgment-seat of ChnsX : For it is written, as I hue,, 
 sailh the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue 
 shall confess unto God. 
 
 Christ, therefore, has sworn by HIMSELF : so that if the 
 Apostle's rule be applied, he must for this. reason be GOD^ 
 and there can be NO GREATER.. 
 
 XLVI. 
 
 Eph, iv.JB* When he (Christ) ascended up oa. 
 
 high, 
 
OF CHRIST. 39 
 
 high, he led captivity captive, and gave 
 gifts unto men. 
 
 Yet the Scripture here referred to, expressly affirms the 
 person who ascended, Sec. to be the Lord God. 
 
 Ps. Ixviii. 17, 18. The chariots of god are 
 twenty thousand, even thousands of Angels : 
 the lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the 
 holy place. Thou hast ascended on high, 
 thou hast led captivity captive, Ike. 
 
 XLVII. 
 
 Heb. ix. 20. This is the Blood of the testa- 
 ment which god hath enjoined you. 
 
 Ibid v. 16. Where a testament is, there, 
 must also of necessity be the death of the 
 
 TEST A TO II. 
 
 God is a Testator: but, argues the Apostle , every Testator 
 must die\ before the la??t Will or Testament enjoined by him, 
 can be offorce m Therefore, if you keep close to the terms, 
 the natural conclusion is, that GOD, being a Testator, 
 should die, to make way for the execution of his Testament^ 
 But it being impossible that the divine nature of God should 
 be capable of Death; it follows, that the person who nvas 
 capable of Death-, and did die as a man, was also God the 
 testator. And it is to express the strict and perfect union 
 of the fwo natures in the single person of Cbrisi, that what is 
 true only cf one, is predicated olboth. Of this, two more; 
 examples shall be added in the articles that immediately 
 folio w 
 
 XLVHI, 
 
40 THE DIVINITY 
 
 XLVIII. 
 
 Rev. v. 9. Thou vast slain, and hast redeemed 
 
 US tO GOD by THY BLOOD. 
 
 A distinction Is here observed between the two natures 
 of Christ : and the act of redeeming us by the shedding of his 
 blood is ascribed to the Lamh, the Messiah's Humanity. But 
 
 in another place it is imputed to hit Divinity Feed the 
 
 Church of GOD, which he hath purchased with HIS OWN 
 BLOOD a : not that ^God, strictly speaking, has any Hood 
 of his own to shed ; but that he who shed his blood for us, 
 as man, was God as well as man : or, in other words, that 
 God and man were united in the same person ; something be- 
 ing predicated of God, w T hieh cannot possibly be true with-, 
 out such an union. So again — 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 Zech. xii. 4. — In that day, saith the loud 
 — v. 10. — they shall look on :,ie whom they 
 have pierced. 
 
 But, according to the Evangelist St. John, this Scripture 
 saith, 
 
 John xix. 37. They shall look on him (Christ) 
 whom they have pierced. 
 
 As it stands in the Prophet, the Lord f Jehovah J was to 
 be pierced. So that unless the man Christ, who hung upo?i 
 the Cross, was also the Lord' Jehovah, ;ho Evangelist is 
 
 *> Acts xx. 28, 
 
 found 
 
OF CHRIST. 41 
 
 found to be a false witness, in applying to him a prophecy 
 that could not possibly be fulfilled 'in him. 
 
 L. 
 
 Plu I. i. 10. That ye may be sincere and with- 
 out offence, till the day of ciirist. 
 
 2 Pet. iii. 12. Looking for and hasting tgr 
 the coming of the day of cop. 
 
 LI. 
 Isa. xl. 10. Behold, the lord god will come 
 
 HIS REWARD IS WITH HIM. 
 
 Rev. xxii. 12. Behold, I (Jesus) come cjuickly, 
 
 and MY REWARD IS WITH ME. 
 
 Amen • even & came LORD JESUS. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
42 THE DIVINITY 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 The DIVINITY of the HOLY GHOST. 
 
 I. 
 
 John iii. 6. To ysytvspivov EK ra UvsvfAUT®* 
 that which is born of the spirit. 
 
 1 John v. 4. To yiyiwpwov EK tx ®lx what- 
 soever is BORN OF PQD. 
 
 The same individual act of divine grace, *>&• that of 
 our spiritual birth, is ascribed, without the change of a 
 single letter, to God, and to the Spirit. Some capacity 
 then there must be, wherein the Scripture makes no dis- 
 tinction between God and the Spirit: — and this is what the 
 Scripture itself calls the divine nature ; under which God and 
 the. Spirit are both equally comprehended* 
 
 II. 
 
 Acts xiii. 2. The holy ghost said, separate 
 me Barnabas and Saul for the work where- 
 unto I have called them. 
 
 Htb. v. 4. No man taketh this honour to hiin- 
 scii* but he that is called of god. 
 
 The 
 
OF THE HOLY GHOST. 43 
 
 The shorter way is to ask this same Saul, who it was 
 that appointed him to the work cf the ministry? and his 
 
 answer is no other than this Paul CALLED to be an 
 
 slp'jstle, SEPARATED unto the Gospel By the com. 
 
 mandment of GOD OUR SAVIOUR 3 . 
 
 III. 
 
 Matth. ix. 38. Pray ye therefore the lord 
 
 OF THE HARVEST, that HE Will SEND FORTH 
 
 labourers into his harvest. 
 Acts xiii. 4. So they being sent forth by 
 
 THE HOLY GHOST. 
 
 In this act of sending forth labourers upon the work of 
 the Gospel, the Holy Gh:sr is proved to be the Lord of the 
 Harvest, to whom Christ himself had directed us to PRAY. 
 Wherefore, they are not to be heard, who advise us to alter 
 the third petition in the Litany; a nvork y to which I am sure 
 the Holy Ghost hath not called us, and such as will never be 
 consented to by any labourers of his sending. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Luke ii. \6. Aad it was revealed unto him 
 (u7ro b ) by the holy ghost, that he should 
 
 a Rom. i. i. and x Tim. i. i. 
 
 ^ I set down the preposition, because it slays the Arian with his own 
 weapon. It shews the prime agency and authority in this affair to hare 
 been that of the Holy Ghost, acting in his own right, and not as the mi- 
 nister or instrument of an higher power; for then, according to them, 
 it should have been £;a. For my own part, I lay no stress upon it; 
 becaase I perceive, upon a review of tha Scripture, that these two pre- 
 pasidoni its uied indiscriminately. 
 
 not 
 
44 THE DIVINITY 
 
 not see dead), before lie had seen the Lord's 
 Christ. 
 
 Luke v. 28. And he blessed god, and said, 
 lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in 
 peace, according to thy woiid. 
 
 This word, was the nvord of the Hsly Ghost ; who 
 therefore is intitled to the context, and is God and Lsrd to 
 be blessed or praised; not under any imaginary restrictions 
 and limitations, according to a certain degree of power de- 
 legated to him, an evasion you will meet with in some mo- 
 dern writers, but the Scripture, and common reason, in- 
 structed by the Scripture, disclaim and abhor it, as an inlet 
 to all sorts of idolatry . 
 
 V. 
 
 John xiv. 17. He {the spirit of truth) dwell- 
 eth with you and shall be in you. 
 
 1 Cor. xiv. 25. God is in you of a truth. 
 
 VI. 
 
 2 Tim. iii. 16. All Scripture is given by in- 
 spiration of god. 
 
 2 Pet. \\ 21. Holy men of God spake as they 
 were moved by the holy ghost. 
 
 VII. 
 
 John vi. 45. It is written in the prophets, and 
 they shall be all taught of god. 
 
 1 Cor. ii. 13. Not in the words which maris 
 wisdom teacheth, but which the holy ghost 
 
 TEACHETII. 
 
 Thi s 
 
OF THE HOLY GHOST. 45 
 
 This latter verse would prove the Holy Ghost to be GaJ 
 by itself: for I cannot find that ma?;, in the style of the 
 Scripture, is ever opposed in this manner to any beinghut Gjd 
 only. I will subjoin a few examples of it. 
 John i. 13. Nor of the nxill of 'man, but of God. 
 I Thess. iv. 8. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, 
 
 but God. 
 Rom. i. 29. Whose praise is not of men, hut of God. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Acts v. 3. Why hath Satan filled thine heart to 
 
 LYE tO the HOLY GHOST? 
 
 Acts v. 4. Thou hast not lyed unto men, but 
 unto GOD. 
 
 Dr. C/*r&» affirms, that cc the Person of the Hofy Ghost 
 f f is no where in Scripture expressly s tiled God." And then 
 adds, by way of authority — " see the text, No. 66*." 
 And what text would you suppose this to be ? why, it is 
 no other than that of Acts v. 4, where he IS expressly 
 stiled God. The Doctor refers us to it, because he has added 
 a long perplexed Comment to help us to understand it, 
 I suppose : though a child may see the force of it without 
 any comment at all. The substance of all he has said may 
 
 be reduced to this ft Ananias lyed to God, because he 
 
 u lyed to the Apostles, in whom God dwelt by his Spirit/' 
 Thus he has tried to evade it; even by producing one 
 proof of the HJj Ghost's divinity, as an answer to another* 
 For if the Scripture assures us that God dujelleih in us, and 
 
 * Part II. J. xxxii. 
 
 our 
 
46 Tin: divixity 
 
 our only argument for it, is, because the Spirit dvoelLth in 
 us; who can the Spirit be, but God himself ? as it is proved 
 in the following article. But before we proceed to 
 it, I must beg the reader to observe how 'he has used and 
 represented Athanasius's opinion upon this text, u Atha- 
 " nasius himseif (says the Doctor 8 ) explains this text in 
 (i the same manner: he that Ijcd (saith he) to the Holy Chest, 
 " Ijed to GOD, WHO dwelled in men by his Spirit. For 
 " *wbm the Spirit of God is, there is COD." The dif- 
 ference, then, between this author and St. Athanasius, is no 
 more than this: the former takes occasion to deny that the 
 Holy Ghost is GOD, the latter to pro-je ir, and both from 
 one and the same rext; which, if you believe the Doctor, 
 they have explained in the same mamur, 
 
 IX, 
 
 1 JohnxW. 21. Beloved, if our heart condemn 
 ns not, then have we confidence toward god. 
 
 1 John v. 24. And hereby we know that he 
 abidetb in us, by the spirit which he hath 
 given us. 
 
 The Apostle's reasoning is this f€ The Spirit abideth 
 
 " in us ; and hereby we know that He (God) abideth in 
 " us." But unless the Spirit be a person in the Unity of 
 God, the conclusion is manifestly false. 
 
 X. 
 
 1 Cor. iii. 16. The temple of god is holy, 
 which temple are ye. 
 
 * No. 66. b Qua y^ £c« to Wfivfxa t« Gin, tnti *{-*v e 0F.OI. 
 
 1 Cor. 
 
OF THE HOLY GHOST. 47 
 
 1 Cor. vi. 19. Know ye not, that your bodies 
 are the temple of the iiolv ghost? 
 
 XI. 
 
 Matt. iv. 1. Then was Jesus led up (otto) by 
 the s pi hit, to be tempted, &fc. 
 
 Luke xl 2 — 4. Our father which art in 
 heaven ■ lead us not into tempta- 
 
 tiox. 
 
 1 
 
 Ir is not my business in this place to shew particularly in 
 tubal manner and for what end God leads us into tempta- 
 tion* That it is no way inconsistent with the divine attri- 
 butes, is plain from the case now before us : for Jesus was 
 led up into the wilderness to meet his adversary and be 
 tempted by him. And it is also plain from that petition in 
 the Lord's Prayer, that our Father <zuhich is in heaven would 
 not had us into temptation- : it being needless and absurd to 
 pray that God would not do, what by the necessity of his 
 nature, it is impossible for him to do. In this case, God is 
 not the tempter : he only introduces us to the trial; and 
 always provides, if we have the grace and prudence to 
 embrace it, a <waj for our escaping, that nne may be able t9 
 bear it. 
 
 But when jfesm was templed, the leading him into temp, 
 i at ion was the act of the Holy Spirit. Therefore as often 
 as we repeat the Lord's Vraycr, we address ourselves inclu- 
 sively to the Person of the Spirit, under the one name of 
 OUR FATHER; and certainly, he also is our Father, of 
 whom we are begotten and bom, even of the Spirit: and 
 again, as many as are LED by the SPIRIT of God % they 
 
 are 
 
4S the Drvixixr 
 
 are the SONS of God* Rom. viii. 14. See Art. I. of this' 
 Chapter. 
 
 XII. 
 
 C Cor. i. 3. Blessed be god, even the god of 
 
 ALL COMFORT, 
 
 If all spiritual comfort (sent from heaven) be of God, 
 how is it consistent j that the churches had rest walk- 
 ing in the COMFORT OF the HOLY GHOST 1 , un. 
 less the Holy Ghost be a person in the Unity of God P and 
 how can be be styled by way of eminence, THE Com- 
 fifUr\ if there be a God distinct from him, who claims 
 that title ? for then he is not the Comforter, but one of 
 the two ; and t*wo divine Comforters, like two Almighties 
 would make two Gods; which is not a principle of Chris- 
 tianity, but of heathen Idolatry. And the same reasoning 
 will hold good as to another of his titles. For the Holy 
 Ghost is called, by way of eminence, THE SPIRIT , 
 i. e. the true and principal, the head and Father of all 
 other Spirits. Yet we are told that God is a Spirit 6 : so that 
 unless the Spirit be also God, we must believe in two su- 
 preme, distinct, and independent Spirits. And thus we 
 justly argue for the divinity of Christ; that because GOD 
 //LIGHTS and Christ is THE LIGHT f . Therefore, 
 he is and must be God; even the TRUE God, because he is 
 the TRUE Light*. 
 
 a Act* ix. 3. b c O '5Tapa.*\r t T<&', J-hn xiv. 26. 
 
 « 1 John v. 6. d Jtbn iv. 24, e 1 John i. 5. 
 
 f Jcbn i. 4, 7, 8. and viii. 12. € Joba i. 9. 
 
 1 ■ XIII, 
 
OF THE HOLV GHOST. 4$ 
 
 XIII. 
 
 1 Cor. ii. 11. For what man knoweth the things 
 of a man, save the spirit of a man which is 
 in him? Evex so the things of god know* 
 eth (*feig) none but the spirit of god. 
 
 The spirit of a man knows the things of a man for this 
 reason, because it is in him. For the same reason, the Spi- 
 rit of God knows the things of God, because it is in the 
 Godhead ; than which nothing farther need be desired to 
 prove the co -essentiality of the Holy Ghost*. If you take it 
 otherwise, there can be no parallel between the two cases. 
 
 For how strange would it be to say the human Spirit 
 
 knows the things of a man, because it is in him; EVEN 
 SO, the Divine Spirit knows the things of God, because it 
 is cut of him. This text brings the matter to a short issue. 
 The Church affirms the Spirit to be in God, as a person of 
 ' the same divine nature: the Arians deny it, and will un- 
 derstand him to be cut of God ; not a person of the divine 
 nature, but one inferior to, and distinct from it. To see on 
 which side the truth lies, a man needs no other qualification 
 but that ©f faith, to receive the Scripture as the infallible 
 ivord sf God : which the Jriam, in most of their writings, 
 have freely confessed it to be. If once they come openly 
 to deny this, they are no longer Asians, but infidels of an* 
 ether denomination, with who h a different course is to be 
 taken. 
 
 a The Scripture uses the same preposition to denote the co-essentia/ity of 
 
 Christ John xiv. n. J am ^EN rx Tlctvpi) in the Father. A::i 
 
 x'.ii. 52. G:d shall gkrify him (EN tavrm) in himself. 
 
 d xiv. 
 
iO THE DXVIVITT 
 
 XIV. 
 
 1 Cor. ii. 11. The things of cod knoweth 
 
 no man. 
 1 Cor. v. 14. But the natural man receiveth not 
 
 the THINGS OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD. 
 
 Here again, the Scripture makes no distinction, farther 
 than that of personality, between God and the Spirit of 
 God; but renders unto God the thing: that are God's, by 
 rendering them to the Spirit, who is God, 
 
 XV. 
 
 Dent. vi. 16. and Matt. iv. 7. Thou shalt not 
 
 tempt the lord thy GOD. 
 Acts v. 9- How is it that ye have agreed to 
 
 timpt the spirit of the lord. 
 
 The Spirit is here substituted as the object of that parti- 
 tular act of disobedience, of which, according to the Law 
 and the GtsfeJ, the only object is the Lord our God; there- 
 fore the Spirit is the Lord our God. 
 
 Dr. Clarke denies that in M any place of Scripture there is, 
 ft any mention made of any SIN against the Holy Ghost but 
 h only $f a BLASPHEMY V He that can distinguish 
 BLASPHEMY from SIN, must be an acute reasoner; 
 when it is of all sin: the greatest. But is it no SIN against 
 tne Holy Ghf:t f to lye to him, to grieve him b , or to tempt 
 him ? why then did the Lord swear in his wrath against 
 those that grieved him, if it were no SIN ? and why was 
 
 * S.D. f « ii*. * Eph. if. \o* 
 
 that 
 
OF THi: HOLV GHOST, 51 
 
 that commandment given in the Law, thru shah ttst tempt 
 the Lord thy God ? And if the Spirit be tempted \ is not th: 
 Spirit the object offended by that temptation? this is the very- 
 thing that learned man was afraid of. He would have 
 proved blasphemy to be no sin, lest the Spit it should appear 
 to be the object of sin; for that would have proved him to 
 be God, the author and giver of the Law: and that, again, 
 would have spoiled his Scripture doctrine: so the short way 
 Was, to deny it. 
 
 - XVI. 
 
 Gen. vi. 3. And the lord said, my spirit 
 shall not always stinve with man. 
 
 The Spirit of the Lord strove with the inhabitants of the 
 old world, endeavouring to reclaim them by grace, and 
 waiting long for their repentance. But this is called, 
 i Pet. iii. 20, xht Ung. suffering q{ GOT) that waited u\ the 
 days of Noah* 
 
 XVIL 
 
 Luke xi. £0. If I with the finger of god 
 cast oat devils. 
 
 The parallel place in St. Matthew's Gospel has it thus; 
 
 Matth. xii. §§, If I with the spirit of god 
 cast cut devils. 
 
 The finger of God is a metaphorical expression for the 
 immediate power and agency of God : and to say that De- 
 vils were cast out by the finger of God, is the same as to 
 say, that they were cast out by God himself. But it appears 
 p t from 
 
5£ THE DIVINITY 
 
 from the text of St. Matthew, that this particular act of 
 the finger of God ', that is, of God himself, was the act of the 
 SPIRIT; therefore, the Spirit is God himself. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Ezek. viii. 1 — 3. The hand of the lord god 
 
 fell there upon me- and he (the Lord 
 
 God) put forth the form of an hand, and took 
 me by a lock of mine head, and the spirit 
 lift me up, &c. 
 
 In this text, the name of the Lerd God, and the name 
 •f the Spirit, do both belong to the same person. Fox 
 though it be said that the Spirit lifted up the prophet, yet 
 was it no other than the Lord God who put forth the form 
 §f an hand and took him: therefore the SPIRIT is the 
 LORD GOD. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Acts iv. 24, 25. They lift up their voice to 
 God with one accord, and said, lord, thou 
 art god, which hast made heaven and earth, 
 and the sea, and all that therein is. Who by 
 the mouth of thy servant Day i d has said, &c. 
 
 The terms LORD and GOD are here used to express 
 the divinity of him, who spake by the mouth of his servant 
 David. But it was the person of the HOLY GHOST, 
 who spate by the mouth <?/his servant David— fox, saith St. 
 $> e ter — This Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, <whicb 
 Use HOLY GHOST by the mouth of DAVID spake, Sec. 
 
 Therefore, 
 
OF TflE HOLY GHOST. 53 
 
 Therefore, the terms LORD and GOD are certainly med 
 to express the divinity of the HOLY GHOST, 
 
 So again : 
 
 It was the LORD GOD of Israel, who SPAKE by the 
 mouth of his holy Prophets, since the ivorld began. Luke i. 
 68, 70. 
 
 Bat then, it is written well SPAKE the HOLY 
 
 GHOST by Esaias the prophet*, etc. Therefore the Holy 
 Ghost is the LORD GOD of Israel. 
 
 XX. 
 
 Psal. cxxxix- 7. Whither shall I go from thy 
 spirit? or whither shall I go from thy pre- 
 sence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art 
 there. 
 
 The Psalmist, to acknowledge the omnipresence of the 
 
 Hcly Ghost, says Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ? an£ 
 
 by what is immediately subjoined, he shews this to be the 
 
 omnipresence of God himself- If I ascend up into heaven , 
 
 THOU art there. So that the terms thou, and thy Spirit 3 
 are equivalent ; i. e. equally conclusive for the immediate 
 presence of the divine nat?tre itself. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 It was said by the Angel Luke i. 32.' He shall be 
 
 great, and shall be called the SON of the HIGHEST. But 
 the reason given upon this occasion WHY Christ was 
 called the SON OF GOD, is this, and this only, viz, 
 
 a Acts xxviii. 2£. 
 
 b 3 because 
 
£4 T/IE DIVINITY 
 
 bfcaiue he was begotten by the Holy Ghost •» The 
 
 M Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of 
 " the HIGHEST shall overshadow thee: THERE- 
 " TORE also that holy thing which shall be born of thee 
 " shall be called the Son of GOD." v. 35. 
 
 When Jesus is called th* Sou of God, we understand the 
 st?fn*& and true God, besides whom there is no other. The 
 
 Broils themselves, allowed it, and s:iid "Jesus, thoq 
 
 " Son of God MOST HIGH*!" Eut the Person in God, 
 whose Son Jesus is said to be in this place, is the Holy Ghost, 
 by whose power (called the fmtser of the highest) he was 
 begotten of the blessed virgin, and thence called the Son *f 
 God. 
 
 Therefore, the Holy Ghost is God, and the Highest. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 The Prophet Isaiah, in his 6th chapter, tells us he saw 
 the LORD OF HOSTS. And at verse 8, that he heard 
 
 the voice of the LORD, SAYING Go and tell this 
 
 people, hear ye indeed, but understand nst, Sec. 
 
 Yet these very words, which the prophet declares to 
 have been spoken by the Lord, even the Lord of Hosts, were 
 
 spoken by the Holy Ghost Well SPAKE THE HOLY 
 
 GHOST, by Esaias the prophet, unto cur Fathers, saying, 
 Go unto this people and say, hearing ye sl>all hear, and shall 
 not understand b , &c. 
 
 Therefore, the HOLY GHOST is the LORD OF 
 HOSTS. 
 
 * Luke viii. 28, *> Aits xxviii. 16, 27, 
 
 The 
 
OF THE HOLY GHOST. 55 
 
 The article of the Holy Ghost's supreme and absolute 
 divinity being now established in the plainest term.- ; I 
 shall proceed to answer, from the Scripture, the objection* 
 usually made against it from thence. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 I Matth.xh. 17. There is none good but 
 
 one, that is, GOD. 
 
 If this be a good objection to the divinity of C/rrist, it 
 must be equally strong against that of the Holy Ghost, for 
 it is argued from this passage, that the attribute of good*?:* 
 is confined to the single person of God the Father; who 
 therefore is a Being superior to, and different from Christ 
 and the Holy Ghost. The error of this argument has been 
 fully shewn above : for it is not out per.ox, but <mi God, 
 whom the Scripture has asserted to be good; and I now have 
 an opportunity of confirming it, and of proving withe* ■ 
 that in the unity of this one God, besides whom no other 
 is good, the person of the Holy Ghost is, and must be in- 
 cluded. For it is written Thy SPIRIT is GOOD 8 
 
 so that if the same inspired Scripture which de: 
 
 the p:rson of the Spirit to be good t does also as plainly 
 dare that none is good, but God only ; then the Spirit is God, 
 even the only true and supreme God; and we are as we'll 
 assured of it, as if it had been said, (f there is none good 
 u but one, that is the Spirit, who is one with God." The 
 Hebrew in this place is yet stronger than the English. It 
 is not aUD good) but H318 Goodness itself, that is, divine, 
 
 * Psal. cxliii. 10, 
 
 d 4 essential; 
 
56 THE DIVINITY 
 
 essential, tin communicated goodness, besides which there 
 neither is, nor can be, any other of the like kind. There 
 is one sort of goodness communicated to men upon earth ; 
 as we read, Psal. cxii. 5, the good man shevceth favour, &c. 
 and Acts ii. 24, that Barnabas vuas a good man, and full of 
 faith y &c. There is another sort of goodness to be found 
 only in heaven, and that is the goodness of God, which is 
 essential ; but this goodness is also an attribute of the Spi- 
 rit ; who therefore is proved to be very God; and by that 
 argument too, for the sake of which, some have denied him 
 to be God. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 f Matth. iii. 16. The Spirit of God. 
 
 The Spirit, say they, is not God, because he is only the 
 Spirit of God. But so likewise the human Spirit, whence 
 the Apostle has taught us to borrow an idea of the divine , 
 is the Spirit OF a man ; yet, was it ever pretended, that 
 the Spirit, for this reason, is one being, and the man ano- 
 ther ? No, certainly: and the same must be true of God y 
 and the Spirit cfCcd; as far as the being of the same man y 
 who is one person, can be an image of the same God, who 
 is three persons. But there is the plainest testimony of 
 Scripture, that the Spirit, though said to be the Sprit OF 
 Jehovah, is also called by the express name of Jehovah 
 himself. For it is wricten, Judg. xv. 14, that the Spirit 
 OF Jehovah CAME upon Samson. Yet at chap. xvi. 
 20, it is said, lhat Jtbvoeh himself DEPARTED /r^/;; 
 him. Till it can be shewn, then, that the person who 
 cam* upon him was one\ and the person who departed from 
 
 him 
 
 
OF THE HOLY GHOST. 57 
 
 him was another ; it is undeniable, that the Spirit, though 
 said to be OF Jehovah, is strictly and properly Jehovah 
 himself. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 f Hcb. ii. 4. God also bearing them witness 
 with — gifts of the Holy Ghost according to 
 his own will. 
 
 Hence it is objected, that the Holy Ghost is subservient 
 and subordinate to the will of another ; therefore he can- 
 not be the supreme and true God. But if this ovjn voill of 
 God should prove to be no other than the will of the 
 Spirit, this imaginary objection of the Arians, which if it 
 be an error must also be a blasphemy, will turn to a demon- 
 stration against them. And that the will of God really is 
 the *will of the Spirit, is manifest from i Cor. xii. ii» 
 All these wcrketb thai one and the self. same SPIRIT, 
 dividing to every man severally as HE (even he himself} 
 WILLETH. 
 
 XX VI. 
 
 f Rom. viii. 26, The Spirit itself maketh in- 
 tercession for us. 
 
 The Spirit is not God, because he maketh intercession 
 with God ; and God, as it is imagined, cannot intercede 
 with himself. But it is a matter of fact, that he has actually 
 done this : therefore it is wicked and false to say that he 
 cannot. For God reconciled the world TO HIMSELF, 
 and it was done by intercession. 
 
 The . other objections I meet with, are all of this 
 
 •tamp: as that the Spirit is said to be given, to proceed, to 
 
 dc be 
 
58 THE DIVINITY 
 
 be poured out, to be tent ; and they argae that it is impos- 
 sible for God to give, to proceed from, or to lend, himself* 
 But here the question is begged, that God is but gk» per- 
 son, in which case it might be a contradiction: but the 
 Scriptures demonstrate, as it will be seen in the following 
 chapter, that God is three persons; and then there is no 
 contradiction in any of these things. It is also to be ob- 
 served, that the giving, proceeding, sending, and ministra- 
 tion of the eternal Spirit to Christ in glory, are terms that 
 concern not the divine ?:ature, but relate merely to the 
 nets and offices, which the several persons of the blessed Tru 
 nity have mercifully condescended to take upon them, for 
 conducting the present ceconomy of man's redemption and 
 sanctification. 
 
 By this time, 1 take it for granted, every pious reader 
 must have observed, how copious and conclusive the Scrip- 
 tures of the Old Testament are, upon the subject of the TrU 
 nitj\ and that without having recourse to them upon every 
 occasion, it is impossible for me, or for any man, to deal 
 fairly and honestly by the Apostolical doctrine of the 
 Church of England. Our Lord himself has told us, that 
 e*very serine, or teacher, instructed into the kingdom of hea~ 
 •ven, should bring forth out of his treasure, things NEW 
 and old 3 . It was his own practice. He appealed, at 
 every turn, to the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, for 
 the testimony of his own doctrine; and the Church has 
 fellowed his example, from the days of the Apostles, aU 
 wusi down to the present times. And so far is the Old 
 
 * Matt, x'm, 5a. 
 
 •^tament 
 
OF THE HOLY GHOST. 59 
 
 Testament from being no part of the Scripture, that it i* 
 the book, and the only book, the Gospel calls by the name 
 of the Scripture. It was this book, which the noble and faith- 
 ful Bcr*ans searched every day of their lives, to see whe- 
 ther the Gospel then preached, and afterwards published 
 in the New Testament, was agreeable to it ; with the inten- 
 tion either to receive or reject it, as it should appear to 
 be recommended by this authority. It was this book* 
 for his skill in which, Apollos is praised as one mighty in the 
 Scriptures; the same Scriptures, of which St. Paul was bold 
 to affirm, for the benefit of a brother Christian, that they 
 were able to make him wise unto salvation, through faith that 
 is in Chris/ Jesus. As long as this faith flourished in the 
 Church, these Scriptures were much read and profitably 
 understood: but now it is dwindled into a dry, lifeless sys- 
 tem of morality, they are become in a manner useless ; 
 and some (it grieves me to say it) even of those who have 
 WKlertaken to teach others, want themselves to be taught 
 mgain this first element of Christianity, that the New Testa* 
 ment can never be understood and explained, but by com- 
 paring it with the Old. 
 
 Of this error and its consequences, we have a sad exanu 
 pie in the celebrated Dr. Clarke ; a man, whose talents 
 might have adorned the doctrine of Christ, had not his 
 faith been eaten up by an heathen spirit of imagination 
 and philosophy. He published a book entitled, The Serif ~ 
 ture Doctrine of the Trinity ; a work of great pains and pre- 
 meditation. In a short preface, he allows the subject to be 
 §f the greatest importance in religion — not to be treated &f tare* 
 fatly — but examined by a serious study of the WHOLE 
 d 6 SCRIP* 
 
60 THE DIVINITY 
 
 SCRIPTURE. And to convince the world that this and 
 no other was his own practice, he affirms in his introduction, 
 p. 17, and prints it in capitals, that he has collected ALL 
 the texts relating to that matter. Yet his whole collection 
 is finished and shut up without a single text from the Old 
 Testament ! I cannot find that he has even mentioned such 
 a book. u The Christian Revelation/' says he, p. j, "is 
 " the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles." This he calls, 
 p. 4, — " The books of Scripture ;" and again, p. 5, — 
 '* The books of Scripture — not only the rule, but the 'whole 
 <c and the only rule cf truth — the only foundation we have 
 u to go upon." And he proves it thus — u because no 
 t( man has since pretended to have any new revelation." 
 An argument that will prejudice few people in favour of 
 his sincerity. For though there has been no new reve- 
 lation SINCE the books of the New Testament, as we all 
 confess : does it follow that there was no old revelation 
 BEFORE them ? and did this author never read, that the 
 same GOD, who spake in these last days by his Son, spake 
 in time fast unto the fathers by the Prophets a ? yet he affects 
 to know nothing at ail of the matter. 
 
 And as to the use he makes of the New Testament , who 
 tvould expect, that a man who has made nothing of one 
 half of God's revelation, should be very nice in his treat- 
 ment of the other f In the first place, he has not vouch- 
 safed to follow the Apostle's direction of comparing spiri- 
 tual things with spiritual, thence to collect their true mean, 
 ing ; but sets down his texts in such an order, as makes 
 
 » Htb. i. 1. 
 
 8 them 
 
OF THE HOL\ r GHOST. G\ 
 
 them to be all single and independent of one sno'.her ; 
 and that gives all possible liberty to the imagination to 
 thrust in what sort of comment it pleases. When lie re- 
 fers to any parallel place (which I think is never done, 
 but on one side of the question) the reader is not directed 
 to the text itself, but to the meaning he has fastened upon 
 it. At the beginning of every chapter, he sets down his 
 tnm opinion at iaige, as the title of it: and you are to 
 believe, that all the passages of that division do certainly 
 prove it ; which if cleared of his comments, and com- 
 pared with other texts, are found to prove no such thing, 
 but the very contrary. And this he calls the Scripture 
 doctrine of the Trinity : but if we call it by its true name, 
 
 it is Clarke's Doctrine of the Scripture; that is, of 
 
 half the Scripture. How it came to pass, that he should 
 thus boldly set down his own resolutions upon the most 
 profound article of the Christian Faith, without consult- 
 ing all the evidence that relates to it, or rightly exa- 
 mining anj part of it : btnu this came to pass, God is to 
 determine, to whom all things are naked and open. All I 
 have to do with him, is to rescue the Word of God from 
 such deceitful handling* And I have prevailed with my- 
 self to make these few reflections, because 1 find some 
 modern objectors of a lower class, have used this book 
 in conversation and in print, as the oracle of the party, 
 taking the Scripture upon trust, as his principles would give 
 him leave to retail it. I know it will be accounted an hard 
 thing, and called invidious, to rake thus into the ashes of 
 a writer, who is not alive to answer for himself. And I 
 confess, I am very far from taking any pleasure in it. But 
 
 is 
 
52 . THE DIVINITY, &C- 
 
 is it not much barier % that the ashes of this man should be 
 
 scattered over the land, to breed and inflame the plague of 
 heresy, til! the whole head is sick and the heart faint, and 
 the nxhole body full of putrify ing blains and sores ? Arianim 
 is now no longer a peuiUnct that walketh in darkness, but 
 that brazens it out against the sun's light, and dtstroyetb 
 in tkt^ioon day. It is a canker y which if it be encoirraged 
 rnucti longer, will certainly eat out the vitals of Christia- 
 nity in this kingdom : and when the faith is gone, the 
 Church in all probability will soon follow after it ; for if 
 the holy oil be wasted and spilt, the lamp that was made 
 to hold it, will be of no farther u^e. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
THE PLURALITY, &C GS 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The PLURALITY and TRINITY or 
 PERSONS. 
 
 I. 
 
 The Hebrew name so often used in the Old TttUutunt) 
 which we have translated by the word Gvl, is M/bim s a 
 
 noun substantive of the plural number, regularly formed 
 from its singular *, and very frequently joined with plural 
 verbs and plural adjectives, to express a plurality in the 
 divine nature : though for another obvious reason, it is 
 generally constructed with verbs and pronouns of the sin- 
 gular number, and gives a good sense, though the Gram* 
 mar of it be somewhat irregular. 
 
 The Jews would persuade us not to consider this word 
 as a plural noun, but on some particular occasions. Who- 
 ever will be at the pains to examine their reasoning, will 
 find it to be very childish and inconsistent, wholly owing 
 to their hatred against the divinity of Jesus Christy and the 
 notion of a Trinity. But when the Jew is become a 
 Christian, and the stumbling-block of the Cross removed 
 
 # m^K and nVM : sec the Hcb % of DeuL xxxii. 17, and Hub. i. 11. 
 
 9 cu * 
 
U THE PLURALITY AND 
 
 ont of his way, he can allow the name Elohim to be plural 
 as readily as other men ; and it is one of the principal 
 points he chutes to insist upon, to convince the world that 
 his- eyes are open, and he is sincere in his profession of the 
 Christian religion. ^ 
 
 Jch-i X?res y a J-iv, C9n verted here in England about 
 forty -years ago, published a sensible and affectionate ad- 
 dress to his unbelieving brethren, wherein he lays before 
 them his reasons for leaving the Jewish religion and em- 
 bracing the Christian. " The Christians, (says he*) confess 
 u jfesus to be God; and it is this that makes us look upon 
 ls the Gospels as books that overturn the very principles 
 " of religion, the truth of which is built upon this article, 
 " the Ify'ty if God* In this argument lies th'e strength of 
 (i what you object against the Christian religion/' Then 
 he undertakes to prove that the unity of God is not such as 
 he once understood it to be, an'unity of Person, but of Es- 
 sence, under which more persons than* one are comprehend- 
 ed ; and the first proof he offers is that of the name Elohim, 
 t( Why else, says he r, is that frequent mention of Gcd 
 *< by nouns of the plural number ? as in Gen, i. i, where 
 €i the word Elohim, which is rendered God,, is of the plu- 
 fi ral number, though annexed to a verb of the singular 
 ft number ; which demonstrates as evidently as may be, 
 " that there are several persons partaking of the same 
 u divine nature and essence/ 1 
 
 # P. S3* * F - 57- 
 
 II. 
 
THIS I TV OF P&R.SC OfJ 
 
 Gen. i. 26. And 6od said, let us make man m 
 o u ii ima se, after o u n like. 1 1 
 
 No sensible reason can be given, why tj/6d shouH speak 
 of himself in the plural number, unless he consists of more 
 persons than one. Dr. >'..'.. c: •:'..': me plan of his 
 Scripture Doctrine so as to leave out this difficulty with many 
 more of the same kind. Others there are who tell us it is 
 a figurative way of speaking, only to express the dignity or 
 God, not to denote any plurality in him. For they observe 
 it is customary for a King, who is only one person, to 
 speak of himself in the same style. But how absurd is it, 
 that God should borrow his way of speaking from a King, 
 before a man was created upon the earth ! And even grant- 
 ing this to be possible, yet the cases will not agree. For 
 though a King or Governor may say us and w, there is 
 certainly no figure of speech that will allow any single per- 
 son to say, otic cf us, when he speaks only of himself \ It 
 is a phrase that can have no meaning, unless there be more 
 persons than one to chuse out of. Yet this, as we shall 
 find, is the style in which God has spoken of himself in 
 the following article. Though it be impossible to ap- 
 ply this plural expression to any but the Persons of the 
 Godhead, there is a writer who has attempted to turn the 
 force of it by another text, in which, as he says very 
 truly, the weakness of the argument nvitt appear at sight, 
 God invites the people by the prophet Isaiah, and says, 
 " Come now and let us reason together/' Chap. i. ver. i 8. 
 Upon which he remarks, that, <f - if this form of expression 
 
 a puts 
 
66 Tlli PLURALITY AND 
 
 11 puts the children of Israel upon an equality with God, 
 M then we may allow some force in this argument V 1 
 
 And so we may if it does not. For let us reason refers 
 to an act common to all spirits ; and therefore no Chris- 
 tian ever thought of arguing from it. But let us make 
 man refers only to an act of the Godhead. All spirits can 
 rcasm$4 but only the supreme Spirit can create Therefore 
 the aathor, instead of answering the expression, hath only 
 brought together two texts as widely different as God and 
 man. 
 
 If the King were to say to another, u let us see/' or let 
 " us breaih*)' no rna«i would be so weak as to think that 
 the expression denoted any equality or co-ordination in the 
 person so spoken tc. But if he should say, M let us pardon 
 f< a malefactor condemned by the law," then the expres- 
 sion would admit of such an inference. And the objector 
 might have been aware of these distinctions, if he had not 
 prematurely settled his faith before he had consulted the 
 Holy Scripture. 
 
 III. 
 
 Gen. in. 22. And the lord god said, behold 
 the man is become like one of as. 
 
 The Jews are greatly perplexed with this passage. 
 They endeavour to put it off, by telling us, God must here 
 be understood to speak of himself and his council, or as they 
 term it jn m y 2 his bouse of judgment, made up of angels, 
 &c. to winch there needs* no answer but that of the pro* 
 
 a See an Aft**l '* the C^mr.on Seme cf all Cbriitian People, p. I jg. 
 
 phet, 
 
TRINITY OF PERSONS. 6/ 
 
 phet, who bait known the ;ni?;d of the Lord, or who hath been 
 his counsellor b ? 
 
 IV. 
 
 Gen. xi. 6, 7. And the lord said — let us go 
 down and there confound (Heb. let us con- 
 found) their language. 
 
 Another instance of this occurs in Isaiah vi. S. I heard 
 th* voice of the lord, * a JU*g) ivbom shall I send, and who 
 will go for us ? Upon the plural word Nobis, us, there is 
 a short note of Junius and TnmAlius, which contains the 
 
 substance of all that can be said upon the occasion 
 
 (i Nam consilium est Dei Patris, Filii, & Spirit us Sancii'* 
 For this (say they) is a con suit arion of God the Father ^ 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost. — And it shall be proved to 
 be so, in a proper place, from an inspired comment upon 
 this Chapter of Isaiah, 
 
 V. 
 
 Gen. xx. 13. And it came to pass when god 
 caused ?ne to wander from my father's house, 
 &c. 
 
 The Hebrew is Deus errare facerent God they 
 
 caused me ts wander: which, however strange it may sound 
 to an English hearer, is the strict grammatical rendering 
 of the original. And the expression is affirmed by Junius 
 and Tremellius, with other commentators out of number, 
 to respect the plurality of the persons in the Godhead. 
 They have a short note upon it to the following effect . 
 
 * Rim. i*. 34= arvi Iu> x\. ij 
 
 0krd§ 
 
 
68 THE PLURALITY A XIX 
 
 PI urate vcrbum cum Dei nomine, ad indicandum S. Triados 
 myiterium : which I mention,, not in the way of an authority, 
 b Jt cn'y to shew how clear the case is to an Hebrew reader, 
 whose mind is without prejudice. And though others may 
 have attempted to conceal such evidence as this under an 
 heap of* critical rubbish, yet if we are to come to no re. 
 solution till those who dislike the doctrine of a Trinity 
 have done disputing about the words that convey it, the 
 day of judgment itself would find us undetermined. And 
 if we would but attend to this state of the case, and apply 
 it also to other points of doctrine, I am well convinced it 
 would shorten many of our disputes, and make the wor,d 
 of God a much more easy and intelligible book than it 
 passes for at present. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Gen.'xxv. 7. Because there god appeared unto 
 
 him, &c. 
 
 Here again the Hebrew verb is plural Deus re<ve- 
 
 laii funt God they appeared; or were revealed to him. 
 
 So again in 2 Sam, vii. 23. even like Israel whom 
 
 God went to redeem ; which in the original is * Iverunt 
 
 Deus ad redimeudum; the verb being in the plural. A 
 celebrated Latin translator a of the Old. Testament has 
 
 ventured to render it iverunt Dii ad redimeudum : but 
 
 Dii in Latin is not answerable to Elohim in the Hebrew; 
 and, in strictness, may be thought to countenance the no- 
 tion of Tn'theism or a plurality of Gods ; which is abhor- 
 
 s Pagninu's in hi s interlineary version published by Montanus. 
 
 rent 
 
TKiNiiV Oi PKUSONS. 6$ 
 
 rejit from the express doctrine of the Scripture: and against 
 which the name Liohim is purposely guarded, by its being 
 connected so very often with vcr'^s and pronouns in the 
 singular. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Dcut. iv. 7. What nation is there so great, 
 that hath god so nigh unto them? &c. 
 
 In the two preceding articles we have seen the name 
 of God connected with plural verbs : it is here joined to 4 
 plural adjective, whose termination is the same with its 
 
 own ; for the original has it Ehhim Kerebim Deus 
 
 prqpitifui God ivbo are j'o near. Another instance of 
 
 which we have in Josh, xxiv. 19. Ye cannot serve the 
 Lord, for he is an holy God. For the Hbrevu reads it — 
 
 Deus sancti ipse, he is a God <vcho are holy ones. And 
 
 again, Psai. Iviii. 12. Doubtlesi there is a God that judg- 
 
 e.h the earth : the Hebrew of which is-^ Deus judicanres 
 
 in terra a God ( i. e. divine persons) who are judging 
 
 in the earth, 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Several other nouns there are beside the name Ehhim, as 
 well adjective as substantive, that are set down in the 
 plural number, where ir cannot be denied that the Being 
 sf God is to be understood by them. 
 
 Mai. i. 6. If I be a MASTER, where is my fear? 
 
 The ILb. is DU1« Adonim, in the plural If I am 
 
 masters, &c. 
 
 Isai. liv. 5. For thy maker is thine husband, the Lord of 
 ILsis is his name* Here also the Hebrew substantives for 
 
 thy 
 
 1 
 
70 THE PLURALITY AND 
 
 thy maker and thy husband, are both plural y&$ l4$3i 
 
 And to prove that ywp cannot signify thy maker, in the 
 singular number, it is also found connected with the word 
 Jehovah in its singular form without the » inserted; as in 
 hai % li. 13. And forgettest the Lord thy maker *]WV 
 
 mn>. 
 
 Eccl. xii. I. Renumber thy Creator in the day s of thy 
 
 youth y Sec. The Hebrew of which is Remember n« 
 
 *]> 4 snn thy Creators, in the plural. And there is nothing 
 strange in this, when we can prove so easily that the world 
 and ail men in it were created by a Trinity. 
 
 Instead of the usual names of God, adjectives expressing 
 some divine attribute are very frequently substituted : and 
 these also occur in the plural, as in the following ex. 
 amples. 
 
 Pr^u. ix. 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of 
 Hviubm, and the knowledge (CD'tt;ip) of the HOLY ONES 
 u understanding. Another instance of which may be found 
 in Chap. xxx. 3. see also Hosea xi, 1 2, in the Hebrew 
 xii. 2. 
 
 Eccl. v. 8. There be HIGHER than they. The He. 
 brew is (evia.)} high cues, in the plural; and is under- 
 stock even by the Jews themselves to mean the holy and 
 blessed Gcd. Junius and Tremdlius put altisiimus in their 
 
 ttxty but acknowledge the Hebrew to be aiti plural* 
 
 pro singular* sup rlati<vo } mysterium S* Triados notans. 
 
 Psalm Ixxviii. 25. Man did eat Angels food. 
 
 The word (on»n«) mighty ones, is never used for 
 jt*l*b; and must in this place signify God, for the two 
 
 following 
 
tiu:;ity OF PERSONS. 71 
 
 following reasons : i . Because Abir in the singular is several 
 times used absolutely as a name of G )d ; who is called 
 Abir Israel, the mighty one of Israely and Abir Jacob, the 
 mighty one of Jacob. Gen. xlix. 24. Psalm exxxii. 2. 
 where the LXX. hare rendered it 0£^. 2. Becau c our 
 blessed Saviour^ in discoursing upon the Manna, John 
 vi. 31 — 3$, quotes this part of the Psalm, and calls that 
 the bread of GoA from heaven, which in the Psalm itself is 
 called the bread of the mighty. Therefore Abirim is 
 pqt for Elohim, and is taken in the plural because God is 
 plural. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Da?\. iv. 26. And whereas they commanded to 
 leave the stump of the tree-coots, &c. 
 
 At the 13th verse of this Chapter we read only of one 
 •watcher or holy one coming down from heaven, of whom 
 
 it is said that HE cried learnt the stump of his roots in 
 
 the earth. Yet the number is here very remarkably 
 charged from he said to they commanded. And though the 
 words of the curse upon Nebuchadnezzar were pronounced 
 by A watcher and An holy one in the singular; neverthe- 
 less, at the close of the speech, this matter is declared to 
 be by the decree of the WATCHERS and the demand by the 
 Kvord of the HOLY ONES a . Now it is very certain that 
 the judgments of God are not founded upon the decree and 
 ivord of Angels, or of any created beings: therefore this 
 watcher could be no created angel, but a person in the 
 
 a Ycr. 17. Compare this with Prov, i*. ic» cited In No. VIII. of 
 ti»is chapter. 
 
 Lord 
 

 72 THE PLURALITY A M> 
 
 Lord Jehovah, who condescends to iratch over a his pert; 
 p!e, and is called the keeper cf Israel, that neither slum, 
 bereth nor shepith. The change of these verbs and nouns 
 from the singular to the plural, can be acceunted for upon 
 no other principle : it is a case to which there is no parallel 
 in any language, and such as can be reconcileable only 
 to the Being of God, who is one and many. We are to 
 collect from it, that in this, as in every act of the God- 
 head, there W2S a consent and concurrence of the persons 
 in the Trinity ; and though there was one only who spake, 
 it was the word and decree of all. There is an instance of 
 this sort in the New Testament, The Disciples of Christ 
 were commanded to baptize m the name of the Father, and 
 cf the Son, and cf 'the Holy Ghost. And, without doubt, the 
 baptism they administered was in all cases agreeable to the 
 prescribed forn*. Nevertheless we are told of some, who 
 were commanded to be baptized in the name of the Lord b , 
 and particularly, in the name of the Lord Jesus c ; so that 
 there was a strange defect either in the baptism itself, or in 
 the account we have of it ; or the mention of one person in 
 the Trinity, must imply the presence, name, and authority 
 of them all ; as the passage is understood by lrenams — in 
 Chrisii nomine subaudiUir qui unxit, o qui nnctus est y & ipsa 
 unstio in qua unci us est. Lib. III. cap* 20. 
 
 a Jer, xxxi 28. b Arts x. 48* c Vni, viii. 16. 
 
 X. 
 
TRIXITY OF PER$0>,S. 73 
 
 X. 
 
 Dan* v. 18. The most high cod gave to 
 Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom unci majesty and 
 glory and honour. 
 
 V. CO. And they took his gTipry from him. 
 
 Here again, the word they is a plain relative to the most 
 high God. Nor can it otherwise be agreeable to the sense 
 of the history, or the reason of the thing itself, considered 
 as a matter of fact. For who was it that took a^Maj the 
 glory of the king r It was not the work of meMj bat a super- 
 natural act of ; gh God; to whom Nebucbadnexxat 
 
 himself hath ascribed it idt HE h 
 
 able to abase. 
 
 I might here subjoin in proof of a plurality, those nume- 
 rous passages of the Old Testament, wherein God is spoken 
 of, or speaks of himself, as of more persona than one* I 
 produce a few of them, to shew that such are not wanting. 
 Gen. xix. 24, The Lord rained upon Sodom and upon G,- 
 mtrrai brimstone ar.d f.re from the Lord out of heaven. 
 Psalm ex. 1. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on t>iy\ 
 right hand, &C. Dan. ix. 17. Nona therefore % O cur God, 
 
 the prayer of thy servant for the Lord's sake. 
 
 Print, xxx, 4. Wha haih establish* d all the krds of the 
 earth ? What is his name y and ivhal is his Son's nmme 3 if 
 thou canst tdl? La. x. 12. If hen //!y Lord hath per* 
 formed his nvbok nvork ufon Jerusalem^ I tviB punish* 
 Ibid. xiii. 13. J -will shal .., a^d the t 
 
 remove cut of th . th of the Lord of Hosts, 
 
 - - 9*ger+ Ibid* xx h\ 19, dad I will 
 
 E dm c 
 
74 TliJB PLURALITY AND 
 
 drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull 
 thee down. Ibid, lxiv.4. Neither hath the eye seen, O God, 
 beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for 
 him. Hos* U J* I will have mercy upon the house of 
 Judah) and <wil/ save them by the Lord their God. Zech. 
 ii. 10, II. / will dwell in the midst of thee , saith the 
 Lord ; and many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that 
 day, and shall be my people ; and I will dwell in the midst of 
 thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me 
 unto thee. Ibid, x. 12. And I twill strengthen them in the 
 Lord, and they shall walk up and down in his name) saith 
 the Lord. 
 
 The passages hitherto produced in this Chapter are de- 
 signed only to prove an indefinite plurality in God. In the 
 remaining part of it, I shall bring forward another class of 
 texts> which shews this plurality to be a Trinity* 
 
 XI. 
 
 Psalm xxxiii. 6. By the word of the lord 
 were the heavens made, and all the host 
 of them by the breath (Heb. spirit) of his 
 mouth. 
 
 The breath or spirit of the Lord's mwth, does undoubt- 
 edly mean the third person of the Trinity ; who is called, 
 Job xxxiii. 4. The Spirit of God, and the Breath of the 
 Almighty. And it should here be remembered, that when 
 Christ communicated the Hsly Ghost to his disciples, he did 
 it by breathing upon them a : a demonstration that Christ 
 
 * John XX. 23. 
 
 our 
 
TRINITY OF PERSONS. 75 
 
 Our Saviour, who, as a person* is the word of the Lord, is 
 in nature the Lord himself; because the spirit or breath of 
 the Almighty is also the breath of Christ. And this fact it 
 also decisive for the word FILIOQUE, so much contro- 
 verted in the Nicene Creed. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Psal xlviii. 16. And now the lord god and 
 his spirit hath sent me. 
 
 The speaker in this verse is no other than Christ, who at 
 ver. 12. calls himself the first and the last, and does here 
 declare himself to be sent, not only by the Lord God, but 
 also by his Spirit : which should be taken some notice of, 
 because the Arians have objected to the co-equality of the 
 Son with the Father, because he is said to be sent by him. 
 But if this should hold, it will follow that Christy for the 
 same reason, is also inferior to the Spirit. The author of 
 an Essay on Spirit, whose violent proceedings in the Church 
 have chiefly moved me to draw up these papers, is warm 
 in the pursuit of this argument, that Christ is inferior to 
 the Father, because he was sent by him. " We may there. 
 " fore," says he, " fairly argue, as our Saviour himself does 
 u upon another occasion — that as the servant is -not equal 
 "to his Lord, so neither is he that is sent equal to him that 
 u sent him*." Not quite so fairly: for here is a gross 
 misrepresentation, of which, and of many other things, 
 this author should give us some account, before he pro- 
 ceeds any farther in the work of reformation; it being a 
 
 a Page 9S. 
 
 b * maxim, 
 
76 THE PLURALITY AKD 
 
 maxim, I think, with the wise and learned, that a man 
 should always reform himself before he undertakes to re- 
 form the world. Upon the occasion he refers to, our 
 
 Saviour has said The Servant is NOT GREATER than 
 
 Lis Lord; neither is he that is sent GREATER than he 
 that sent him a . But in the place of this, he has ven- 
 tured to substitute another reading that comes up to his 
 point, and agrees better with the intended work of Refor- 
 mation — u he that is sent is not equal to him that sent 
 (i him;''' printing the word equal in a different character 
 to make it the more observable ; and then puts an objection 
 01 his own forging into the mouth of our blessed Saviour. 
 He professes himself a great enemy to human compositions : 
 and we have reason to believe him, where those composi- 
 tions are not his o-iv/:. Eut his making so free with this* 
 and many other texts, does not look as if he was any great 
 friend to the compositions of the HqIj Ghost; and can do 
 but Unle credit to a Vindicator of the Holy Scriptures from 
 rvils and scoffs of an Infidel. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Im. xxxiv. 16. Seek ye out of the Book of 
 the Lord and read — for my mouth it hath 
 commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered 
 them. 
 
 In these worcs y there is one person speaking of the Spirit 
 of another person: so that the whole Trinity is here in- 
 cluded. Whether Gcd the Father or God the Son is to be 
 
 a yobn Xlii. l§. 
 
 understood 
 
TRIXITY OF TKRSOX^. 77 
 
 understood as the speaker, it is neither easy nor rraterial to 
 determine. I am rather inclined to think it is the form, > . 
 
 XIV. 
 
 #Tumb. vl £4, &c. 
 
 The lord bless thee and keep thee. 
 
 The lord make his face to shine upon thee, 
 
 and be gracious unto thee. 
 The i.o kd lift up his countenance upon thee, 
 
 and give thee peace. 
 
 After this form the High Priest was commanded to ble^s 
 the children of Israel. The nnme of the L.rd, in Hebrew 
 Jehovah, is here repeated three times. And parallel ro 
 this is the form of Christias Baptism ; wherein the three 
 personal terms of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are not re- 
 presented as so many different names, but as one name : 
 the one divine nature of God being no more divided by 
 these three, than by the single name Jehovah thrice re- 
 peated. If the three articles of this benediction be atten- 
 tively considered, their contents will be found to agree 
 respectively to the three persons taken in the usual order of 
 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Father is the 
 author of blessi?:g and p re serva ticn. Grace and illumination 
 are from the Son, by whom we have ths light of the know- 
 ledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Chris*. Peace 
 is the gift of the Spirit, whose name is the Comfrter, and 
 whose first and best fruit is the work o£ Peace.. 
 
 Petrus Alphonsi, an eminent Jew, converted in the be- 
 ginning of the 1 2th Century, and presented to the font by 
 
 b 3 Ahhonsus- 
 
78 THE PLURALITY AND 
 
 Jlpbonsus a king of Spain, who wrote a learned treatise against 
 the Jews, wherein he presses them with this Scripture, as 
 a plain argument that there are three persons to whom the 
 great and incommunicable name of Jehvvah is applied. And 
 even the unconverted Jeivs, according to Bechai, one of 
 their Rabbies, have a tradition, that when the high Priest 
 pronounced this Blessing over the people — ekiatkme ma- 
 nuum sic digitos ccmpotuit, ut Triada exprimerent — he lifted 
 up his hands, and disposed his fingers into such a form as to ex- 
 press a Trinity. All the foundation there is for this in the 
 Scripture, is Lrv* ix. 22. As for the rest, be it a matter 
 of fact or not, yet if we consider whence it comes, there is 
 something very remarkable in ir. See Observ. Jfcs. de 
 woiu in Fug. Fid. p. 400, 556, 557. 
 
 XV. 
 
 Matth. xxviii. 19. Baptizing them in the name 
 of the father, and of the son, and of the 
 
 HOLY GHOST. 
 
 2 Thes. iii. 5. The lord (the Holy Ghost, see 
 c. 2. art. 4. 18.) direct your hearts into the 
 love of god (the Father) and into the pa- 
 tient waiting for christ. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 2 Cor. xiii. 14. The grace of our lord jesus 
 christ, and the love of god, and the com- 
 munion of the holy ghost. 
 
 Id 
 
TRINITY OF PERSONS. 79 
 
 In this and the foregoing article, the order of the persons, 
 is different from that of Matth. xxviii. 19. The Holy 
 Ghost having the first place in the former of them, and 
 Christ in the latter : which is a sufficient warrant for that 
 clause in the Creed of St. Athanajlus — " In this Trinity, 
 " none is afore or after other.' ■ And Dr. Clarke, I pre- 
 sume, apprehended something of this sort; because he has 
 corrected the Apostle, and transposed the order of the per- 
 sons in 2 Cor, xiii. 14, without the least apology, or giving 
 his reader any warning of it. §. LV. p. 377* 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 1 John v. 7. There are three that bear re- 
 cord in heaven, the father, the word, and 
 
 the HOLY GHOST. 
 
 There has been much disputing about the authenticity 
 of this Text, I firmly believe it to be genuine for the fol- 
 lowing reasons : 1. St. Jerom*, who had a better oppor- 
 tunity of examining the true merits of the cause than we 
 can pos-ibly have at this distance of time, tells us plainly, 
 that he found out how it had been adulterated, mistrans- 
 lated, and emitted on purpose to elude the truth. 2. The 
 Divines cf Lova-in having compared many Latin copies, 
 found this text wanting but in five of them; and R % Ste- 
 phens found it retained in nine of sixteen ancient manu- 
 scripts which he used. 3. It is certainly quoted twice by 
 St. Cjfrian b 3 who wrote before the council of Nice: and 
 also by Teriullian ; as the reader is left to judge after he 
 
 a Pnef. ad Canon, Epist. b De Unit. Eccl. 109. Epist. LXXIII. 
 
 2 4 has 
 
80 THE PLURALITY AST) 
 
 his read the paiTage in the margin a . Dr. Clarke, therefore, 
 j^ uot to be believed when he tsils us, it was " never cited 
 11 by any of the Latins before St. jferom*." 4. The sense 
 is not perfect without it; there being a contrast of three 
 witnesses in heaven to three upon earth ; the Father, the 
 Word, and the Holy Kibcst, whose testimony is called the 
 witness of God ; and the Spirit, the water, and the blood, 
 which being administered by the Church upon earth ; is 
 tailed the witness of men. Ke that desires to see this text 
 farther vindicated from the malice of Fattstus Soci/nts, may 
 c insult P&pPs SjnopUs, and Dr. Hammond % and I wish he 
 would also read what has lately been published upon it by 
 my good and learned friend Dr. Delanj, in his volume of 
 Sermons, p. 69, &c. 
 
 But even allowing it to be spurious, it contains nothing 
 but what is abundantly asserted elsewhere ; and that both 
 with regard to the Trinity in general ; and this their di- 
 vine Ttstimofry in particular. For that there are three di- 
 vine persons who bear record to the Mission of Christ, is 
 evident from the following Scriptures: 
 7«j&ffviii. 17, 18. TheTestimony of two ?nen is true. 
 1 am ONE that bear witness of MYSELF. 
 The FATHER that sent me beareth witness of me. 
 
 I Jchnv. 6. TV is the SPIRIT that beareth witness. 
 And Christ has also mentioned upon. another occasion, a 
 plurality of witnesses in heaven, WE speak (says he) 
 
 a Connexits patris in fillo, Sc nlii in paracleto, tres efficit coharentes, 
 alteram ex altero j qui tres ur.um sur.t, &c, gdv. Prax. 
 t> Set the text in the 2d Edition. 
 
 that 
 
TRINITY OF PERSONS. 81 
 
 that we do know, and testify that we hd*ve seen, and ye rem 
 ceive not OUR Witness* / which can be no other than the 
 ivitnes s of the Trinity ; because it is added -no man ha;h 
 ascended up to heaven, but he that came doivn from he&ven ; 
 therefore no man could join with Christ in revealing the 
 things of heaven to us„ 
 
 XIX. 
 Isa. vi. 3. And one cried unto another and 
 
 Said, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the LOUD OF 
 
 hosts. See also Rev. iv. 8. 
 
 " They are not content (says Origen) to say it once or 
 M twice, ^t>ut take the perfect number of the Trinity, 
 ii thereby to declare the manifold holiness of God; which 
 u is a repeated intercommunion of a threefold holiness; 
 (S the holiness of the Father, the holiness of the only be- 
 '* gotten Sen, and of the Holy Ghost V» And that ttw SL 
 raphim did really celebrate all the three persons of the God- 
 head upon this occasion, is no conjecture ; bu: a point 
 capable of the clearest demonstration^ 
 
 The prophet tells us, ver. i. be saw the Lord sitting upon 
 a throne; and at ver. 5. that his eyes had seen the king, the 
 Lord of Hosts. Now if there be any phrase in the Bible tc 
 distinguish the true God, it is this of the Lord ef Hosts* I 
 
 a John iii. 11. 
 
 f Non eis suftket semel clamare ssnetus, ne^iiefeis; sed perfecfam 
 numemm Trinitatis assumunt, ut mulritudraem sinctitatis Dfci mani- 
 frstent; quae est tr in as sanctitatis repetita cemmunitas ; rancticas \ 
 ;titai Ufjigeniti filii, et spirilua sancti. Orig. Hem. in fa, 
 
 E y 
 
82 THE PLUJUkMTY AND 
 
 never saw it disputed by any Avian writer. The author of 
 an Essay on Spirit confesses it a ; and Dr. Clarke supposes 
 the name Lord ofSabaoth (Jam. v. 4.) proper to the Father 
 only. So that in this Lord of Hosts, sitting upon his Throne, 
 there was the presenee of God the Father. 
 
 That there was also the presence of God the San, appears 
 from John xii. 41. These things said Esaias, 'when he saw 
 his (Christ's) Glory, and spake of him*. 
 
 And that there was the presence of God the Holy Ghost, is 
 determined by Acts xxviii. 25. Well spake the Holy Ghost 
 by Esaias the Prophet unto our Fathers, saying, Sec. then fol- 
 low the words which the prophet affirms to have been 
 spoken by the Lord of H*sts. 
 
 The text of John xii. 41. which being compared with 
 this of Isaiah, proves the second person of the Trinity to 
 
 a P. 6c. 
 
 • It is written atver. 3.— Holy, boly, bo!y y is the Lord of Hosts, the 
 whole earth is full of his glory. This St. John has affirmed to be the 
 Glory of Christ ; but it was the glory of the Lord of Hosts : therefore 
 Christ is the Lord of Hosts. And if the parallel passage of Rev. iv. 8. 
 be compared with this, it will appear (as it hath already Chap. I. 
 Art. XXIII.) that he is the God Almighty spoken of in that book. The 
 Greek version of the LXX. hath it thus : 
 
 ay\&>, ay&, ayi&* Kvy&* tclGZauQ. 
 In Rev. iv. 8. it is, ay&, ay i&, ayi®* Ki/gi®* ©a&- *ss automat >vg. 
 Whence it evidently appears, that Kv^i®* ©e^- wavroxgaTft^, is 
 equivalent in the language of heaven to Jehovah Sabaotb: therefore, as 
 Christ is the Lord of Hosts of the Old Testament, he is thereby proved, 
 ipso facto, to be the God Almighty of the New. Which shews the weak- 
 ness of those frequent remarks Dr. Clarke has bestowed upon the word 
 «ravToxja?0£, as the great term of distinction between the person of 
 Cbriu, and that of God tb* Father, 
 
 be 
 3 
 
trixity of persoxs. 83 
 
 be the Lord of Hosts, is evaded by Dr. Clarke in the follow- 
 ing manner: M The Glory which Isaias saw, Isa. vi. i. is 
 il plainly the glory of God the Father ; whence the follow- 
 t( ers of Sabellius conclude, because St. John here calls it 
 u the Glory of Christy that therefore the Father and the Son 
 lt are one and the same individual person 3 ." It is con. 
 eluded by the Orthodox of the Church of England, that 
 the person of Christ, and the person of God the Father, 
 are not one and the same individual person, but one and 
 the same Lord cf Htsts ; because the Scripture, thus com- 
 pared, hath affirmed them so to be; and THIS is the cite. 
 elusion Dr. Clarke should have answered. But instead of 
 this, he has produced the monstrous and impossible doc- 
 trine of Sabellius, that they are one and the same mdi^ 
 vidua I person, and answered that: which to be sure is easily- 
 done, and Is quite foreign to the purpose. The other con- 
 clusion, which is the only true and natural one, is kept 
 out of sight, because it cannot be answered: and this of 
 Sabellius is slurred upon his credulous readers, as the doc* 
 trine of the orthodox, who disclaim and abhor it. This is 
 no flander ; for let any person read his book with a little 
 circumspection, and he will soon find who and what he 
 would mean by the followers and doctrine of Sabellius. And 
 let me give the reader the following caption, which he 
 will find to be of great service in detecting the fallacious 
 answers of the Arian writers in their controversies with 
 the orthodox. Always he careful to examine whether they 
 have replied to the proof itself y or ta mutbmg tbt i» the 
 
 8 P* 102. 
 
 * 6 plase 
 
8* THE PLURALITY, &C. 
 
 place of it, Tor when you have obtained any cleir evi- 
 dence from the Scripture, that two or more persons are 
 one God, one Lord, &c. they will give a new face to your 
 conclusion, by changing the terms God or Lird, which are 
 names of a nature y for that of person, which can belong- 
 only to an individual. And then they shout for victory. 
 O, say they, this man is- a Sahellianl he believes three per- 
 sons to be cm person ! But on the other hand, if you make 
 it appear, that in the Unity of the one God or Lord there 
 are more persons than one, then they change the word/^r- 
 hns for that of Gods : so that you are confuted this way 
 also ; and they cry you up for a Tritheist, a maintainer of 
 three GodsJ By the help of this artifice, Dr. Clarke at- 
 tempted, to deal with the Scripture ; and the Author of an 
 Essay on Spirit with the Creeds and Liturgy of the Church* 
 And, though it be a matter scarce worth mentioning, thus 
 also the Authors of a Monthly Rruu*w have attempted to 
 deal with. n?j self Some time ago I published a full Answer 
 to the Essay on Spirit , which has since been reprinted in 
 Ireland, and I. humbly hope may have done some little ser- 
 vice. But when these Gentlemen had deliberated wirh 
 themselves upon it for three or four months, it was retailed, 
 from their scandalous Shop as a system oiTrithtism y SabeL 
 Uamismj and what not ? I hope God will forgive them ! and. 
 tkis is all the answer I shall evermake to such men and such 
 waiters, 
 
 CHAT* 
 
( 65 ) 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 THE TRINITY IN UNITY. 
 
 TF there be any diversity of nature, or any essential sub- 
 -*■ ordination in the persons of the Godhead, it must be re- 
 vealed to us either in their tiames y or their attributes, or 
 their Acts ; for it is by these only that they are or can pos- 
 sibly be made known to us in this life. If the Scripture 
 has made no difference in any of these, farther than that of 
 a personal distinction (which we aH allow)" we are no longer 
 to doubt that there is a natural or essential Unity in tht 
 three Persons of the Father, the Word, and the Hoty 
 Ghost. It shall therefore be shewn in this Chapter, by a 
 sort of proof more comprehensive than what has gone be- 
 fore, that these Persons have the same Names, the S3me 
 attributes, the same counsel otiviiii, and aH concur, after an 
 ineffable manner, in the same divine- Acts: so that what 
 the Scripture is falsely supposed to have ascribed to God in 
 cxe Person, will appear to be ascribed by the same autho- 
 rity to God in three persons*. That therefore, these three 
 persons are but me God ; they are three distinct.*^/?//, yet 
 there is but one and the same divine agency: or, as the 
 Church has more fully and better expressed it, that " that 
 
 which. 
 
86 THE TRINITY IN UNITY. 
 
 c < which we believe of the glory of the Father, the same 
 t€ we are to believe of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 
 <( without any difference or inequality V 
 
 I. 
 
 The Trinity in Unity is the one Lord, the Creator of 
 the world. 
 
 Psal. xxxiii. 6. By the Word of the Lord were the 
 heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath (Htb. 
 Spirit) of his mouth. The whole Trinity therefore cre- 
 ated the world : yet this Trinity is but one Lord: for it is 
 written, 
 
 Isai. xliv. 24. I am the Lord that maketh all things, 
 that stretcfath forth the heavens ALONE, that sprtadeth 
 abroad the earth BY MYSELF. It follows therefore, ei- 
 ther that the word and spirit, did not make the heavens ; 
 or, that the Father, with his word and spirit, are the 
 ALONE Lord and Creator of all things* 
 
 II. 
 
 The Trinity in Unity is the one Supreme Being or 
 Nature, distinguished from all other Beings by the Name 
 Jehovah* For the Scripture gives us the following 
 position. 
 
 DeuL vi. 4. The Lord our God is ONE JEHOVAH 1 
 and again, Psah lxxxiii. Thou vuh§se name ALONE is 
 JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth. 
 
 Yet Christ is Jehovah. 
 
 a Proper Preface upon the feast of Trinity* 
 
THE TRINITY IN UNITY. &7 
 
 Jer. xxiii. 6. This is his name whereby he shall be 
 called y JEHOVAH our righteousness. 
 
 So is the Spirit also. 
 
 Ezek. viii. 1,3. 7V*f JW JEHOVAH put forth the 
 
 form of an hand and took me, and the SPIRIT lift me, 
 
 &c. see also Chap. II. Art. IV. and XXIV. 
 
 Therefore, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghosr, 
 are the ONE Jehovah : they are three persons, yet have 
 bat one name and one nature. And it is the great ad van. 
 tage of this argument, that the Name Jehovah is not ca- 
 pable of any such equivocal interpretations as that of God; 
 it has no plural ; is incommunicable to any derived or 
 created being ; and is peculiar to the divine nature, be- 
 cause it is descriptive of it. The Author of an Essay on 
 Spirit has endeavoured to avoid the force of this proof, 
 by pretending that there are two Jehovahs y one a distinct 
 Being from the other. But in this he has exposed the cause 
 he meant to defend, and left the argument in a worse state 
 than he found it ; for if there be two, then it is false that 
 there is a most high over all the earth, whose name ALONE 
 is Jehovah ; and let him try if he can reconcile it. Dr. 
 Clarke also pretends, in the Titles to two of his Sections, 
 wherein the collection of texts is very numerous, to have 
 aet down the Passages wherein it is declared that the Second 
 and Third persons derive their Being (that is the expression 
 he was not afraid to make use of) from the Father. But 
 he has not produced one such passage ; no such thing be- 
 ing declared in the whole Bible ; and the contrary to it 
 is plainly revealed under this application of the name 
 Jehovah* 
 
 in. 
 
88 THE TRINITY IN UNITY. 
 
 III. 
 
 The Trinity in Unity is the Lord absolutely so called ; 
 in Hebrew, Adonai ; in Greek, o Kt-p^-. 
 
 Rom, X. 12. * The s a?n4 LORD ever all, is rich unto all 
 that call upon him, 
 
 Luke 11. II. A Saviour which is Christ the LORD. 
 
 Rom, xi. 34. For who hath known the mind cf the 
 LORD, or who hath been his counsellor? Which Lord, as 
 we Team from the prophet whence this is quoted, is the 
 Spirit; for it is written, Isai, xl. 13. who hath directed the 
 SPIRIT of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught' 
 him ? That the person of the Spirit is the Lord, is aha 
 plain from 2 Cor, iii, r8. now the Lord is that Spirit 
 
 ds xrpi©* to TlvBVfj.ee. ir" we are changed from glory 
 
 to glory as by the Spirit cf the Lord ; xaGaTrs^ octto xvokh FTm/- 
 pcal©*, as by the Lord the Spirit: which is all along to be 
 understood of the personal Spirit, because the apostle 
 begins expressly with that at the 3d verse of this chapter. 
 
 And it was from the authority of these words The 
 
 Lord is the Spirit added to those of ver. 6. the 
 
 Spirit giveth life that the council of Nice borrowed the 
 
 fallowing clause of its Creed u I believe in the Holy 
 
 " Ghost, the LORD and GIVER OF LIFE. 
 
 * The Reader is desired to observe, that as I cannot in all cas*s 
 £* upon a text that docs precisely distinguish the person of the Father, 
 
 1 shall therefore be frequently obliged, as in this instance, to set a 
 passage down in the fnt of the three ranks, that does confessedly 
 denote the- trui God, 
 
 iv„ 
 
THE TRINITY IN I'NITT. 8p 
 
 The Trinity In Unity is the G:d of Israel. 
 
 Malth. xv. 31. The multitude glorified the God of 
 
 Israel. 
 
 Luke i. 16, 17. 7^ children of Israel shall he turn to 
 the Lord THEIR GOD: and he shall go before HIM* 
 that is, before Christ. 
 
 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, 3. The SPIRIT of the Lord spake 
 
 ij mc — the GOD of Israel said, &rc. So that unless 
 
 he who spake was 0//* being, and he tha: itfrf was auotiur y 
 the £//>// is the Gad of IsratL 
 
 * Dr. Clarke allows that the word fern means Christ, 
 yet denies that he is intended by fir Z^n/ their Ged> 
 which is the antecedent to it : and calls this a manner of 
 speaking a . 
 
 V. 
 
 The divine Law, and consequently the authority where- 
 upon it is founded, is that of a Trinity in Unity. 
 
 Rom. vii. 25. / mj self serve the LAW of GOD. 
 
 Gal. vi. 2. Fulfil the LAW ^CHRIST *. 
 
 Rom. viii. 2. The LAW of the SPIRIT of Life *. 
 
 The divine Law then, is the law of God, Christ, and 
 the Spirit of life. But it is written James iv. 12. There is 
 ONE LAWGIVER who is able to save and to destroy ; 
 therefore, these THREE are ONE. And here we have 
 the true reason why the Scripture has represented the 
 whole Trinity as tempted and resisted by the disobedience of 
 man. For sin being the transgression of the Law, and the 
 law being derived from the undivided authority of the 
 
 * No 5^4. 
 
 Father^ 
 
SO THE TRINITY IN UNITY. 
 
 Father j the Son, and the Hcly Ghost, every breach of it is 
 an offence against the Trinity : therefore it is written, 
 
 Dent. vi. 16. Thou shah not TEMPT the LORD thy 
 God. 
 
 j Cor. x. 9. neither Ut us TEMPT CHRIST. 
 
 Act: v. 9. How is it that ye have agreed together to 
 TEMPT the SPIRIT of the Lord? For Dr. Clarke's opi- 
 nion of this matter, see Ch. IT. Art. XV. 
 
 ** Dr. Clarke has left both these texts out of his col- 
 lection ; though he pretends to have set down all the 
 highest expressions relating to Christ and the Spirit. 
 
 VI. 
 
 The mind and will of God is the mind and will of a 
 Trinity in Unity. 
 
 The mind of God. 
 I Cor. ii. 16. Who hath known the MIND of the 
 LORD? 
 
 Ibid. We have the MIND of CHRIST. 
 
 Rom. viii. 27. He that searcheih the hearts knoweth 
 what is the MIND of the SPIRIT. 
 
 The W/ of God. 
 
 1 Thess. iv. 3. This is the WILL 0/GOD. 
 
 Jets xxii. 14. The God of our Fathers hath chosen thee, 
 that thou shouldst know HIS WILL *. 
 
 2 Pet. i. 21. Prophecy came not in old time by the WILL 
 of man ; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by 
 the HOLY GHOST. 
 
 * This passage is meant of Christ and of bis will. The 
 God of our fathers (said Ananias) hath CHOSEN tbee^ 
 
 &c. 
 
THE TRINITY IN UNIT!*. 91 
 
 Sec. but the person in God who appeared to Ananias and 
 said of Saul, he is a CHOSEN vessel unto ME, was the 
 Lord, even Jesus, Acts ix. 1 5, 1 7. For want of comparing 
 the Scripture with itself, Dr. Clarke has set down the 
 text of Acts xxii. 14. as a character of the Father only* 
 No. 366. 
 
 VII. 
 
 The Paver of God is the Power of a Trinity in Unity. 
 
 Eph. iii. 7. The grace of GOD given unto me, by 
 
 the effectual working of WIS POWER. 
 
 2 Cor. xii. 9. that the POWER of CHRIST may 
 
 rest upon me* 
 
 Rom. xv. 19. signs and wonders by the POWER 
 
 wf the SPIRIT of God. 
 
 The Scripture therefore has ascribed divine power, and 
 that in the same exercise of it, (the ministry and miracles 
 of St. Paul) to Christ and the Spirit in common with God 
 the Father. So that when all glory and power is ascribed 
 to the only wise Ged, what God can that be, but the 
 Trinity ? Upon this principle the Scripture is easily re- 
 conciled : upon any other it is unintelligible, as the reader 
 may soon find by consulting Dr. Clarke and some other 
 of the Arian writers ; who to avoid this plain doctrine, 
 have tried to amuse us with a religion made up of scho- 
 lastic niceties and unnatural distinctions, which no man 
 can understand, and which themselves are not agreed in, 
 nor ever will be to the world's end. Yet they often dis- 
 pute against us from the acknowledged simplicity of the 
 Scripture ! 
 
 VIII. 
 
92 THE TRINITY IN UNITY* 
 
 Villi, 
 
 The Trinity in Unity is Eternal* 
 Rom, xvi. 25, 26. The ministry made manifest accord- 
 ing to the commandment (euuvtu) of the EVERLASTING 
 GOD. 
 
 Rev. xxii. 13. / [J. esu5 ) am the FIRST and tht 
 LAST*. 
 
 Heb. ix. 14. who through {awnu) the EVER. 
 
 LASTING SPIRIT. 
 
 * Dr. Clarke allows these words, in this place, to mean 
 Christ, yet where the same words occur in Re*v. i. 8. with 
 the addition of the epithet Almighty, he denies it a ; though 
 they are demonstrated to be spoken of the same person by 
 the context and tenour of the whole chapter t : and he 
 tells us, the character in one place differs from the other. 
 So that upon his principle, the Scripture has revealed to us 
 two different beings, both of whom are the first and the 
 fast, yet not coeternaL Which is sufficient of itself to jus- 
 tify all that was said above concerning his distinctions, &c. 
 See Ch. I. Art. III. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Is TRUE. 
 
 John vii. 28. He that sent me is TRUE. 
 
 Rev. iii. 7. These things saith he that is TRUE* 
 
 he that hath the key of Da<vid, &c. 
 
 I John v. 6. It is the Spirit that beareth witness, be- 
 cause the SPIRIT is TRUTH » ahnfa* THE 
 
 truth. 
 
 * See No. 686, 414. + See the note at Ch. III. Art. XIX. 
 
 X. 
 
THE TRIXITV IN UNITY. £3 
 
 X. 
 
 is Holy. 
 
 Rev. XV. 4. Who shall not fear thee, O LORD, and 
 glorify thy name? for THOU ONLY art HOLY. 
 
 Acts iii. 14. But ye denied THE HOLY ONE, and 
 desired a murderer to be released unto you, &C. See also 
 Dan. ix. 24. and Rev. iii. 7. 
 
 l John ii. 20. Ye have an unction from THE HOLY 
 ONE; that is, an anointing from the Holy Ghost, who is 
 called, 
 
 John xiv. 26. TO muvy.ee TO ayw»j 7*Af $//>// /£< 
 
 XI. 
 
 is omnipresent. 
 
 jfer. xxiii. 24. Do not I fill heaven and earth, taith 
 the LORD ? 
 
 Eph. i. 22. the fulness of HIM (Christ) that filleth 
 
 all in all. 
 
 Pjy?/. exxxix. 7, 8. Whither shall I go then from thy 
 SPIRIT ? If J go up into heaven THOU art there ; 
 if I go dovjn into hell, THOU art there also. 
 
 XII. 
 
 is the fountain of life. 
 
 Dad. xxx. 20. love the LORD thy GOD, /*r HE 
 
 is thy LIFE. 
 
 iV, iii. 4. When CHRIST v:ho is OUR LIFE shal 1 
 appear, Sec. 
 
 Utov. viii. 10. 7& SPIRIT & LIFE. 
 
 XIII. 
 
94 THE TRINITY IN UNiTY. 
 
 XIII. 
 The Trinity in Unity made all mankind. 
 Psal. c. 3. The LORD he is GOD, // is HE /&* bath 
 MADE US. 
 
 JUb i. 3. £j HIM (Christ) to** ALL THINGS 
 MADE. 
 Job xxxiii. 4. The SPIRIT */GOD £*/£ MADE me. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 ■ quicken the dead* 
 
 John V. 21. The FATHER raiseth up the dead and 
 QUICKENETH them. 
 
 Ihid. even so the SON QUICKENETH whom 
 
 he will. 
 
 Ibid. vi. 63. It is the SPIRIT that QUICKENETH. 
 
 XV. 
 ■ instruct us in divine knowledge. 
 Jvhn vi. 45. They shall be all TAUGHT */GOD. 
 Gal. i. 1 2. Neither was I TAUGHT it but bj the 
 revelation of JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 John xiv. 26. The Comforter, the Holy SPIRIT, will 
 TEACH you all things. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 have fellowship with the faithful. 
 
 I John u 3. Truly our FELLOWSHIP is with the 
 
 FATHER. Gr. IUm#*«. 
 
 Ibid. And with his Son JESUS CHRIST, 
 
 2 Cor. 
 
THE TRINITY IN UNITY, Q5 
 
 i Cor. xiii. 14. The FELLOWSHIP (Koinw*) of the 
 HOLY GHOST be with you all. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 are spiritually 'present in the elect. 
 
 1 Cor. xiv. 2 j. GOD is IN YOU of a truth. 
 
 2 C?r. xiii. 5. CHRIST * IN YOU except ye be re. 
 probates. 
 
 John xiv. 17. The SPIRIT dwelleth with you and 
 shall be IN YOU. 
 
 So again, 
 
 2 Cor. vi. 16. GOD Aftfi said } I will DWELL in 
 them. 
 
 Ephes. iii. 17. That CHRIST may DWELL in your 
 hearts. 
 
 Rom. viii. 11. Mis SPIRIT that DWELLETH inyou. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 reveal to us the Divine Will. 
 
 Phil iii. 15. God shall REVEAL even this unto you. 
 
 Gal. i. 12. neither was I taught it but by the RE. 
 
 VELATION of JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 Luke ii. 26. // was REVEALED unto him by the 
 HOLY GHOST. 
 
 So again, 
 Heb. i. t. GOD who SPAKE unto the fathers by the 
 prophets. 
 
 2 Cor. xiii. 3. Ye seek a proof of CHRIST SPEAK- 
 ING in me 9 
 
 Mark 
 
S§ THE TttlXITV IX UNITY". 
 
 Mark xiii. n. It is not ye that SPEAK, but the 
 HOLY GHOST. 
 
 And as prophecies are revealed bj % so are they also de- 
 livered in the name, that is, by the special authority of each 
 person in the Godhead. For though the usual introduc- 
 tion to any divine revelation be Thus SiMTH the 
 
 LORD yet we also find the expressions These 
 
 things SAITH the SON of GOD. Rev. ii. 1 8. And 
 
 Thus SAITH the HOLY GHOST. Acts xiii. 3. with 
 many other passages to the same effect. 
 
 XIX. 
 raised the Body of Christ from the grave. 
 1 Cor. vi. 14. GOD hath both RAISED UP the Lord, 
 mndr-joill also raise us up ly his OWN POWER*, 
 
 John ii. 19. Destroy this temple y and in three days I 
 WILL RAISE IT UP. 
 
 I Vet. iii. 18. Christ being put to death in the flesh x 
 
 hut QUICKENED by the SPIRIT. 
 
 * See Art. vii. of this Chapter. 
 
 XX. 
 
 conduct the people of God. 
 
 Isai. xlviii. 17. I am the LORD thy GOD, <whicb 
 LEADETH thee by the <ivay that thou shouldst go. 
 
 John x. 3. He (Christ the Shepherd) calleth his ozvti 
 sheep by name, and LEADETH them out. 
 
 Rom. viii. 14. As many as are LED by the SPIRIT of 
 God, they are the sous of God. 
 
 1 XXI. 
 
THE TRINITY* IX UN'ITY. 97 
 
 XXI. 
 
 give a commifiion and authority to the 
 
 i :sters of the Gospel. 
 
 2 Cor. iii. 5, 6. Our sufficiency is of GOD, <wZh> hath 
 MADE us able MINISTERS. 
 
 I Tim. i. 12. JESUS CHRIST counted me faith. 
 
 fdy PUTTING me into fit MINISTRY. 
 
 Acts v. 2 S. Take h^ed therefore to all the flock over 
 t 7 e ivhich the HOLY GHOST hath made p* OVER. 
 
 ^EERS. 
 
 XXM, 
 
 ia?;ctify the elect. 
 
 f u ie\ i\——-tc them that ire SANCTIFIED by GOD, 
 the FATHER. 
 
 Hcb. ii. :i. He thai SANCTIFIETH and they <wbo 
 are sanctified are all of one ; for <ivhich cause he is not 
 ashamed to call them brethren. 
 
 Re*, xv i6, Mtg SANCTIFIED by the HOLY 
 GHOST. 
 
 XXIII. 
 — —perform all spiritual and divine operations, 
 i Ccr. xii. 1 6. It h the same GOD *which WORK. 
 ETH ALL IN ALL. 
 
 Col. iii. it. CHRIST is all and IN ALL. 
 i Cor. xii. ii. But ALL these WORKETH that one 
 ttufiifo WO*^ SPIRIT, 
 
 C Ne 
 
( 9$ ) 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 LET us now take a review of wTiat has been collected 
 in these papers, and sum up the evidence in its own na. 
 - tural terms. 
 
 It has appeared from the first Chapter, that Christ Je- 
 sus, whose Divinity is daily blasphemed amongst us, be. 
 cause it is not proved in the Scripture, is the Lord of 
 Hosts ', the first and the last b , than whom there is no 
 greater*, and beside whom there is no God d : that he is 
 the Saviour of the <worJd e f the Lord and God of the holy 
 Pnpbets f i and dj>os ties %, the most high G&d h , the searcher 
 of *iJl hearts' 1 , comprehended and made known to us un- 
 der the name of that God to whom the -world <zuas recon- 
 ciled^. Who though he was the Word of God, that came 
 forth from the Father into the world, yet he avas God 1 , 
 and of the same divine nature m with him that sent him. 
 Though he was perfect man, of the seed of Abraham, born 
 of his mother, and in all things made like to his brethren ; 
 yet the fulness of the Godhead dwelt in him bodily \ Though 
 he suffered, died °, was pierced upon the Cross, and re- 
 deemed us by his blood; yet that blood was the blood of 
 God?, and upon his Cross Jehovah was pierced X 
 
 That the objections urged against all these positive 
 proofs, proceed wholly upon false principles ; being drawn, 
 
 a Chap. I. Art. I. IT. III. b HI. c XLV. d ijj. . 
 
 * IV. f V. g XI. *> IX. i XL1II, k XIV. 
 
 i XIX. « XLIV. n XVIII. • XLVIJ. P XLIX. 
 
 -, XLiV« 
 
 partly, 
 
conclusion-. 99 
 
 p-irtly, from natural religion and Vhilo^phy, which never 
 was nor ever will be subject to the few ,/«*, and i$ not 
 intended so to be by those who set it up and dispute for it 
 Partly from the (economical offices and humiliation of 
 Christ xn At fesh*; i n which it is nevertheless affirmed 
 that God h.msclf was made m**jfikt\ And lastly, from 
 the,a«,V, c of God so oftcn assertedand j nsisted tjpon . n the 
 
 Vnpture ; not in opposition to the Godhead of Christ but 
 ta the m t * thc-n worshipped all over the heathen world ■ 
 Hence it is, that God is called the true God; for they were 
 /■■U ones: «, God; for they were ^.j the *,- 
 Crfrf ; for they were vaii/Ut without life. Y ct in the 
 place oi the- idols, w ho are to supply the contrast, they 
 have substituted the person of their blessed Redeemer, the 
 trite G-Jt, the l-vtrlasti^ Fathtr*, the Lord of Glory' 
 vrho. is able to *fafc ,// ^ * ^^ anJ of ^J 
 kingdom there shall be m «-./, 
 
 From the w^ Chapter ir has appeared, that the Holy 
 Ghost i 5 our spiritual Father*, by whose divine power we 
 are heptttk to a new life- ■ and to whom we daily p rej 
 that he would not Lad us into temptation 1 . That he is the 
 W-S even the Lord of Hosts", the ruler of the Christian 
 (economy, ™/% men to that honour in his church, which 
 God only can bestow upon them. That he is incompre' 
 henstbly unhed with God, and sensible of the omnipotent 
 •will in himself j «*, „ the fe^ 3*3 is un j ted fQ 
 
 -• xxv. xxvi. xxxix. b , Tim . a l6 . s xxlv 
 
 xxxuu ,xxu. 1>is , ir . e Itv . vi;i . J)( , f J c ; s 
 
 *>v. 15. g , >bn v . 20 . i xx , <■ 
 
 ■VM. I XI. .HI. , XXII- , u> Li >-, 11 - 
 
 F 2 
 
 msn, 
 
WO CONCLUSION. 
 
 man, and understandeth its own thoughts*. That hi; power, 
 is tht immediate power of Gjd himself h \ n\h inspiration, 
 is the inspiration of God c ; his presence, the presence of 
 S That he is God G , even the highest; for the man 
 Christ Jesus, who is the Son of GqJ and the Son of the 
 • -■'.:■:*, was $5 tailed BECAUSE he was begotten of the 
 
 '. Gbcst>. 
 
 That the objections usually brought to disguise and de- 
 stroy this evidence, are taken from the unity, the attrU 
 butts and ivill of God, and the ministration of the Spirit in 
 the economy of grace ; all of them falsely interpreted &. 
 Far as to the mitj of God, it is not an unity of person. 
 Ai to the supreme attribute of goodness, it is also possessed 
 by the Spirit:, As to the Will ot God, according to which 
 the gifts and graces of the Spirit are distributed, it is 
 opposed to the will of ma*t 3 not to that of the Spirit; 
 which is said to blow *whcre it listeth, and to divide or 
 distribute ur.to every man his gifts, not as man the re- 
 ceiver, but as he himself <ivilktb h . 
 
 It has appeared from the third Chapter, that God is 
 signified to us throughout the Old Testament by a name 
 that is plural ] , and proved to be such from many parti- 
 cular instances; yet generally so restrained and qualified, as 
 tQ destroy the suspicion of a plurality oiGods. That to this 
 ;ommon name of God, many other plural names and ex- 
 pressions are added k ; and that an interchanging of the 
 
 a XlrH b XVII. c VI. d IX. V. XX. « VIII. 
 
 f XXI. I XXI 11. XXIV. h XXV. i Ch.'.p. III. Art. I. 
 
 * V. VL ViL VIII. 
 
 . 
 
CONCLUSION. 101 
 
 flural and singular* is frequently observed, whkh neither 
 grammar nor reason can account for upon any principle, 
 but that of a real divine plurality. That the persons- vi 
 God are three in number, precisely distinguished on some 
 occasions by the personal names of the Father, the JYtrd, 
 or Sohj and the Ho// Spirit*, ann also by different officer. 
 That the same term is not always peculiar and proper to 
 the same person ; because the woids God, Lord, jtB&ba% % 
 and Father, are sometimes applied to one person, some- 
 times to another ; while at other times they are not perso- 
 nal, but general names of the divine nature* That in tr.e 
 Lord of 'H>sts c , sitting upon his throne, and speaking of 
 himself in the phiral to- the Prophet Is a in h, there was not 
 ohi person only, but time ; The Father, Jtesus, and the 
 HdJj Ghost, all expressed under one name in the Old Testa- 
 ment, but personally distinguished to us by three different 
 ones in the New, where this matter is referred to. 
 
 In the fourth and last Chapter, ihe passages of the 
 Scripture have been laid together, and made tc unite their 
 beams in one common center, the Unity of the Trinity. 
 Which unity is not metaphorical and figurative, but stiicr 
 and real r and there can be no real unity in God, but that 
 of his nature, essence, or suE stance, all of which are syno- 
 nymous terms : this unity considered in itself, is altoge- 
 ther incomprehensible : but it is one thing to read and 
 to know that there is a divine nature, and another thin© to 
 describe it. That it is proved to be an unity of essence;. 
 i st. because the three persons are all comprehended under 
 the same individual and supreme appellation. They are 
 
 * IX. X. b XVIII. « XIX. 
 
 * 3 the 
 
102 CONCLUSION'. 
 
 the one Lord absolutely so called a . The Creator of the 
 •world, and the God of Israel*. 2 Jly, because they par- 
 take in common of the name Jehovah c > which, being in- 
 terpreted, means the divine Essence ; and what it signifies 
 in one person, it must also signify in the others , as truly as 
 the singular name Adam, in its appellative capacity, ex- 
 presses the common nature of all mankind. And this name 
 neither is nor can be communicated, without a contra, 
 diction, to any derived or inferior nature, as well on ac- 
 count of its signification as irs application, which is ex- 
 pressly restrained to one onlj. 3cily, It is farther proved, 
 in that the authority* , the secret mind c or counsel, and the 
 fcrwer* by which all things are established and directed, 
 is ascribed to Christ and the Spirit in common with God 
 the Father ; and that in the same exercise of it, and upon 
 the same occasions. 4th.lv, because there is a participation 
 of such divine attributes^ as cannot subsist but where they 
 are original. Our understand: rg, if it be moderately in- 
 structed, will satisfy us there can be one only who is elet^ 
 vat, and possessed of holiness, truth, life. Sec in and from 
 himself. Yet the whole Trinity is eternal, holj, true, living 
 and omnipresent : therefore these three were, and will he 
 one God from everlasting to everlasting. Jthly, and lastly, 
 .Because there is a concurrence of the whole undivided God- 
 head in all those acts*, every one of which have in them 
 the character of a divine wisdom and omnipotence ; and 
 express such an intimate union and communion of the 
 
 a Chap. IV. Art. 1. III. b IV. c H. d V. c VI. 
 
 f VII. 8 VI1L IX. X. XI. Xll. * MIL &c ad fin, 
 
 Holv 
 
CONCLUSION- 103 
 
 Holy Trinity, as the understanding of man cannot rc^ch> 
 and which no words can explain. For though it is and 
 must be one Go J who doth all these things, yet i; is the 
 Father, the Son y and the Holy Spirit, who £pWJ us our hci;?, 
 wstruct and illuminate us, lead us, speak to us, and arc 
 present with us ; who give authority to the church, raise 
 the dead, sanctify the elect, and perform every divine and 
 spiritual operation. 
 
 This is the God revealed to us in the holy Scripture ; 
 very different from- the Deny so much talked of in ovx 
 systematical schemes of natural divinity; which wiih all 
 its wisdom, never yet thought of a Christ or an Hoy 
 Ghost, by whom nature, now fallen and blind, is to be 
 reformed, exalted, and saved. The Bible we know to be 
 the infallible word of God ; 'the rule^of our faith and obe- 
 dience. I find this doctrine revealed in it ; therefore T 
 firmly believe and submit to it. And as the Liturgy ©f 
 the Church- of England hath affirmed the same in all its 
 offices, and contains -nothings contradictory thereto; I be- 
 lieve that also : and hope the God whom we serve will 
 defend it against all attempts toward reforming Christianity 
 out of k ; that the Church militant here on earth, may 
 continue to agree in this fundamental doctrine with the 
 Church triumphant in heaven* For there the Angels rest 
 not day and night, praising this Thrice-Holy * 9 blessed and 
 gbrious Trinity. They have neither time nor inclination 
 to dispute against that Glory, which they cannot stedtastly 
 behold. And had we a little more humility and devo- 
 
 * Chap. III. Art. XIX. 
 
 F 4 tion, 
 
Mfci CONCLUSION'. 
 
 lion, we shouJd,not abound so much with disputation. If, 
 m such a subject as this, we trust to our own reason, and 
 II should prove at last to have betrayed us into error, ir- 
 religion, and blasphemy ; what shall we have to say in ex. 
 cuse for ourselves ? we shall not dare to plead the dignity 
 and strength of our rational facilities before the tribunal of 
 Him, who came info the world to bring the wisdom of 
 it to nought. And if the Religion of Jesus Christ is to be 
 corrected and softened till it becomes agreeable to the na- 
 tural thoughts and imaginations of the human heart, then 
 
 in vain was it said Blessed is he whosoever shall not be 
 
 offended in me. 
 
 As for him, who is convinced that God is wiser than 
 himself; who believes as he ought, and as the Catholic 
 Church of Chriot h«th giVcn him an example from the be- 
 ginning, his danger lies on the other side : and while I 
 venture to give him warning of it, / beseech him to suffer 
 the word of exhortation, and to take in good part the faith. 
 ful wounds of a friend. Let him take care then, that while 
 he values his orthodoxy, he be not led unawares to over, 
 value it, by drawiag false conclusions from it, and con- 
 ceiting himself to be already perfect. If he knows and be- 
 lieves in the true God, he doth well : but let not that 
 which is an honour to him be any encouragement to dis- 
 honour God ; the knowledge of whom will only serve to 
 increase our condemnation, if we live in any lust of con* 
 cupiscen.ee> even as the Gentiles who knew him not. And 
 though it be the faith of a Christian, and not his morality, 
 that distinguishes him from the rest of mankind ; yet that 
 faith must appear in the conduct of his life ; even as love 
 
 to 
 
conclusion:. 
 
 reft 
 
 to a friend is best witnessed by a readiness to cfb Hifri 
 vice. It is true, the service is not the leve, no!r of e pal 
 value with it; yet the love that refuses the service will h>c. 
 accounted as nothing. The mjstery of faith is an inva- 
 luable treasure; but the vessel that contains it must be clean 
 and undefiled ; it must be held in a pur: conscience ; as the 
 manna ) that glorious symbol of the word of faith preached, 
 to us by the Gospel, was confined to the Tabernacle,, and 
 preserved in a vessel of gold. A mind that is conformed. 
 to this world, and given up to its pleasures, though it re- 
 peat the creed without questioning a single article of it, 
 will be abhorred in the sight of God, as a vessel unfit foe 
 the master's use ; and unworthy, because unprepared^ to 
 stand in the mist holy place. It is the great excellence of 
 faith, that it can produce such a tranformation in the life 
 and manners, as no other principle has any power to do \ 
 and many are possessed of this truth without applying it 
 to their own advantage. It is to be feared, that a cor- 
 scionsness of this damps their zeal, and creates that poor, 
 pidfuJ,. cowardly indifference, so much in vogue ; which 
 if it had not by accident found the name of charitj, would 
 have been ashamed to shew its face in a Christian country 
 They are cold and backward to promote any religious 
 conversation; they will not appear to be in earnest about 
 their faith in the Eyes of the world, lest they should be 
 forced to abridge somewhat from the gaiety of their live^ 
 and to five as they steak. Rut let them remember, that 
 without hoUnea nb man shall set the Lord: no dross or im- 
 purity of this world will be suffered to continue in bis 
 light. Arid li; diisj he has no hard master, reaping where 
 ? 5 be 
 
106 CONCLUSION. 
 
 he hath not srwn, and requiring the fruit of good works 
 without giving us strength and ability to bring them forth. 
 He has provided for us the precious blood of the Lamb, 
 and offered to us the assistance of his Holy Spirit, that we 
 may be enablecl to serve that living God in whom we be- 
 lieve* If we are purged by him, we shall be clean : if be 
 washes us, we shall be whiter than snow : and when the 
 kingdom of God shall come, and his glory shall appear, we 
 shall be prepared to behold his face in righteousness* 
 
 This, and no other, is my sincerest wish and prayer for 
 every Christian, who shall give himself the trouble to pe- 
 ruse these papers ; in which I pretend to no merit but that 
 of a transcriber; which I shall always esteem to be honour 
 enough, where the wojd of God is my original. And 
 if they should be any way instrumental to promote so 
 good an ><end, he will not have read, nor shall 1 have 
 written, in vain. 
 
 A LET. 
 
LETTER 
 
 TO THE 
 
 COMMON PEOPLE, 
 
 IN AN5WER TO SOME 
 
 POPULAR ARGUMENTS 
 
 AGAINST TIIC 
 
 TRINITY. 
 
 being AN 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 i 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Cat&oljc SDoctvine of the Zxinitv. 
 
 r 6 
 
A 
 
 LETTER 
 
 TO TliS 
 
 COMMON PEOPLE. 
 
 MEN AND BRETHREN, 
 
 AS Christians and Members of the Church of England? 
 you have been taught, that the True God, whom you are 
 bound to believe and worship, is a Ttikftj in Unity, In 
 the Name of these three Persons, the Father, the Son, and 
 the Holy Ghosf, you have been baptized: and in the 
 Litany are directed to pray to this Holy, blessed, and gkricus 
 Trirfitjy three persons and one God > that he would l:a<ve mercy 
 upon us miserable sinners* 
 
 From the first propagation of the Gospel, there has been 
 a sort of men in the Christian Church, who had too high 
 an opinion of their own knowledge and wisdom to sub- 
 mit quietly to this doctrine. They pretended it was- con- 
 trary to their reason and common sense, and impossible 
 in the nature of things, that the true God should be 
 
 made 
 
110 A LETTER TO THE 
 
 made manifest in the flesh for the Salvation of the world ; 
 and hence they argued, that the Incarnation must either 
 have been a delusion, a fact brought to pass only in shew 
 and appearance ; or that the Person incarnate must have 
 been some created Being, far inferior in power and dignity 
 to the divine Nature itself. 
 
 About three hundred years after the death of Christ, 
 when Paganism, or the worship of idols, was losing its in- 
 fluence in the Roman empire, this heresy, being come to 
 its full growth, did immediately supply the place of it, and 
 prospered to such a degree, that it overspread the greatest 
 part of the East, and ended at last in the imposture of the 
 false prophet Mahomet; whose doctrine was readily em- 
 braced wherever Ariaiiism prevailed, and no where else 
 among Christians ; and his disciples do at this day most 
 zealously deny that Trinity which you worship. 
 
 When the teachers of the Church found themsdv/s 
 disturbed, and their people corrupted more and more by 
 the daily increase of this heresy ; upwards of three hundred 
 Christian i>ishops, many of whom had been tortured and 
 maimed in the heathen persecutions, assembled together at 
 the city of Nice, in Bjthinia, and one Arias, a principal 
 promoter of this wickedness, was summoned to appear 
 before them : his doctrine and writings were condemned ; 
 the Faith which these holy men had brought with them, to 
 the council was declared,, and is now preserved in the 
 Nitemt Creed; which form we make use of in- the Church 
 because it comprehends the sense of our faith in a flw 
 words. But we do not rest our belief upon the authority 
 of any hunian form, because the doctrine therein expressed 
 
 is 
 
COMMON PEOPLE. Ill 
 
 is secured by the unquestionable authority of the Old and 
 New : estaments. 
 
 The evidence of this faith, as it is found in the Scrip- 
 ture, I have endeavoured to extract and methodize in the 
 best manner I could. The work was made public rather 
 with an humble and charitable desire to assist the studies 
 of the younger Clergy, than to instruct the common peo- 
 ple ; and therefore it was first printed at Oxford, Never- 
 theless, I am well persuaded, that so many of the argu- 
 ments therein contained are level to all capacities, that 
 an unlearned reader may thence be able to satisfy him- 
 self, and inform his Christian neighbours, 1 shall there- 
 fore have no occasion in this place to urge any new evi- 
 dence from the Scripture, but only to refer to some of 
 the old ; it being the design of this Address to obviate a 
 set of popular arguments,, which have been made use of by 
 some nameless writers to turn your affections from the 
 doctrine of the Trinity -> most of which might be applied 
 with as much propriety to prejudice you against any other 
 article of faith in the Christian P»eligio.n, 
 
 I. You know, my dear brethren, that pride is a very 
 prevailing passion in human nature \ and unless we are 
 very much upon our guard, and are fortified with the 
 true principles of Christian humility, we are all of us in 
 danger of being ensnared by it. Men are proud of their 
 clothes, and proud of their riches, and proud Qf their 
 titles ; but, above all, they are proud of their understand- 
 ing. Some men are endued with a strength of mind 
 "which, enables them to bear up with cLcerfulness under 
 
 die 
 
112 A LETTER TO THE 
 
 the common trials of sickness, and losses, and disappoint- 
 ments ; while, perhaps, the same men cannot endure the 
 thought of being cheated 2lx\& imposed upon, because it is a 
 reflection upon their understanding. Our adversaries, there- 
 fore, hoping to make the stronger impression, apply themu 
 selves first of all to your pride, and inform you, that this 
 doctrine of the Trinity is imposed upon your consciences by 
 Church Authority a . But if the fact be laid before you, it 
 will soon appear that nO point cf faith is thus imposed upon 
 you by the Church of England. The points of faith 
 which you are required to believe are interwoven with all 
 the forms and offices of our public Liturgy. They are 
 collected together for the younger sort of people in the 
 Church Catechism ; and for all teachers, whether clergy 
 or laity, they are drawn out more at larg^ in the Articles 
 of Religion, generally printed at the end of the Book of 
 Common Prayer, So that all the articles of faith being 
 imposed in the same manner, it will follow, that they sre 
 all imposed by Church Authority, or none of them. Let 
 us put it to the trial,, and begin with the first article of the 
 
 Creed / belieue in God the Father Almighty \ How is- 
 
 this article imposed? Does the Church determine by her 
 own authority whether there is a God or not ? And so 
 for the rest. Does the Church determine whether there 
 is a Christ, or a Holy Ghost? whether there will be a 
 resurrection of the dead, and a life everlasting? Certainly 
 the Church neither does nor can pretend to determine any 
 
 a See the title-page of a pamphlet called " An Appeal to the Com- 
 c « mon Sense of all Christian People/' &c. printed for MMar, in the 
 Strand. 
 
 x of 
 
COMMON PF.OPI.E. 
 
 u3 
 
 of these things for us; because where any thing is deter, 
 mined by authority, such authority must be superior to 
 what it determines: to suppose which, in this case, would 
 be equally false and presumptuous. Therefore the truth 
 of the matter is this ; that the Church does only declare 
 that faith which it has received; and instead of her im- 
 posing, this faith is imposed upon the Church by the un- 
 controlable authority of God in the Holy Scripture, to 
 which every private Christian is referred for the proper 
 evidence of any particular doctrine, and for that of the 
 Trinity amongst the rest. Those articles which are of a 
 nature inferior to the Church itself, are the only subjects 
 of Church authority. Thus, as the body is more than the 
 raiment that is worn upon it j so the life and being vf the 
 Church is superior to those outward regulations, which 
 serve only to the order, decency, and well-being of it ; 
 and which the Church may, for this reason, appoint, al- 
 ter, and improve by her own authority. Eut if any man 
 informs you, that points of faith, or moral practice, are 
 imposed upon jour consciences by the same authority, he has 
 either mistaken the case, or is himself endeavouring to 
 impose upon your understanding. 
 
 II. u But u the Gospel, they say, u was designed fur 
 persons of all capacities, and unless all persons of common 
 sense are qualified to understand what the Lord requires of 
 them, we must lf charge Almighty God with dealing un- 
 fairly with his creatures*." Now if the Gospel be so 
 
 a Ibid. p. *. 
 
 easy, 
 
114* A LETTER TO -THE 
 
 easy, that nothing but bare common sense is wanted {ot 
 the understanding of it, why do these authors write so 
 many books to help you to understand it in the Arian 
 sense ? If you are able, as they flatter you, to instruct 
 yourselves out of the Gospel, then their practice is a con- 
 tradiction to their principle, and their labour is superfluous 
 by their own confeflion. My brethren, we do not argue 
 in this manner ; we know that you have sense and ability 
 to understand the merits of a cause, and are ready to hear 
 reason, when it is plainly represented to you : but if you> 
 were able to make all things intelligible to # your own- 
 selves, we should neither preach to you, nor write books 
 for you. 
 
 When God appointed Teacher i in his Church (i Cor. 
 xii. 28.} he certainly did not suppose that the congrega- 
 tion would be equally capable of teaching themselves. If 
 this were true, then indeed God would seem to have dealt 
 unfairly with Christian people, by appointing a ministry of 
 learned men, and providing for their instruction, as if 
 bare common sense, with the Bible in its hand, were not 
 so sufficient as our adversaries would have you believe ; in 
 opposition to us, but not to themselves. 
 
 The duty of a Christian Minister is to teach; his studies 
 are intended to qualify him, and his time is set apart for 
 that purpose. For the bulk of the people, God hath ap- 
 pointed labour and business of another kind, as necessary 
 to support themselves and. their families ; and their duty 
 is to hear. But if God has required you to do our work 
 and your own too, then your lot is hard indeed. You 
 will not, therefore, think it any reflection upon your com- 
 mon 
 
COMMON PEOPLE- 115 
 
 mon sense, that God has appointed an order of Teachers 
 in his Church, who will never desire you to believe what 
 they arc not at all times ready to prove; but will rather 
 beseech him that these Teachers may be endued with faith 
 • I affection to fulfil the labour of iwt to which they are 
 called, and courage to declare that truth which they have 
 learned from the Koly Scriptures ; and by thus praying for 
 the Clergy, you will convince them, that God hath added 
 Grace to your common mmse 9 and that you practise that 
 Christian charity which is more acceptable in His sight than 
 the attainments cf learning and knowledge ; for these are 
 no more than temporary qualifications, and are to be used 
 only as means ; but Charity is the end and perfection of 
 all. 
 
 III. They tell you, moreover, that people of all sorts 
 have a right to judge for themselves in matters of Religion a . 
 As this principle very nearly affects the peace of the Chris- 
 tian world, and the salvation of individuals, I would ad- 
 vise you to enquire strictly into the meaning of these terms ; 
 and to consider how far they may be justified, and how far 
 they are to be condemned. Right is a pleasing thing, and 
 liberty is an old temptation ; but if any Christian doth so 
 assert his right against an human law, as to depart from 
 his obedience and subjection to the divine law, such a right 
 will do him no good when he has got it, because it will 
 not protect him under religious mistakes against the su- 
 
 * ibid. p. 133. 
 
 nerior 
 
110 A LLTTER TO TiiE. 
 
 perior judgment of God ; so far from it, that it is probably 
 one of the chief mistakes he will have to answer for. 
 
 When they assert that you are to judge for yourselves, 
 they must mean, eiiher that you are to judge of truth by 
 its proper evidence; or that by a certain prerogative of 
 conscience, you are to guess for yourselves what is right or 
 wrong, without any evidence at all. If only the former 
 of these senses is intended, they say no more than we all 
 say, and what the Church hath said ever since the Prefor- 
 mation. If the latter is also allowed, and unlearned peo- 
 pie have a right to follow their conscience (that is, their 
 inclination) without any evidence, or with soms false and 
 partial representation of it ; then it will follow, that the 
 difference between good and evil is not real, but imaginary ; 
 that truth and falshood, like temporary fashions, are 
 not the objects of reason but of fancy ; which doctrines, if 
 admitted in their full latitude, would turn all reason and 
 religion upside down : and I think they have done it in 
 part already. 
 
 When they come to apply this principle, they take oc- 
 casion to add, that f jsu are c a&oincei of such doctrines as 
 they teach you, <viz. that God Almighty is only one and the 
 same person ; that the Holy Ghost is first minister in the 
 government of the Church ; that he has angels to assist him ; 
 that Christ is to be honoured with mediatorial worship, Sec. 
 M then you have a right to protest against the Athanasian 
 Creed*," But I say, neither you. nor I C3n possibly have 
 
 * P. II* 
 
 any 
 
tOMMOX PEOPLE. ] 1? 
 
 any such right as this, unless we are convinced by sufficient 
 reasons. Our persuasion can never be turned into an argu- 
 ment; unless it be also maintained, that a man who is 
 persuaded can never be mistaken. The Mahometans are 
 couvinced, that their Alcoran is a divine revelation ; that 
 all Christians are guilty of blasphemy in believing, and ido- 
 latry in worshipping a Trinity in Unity ; and that they 
 have a right to protest against the foundations of the gos. 
 pel of Jesus Christ. But as they are convinced of these 
 tilings for very bad temmm % we pity the blindness of their 
 understanding, and only laugh at the right they have as- 
 sumed, as one of those many groundless castles, which hu- 
 man vanity and bigotry have builded in the air. 
 
 Bat allowing that A nans thus convinced have a right of 
 protesting, what are orthodox Christians to do on the other 
 hand ? have t/xj no right ? does a persuasion confer a right 
 on one side, and none on the other ? that would be very 
 unreasonable. Therefore we, who are convinced that the 
 Creed of Athanasius is more agreeable to the Scripture 
 than the doctrines of Aria?iism> have a right to remonstrate 
 against the repealing of it ; though we can never expect 
 to do so, without being persecuted and reviled for it as 
 long as we live. 
 
 IV. To prejudice your minds against the Athanasian 
 
 Creed they inform you, that the doctrine of the Trinity, 
 
 :is there set forth, is not expressed in the <zvords of Scripture ; 
 
 tie re are no such propositions to he found in the declarations of 
 
 it and iis Ap:xU$*. By this it is meant, that you do 
 
 a P. 5, 
 
 not 
 
H8 A LETTER TO THE 
 
 not find any such expressions as — Trinity in Unity^—not 
 three Eternals, but one Eternal — and such like. The best 
 course vou can take upon this occasion, is to argue with 
 them upon their own principles, which generally stop a 
 man's mouth sooner than any other. Ask them, where they 
 find it asserted in the words of Scripture, Almighty God is <mi 
 supreme intelligent Being, er Person? Ask them, in what 
 chapter or verse, Christ or his Apostles did ever declare, 
 that the Ihly Spirit isfrst Minister in the Government of the 
 Church ; and where it is said that he has Angels for his As- 
 sistants? Ask them, again, where they meet with the 
 proposition — the worship of Christ is inferior, or mediatorial t 
 And you might ask them twenty more such questions, 
 which they can never answer upon their own principles : 
 so that they have employed an argument to corrupt you, 
 which returns upon themselves, and with this disadvan- 
 tage on their side, that they have departed from the stnse 
 as well as the words of Scripture; but the Church, if, be- 
 fides the words of Scripture, it uses other?, does still re- 
 tain such a sense, as the words of Scripture will clearly 
 justify. 
 
 V. But lest you should believe this, they assure you the 
 Athanasian Creed has proposed a downright contradiction 
 as an Article of Faith : and if this be the case, then indeed 
 we must allow that such a contradiction cannot be justified 
 by the words of Scripture. M You must believe (say they) 
 M if this Creed has any weight, that three Gods is one 
 <f God V If you examine the Creed itself, you will 
 
 * P. 8-, 
 
 find 
 
COMMON' PEOPLE. 119 
 
 rVnd no buch doctrine as they have put into it ; but, on the 
 contrary, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, 
 are NOT THREE GODS, but ONE GOD; and 
 again, M We are forbidden, by the Catholic Religion, to 
 " say, there be Three Gods/ 1 I pray you to observe 
 this ; and to consider with yourselves, whether our adver- 
 saries, supposing them to be satisfied in their ownton- 
 sciences that they were able to confute the Catholic doc- 
 trine of Three Persons, mid one God, would have endeavoured 
 to take advantage of your simplicity, by putting this false 
 notion of Three Gods into the place of it ? 
 
 VI. Upon other occasions, they try to give you an ill 
 opinion of our ecclesiastical forms, by calling them the 
 decrees of fallible ?nen z , and Creeds of human invention* ; 
 which is a very mean objection, unless they who make it, 
 and propose a contrary sort of belief, are themselves infaL 
 hble. We readily own that the persons, who drew up the 
 forms used in the Church, were men like ourselves. But 
 did they deliver the doctrine of these forms as their envu 
 doctrine, or the doctrine of Almighty God in the Scrip* 
 ture ? If they delivered it as their own, then their fallibi- 
 lity would be a pertinent consideration : but if it is the 
 doctrine of the Scripture, then the fallibility of the men 
 who delivered it, is nothing to the purpose ; and as such 
 only we take it, using our own private judgment in rela^ 
 tion to the men? but submitting our reason to the infallible 
 Spirit of God* A judge who sits upon the bench by the 
 
 * P. 5. * P. 37* 
 
 king's 
 
120 A LETTER TO THL 
 
 king's authority, to determine civil causes, is a fallible 
 man : but so far as he makes the law of the land the rule 
 ©f his judgment, he is infallible. And we never attempt 
 to persuade you, that the teachers of our Church are infal- 
 lible, but so far only, as they make the Scripture the rule 
 of their judgment. Therefore, when you hear them re- 
 flected upon as fallible men, do them so much justice as to 
 ask yourselves the question, whether they who make this 
 objection are themselves infallible ? Is not the Author of 
 an Appeal to the Common Sevse of all Christian Pecp^le, a fal- 
 lible man* when he tells you, in terms of human inven- 
 tion, that God is one supreme intelligent Agent , or Person f" 
 that the Holy Spirit is his first Minister ? that Christ did 
 really suffer in his highest capacity *p that he is to be ho- 
 noured with Mediatorial Worship? Doth he not deliver 
 these doctrines as a fallible man? Yea verily, not only a*, 
 one who may he^ but who actually is, deceived, it the 
 Scripture is true. 
 
 VII, Asa farther encouragement to opposition, you arc 
 taught that any body may deny the Trinity upon Protestant 
 principles. And here give me leave to tell you, my friends, 
 that there are some people who seem to think it is the pro- 
 fession of a Protestant, not to ielieve but to dexy ; and that 
 a man is no good Protestant, unless he disputes every thing 
 that falls in his way. Had this been the true Christian 
 spirit, our Saviour would probably have recommended it 
 to his hearers, by setting a bear, or a tyger. or a fox, be- 
 
 * P 17- 
 
 fore 
 
COMMON PEOPLE. 121 
 
 tore them, and proposing these creatures, as the best ex- 
 amples of it. Instead of which, he shewed them what his 
 followers ought to be, by presenting to them a little child 
 as their pattern ; whence the people were to understand, 
 that as a little child receives the instruction of its parents, 
 without any of the perverse disputingsof a corrupted mind ; 
 so ought they to receive the kingdom of heaven, that is, 
 the doctrine of the Gospel. This is a disposition lovely in 
 the sight of God and men, and so far from rendering the 
 possessors of it more liable to be imposed upon, that none 
 but persons of this temper are able to discern the truth 
 'when it is offered, according to that expression of Christ— 
 I thank thee y O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thGU 
 hast hid these things from the wise and prudent ', and hast re- 
 vealcd them unto babes. There would be more peace in the 
 world than there is now, if men would but remember this; 
 and there would be more wisdom too : for none are so 
 blind as they who are always boasting of the quickness of 
 their own eye-sight \ they are so filled up with the opinion 
 of their understanding every thing, that it is impossible to 
 make them understand when they are mistaken. 
 
 But it may be dangerous to enlarge any farther upon 
 this subject lest it should be suspected that I am leading 
 you into Popery. 
 
 There is however, a very false light, in which your 
 liberty, as Protestants, is represented to you, and therefore 
 
 I think it my duty to make you aware of it. " No Pro* 
 U testant( hey say) can, consistently with acknowledging 
 " the Scripture as the only rule, charge you with the least 
 
 II presumption, for bringing decrees not found there to 
 
 G the 
 
122 A LETTER TO TlIZ 
 
 " the test of a rational enquiry*." The decree here al- 
 luded to is the doctrine of a Trinity in Unity. As to my- 
 self, my whole Book bears witness for me, that I thought 
 it my own duty, and would have it also be your practice, 
 to bring this doctrine to tUe test of Scripture, as the only 
 sufficient rule in such a case. And I am persuaded, no 
 reasonable "Christian will have any objection to your pro- 
 ceedings, if you examine in the best manner you are able, 
 whether tht Catholic doctrine of the Trinity is found in the 
 Scripture, or not. But we shall charge you justly with a 
 great deal of presumption, if you undertake to compare it 
 with Scripture as a decree not found in Scripture : for this is 
 to beg the question ; that is, to take it for granted that a 
 decree is false, and then compare it with f he Scripture 
 to see whether it be true. If this is your method, you must 
 unavoidably conclude as your advisers have done before 
 you. To prevent which, 1 recommend those words of the 
 wise man — He that answer eth a /natter, before he heartth 
 it, it is folly, and shame unto him b . A Protectant who en* 
 ters upon a mock enquiry with these prejudices and anti- 
 cipations, is guilty of groat injustice towards his Chris- 
 tian brethren, and is all the while putting a trick upon 
 himself. 
 
 If you consult the discourse to the reader, prefixed to the 
 Catholic Doctrine, you will see, toward the latter end of it, 
 upon what grounds I have charged the learned Dr. Clarke, 
 and his followers, with this unfair practice of bringing to 
 the Scripture that knowledge which they cught to receive 
 
 * p, 6. * Pmr. xiv, 13, 
 
 from 
 
COMMON PEOPLE. 123 
 
 from it. Perhaps you never heard any history of that 
 Author, therefore I will tell you thus much of him: that 
 he was a man greatly to be respected for his temper and 
 scholarship ; but it happened, unfortunately for his cha- 
 racter as a Christian, that he wrote a celebrated book upon 
 the Being and Attributes (or perfections of God ;) and hav- 
 ing discovered, as lie thonght, by the force of his own wit, 
 what God was and must be in all respects, he rejected the 
 Christian doctrine of the Trinity ; and to put the best face 
 he could upon his Unbelief, spent much of the remainder 
 of his life in writing ambiguous comments, and finding 
 various readings, that is, m picking boles in the Bible/ 
 
 The Author of an Appeal to the Common Sense cf all Chris- 
 tian People, calls him, the immortal Br. Clarke* y and has 
 borrowed from him the substance of that whole book,. 
 which was the worst thing he ever wrote in his life. The 
 glittering characters of greet) Uaxned y and immortal, are 
 frequently thrown out with an intention to dazzle the eyes 
 of common readers ; and chiefly by those writers who are 
 most forward to accuse us of an implicit obedience to human 
 aitihoritjy and the decrees of fallible and interested men. But 
 if you leave the faith and hope of a Christian, your loss 
 will be equally great, whether you are tempted to it by the 
 Pope of Rome, or by the immortal Dr. Samuel Clarke. 
 
 VIII. Now wc are upon the subject ef human charac- 
 ters, I will propose to you, on the other hand, those 
 learned and godly Martyrs, who were concerned in re- 
 
 * Preface, 
 
 G * forming 
 
124 A LETTER TO THE 
 
 forming the Church of England from the errors of Popery. 
 If the doctrine of the Trinity is so contrary to the Scrip- 
 ture, as our adversaries would have you believe, how did 
 it happen that these men, who were certainly endued with 
 all the advantages and ornaments of human learning, and 
 had the Bible so often in their hands, that they translated 
 every word of it into the English tongue, suffered this 
 doctrine of the Trinity to stand unreformed ? I will shew 
 you how the Ariani endeavoured to solve this difficulty, 
 which is indeed a very great one. They say, M it may 
 4< fairly be presumed, that as they were just come out of 
 " the gross corruptions of Popery, they did not see the 
 f< whole truth as it is in Jesus V So that notwithstand- 
 ing their resolution to reform, yet Popery hung about them 
 still, and they did not reform so much as they ought to have 
 done. But if you are to be guided by presumptions, you 
 will soon discover, that the fairer presumption is on the 
 other side, when the nature of men and things upon such 
 occasions is rightly considered. When tares, growing 
 amongst whe3t, are to be plucked up, there is not nearly 
 so much danger that any tares should be left behind, as that 
 some of the wheat should be plucked up along with them. 
 If you have a crooked stick in your hand, and would make 
 it straight, the first step you take is to bend it too much the 
 contrary way ; after which it may come to be right at last. 
 Just so it happens, that if mankind are offended with any 
 thing, and sensible of a past error, they are apt to fly from 
 it with such an undistinguishing aversion, as to fall, before 
 
 * lb\d, p. 4, 
 
 they 
 
COMMON' PKOPLE. 125 
 
 thev arc aware, into the contrary extreme : and their pre- 
 judice, if they have any, is not for , but against, what they 
 are correcting. Instead of doing too little, they are in 
 danger of being in such a heat as to §ver do every thing 
 they set about : whence it is most naturally to be inferred, 
 that our Divines, who reformed the errors of Popery, 
 were not then inclined to act in favour of Popery. A spi- 
 rit of Reformation is an exellent thing ; and I wish to 
 God it abounded amongst us more than it does, provided 
 it would exert its force against those real corruptions, 
 which are but too visible to all serious members of the 
 Church of England \ but unless it is tempered with great 
 wisdom and caution, it degenerates naturally into a spirit 
 of contradiction. Which things being considered, I would 
 advise you not to be influenced by any presumptive reflec- 
 tions upon the judgment of our first Reformers, till the 
 Avians are able to prove, by some direct evidence, that the 
 doctrine of the Trinity, as now expressed in cur Creeds 
 and Offices, is an unreformed article of Psperj. 
 
 IX. Our adversaries lay so great a stress upon this charge 
 of popery, and find it so convenient at every turn, that 
 they are determined to make papists of us at any rate ; 
 therefore they assure you, in words not fit for a Christian 
 to repeat , that 4 ■ the church of Rome had as good a right 
 " to impose the worship of angels, and the Virgin Mary, 
 " upon the consciences of men, as the church of England 
 M had to impose the worship of the Holy Spirit as God, 
 " and of Three Persons as one God 3 /* The papists, 
 a P. 123, 
 
 G 3 without 
 
l£t) A LETTER TO THE 
 
 without question, will thank them for putting the worship 
 of the Virgin Mary upon a level with that of the Holy 
 Spirit. But this respect being paid to the papists nr our 
 expence, it is proper you should be made acquainted with 
 the merits of this affair. 
 
 1 he papists do not pretend to justify their worship of 
 the blessed Virgin by any precept or example of the Scrip- 
 ture { but tell you, in some fabulous legends, what hea- 
 venly favours have been granted to her worshippers ; that 
 Ignorant people may be encouraged to the like idolatry. 
 But where will the Arians find any such stories imposed 
 by the church of England, to justify the worship of the 
 Holy Ghost ? 
 
 If you ask the papists how they can prove that we ought 
 to worship the blessed Virgin, the best argument they can 
 aKedge, is the practice and infallibility of their own Ro~ 
 man cathAk church : but do we ever attempt to quiet your 
 scruples with any pretensions to unscriptural authority, or 
 personal infallibility ? 
 
 Let us pass at length to the Scripture itself, which will 
 shew you how dangerous it is for unlearned and well- 
 meaning people to trust themselves in the hands of an 
 Arian reasonr. 
 
 Doth the Scripture, \n any chapter or verse of it, call 
 the bodies of Christian people the Temple of the Virgin 
 
 Mary? But the apostle St. Paul saith Know ye not 
 
 that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost a ? And 
 what is the use of a temple? Is it not an house of prayer, 
 
 a Sec Catb. Dcct, Chap. ii. Art. iq. 
 
 pra'se. 
 
COMMON PEOPLE. 1 12 7 
 
 prais^, and sacrifice r He that has a temple must be en- 
 titled to divine honours in it ; or we shall be guilty of 
 idolatry when we worship him in his onvn temple; which is 
 absurd. The apostle himself makes this practice infe- 
 rence in the words which immediately follow '.here* 
 
 fore glorify God in your body. And if the word Gzl. in this 
 plrice denotes an object of worship exclusive of the Holy 
 •Spirit, (as cur adversaries arc obliged to suppose, or give 
 up the point) then it will follow, that the Temfk beiongs 
 to one Being, and the glory and worship to another ; which 
 is one of those many strange things you are bound to be- 
 liere, before you can be ot the Arian opinion a . 
 
 Can you find it any where written in the Scripture, that 
 the angels of heaven worshipped the Virgin Mary P Read 
 the sixth chapter of the prophet haiah, in which the Sera* 
 phim ascribe Glory to that Lord of Hosts who spake the fol- 
 lowing words to the prophet Go, and tell this people, 
 
 hear ye indeed, but understand not. &c. Now St. Paul 
 teaches us, in the last chapter of the Acts, that these 
 words were spoken by the Holy Ghost. So that when we 
 say, " Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to 
 " the HOLY GHOST/' we have the example of the 
 seraphim in heaven for this way of worship; a considera- 
 tion which will make us easy under all the opposition it 
 meets with here below in the world b . 
 
 When you have reflected upon these things, then you 
 may ask yourselves the question, Whether Christians who 
 
 a You may see the Author of the Appeal driven to this absurdity, and 
 endeavouring seriously to uphold it, if you consult his book, p. 6i,6z. 
 * See Catb. Dca. Chap. III. Art. XIX. 
 
 are 
 
128 A LETTER TO THE 
 
 are bom of God are any where said to be born of the Vir- 
 gin Mary ? Whether the Apostles, who were called of God 
 to the ministry of the Gospel, were called of the Virgin 
 Mary ? Whether the Virgin Mary can be tempted and 
 blasphemed by sinners ? Whether she conferred divine in- 
 spiration upon the prophets of the Old, or the apostles of 
 the New Testament ? Whether we are baptized in the 
 NAME, that is, into the religion and worship of the Vir- 
 gin Mary ? But all these things, and many more, are 
 true of the Ho'y Sffr'it; who dwelling in our body as in 
 his own temple, is therein to be served and glorified ; and 
 being also worshipped and glorified, together with the 
 Father and the Son, by the angels of heaven, I think we 
 have a better right to worship him here upon earth, than 
 the papists have to worship the Virgin Mary. 
 
 Our adversaries would persuade you we have so little to 
 say upon this subject from the Scripture, that k is a great 
 favour in them not to triumph over us, and insult us for it a . 
 As if it were no insult upon the Church of England to sup- 
 pose her worship as groundless as the idolatry of the pa- 
 pists ! 
 
 The Argument drawn from the words of Isaiah with 
 those of St. Paul is very plain, and very close : u The 
 u Lord of Hosts, whom the seraphim glorified, spake 
 H those words which uere spoken by the Holy Ghost: 
 ## therefore the Holy Ghost is the Lord of Hosts whom 
 N the seraphim glorified." Yet the author of the Appeal 
 declares^ tl>al nothing can be mote fallacious than this nxaj of 
 
 a Sec Atfeal) p. 104. n«te« 
 
 reasonings 
 
COMMON' PKOPLE. 129 
 
 reasoning) and that he could in the same manner conclude that 
 Isaiah is the Lord, because the words of the Lord (I was 
 found of them that sought me not) are applied to Isaiah , 
 Rom, x. 20. Where the apostle thus introduces them — 
 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that 
 sought me not*. * This author, I believe, is the first Chris- 
 tian who did ever suppose, that the apostle applied the 
 words in this verse to the person of Esaias ; or those in the 
 preceding to the person of Moses. This, however, is not 
 worth insisting upon, because he has mistaken the nature 
 of the argument. The force of it lies here; that the 
 speaker of the words above-mentioned, as they stand in 
 the prophet Isaiah, is called by the name of the Lord of 
 Hosts, was glorified by angels, seated upon the throne of 
 heaven, and sent a prophet by his own authority ; and 
 this speaker, as St. Paul informs us, was the Holy Ghost. 
 If the Scripture doth any where assert that Isaiah spake 
 under the same name, and with the same circumstances, 
 then we shall be ready to allow that the cases are parallel, 
 and will worship him also. Had the objector expressed 
 himself clearly, his meaning would have appeared to be 
 this : that because God speaks by a prophet, and speaks also 
 by his Holy Spirit, as much may be inferred in honour of 
 the one as of the other. But when God speaks by a pro. 
 phet, he speaks by another; when he speaks by his Spirit, 
 he speaks by himself. He reconciled the world by Jesus 
 Christ, but not as by another ; for God was in Christ rem 
 
 » P. 63. 
 
 conciling 
 
130 A LETTER TO THE 
 
 conciling the world to himself. So when he speaks by fiis 
 Spirit, he speaks by himself; as truly as a man utters his 
 voice by the spirit or breath of his own mouth ; or search- 
 eth his own thoughts by the operation of his own mind. 
 I am not afraid to insist upon this comparison, because I 
 borrow it from St. Paul; and it demonstrates such an unity 
 between God and the Spirit of God, as Christians 
 believe, and Avians do not : nor do they attempt to get 
 over it by any solution I have yet seen, which will not 
 also prove that a man and his spirit must be two different 
 beings ; or that we may correct an Apostle's argument 
 till it squares with our own opinion. In this manner 
 reasons the author of the Appeal. The Spivit is represented 
 as a Person who seavcheth the deep things of God, and conse* 
 quentlj he cannot be God*. But if he cannot be God, be- 
 cause he searcheth the things of God ; then the spirit of a 
 man cannot be man, because it knoweth the things of a 
 man. But observe how he proceeds : u No man, says he, 
 H can know, or make known to others the thoughts of a 
 s< man, but eithev the man himself, ov he to whomsoever 
 u the ma?i will discover them." In which words the pre- 
 mises are manifestly changed. The Apostle saith, what 
 man knoweth the things of a man, but the spirit of a man which 
 /': in him; that is, the man himself: but the author of the 
 Appeal says, either the man himself ov some ether. The 
 Scripture itself gives us the Catholic conclusion ; this al- 
 teration of Scripture will admit of the Avian conclusion. 
 
 » P. 66, 
 
 From 
 
COMMON PEOPLE. 131 
 
 From St. Paul's comparison, the Spirit is God himself; 
 from this author's, he is either God himself, or some other. 
 
 X. In a book lately published against the Articles of Re- 
 ligion, under the title of The Confessional, I have met with 
 a new objection to our way of worship; which, as it can 
 dccc;vc none but common readers, I shall present you 
 with it in this place. " The Athanasian Creed says," 
 as the author of this work observes, 4< that in ALL 
 THINGS the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity 
 is to be worshipped 3 ." Then he asks, " Is this the case 
 cl in ALL our forms of worship ? Turn back to the Li- 
 cr tany" (that is, turn forward) the Litany stands after 
 the Athanasian Creed) " and you will see three distinct 
 '•' invocations of the three Persons, to each of whom the 
 11 term God is assigned, implying a sufficiency in each, in 
 t§ his personal capacity, to hear and grant the petition." 
 This, he assures you, is a remarkable and notorious devia- 
 tion from the Athanasian maxim ; and that others might 
 be given in great abundance* 
 
 By an Athanasian, he means a Christian maxim ; but 
 calls it Athanasian, that your faith may seem to stand in the 
 wisdom wfmen: and our deviation from this maxim is 
 evident to him, from the three distinct invocations in the 
 beginning of the Litany. But if you look into the Litany 
 itself, you will discover, that these three invocations are 
 followed by a fourth, addressed to the " Holy, blessed, and 
 " glorious Trinity, three Persons and ONE GOD." In 
 
 * Confessional, p. 319. 
 
 the 
 
132 r\ LETTER TO THE 
 
 the three former petitions, the Unity in Trinity'; in the 
 fourth, the Trinity in Unity is worshipped. But of this 
 fourth he takes no notice; and then accuses the Church 
 of a remarkable and notorious deviation from her own max- 
 ims ; whereas he ought to have taken the whole address 
 together, and then have urged his exceptions, if any such 
 could have been reasonably made against it. To take one 
 portion of any form, abstracted from another which com- 
 pletes it, and then charge his brethren with defects and 
 contradictions of his own making, is agreeable neither to 
 sound criticism, nor indeed to common equity. Such a 
 practice as this will convict even the Scripture itself of 
 
 atheism: for if you leave out the words The fool hath 
 
 said in his heart, there will remain the naked assertion * 
 
 there 'it no God. Or it might be proved from the Gospel, 
 as I once heard it attempted by an excommunicated in. 
 fidel, that the Old Testament is now to be utterly con. 
 
 demned and laid aside, because it is said Hang all 
 
 the law and the prophets. But if the sentence be taken in 
 that form in which the Scripture hath given it, the sense is 
 entirely altered ; and so it happens with the objection 
 lately discovered by the author of the Confessional. His 
 brethren, as you have seen, accuse us of believing in 
 Three Gods ; and he mocks at our worship, as if it could 
 be reconciled with no other principle. 
 
 XI. But it is said farther, that the doctrine of the Tri- 
 nity is an offensive doctrine a , which has done infinite mischief 
 
 a P. 66, of the Appeal 
 
 to 
 
COMMON PEOPLE. 133 
 
 to the cause of Christ's religion, and that i t§ 
 
 expect the conversion of Jews, Mahometans, anc \ 
 
 so long as we hold :his doctrine necessary to sal » 
 
 On such occasion, as this, the Gospel, I fear, w • - 
 
 tenance but a very small degree of compliance, i 
 indifferent, and for the sake of those who haTf* oc jtt 
 broken the bond of peace and Christian unity, every con. 
 cession ought to be made that can be made with inno- 
 cence. But if we once qui: our moorings, to launch out 
 into the boundless ocean of worldly Policy, miscalled Mo- 
 deration, in search of proselytes, whose pride, pleasure, 
 and merit it is, not to be fourd and converted, we shall be 
 rewarded with shame and disappointment, and shall also 
 make shipwreck of our own faith. 
 
 The Socinians objected it to us long ago, that the doc- 
 trines of the Trinity and Incarnation prevent the conver- 
 sion of Mahometans, Je<zvs, and Pagans. And the same 
 doctrines hinder our Arians and Socinians too from being 
 converted : the true character of the Christian Saviour, 
 and the true object of Christian worship, being so essential 
 to the Gospel, that no man is to be accounted a convert, 
 till he agrees with Chris ^ ds in these articles. Were we 
 to alter the Christian faith into what Jews, Turks, and 
 Pagans believe, then we should gain them all; for then we 
 should be agreed \ that is, we should cease to be Christians 
 as well as they. 
 
 If this reasoning is of any force in one case, it must be 
 admitted in others. The Trinity, they say, is so offen- 
 sive to the Turks, that we shall never gain them till it is 
 
 » 133 Bid* 
 
 given 
 
134 A LETTER TO THE 
 
 given up. No : nor then neither. For Mahomet gave 
 txhem a liberty of having several wives ; but Christ hath 
 taught us, that God in the beginning ?nade them male and fe- 
 male) and that a Christian must have no more wives than 
 Adam had. Of this doctrine I may therefore say, with as 
 much reason as the Avians do of the Trinity, that it has done 
 infinite mischief ~ and that we can never expect the conversion 
 cf Mahometans y so long as it keeps its place in the Gospel 
 of Christ. If an Artan or Socman were to preach in the 
 streets of Const ant inotl . , insisting properly upon this doc- 
 trine, he would make no converts : for the Turk will as 
 soon be persuaded to worship the Trinity in Uniy, or 
 even three different Gods, as submit to have no more than 
 one wife. And this may serve to shew the weakness and 
 absurdity of such popular arguments : to which, I appre- 
 hend, our disputants against the Church would not apply 
 themselves so very often, could they defend safely upon 
 better topics. If the present faith and worship of the 
 Church are against the Scripture, that is enough ; and we 
 shall want no other arguments to persuade us out of them. 
 But if they are not, I leave you to judge, my friends, 
 whether we ought to forsake them out of civility to the 
 Turks j who pray five times a day that they may never be- 
 come Christians. 
 
 But there are Papists in the world who have souls to be 
 saved as well as the Turks ; and what would they think 
 of us, if we should gratify Jews, Heathens, and Maho- 
 metans, by denying the Trinity ? They have always 
 been sound in the belief of this doctrine ; and we could 
 never hope to recover any proselytes from the errors of 
 
 Popery ; 
 
COMMON PEOPLE. 135 
 
 Popery ; but, on the contrary, should make the religion 
 of Protestants more odious than ever, if, under the name 
 of Reformation, we were to root up the foundations of the 
 Gospel. You have heard, perhaps, that they have called 
 us Heretics for these two hundied years past ; and very 
 falsely : but if we should abjure the Christian Trinitv, 
 we should no longer have the name for nothing ; but 
 should be guilty of adding that truth to the accusation, 
 of which they would not fail to make their advantage. 
 And lastly, the far greatest part of Protestants would 
 reject us. 
 
 These things being considered, we are brought at length 
 to the following issue : tr.at to please some, we must part 
 with the doctrine of the Trinity ; and to please others, we 
 must keep it. Which m»y shew plainly enough what I 
 have had in view from the beginning of this Epistle, that 
 merely popular arguments are of no use towards settling 
 points of scriptural doctrine ; but may be turned this way 
 or that, as the manager finds it most convenient. Dis- 
 cretion and charity are indeed to be consulted by every 
 Christian, and on every subject ; but a writer who has a 
 good cause to maintain, and knows where its proper 
 strength lies, will not go out of his way to amuse people 
 with what is nothing to the purpose. Whereas, if a cause 
 is not so strong as it should be, popular considerations serve 
 to put the reader into an heat ; and when a man's pas- 
 sions are up, he will hear no reason on one side, and re- 
 quires none on the other. 
 
 XII* 
 
136 A LETTER TO THE 
 
 XII. There is one more of their insinuations, which is 
 the last I shall make any remarks upon at present ; and it 
 is this, <p/z. that t( there are several Clergymen of the 
 ii Church of England, who groan under the weight of 
 u the Athanasian forms and worship, that would be very 
 " glad of your assistance to be delivered from so great a 
 t( burden upon their consciences*." For the credit of the 
 Church of England, I hope there are not many such : but 
 if any Clergyman should be so mistaken as to imagine, 
 that a contempt for any of the Christian doctrines is an ar- 
 gument of their superior sense and learning, they are more 
 truly the objects of Pity, than of Envy or Imitation : and 
 your Arian counsellors, who are so forward to caution 
 you against human authority, will give me leave to advise 
 you not to depend upon human example. An error is still 
 an error though it resides in a Clergyman; and irstead of 
 being thereby sanctified, is only more deformed and dan. 
 gerous than it was before. A profane oath, or a curse, 
 would sound the more horrible, if a Bishop were to have 
 the uttering of it. A toad is an hideous creature in every 
 situation ; but is never so much abhorred as when it creeps 
 into the best room of the house. The ministers of Christ 
 are the salt of the earth : and if this salt have hit its savour, 
 ru;bt.r£~juith shall it be seasoned P 
 
 r ihe Scripture will teach you, that the worship of the 
 Golden Calf was a grievous sin, though Aaron, who was 
 a Clergyman, had the making of it. And there was a 
 time, when the whole body of the Clergy, I mean the 
 
 a Atfcal, p. iao. 
 
 Jewish, 
 
COMMON PEOPLE. 137 
 
 Jewish, determined Christ himself to be a blasphemer and 
 deceiver, and were instant with loud voices requiring that 
 he might be crucified. 
 
 Those Clergymen, who, like Dr. Clarke and his fol- 
 lower, the author of the Appeal y do by their own con- 
 fession believe two different Gods, while they falsely accuse 
 us of believing Tkree y would undoubtedly be very glad 
 to be well rid of a Trinity in Unity ; as the Turks were, 
 when they took the religion of Mahtmet into the place of 
 it. And if they should at length prevail, by dint of po- 
 pular clamour and importunity, of which some wonder- 
 ful effects have been seen in this kingdom, the Turks, 
 and the Jews too, would congratulate them upon their 
 victory ; and so would every determined Deist and Atheist 
 in the nation. Yet, after all, none of them would wor- 
 ship that imagined inferior Deity, whom this author 
 would persuade you to worship. 
 
 1 believe it also to be very true, that they would, as 
 their advocate tells you, be <verj glad of your assistance* 
 And I have been considering with myself in what form 
 and manner your assistance can be administered. They 
 can hardly mean, that you should assist them with the 
 pen, and write books upon Reformation ; for very few 
 amongst you are scholars : nor with the tongue, for you 
 are no orators. And I know not how you can assist 
 them otherwise, except it be with fire and sword, as 
 the reforming Clergy were assisted in the last century, 
 when loyalty was malignity, and episcopacy was anti- 
 Christianity, and the most miserable oppression and slavery 
 H ef 
 
138 A LETTER TO THE 
 
 of two thirds of the people, was celebrated as a state of 
 Christian liberty to the prevailing party. 
 
 We know, but too well, that the Gospel, with all its 
 doctrines, is an insupportable burden to those who do not 
 believe it : and so is the law of the land to those who do 
 not like to be under the restraint of it. Some men are 
 fond of liberty in one shape, and some in another. Some 
 think as they please ; and others act as they please. 
 This latter sort of people, many of whom are groaning 
 -under the nmight of political forms, would also be very 
 glad of your assistance toward amending the constitution, 
 and restoring gentlemen to that state of freedom, in 
 which they might follow their consciences without any 
 danger. And, perhaps, they would not object to your 
 assistance as unwarrantable in the sacred cause of liberty, 
 though you should accomplish their purposes by pulling 
 the magistrate from his chair, the judge from his bench, 
 the two houses of parliament from their seats, and the 
 King from his throne. 
 
 These are the prospects I have before my eyes, when 
 I hear Deists and Socinians haranguing the public upon 
 the subjects of Conscience and Imposition : which pro- 
 spects having been once realized in this Church and King- 
 dom, cannot be deemed altogether chimerical. Such po- 
 pular reasonings as I have now been contending with, 
 have already produced the most fatal consequences, to 
 the triumph of the Papists, and the scandal of the Re- 
 formation : they have deceived you once : and unless 
 you are upon your guard, they will deceive you again : 
 
 mid 
 
COMMON PEOPLE. 139 
 
 and the last error shall be worse than the first; worse in 
 itself, and worse in its consequences. It pleased God 
 to deliver the Church from its captivity under the Puri- 
 tans, and the people from their infatuation : but if ex- 
 periments, when they have been tried, leave us no wiser, 
 or, perhaps, not so wise as they found us, it is much 
 to be questioned whether we shall again meet with the 
 like indulgence : at least, it will be safest always to bear 
 in mind that course of divine Providence in a similar in- 
 stance, proposed as a warning to all Christians by the 
 apostle St. Jude, How that the Lord having saved the 
 people out of the land of Egypt , aftenvards destroyed them 
 that believed not. 
 
 Those authors who would stir you up to seditious mo- 
 tions, make you so many fair speeches, and lay claim 
 to so much candour and charity, that you may easily 
 mistake them for your best friends. But 1 must now 
 leave you to judge for yourselves, whether a writer,, 
 who lies sculking in the dark, under a nameless title- 
 page, can really love you better than one, who is not 
 afraid to subscribe his name at length to what he has 
 written, and is exposing himself for your sakes to be 
 reviled and persecuted in the monthly publications of 
 infidel Critics, who on account of the information I have 
 here given you, with a desire to clear away some of that 
 dust, which they and their friends are perpetually throw- 
 ing into your eyes, will find, if possible, some worse 
 names for me than they have ever done yet. They 
 have expressed their wrath against me more than once 
 or twice; and probably they will now do it again. But 
 
 a little 
 
1 
 
 14G A LETTER, &C. 
 
 a lhtle more ill language will do me no harm ; and if I 
 can do you any good at such an expence, it will all be 
 cheerfully taken by your 
 
 Very sincere Friend, 
 Ike. 16, i 7 66 e and nl05t aff ectionate 
 
 Brother in Christ, 
 
 WILLIAM JONES. 
 
 Punted by Law and Gilbert, St. John's -Square, London. 
 
r 
 
 AN 
 
 ESSAY * 
 
 920 
 
 tN THE 
 
 C H U 11 C H. 
 
 yt THE 
 
 REV. w/jONES, M. A. 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE CATHOLIC DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, 
 A NEW EDITION, 
 
 PUBLISHED BY DESIRE OF THE 
 SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 For my Brethren and Companions* Sake, I will wijb thee 
 Pro/ferity, Yea, hecaufe of the Houfe of the Lerd cur God, 
 I willfeek to do thee good. psalm cxxii, 
 
 3lcn&on : 
 
 PRINTED FOR F. AND C. RIVING TON, 
 
 BOOKSELLERS TO THE 
 SOCIETY TOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, 
 
 NO. 62/ ST. pau l's chu rc h-yard ; 
 Ry -Eye and Law, St. John's-Souare, C 
 
 1800. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Of the Difinftion between the World 
 and the Church; with the Nature 
 and Chara&er of both Societies, I 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of the Means of Grace, and the Marks 
 by which the Church of Chrijl is to 
 be known, - - i S 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The Errors which tempt men to leave 
 the Church, and make them eafy when 
 they arefeparatedfroyn it, - "37 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 O/i the Abufe of the Refonnation, SV. 74 
 A % CHAP. 
 
IV CONTENTS.' 
 
 CHAP; V, 
 
 Afhort View of the prefent State of the 
 Argument between the Church of 
 England and the Dijfenters, - 8 1 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 An Account of the firji Separation of 
 
 the Dijfenters from the Church of 
 
 England^ - - - 1 1 8 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
PREFAC E< 
 
 THE thrfce great Sub' 
 a nift( r Is , 
 
 are the Won! of Gol, the C3 
 
 and the Chriilian Li nunftances 
 
 and occauons- will fpmetimes direct 
 
 thoughts to one of thefe, and fometimes to 
 another : but fo long as any of the three 
 are before him, he is within the circle of 
 his duty. 
 
 I was led to the fubjed: of the following 
 Effay, by an accident. I am a Curate in a 
 country parifh ; who make it my bufinefs, 
 and have found it my pleafure, to teach the 
 children of my people, privately in my own 
 houfe, and publickly in the Church ; and 
 I am, for the prefent, the only Sunday 
 Sckoolmajler of the place. In the courfe of 
 A3 my 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 my inftru'ftions, I had occafion to obferve, 
 
 that the Catcchifm of the Church of Ene- 
 
 land, though a moft excellent Summary of 
 
 the Chriftian Dodrine, is deficient in one 
 
 point, viz. the Conjlitution of the Church 
 
 of Chriji ; the knowledge of which, in a 
 
 certain degree, is neceflary to the preferva- 
 
 tion of that Charity which is the end of the 
 
 Commandment ; and, for the want of w T hich, 
 
 fo many are drawn away from the Church , 
 
 who would certainly have remained with 
 
 it, if they had known what it is. Yet is 
 
 our Catechifm not fo deficient, but that it 
 
 includes the grand diflin&ion betwixt the 
 
 World and the Church ; which diftin6tion 
 
 being explained, I found we were poffefled 
 
 of a leading idea, which gave fo much 
 
 light to my young pupils, that I deter^ 
 
 mined to go through the fubje<5t. 
 
 As I have been perfuaded, ever fince I 
 began to think on thefe things, of the great 
 importance of uniformity in worfhip amongft 
 Chriftians : fo have I been led to obfcrve, 
 
 on 
 
PREFACE* Vli 
 
 on the other hand, the many evil confe- 
 qucnces of Non- conformity, with the dan- 
 gerous delufions of the mind, arifing from 
 the harangues of preachers pretending to 
 extraordinary gifts, while they are but half 
 learned in the Gofpel, which they under- 
 take to publifh, and are greatly miftaken 
 in the fpirit of it. I fee how fome men 
 are cheated with the appearance of being 
 converted to godlinefs ; when they are only 
 converted from one fin to another; from 
 loving the world, to hating their neigh- 
 bours ; from the coldnefs of Church devo- 
 tion, to an uncharitable heat againft the 
 Church itfelf ; from the moral philofophy 
 of fome of our pulpits, to the Antinomiatl 
 Faith, which gives men a licenfe to fin; 
 from the drunkennefs of the body, to the 
 intoxication of the mind, \vith fpiritual 
 pride and falfe dodtrine. 
 
 I am well allured, that if this fubjed: of 
 
 the Church, now fo much neglected, and 
 
 almoft forgotten by thofe who are moil 
 
 A 4 con- 
 
VII J PREFACE. 
 
 concerned to underftand it, fhould come to 
 be better confidered ; there would be more 
 true piety, and more peace, more of thofe 
 virtues which will be required in Heaven, 
 and which mult therefore be firft learned 
 upon earth. 
 
 Some amongft us err, becaufe they know 
 net the Scriptures; and others, becaufe they 
 never confidered the nature of the Church* 
 Some think they can make their own re- 
 ligion, and fo they defpife the word of 
 God, and fall into infidelity. Others think 
 they can make their own Church, or even 
 be a Church unto themfelves ; and fo they 
 fall into the delufions of Enthufiafm, or 
 the uncharitablenefs of'Schifm. But, as 
 there is nothing to enlighten the minds of 
 men in the doctrines of falvation> but t)he 
 word of God; fo, is *hfcre nothing that 
 can unite their hearts and affedions, but 
 the Church of God. x Ye are cr.e bread y 
 and one body, faith the Apoftle ; one body* 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 by partaking of one bread j and that can 
 only.be in the lame communion. 
 
 In the weighing of thefc things, the pre- 
 vailing fpirit of the times, and the fan&ion 
 which it may have given either to the 
 profligate linner, or to the prefumptuous 
 faint, are of no account upon the fcale. 
 In the fettling of principles, we are never 
 to confider how the world hath practifed, 
 but how God hath taught. The practice 
 of the multitude, how great foever that 
 multitude may be, hath no influence upon 
 truth: yet it will ftagger the minds of 
 many, and carry them away, as With an 
 overbearing torrent. Happy are they who 
 have a better rule to direct them. They 
 know that man applauds; highly applauds, 
 what God abominates : and the higher the 
 spplaufe, the more room there is for fuf- 
 picion. They know that the voice of the mul- 
 titude was againft Jefus Chrift, w hen but few 
 were for him; and they had hid themfelves, 
 
 and 
 
X PREFACE, 
 
 and dared not to fpeak their minds. When 
 Noah followed the direction of God in 
 building the Ark, for the faving of his 
 houfe, the world was againft him. To 
 them no ark was neceifary, becaufe they 
 had determined amongft themfelves, that 
 there would be no flood; and confequently, 
 that Noah was a bigot, whofe undertaking, 
 while it expofed himfelf, was an invidious 
 reflexion upon the age. When the father 
 of the faithful followed the calling of God, 
 there were none to ftand by him and en- 
 courage him,* he was feparated from his 
 neareft relations ; and w r herefoever he went* 
 he was under fears and dangers from peo- 
 ple of a falfe perfuafiom When Jefus 
 Chrift brought with him from Heaven, 
 that Light w r hich was to be the glory of 
 his people ; one ruler of the Jews came to 
 him by Health in the night, to confult him 
 as a teacher, come from God. So great 
 was the authority of a blinded multitude, 
 that a ruler of the people was afraid of 
 
 being 
 
F&EFACE. XI 
 
 being brought into difgracc, by con- 
 verting perfonally with the Saviour of the 
 world ! 
 
 The times, therefore, and the people 
 who live in them, are never to be confidered 
 by us, when we are feeking or following 
 the truth, on the ground of its own proper 
 evidence. When it was afked, with a de- 
 fign to perplex the people, who, of the 
 Rulers j or of the Pharifces, had believed ? 
 our Saviour gave them a different rule: 
 Why do ye not of yourf elves, faid he, judge 
 what is right ; without going firft to con* 
 fult thofe, who are blinded by falfe learn- 
 ing, and, with an appearance of great 
 fandlity, have impofed upon the people > 
 M See," faith one, " how fail our docftrine 
 is increafing ! all the learned are going 
 after it ; and you rnuft all fubmit to it in a 
 very fhort time." And who are they that 
 thus reafon with us ? The very fame per- 
 fons, who declaim fo loudly on the fallibi- 
 lity of all men j and yet hold themfelves to- 
 be 
 
I 
 
 Xll PREFACE. 
 
 be little |efs than infallible in the choice of 
 their own opinions. Let error rife as high 
 as it can ; and let truth link as low as a 
 wicked world can reduce it ; the difference 
 between them is the fame as ever; and we 
 fhall flill find it wifer and better to follow 
 the fetting fun, as Columbus did w r hen he 
 difcovcred the Indies. The meteor of 
 Herefy, which blazes, and dazzles us for 
 a while with its appearance, will burn out,, 
 and leave not a fpark behind; while the 
 fun only fcts to rife again. Such will 
 be the fate of the Church, and of the 
 doctrines of truth by which it is flip- 
 ported. 
 
 . There never was a time from the be? in- 
 ning of the world, when tb re was not a 
 party againft the Church of God : and our 
 Ifracl muft have its enemies, as that Church 
 had which came out of Egypt. In the firft 
 a^e of the Gofpel, the Apoftle St. J tide 
 fpokc experimentally of thofe whom he 
 then faw, or prophetically of thofe whom 
 
 we 
 
PREFACE. XUt 
 
 we fhould fee, that they go in the way of 
 Cain, and run after the error of Balaam ; 
 and perifh in the gawfiyi-ig of Corah. If 
 our governors were as cruel as Pharaol\ 
 fbme would rejoice at it, and upbraid us 
 with every difadvantage we might be under 
 from hard ufage ; as a fign that the Church 
 is a thing of no confequence, and that all 
 thofe who belong to it are the vaffals of 
 the ftate. If the Church were as pure as 
 Abel* the envy and jealoufy of Cain would 
 hate its offerings and facrifices. If its or- 
 der and ceconomy were as perfed: as in that 
 Church which covered the face of the earth 
 in its paflage to Canaan, the felf-interefted 
 fpirit of the mercenary Balaam , would en- 
 deavour to bring a curfe upon it, and blaft 
 its greatnefs. If its governors were as 
 manifeftly fupported in their commiffion, 
 as Mofes and Aaron ; the fpiritual pride of 
 Corah would fet up the Jiolinefs of the 
 congregation againft its priefthood, and the 
 power of the people againft the civil ma- 
 6 giftrate, 
 
XIV PREFACE* 
 
 giftrate, who gives it prote&ion. But 
 none of thefe things ought to ftagger or 
 furprize a reader of the Scripture : they are 
 all to be expected : thefe things were our 
 examples: and the Church would not be 
 the Church of God, if there were none to 
 rife up againft it. 
 
 With thefe considerations in his mind, 
 and not without them, a reader v/ill be 
 prepared to examine what I have written 
 upon the Church. If any of our Diflent- 
 ing brethren fhould lQpk into this little 
 piece, and find the matter fo reprefented as 
 to engage their attention ; my prayer fhall 
 be with them, that God may give them the 
 grace to caft out the bitter leaven of a party- 
 fpirit; to lay afide all temporal motives 
 and interefts, and confider the Church (as 
 I have done) only fo far as it is related to 
 the other world. To any particular or 
 national Church, all temporal alliances are 
 but momentary considerations, which pafs 
 away with the falhion of this w'orld ; and 
 
 8 the 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 the Church may be either with them, 
 or without them, as it was in the firft 
 ages: but the Church itfelf, under the 
 relation it bears to Jefus Chrift, abideth 
 for ever. 
 
 ESSAY 
 

ESSAY 
 
 CHURCH. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 OF THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE WORLD 
 AND THE CHURCH; WITH THE NATURE AND 
 CHARACTER OF BOTH SOCIETIES. 
 
 TWO things of a contrary nature are beft 
 understood when they are placed near to 
 one another, or compared together in the mind* 
 The fummer is better underilood, and more to 
 be valued, when we compare it with the winter; 
 a feafon in which fo many comforts are wanting, 
 which the fummer affords us. The biefllngs of 
 government are more acceptable, when com- 
 b pared 
 
a ESSAY ON THE CHURCH, 
 
 pared with the miferies of anarchy. We havx 
 the like advantage, when we compare together 
 the church and the ivcrid, thofe tv,o focieties of 
 which we are members: of the world by our 
 natural birth; of the church by our fpiritual 
 birth in baptifm. When we are admitted into 
 the Chriftian covenant, we renounce this world 
 as a wicked world, and become members of the 
 church, which is called the holy church. Both 
 thefe focieties are influential on thofe who be- 
 long to them; the one corrupts, the other 
 fanctifies : therefore it is of the laft importance 
 to mankind to confider and underfland the dif- 
 ference between them. 
 
 If we afk, why the world is called wicked, 
 we fhall find it to be fuch from the nature and 
 manners of its inhabitants: for the world, as it 
 means the fyftem of the vifible creation, can 
 have no harm in it. There can be no wicked- 
 nefs, where there is no moral agency nor free- 
 dom of adtion. 
 
 From the* fin of Adam, and the effects of his 
 fall, the ftate of man by nature is a ftate of fin. 
 The Scripture is fo exprefs in this, that it is 
 not necefiary to infift upon it. A difpofition to 
 €vil comes into the world with every man, and 
 
 is 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 3 
 
 is as a feed, which brings forth its fruit through- 
 out the courfe of his life. Many evil paffions 
 difturb and agitate his mind; and from the ig- 
 norance or darknefs which prevails in him, he 
 knows not that he is to refill them in order to 
 his peace and happinefs, nor hath he ability fo to 
 do, if he did know it. The word and the mofl 
 violent of all his pailions is pride, which affects 
 fuperiority, and delights in vain fhew and pom- 
 pous diflindion ; whether it be that of wealth, 
 or honour, or wifdom. Covetouihefs difpofes 
 him to take all he can to himfelf, and pay^ no 
 regard to the wants of others; whence the date 
 of nature is a Hate of war, in which men plun- 
 der and deflroy one another ; not knowing the 
 way of peace, which confifls only with reflraint, 
 and mull be taught them from above ; the way 
 of peace have they not known, faith the Scrip- 
 ture. 
 
 Man knows all things by education, but no- 
 thing by nature, except, as the Apoftle faith, 
 what he knoweth naturally as a brute beafl. The 
 world, as we fee it now, is under the reftraint 
 of laws, which in fome countries are better in 
 themfelves and better executed than in others: 
 but if there were no laws and no governments 
 
 B 2 tO 
 
4 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 to execute them, then we fliouid fee what a 
 fcene of deftruftion and mifcry this world would 
 be, through the finfulnefs of man's nature. 
 Fraud, rapine, and cruelty, thofe three dreadful 
 roonfters make ftrange havock amongft us, not- 
 withftanding the laws and regulations of fociety: 
 what then would this world be without them ? 
 
 With refpedt to God, the ftate of man is a 
 ftate of rebellion, alienation, and condemnation. 
 His ways are fo oppofite to the will of God, 
 that he is faid to be at enmity with him. He 
 has no alliance with his Maker, either as a child, 
 a fubje£t, or a fervant; but being under a 
 general law of difobedience, can inherit nothing 
 from God but wrath and punifhment. 
 
 You will fee this account verified by the 
 •plaineft declarations of the Scripture. — Firft, 
 as to the enmity of the world againftGod. If 
 the world hate you, faith our Lord when he came 
 to fave it, ye know that it hated me before it 
 hated you. Secondly, as to their alienation or 
 departure from all alliance with him— you that 
 were fame time alienated .and enemies in your minds 
 by wicked works \ faith St. P-aul, Col. i. 11 : 
 and again, fpeaking of the natural ftate of the 
 Epbejians before their converfion, he defcribes 
 
 them 
 
E&SAY ON THE CHURCH. $ 
 
 them as |/i«fi and ftr angers from the covenants 
 of protniJe> having no hope, and without God in 
 the world. In which pafiage, there is fomc- 
 thing farther than appears from the found of the 
 words ; for when we read, without God in the 
 world, the words, in the world, are emphatical, 
 and denote this wicktd world, fuch as we have 
 been defcribing it, of which they that are mem- 
 bers, muft ofcourfe.be without God, and with- 
 out hope ; they belong to a fociety which knows 
 him not. 
 
 Then, thirdly, that the world is under con- 
 demnation ; we are chaflened tf the Lord, faith 
 St* Paul, flfc** wtjhautd not he condemned with 
 the w&ridi whence ic is evident, that the world, 
 as fuch, is under condemnation, and can expecfl 
 nothing of God, but punifhment for fin* 
 
 We are now prepared to take a review of 
 this fociety called the world. It is compofed of 
 men loft by the fall * difpofed to all manner of 
 evil: ignorant of the way of peace; at enmity 
 with God, and with one another; delighting 
 themfelves in the pride of appearance, and the 
 vanity of diftindfcion. In a word, the whole 
 world lieth in wickednefs, and they that are con- 
 demned for fin, will be condemned with the 
 b 3 world, 
 
O ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 world, whofe condemnation, therefore, is a 
 thing of courfe. What human philofophy may 
 fay of this defcription of the world, we are not 
 to regard : if it is the defcription which ftands 
 in the Holy Scripture, we are not to confider 
 what men may fay of it. A proud world will 
 never be pleafed to fee an humiliating defcrip- 
 tion of itfelf. 
 
 Such then is the world, and fuch are we all, 
 fo far as we are members of it. God therefore 
 of his infinite mercy takes us out of this wicked 
 fociety, and tranjlates us into another. He 
 delivers us from the power of darknefs, and tran- 
 jlates us into the kingdom of his dear Jon ; and 
 without this tranflation we are inevitably loft. 
 You are here to obferve, that the kingdom of 
 Chrift is one of the names of his church \ and 
 they that are in it, as it is diftinguifhed fron 
 the world, are called children of the kingdom. 
 Its nature is totally different from the kingdoms 
 of this world (of which we fhall fee more here- 
 after) for as the world is called wicked, fo the 
 church is called holy, and all the holinefs that 
 can be in man, muft be derived from thence. 
 If we enquire how, and in what refpefts, the 
 church is holy, we find it muft be fo from its 
 
 relation 
 
ESSAY ON* THE CHURCH. J 
 
 relation to God. It is called the church of Gcd, 
 and he being holy, every thing that belongs to 
 him muft be fo of courfe. And further, it is a 
 fociety, or body, of which the Holy Spirit is 
 the life ; and this life being communicated to 
 thofe who are taken into the church, they are 
 thereby made partakers of an holy life, which is 
 elfewhere called the life of God; from which life 
 they are alienated who are out of this fociety. 
 It is holy in its facraments; our baptifm is an 
 holy baptifm, from the Holy Spiri: of God; 
 the Lord's Supper is an holy facrificc : the or- 
 dinance of ablblution is for the forgiv nefs of 
 pall fin, that the members of the church may 
 be recovered from fin to a ftate of holirefs, and 
 peace with God. The church is holy in its 
 priefthood ; all the offices of which are for the 
 fanftification of the people. 
 
 The contrary nature cf the two focitdes I 
 have been fpeaking of, will now be better un- 
 derftood, when they are compared together. 
 In the one, men are in a loft condition \ in the 
 other, they are in a ftate of falvation : for as the 
 world is alienated from God, the church is in 
 alliance and covenant with him, and partaker 
 of his promifes. As the w r orld is under coa- 
 b 4 demnation> 
 
8 ISSAY ON THL CHURCH. 
 
 demnation, the church is under grace and par- 
 don of fin : its baptifm wafhes away original fin, 
 and gives a new birth to purity and righteouf- 
 nefs ; its other facrament of the Lord's fupper 
 maintains that fpiritual life which is begun at 
 baptifm, as meat and drink fupport die life we 
 receive at our natural birth. As the world is 
 without' hope k the Chriftian hath hope in death, 
 through the Refurreftion of Chrift, and is af- 
 fured, that he who is united to the life of God, 
 can never die: for God is not the God of the 
 dead, but of the living. While the wicked arc 
 to perifh with the world which they inhabit, 
 the children of God are heirs with Chrijl of an 
 eternal kingdom. 
 
 The Church is alfo holy, when by the word 
 Church, we underftand the Building or place 
 in which the people aflfemble to accomplifh the 
 Service of God. As the world, on the other hand, 
 hath always had its unholy Places of Affembly, its 
 theatre, its Idol Temples, &c. which unfanflify 
 and pollute thofe who frequent them. Under 
 the Jewifh State of the Church, the temple is 
 called the holy temple > or holy place ; (Heb.) and 
 a part of it was called the moft holy place. Our 
 Saviour allows that the Temple Janftified the 
 
 gold, 
 
ESSAY Otf THE CHURCH. 9 
 
 gold, which was offered in it, and confequentiy 
 all other offerings and facrifices there made. 
 Now, if that temple was holy, whofe glory was 
 to be done away, certainly the place of Chriftian 
 worfhip, called the church, muft be holy alio, 
 For why was the Temple at Jerufalem holy, 
 but becaufe the prefence of God attended it ? 
 And has he not promifed to be in the midft of 
 us ? And mull not our churches therefore be 
 holy upon the fame account? And are they not 
 guilty of a great fin, who treat any church with 
 irreverence ? Much more if they defpife or de- 
 file it ? For it is faid, he that defileth the temple 
 of God, him jhall God deftroy. 
 
 But nothing will fhew us the difference be- 
 tween the world and the church, fo effectually, 
 as when we confider who is at the head of each 
 fociety. Chrift is the bead of the church, and 
 the Devil is the prince of this world, who is alio 
 called the God of this world. They who are in 
 the church, are in the kingdom of Chrift; 
 which, though not of this world, as not deriving 
 its power from thence, is yet in the world. 
 They who are of this world, are in the kingdom 
 of Satan, and under his power: as the heathens 
 are faid to have been before they were redeemed- 
 £ 5 from 
 
IO ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 from it, and brought over to the kingdom of 
 God : which tranflation was fignified by the re- 
 demption of the Hebrews, from under the 
 power of Pharaoh. 
 
 If we enquire into the refpe£tive charafters of 
 the head of the church, and the prince of this 
 world, as they are defcribed under a variety of 
 names, the oppofition is wonderful ; and it will 
 be found very inftru&ive, becaufe there is the 
 fame oppofition betwixt the children of each. 
 
 The head of the church is called Jefus the 
 Saviour : the head of this world is a deftroyer -, in 
 Hebrew, Abaddon : in Greek, Apollyon. 
 
 The one is the true light, that is, a fpiritual 
 light to the foul of man ; the other is the prince 
 of darknefs. 
 
 The one is a Jhepherd, gathering the lambs 
 with his arm, and feeding his flock ; the other 
 is a lion who goeth to and fro in the eartl^ 
 feeking whom he may devour. 
 
 The one is a lamb; meek, innocent, and fpot- 
 lefs: the other is a/erpent; deceitful, fubtile, 
 and with poifon under his lips. 
 
 The one is the phyfician of fouls, who went 
 about healing the fick, and railing the dead : 
 the other is the infli&er of difeafes^ bowing men 
 
 down 
 
 4 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. II 
 
 down with infirmities ; binding them with the 
 bonds of affliction; and was a murderer fr era the 
 beginning 5 for he brought death into the world, 
 by the temptation of man in Paradife. Men 
 murder individuals \ but Satan murders a whole 
 world at once : and is the prince of mur- 
 derers. 
 
 The one delivers men who are under tempta- 
 tion to fin ; the other is the tempter, who leads 
 them into it. And as the one is the advocate of 
 finners, interceding for them as their priefl and 
 mediator ; the other is the grand accufer, who is 
 therefore called the Devil, which fignifies an 
 accufer. 
 
 And laftly, (for I think we need go no far- 
 ther at prefent) the one is the truth, the other 
 is a lyar y and the father of lies. 
 
 The like difference is found in the children 
 of this world, and the children of the kingdom 
 of God ; that is, between the wicked world* 
 who are under the power of Satan, and the Holy 
 Churchy which is the flock of Chrifl y and takes 
 him for its pattern. It cannot be otherwife ; 
 the fpirit of the head mud be diffufed through 
 the members; and you will fee it to be 
 true : px% with refpedl to the Holy Church 
 b6 of 
 

 I3t 
 
 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 of Chrift ; whofe difciples are taught to relieve 
 one another in their wants, and fave one another 
 in their diftrefs -, rejoicing and fuffering together, 
 as the members of the fame body ; and doing 
 good unto all men. His minifters are Jbepherds \ 
 his followers, from the firft ages of Chriftianity, 
 were accounted and treated as /beep for thejlaugh- 
 ter^ and were patient and unrefifting. They 
 exhort and encourage one another to good 
 works, and being united together under a bond 
 of peace, their charity covereth a multitude of 
 fins ; that is, it hideth and concealeth the many 
 failings of their brethren for the love of Chrift, 
 inftead of aggravating their offences, and judg- 
 ing them unmercifully. They are children of 
 light, who derive the light of wifdom from the 
 word of God ; and walk openly and honeftly, as 
 ia the day. In their converfation, they are true 
 and faithful, and give you a diredl anfwer, with- 
 out difguife or fubterfuge. 
 
 Such ought to be the members of the holy 
 Church of Chrift : this is the character intended 
 for them, though many fall fhort of it, and 
 fome totally depart from it. But the vifible 
 church memberfhip of men, does not depend 
 upon their manners and opinions j nor indeed 
 £ upon 
 

 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. I J 
 
 upon any thing they can do for themfelves; 
 becaufe it is the gift of God, by his minifters ; 
 fo that a man in a holy church may be an un- 
 holy man: for the kingdom of heaven, or 
 church of Chrift, is like a net caft into the fea, 
 which gathers of every kind, both bad and 
 good; and an effectual feparation is never made 
 between them, till the Angels drag this net to the 
 (hore, to gather the good into veflels, and caft 
 the bad away. If we bear this cafe in mind, it 
 will deliver us from a great deal of perplexity. 
 It is truly a forrowful fact, that the children of 
 God, in too many inftances, depart from their 
 proper character : but the chara&er proper to 
 the world, is, in all refpedts, like that of Satan, 
 wicked and iriferabie. 
 
 As the devil is the prince of this world, his 
 children fet their affe&ions upon it ; and it is 
 the main purpofe of their lives to obtain and 
 enjoy it at any rate. For this they fell their 
 fouls, and if they get the world in exchange, 
 they think they are gainers by the bargain. 
 
 As he is the prince of darknefs, fo do they 
 fall into ignorance, and blindnefs of heart, and 
 love darknefs rather than light, that their deeds 
 may not be reproved* They hate the word of 
 
 God, 
 
14 ESSAY ON T THE CHURCH. 
 
 God, as owls and bats hate the day-light •> and 
 difpuie fiercely for their errors, left information 
 and convidlion fhould bring them to repent- 
 ance. 
 
 As the Devil is a deftroyer> Co do the chil- 
 dren of this world deftroy one another. Their 
 wife politics produce war and defolation; their 
 error and delufion of mind ftir them up to the 
 perfecution of the fervants of God: and wherever 
 we fee oppreffion, and cruelty, and perfecution, 
 there we fee the fpirit of the Devil, the father 
 of perfecution, who, by violence, will terrify 
 and compel, where he cannot perfuade. 
 
 As he is a ferpent, fo his children are a gene- 
 ration of vipers, double-tongued, and deceitful; 
 fmooth and flattering on fome occafions, but 
 waiting to give a deadly bite when they are of- 
 fended and provoked. Their way is crooked 
 and uncertain, like the path of a ferpent. Aa 
 honeft man, whofe path is diredt and plain,, caa 
 never tell what to make of them, becaufe they 
 pretend to be going one way, while they are 
 going another $ and they often gain their end 
 by it y as the twiftings of the ferpent carry him 
 to the point he aims at. 
 
 As 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 1$ 
 
 As Lucifer fell from Heaven for rebellion, 
 all his children are impatient under authority ; 
 and in this capacity they are called/*?;^ of Belial y 
 which means, that they can bear no fuperior. 
 Patience, and obedience, and fubmifiion, are 
 eflential to the Chriftian character. Chrift him- 
 felf is our pattern, who allowed that the power 
 of Pilate, fo unjuftly exercifed, was given him 
 from above, and fubmitted to his fentence, when 
 he could have (truck him dead upon his bench. 
 But refiftance is the Devil's do&rine, and the 
 world's practice. The Gofpel teaches us, that 
 the things which are highly efteemed among 
 men, are an abomination in the fight of God, 
 and here we fee it verified ; nothing is more de- 
 teftable to the God of peace, than the fin of 
 rebellion; and nothing is more magnified and 
 applauded by the children of this world; who 
 have fet what they call the power of the peo- 
 ple, above the power of God Almighty. He 
 ordains government, and kings are his minifters; 
 but the people are told, that they have power 
 to overthrow his ordinance, and judge his vice- 
 gerents. 
 
 As the Devil is a tempter, his children adl 
 under him in that capacity: moll wicked men 
 
 have 
 
l6 ESSAV ON THE CHURCff. 
 
 have a ftrange defire to make all others as 
 wicked as themfelves* The world is full of 
 feducers, who tempt men to falfe principles, 
 and immorality of life. Some get their live- 
 lihood by the corruption of other people ; and 
 moft infidels and heretics are fo diligent in 
 fp reading their opinions, that if the friends of 
 truth were equally zealous, the world would not 
 be able to (land againft them. 
 
 As the Devil is the grand accufer, fo doth the 
 world delight itfelf in evil-fpeaking. Railing 
 and flandering is their great amufement. Evil 
 words are not pointed againft evil things. The 
 world delights to afperfe thofe, who are unlike 
 to themfelves. There never was a good man, 
 nor ever will be, who was not evil lpoken of, 
 and depreciated in the judgment of the public ; 
 and the rule is fo univerfal, that our Saviour 
 faith to all Chriftians, Woe be unto you, when all 
 wen /peak well of you. Falfe prophets were well 
 fpoken of by the people $ and there rauft be 
 fomething falfe and fpurious, feme evil with the 
 appearance cf good*, in every popular character 
 that pleafes the world. 
 
 * Kate* xaxey nil 9 ayaSw* Hesiod. 
 
 As 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH* if 
 
 As the Devil is the father of lies, fo air 
 they that are of the Devil are liars, who will 
 never make a fcruple of a lie to hurt others, or 
 ierve themfelves. The whole Heathen religion 
 was one great lie, in oppofition to the truth of 
 the Divine law. Much evil is threatened to thofe 
 who put evil for good, and good for evil -, who 
 make the heart of the righteous fad, by predict- 
 ing evil to them, and by promifing happinefs 
 and profperity to the wicked. Thus did they 
 fpeak of old, who were called falfe Prophets j 
 and it would be happy for us if there were none 
 of them amongft us: but, wherever they arc 
 found, they are the minifters of Satan : and 
 how fair and fine they may fpeak on fome occa- 
 fions, it is no proof of their goodnefsj for Satan 
 is fometimes, as it ferves his . purpofe, trans- 
 formed into an angel of light > and affedts an holjr 
 and heavenly character \ and then he is moll £> 
 Devil, becaufe he can moft deceive. 
 
 chap; 
 
f S ESSAY ON THE CHURCH; 
 
 CHAP. IT. 
 
 OF THE MEANS OF GRACE, AND THE MARKS 
 BY WHICH THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IS TO- 
 BE KNOWN. 
 
 TTAVING explained the nature of thefe 
 -*■ ■* two fbcieties, the Holy Church and the 
 wicked World; we muft confider the ufe of 
 the Church, and the marks by which it i* to 
 be known. It is promifed, that he who be- 
 lievethy and is baptifed, Jhall befaved. But how 
 {hall we have this baptifm, unleis we have it 
 from thofe whom God hath appointed to bap- 
 tize ? It is alfo promifed, he. that eateth my 
 flejhy and drinketh my blood, hath eternal Ufe: 
 and how fhall we receive the body and blood 
 of Chrift, but from the Church, to whom he 
 faid, when he inftituted the Lord's Supper, 
 Do this in remembrance of me ? This being the 
 commemorative Sacrifice of the New Tefta- 
 ment, it can be offered only by a prieft ; and 
 all the world cannot make a prieft. The 
 Minifters of the Old Teftament were ordained 
 
 to 
 
tSSAY ON THE CHURCH. 1$ 
 
 to their office by an immediate commiffion 
 from God to Mofes, the Mediator of that time 
 betwixt God and the people. The Minifters 
 of the New Teftament were ordained by Chrifl 
 himielf -, from whom the authority defcended to 
 others, and fliall reach, through a variety of 
 hands, to the end of the world. 
 
 This is the way God hath been pleafed to 
 take, to make men holy, and bring them to 
 himfelf, through this dangerous world, as he 
 brought Noah and his family out of the old 
 world into the new, by means of an ark, which 
 was a figure of his Church. It is therefore of 
 infinite confequence, that we Ihould be able to 
 know, with certainty, whether we are in the 
 church or out of it. If we are out of it, we are 
 in the world. If we had been out of the ark 5 
 we fhould have been drowned. It is true, we 
 may be in the church, and yet be loft \ for was 
 not Ham in the ark, who was a reprobate ? 
 But if we are out of the church, how can we be 
 faved ? x 
 
 I would not, for the whole world, unworthy 
 as I am; I fay, I would not, for the whole 
 world, and all the kingdoms of it, be in doubt, 
 whether I was tranjlated, or not, into the king* 
 
 dm 
 
SO ISSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 dom of Jefus Chrift. I would not be in doubt, 
 whether I have the Sacraments, or whether I 
 have them not. But how can I be fure in this 
 cafe, unlefs I know what the kingdom of Chrift 
 is; where it is to be found: and what are the 
 marks by which it may be known? Many 
 ftrange abufes in religion have arifen on occa- 
 fion, and under the fpecious name of, the Re- 
 formation; a very good word; but it hath been 
 applied to a great many bad things, even to 
 madnefs and blafphemy. We are fallen into 
 times when fome fay, lo } here is Cbrijt> or, lo> 
 there ; in the dejert ; or in the Jecret chambers \ 
 and are bid to take heed that no man deceive us. 
 What a terrible cafe fhould we be in, if we had 
 no fufficient warnings given to us, and no rule 
 to go by ! But as the lightning which cometh 
 from the Eaft fhineth unto the Weft, fo plain 
 and notorious was the eftablifhment of Chrift's 
 kingdom in this world: together with the form 
 of its conftitution, and the orders of its miniftry, 
 in all the countries wherever it was planted. 
 It would be unreafonable; indeed it would be 
 lamentable; it would feem as if God had 
 mocked us, contrary to the nature of his 
 mercy, that he fhould publifh a way of falva- 
 
 tion, 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 2 X 
 
 tion, and leave it uncertain where it is to be 
 found. 
 
 From what is faid of it in the Gofpel, it is 
 impoffible that the Church fhould be a fociety 
 obfeure and hard to be diftinguifhed. Ye are 
 the light of the world, faid Chrift to his Difci- 
 pies, a city that is Jet on a hill cannot be hid. 
 Light is fure to fhew itfelf ; and it comes in 
 ftrait lines, which direct us to its fource. A 
 city placed upon a mountain, is fo elevated 
 above other obje£ts, that it cannot be difficult 
 to find it; rather, it is impoffible to mifs it; it 
 cannot be hid: and Chriftian people in all ages 
 feem to have agreed, that it fhall not be hid : 
 for when we approach a city in any part of 
 Chriftendom, the churches are generally firft 
 feen towering over all other buildings. 
 
 Chrift has given us a precept, that under cer- 
 tain circumftances, we fhould tell our cafe to 
 the church: but unlefs it be known what and 
 where the church is, this cannot be done. The 
 precept therefore fuppofes, that the Church 
 muft be known to us. The fame mud follow 
 from the injunction of St. Paul, in his Epiftle 
 to the Hebrews. — Obey them that have the rule 
 aver you, and Jubmit ycurfelves : for they watch 
 
 for 
 
11 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 for your fouls, as they that muft give account: 
 Chap. xiii. 17. The Rulers of the Church 
 muft therefore be known to us; for it is im- 
 pofilble we fliould do our duty, and fubmit 
 ourfelves to them, unlefs we are fure who they 
 are. 
 
 The Church then, muft, in its nature, be a 
 fociety manifeft to all men. Some may flight 
 it, and defpife it, and refufe to hear it \ but 
 they cannot do even this, unlefs they know 
 where it is to be found. 
 
 When we enquire more particularly what the 
 Church is, it may be bed to proceed as we are 
 obliged to do in fome other cafes; firft, to 
 learn what it is not \ that we may go upon right 
 ground, and underftand with more certainty 
 -what it is. 
 
 The Church then, as a fociety, is not the 
 work of man; nor can it poflibly be fo. I have 
 laid the foundation of all my reafonings upon 
 this fubjecl, in the diftin&ion betwixt the Church 
 and the World, as two feparate parties. The 
 Church is fo named*, becaufe it is called or 
 chcfen out of the World. 'Till it is fo called 
 
 * In Greek Exx^c*«. 
 
 out 
 
SSSAY ON THE CHURCH. HJ 
 
 out of the world, it hath no being: but it can- 
 not call itfclfj any more than a man can bring 
 himfelf into the world. 
 
 Our Chriftian calling is as truly the work of 
 God, and as much independent of ourlelves as 
 our natural birth. The Church muft have or- 
 ders in it for the work of the miniflry : but no 
 man can ordain himfelf, neither can he (of him- 
 felf) ordain another, becaufe no man can give 
 what he hath not. How Jhall they -preachy faith 
 the Scripture, unlejs they be Jent ? And again, 
 no man taketh this honour to himfelf, but he that 
 is called of God, as was Aaron. Nay, even 
 Chrift glorified not himjelf to be made an High 
 Triefi, but he that/aid unto him, thou art my Jon , 
 this day have I begotten thee. The Church muft 
 have promifes , without which it can have no 
 reafon or encouragement to aft: but no man 
 can give it thofe promifes ; which are exceeding 
 great and precious. The Church muft have 
 power, without which it can do nothing to any 
 effeft: but there is no power but of God. It 
 muft have power to forgive fins; the forgivenefs 
 of fins in the Holy Catholic Church, being an 
 article of the Apoftles "Treed: but who can for- 
 give fins> but God only ? It muft aft in the 
 
 name 
 
*24 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 mamc of God, or not at all; becaufc it a&s for 
 /the falvation of man : but no man can ad in the 
 jname of God, but by God's appointment. No 
 Ambaflador ever fent himfelf, or took upon him 
 ito fign and feal treaties and covenants (fuch as 
 the Sacraments of the Church are) without be- 
 ing fent; that is, without receiving authority fo 
 to do, from an higher power. The aft would 
 be fo far from beneficial, that it would be trea- 
 sonable. If an army were to raife itfelf without 
 commiffions, what would fuch an army be, but 
 a company of banditti, leagued together to 
 plunder and deftroy the honeft fubjedts of an 
 cftablifhed community ? 
 
 Nothing therefore is plainer, on thefe con- 
 fiderations, than that the Church neither is, nor 
 can be from man. It is no human inftitution ; 
 and as it adts under God, if it acts at aD, it 
 rauft ad by his authority and appointment. It 
 is properly called the Church of God, (of the 
 living Gcd> in opposition to the profane focieties, 
 ielf-ere<5ted for the worfhip of dead Idols) and 
 mankind might as reafonably prefume to make 
 God's World, as to make God's Church. 
 
 Farther enquiry will fhew us, that the Church 
 is no coafufed multitude of people, independent 
 
 of 
 
ESSAY ON TflE CHURCH* 2 -J 
 
 of one another, and fubjeft to no common 
 rules ; but a regular focictyj like to other fo- 
 ckties, in ibme refpcfts, and unlike them all in 
 others. It is called a body, a :y, a 
 
 kingdom. A body is a regular ilructure, the 
 limbs of which being joined together, are fub- 
 ordinate and fubfervicnt to one another, and are 
 animated by -the fame foul or fpirit. So faith 
 the Apoftle, for by one fpirit wt are all baptized 
 into one body, i Cor, xik 13. It being alfb 
 called a family, the members of it mult have 
 fome common relation to one another : being 
 called a city, it mud be incorporated under fome 
 common l*ws\ and being a kingdom^ it friuft 
 have fome form of government and magiftracy. 
 Families, cities^ and kingdoms, are focieties; 
 and the Church, being reprefented by them, 
 mull be a regular fociety. But in this the 
 Church differs from all other focieties, becaufe 
 they belong to this world, and their rights and 
 privileges are confined to it : whereas the 
 Church extends to bodi worlds, the vifible and 
 the invifible, and is partly on earth, and partly 
 in Heaven. In its earthly members it is vifible ; 
 in its rulers, it is vifible; in its w it is 
 
 vifible j in its iacramentSj it is vifible. Rut 
 
Q.6 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 ing alfo a fpiritual fociety, it hath a life which 
 is hidden, and in the inward and fpiritual Grace 
 of all its outward ordinances, it is invifible. As 
 j3l kingdom in which God is Judge, and Chrift 
 is a Mediator, and Angels and Saints departed, 
 are members ; it takes in the heaven itfelf, and 
 is the heavenly Jerufalem y which is the mother of 
 us all y infomuch, that when we are admitted 
 into it, our converjation ij in Heaven, and the 
 Angels of Heaven are our fellow-fervants ; all 
 making one great family under Jefus Chrift, in 
 whom all things are gathered together in one, 
 both which are in Heaven, and which are en 
 earth : on which confideration, what is rightly 
 done in the Church on earth, ftands good in 
 Heaven, as if it had been done there ; and the 
 Apoftles of Chrift received from him, the keys 
 if the kingdom of Heaven, with a power of bind- 
 ing and loofing, which extends to Heaven itfelf: 
 and when Chriftians go to Heaven, they are 
 not carried into a new fociety, for they are al- 
 ready<> by the grace of God, translated into it by 
 i>aptifm; whence the Apoftle fpeaks of their 
 tranfiatioa, not as a thing expe&ed, but even 
 now brought to pafs. He hath tranflated us, &cc. 
 Col. i. 13. 
 
 The 
 
ESSAY 0N r THE CHVRCH. ZJ 
 
 The Church doth alfo differ from other fo- 
 cieties, in that it is Catholic or univcrfal ; 
 it extends to all places, and all times, and is 
 not confined to the people of any nation, or 
 condition of life, but takes in Jews, Greeks, 
 and Barbarians, the rich and the poor, the bond 
 and the free; and is therefore properly fignified 
 in one of our Saviour's parables by an inn* 
 where all that offer themfelves are accepted. 
 The commifTion of Chrift to his Apoflles, was 
 to teach and bciptize all nations. 
 
 The Church being a kingdom, not of this 
 world, is of a fpiritual nature, and in that ca-^ 
 pacity it is invifible ; but as a kingdom in this 
 world, it is vifible, and mull have a vifiblf; 
 adminiftration. To know what this is, and 
 whence its authority is derived, w r e mud go 
 back to the Gofpel itfelf. 
 
 Jefus Chrift was fent from Heaven by the 
 Father, and inverted with the glory of the 
 Priefthood by an adhial confederation, when the 
 fpirit defcended upon him. As the Father 
 hath fent him, Jo did he Jend his Dijciples, and 
 gave them authority to fend others : fo that the 
 Church which followed, derived its authority 
 from the Church which Chrift firft planted in 
 c 2 the 
 
H 
 
 S3 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 the world; and the Church at this day muft 
 derive its authority after the fame manner, by 
 fuccefiion from the Church which went before; 
 the line extending from Chrift himfelf to the 
 end of the world : h> faid he, / am with you 
 always, unto the end of the world: certainly, not 
 with thofe very perfons, who all foon died, but 
 with thofe who fhotild fucceed, and be ac- 
 counted for the fame ; for a body corporate never 
 dies, till its fuccefiion is extinft * 
 
 Our Saviour at firft ordained his twelve 
 Apoftles according to the number of the tribes 
 of the Church of Ifrael. Afterwards he or- 
 dained other feventy, according to the number 
 •of the Elders* whom Mofes appointed as his 
 affiitants. When the Church in Jerufalem was 
 multiplied, feven Deacons were ordained, by 
 
 * " Take away this fuccefiion, and the Clergy may as well 
 be ordained by one perfon as another: a number of women 
 may as well give them a divine commiflion; — but they are 
 no more Priefts of God, than thofe who pretend to make 
 them fo. If we had loft the Scriptures, it would be very 
 well to make as good books as we could, and come as 
 near them as poflible : but then it would net only be folly, 
 but prefumption, to call them the word of God." See the 
 J^cond Letter to the Bffiop of Bangor: Poftfcript, 
 
 the 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCIT. 
 
 I the laying on of the hands of the Apoftles, to 
 preach, and baptize, and minifter; in diftribut- 
 ing the alms of the Church. Here then, we 
 have three orders of men, each diftina from 
 the other; the twelve Apoftles, the ieventy 
 Difciples, and the {even Deacons ; and by d 
 the firft Chriftian Church in Jerulalem was go- 
 verned and adminiftered. The Apoftles v. 
 fuperior in office to the-Difciples : becauie, whc.A 
 Judas fell from the Apoftlefnip, one was chofen 
 by lot out of the Difciples into the Apoftlefhip: 
 the Deacons were inferior to both ; and it ap- 
 pears that they were appointed by the laying 
 on of the hands of the twelve Apoftles ; for it 
 is faid, A£ts vi. 2, " the Twelve called the 
 multitude of the Difciples unto them/' &c. 
 That 'the Apoftles appointed others to fucceed 
 to their own order, is evident from the cafe of 
 Timothy ; who in the antient fuperfcription, at 
 the end of the fecond Epiftle, is faid to have 
 been ordained the firfi Bi/h:p of the Church of 
 the Ephefians. He is admonifhed to lay hands 
 Suddenly on no man j therefore he had power to 
 ordain : and he is likewife admoniihed not to 
 receive an accujation again ft an Elder, (or Pref- 
 byter) but before two or three witnejfes : there- 
 c 3 fore 
 
$0 ESSAY ON THE CHURCK. 
 
 fore he had a judicial authority over that order* 
 Directions are given with refpect to the Dea- 
 cons of the fame Church ; therefore, in the 
 firfl Church of the Ephefians, there was a 
 Bifhop, with Elders and Deacons under him; 
 as in the Church which began at Jerufalem, 
 there was the order of the Apoftles, of the 
 Difciples, and of the Deacons. In the Chriftian 
 Church, throughout the world, we find thefe 
 three orders of Minifters for fifteen hundred 
 years, without interruption. The fa£t therefore 
 is undeniable, that the Church has been go- 
 verned by Bifhops, Priefts, and Deacons> 
 from the Apoftles downwards ; and where we 
 find thefe orders of minifters duly appointed, tl*e 
 Word preached, and the Sacraments adminis- 
 tered, there we find the Church of Chrift, with 
 its form, and its authority. 
 
 The wifdom of God is here very evident, in 
 appointing the Orders of the Chriftian rniniftry 
 after the pattern of the -Jewifh Church, which 
 was of his own appointment fo long before, 
 That there might be no uncertainty in a cafe 
 of fuch confequence to the fouls of men, there 
 was no novelty, but a continuation of the like 
 adminiftration with that which had all along 
 
 been 
 
ESSAY ON TtfE CHURCHV 3* 
 
 been known and acknowledged in the Church. 
 Aaron was an High Prieft, with a miniftry pe- 
 culiar to himfelf; under him there was an order 
 of PrieJlSy twenty-four in number, who ferved 
 by courje in the daily facrifices and devotions of 
 the Tabernacle and Temple ; and thefe were 
 aflilled by the whole tribe of the Levites. As. 
 the law had its paflbver, its baptifms, its in- 
 cenfe, its facrifices, its confecrations, its bene- 
 dictions, all to be realized under the Sacraments 
 and Offerings of the Gofpel; fo its Miniftry 
 was but a pattern of the miniftry which is now 
 amongft us; and we cannot miftake the one, if 
 we have an eye to the other -> fuch is the good- 
 nefs of God in directing and keeping us, 
 through all the confufions of the latter days, 
 by a rule of fuch great antiquity, to, the way of 
 truth, and keeping us in it. 
 
 The great ufe of the Church is to receive 
 and minifter to the falvation of thofe who are 
 taken out of the world : but this it cannot da 
 without the truth of the Chriftian do6lrine ; the 
 Church is therefore as an inftrument, or candle - 
 ftick, for the holding and preferving of this 
 facred Light. It is called the Pillar and Ground 
 cf the Truth \ not as if it had any right of making 
 c 4 or 
 
E8PXY OS THE CHURCH. 
 
 npofirtg doctrines of its own ; for the ground 
 and the pillar do not make the roof, they only 
 fupportit; nor doth the candleftick make the 
 light, it only holds the light.. And thefe fimili- 
 tudes w^ll be found juft, if we purlue them far- 
 ther ; for as when the pillars are removed, the 
 building mull fall ; and when the lamp or the 
 candleftick is broken, the light will be extinft ; 
 fo if the Church be taken away, the Truth falls 
 along with it ; as we have feen, and do fee, in 
 this country. Our Quakers, who are farthell 
 from the Church, are totally departed from the 
 truth of Chriftian doftrine ; and many of thofe 
 feparate congregations, who were Puritans and 
 Believers in the laft age, are Socinians and Infi- 
 dels in this : a confideration which fhould pre- 
 vail upon fincere people of all perfuafions, who 
 believe in Jefus Chrift as their Lord and Sa- 
 viour, to lay afide their animofity, and unite 
 astainft the Socinians, who are the common ene- 
 mies of all Chriftian people, and are now 7 en- 
 deavouring to overthrow the Faith of our Creeds 
 and Articles. 
 
 When we Jpeak of the life of the Church, we 
 fhould never forget the great benefit and in- 
 formation which arifes from xkizfafts xcAfeftivah 
 
 of 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. JJ 
 
 of the -Church ; (totally neglefted by the Secta- 
 ries) by the courfc of which, the piety of 
 Chriftians is directed to all the great fubjedts of 
 the ,Gofpel : fome of which might otherwife 
 never be revived in our thoughts during the 
 whole year. But the Church lpends its year, 
 with Jefus Chrift, and follows him in faiths 
 through all the great works of his Mediatorial 
 Office, from his Advent to the fending down of 
 jthe Holy Ghoft on the day of Penterfi. On 
 this ground, the Work of Mr. Nelfon is of great 
 value to all Chriftian families; and we have 
 reafon to hope it will never fall into difufe : 
 though all perfons, fanatically inclined, are very 
 cold to the merits of it, and the Sectaries, it is 
 to Ipe fuppo.fed, muft reject it on their owa 
 principles. 
 
 Here I muft add, that the wifdom of God is 
 farther manifeft, in appointing a provifion for 
 his Miniilers, independent of the' people. The 
 maintenance of the Jewilh Priefthood was front 
 God ; for the Tythes and Offerings, on which 
 they lived, were firft dedicated to God, and 
 from him transferred for the fupport of his 
 miniftry. So doth he himfelf ftate the cafe by 
 the Prophet: Ye have robbed me, faith ht, in 
 c 5 i$ttiek 
 
34 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 Tyihes and Offerings ; as if they were his owrt 
 property : and fo they were ; for being dedicated 
 to God, the firft proprietor of all things, they 
 belong to him before they belong to his Church- 
 The wifdom and piety of Chriftian ftates fol- 
 lowed the rule o{ the Scripture from the earliefl 
 times ; and it itill obtains in this country. And 
 what would be the conlequence if it were not 
 fo ? While the minifter depends only upon the 
 God to whom he is accountable, he dares fpeak 
 the truth; but where he is dependent on the 
 people, and the people are corrupt, then he 
 muft accommodate himfelf to their fancy. For 
 this reafon, if the people of a congregation, whc* 
 chufe their own Minifter, fall into herefy, they 
 rarely or never get out of it, becaufe they will bear 
 no teacher, but one who is of their own perfuafion, 
 and will flatter them in their errors. 
 
 I have nothing more to fay upon the nature of 
 the Churchy but to fhew the extent of its au- 
 thority. Every fociety muft have power over 
 its own members, to admit or exclude as the 
 cafe requires : it cannot otherwife fubfift. The 
 Church, jffom the days of the Apoftles, always 
 exercifed the power of excommunicating noto- 
 rious offenders, and of abfolving and refloring 
 
 true 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 3$ 
 
 true penitents. Excommunication is nothing 
 but a reverfing of baptifm ; and they who have 
 authority to baptize, muft have authority to 
 excommunicate. The Church muft alfo have 
 authority in directing its own worfhip and fer- 
 vices, as to time, place, ceremonies. Let all 
 things be done decently and in order : but what is 
 decency, and what is order, is not fpecified, and 
 muft be left to the difcretion of the Rulers of 
 the Church. The Church has no authority to 
 ordain any thing contrary to the Law of God; 
 nor doth the Law of God depend upon the autho- 
 rity of the Church. There are three forts of 
 things about which the Church is converfant; 
 good, bad, and indifferent : the good oblige by 
 their own nature y the bad cannot be enforced 
 by any authority : therefore the authority of the 
 Church muft extend to things indifferent, that 
 is to order and difcipline, to circumftances of 
 time,, place, forms of worfhip, ceremonies, and 
 fuch like : and to difobey becaufe they are in- 
 different is to deny that God hath given power 
 to his Church to regulate any one thing what- 
 foever. 
 
 Ought we not, on the foregoing confidera- 
 
 tions, to magnify the goodnefs and wifdom of 
 
 c6 God, 
 
2,6 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 God, who hath provided a Church for the re- 
 ception of loft mankind, and given to it the 
 light of truth, and the means of grace ? No 
 fubjedt can be plainer than this of the nature 
 and conftitution of the Church : and the neceffity 
 of its.miniftry and ordinances to the falvation of 
 man, and the prefervation of truth, charity, 
 peace, and godlinefs, is as clear as the Sun. 
 What a bleffed thing it would be for us, if all 
 people could fee this ! What temptations/ cor- 
 ruptions, tumults, and miferies, would it pre- 
 vent amongft mankind ! But, alas, they are ever 
 ingenious in defeating the purpofes of God for 
 their own good. They have ways and expe- 
 dients, not only of making themfelves eafy with- 
 out the benefits of the Chriftian Church, but of 
 actually calling them all off with a high hand, 
 as needlefs, fuperftitious, dangerous, and even 
 finful, and anti-chriftian -, not helps to falvation, 
 but hindrances. How this matter is, and with 
 what reafonings they deceive themfelves - 3 we 
 fball difcover with very little inquiry. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH, 37 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 THE ERRORS, WHICH TEMPT MEN TO LEAVE 
 THE CHURCH, AND MAKE THEM EASY WHEN 
 THEY ARE SEPARATED FROM IT. 
 
 * I THE means of Grace, and the promifes of 
 -^ God, being with his Church, they who 
 would be made partakers of them, muft apply 
 to the Church: and who would not? Who 
 would not willingly flee from Sodom on fire to 
 take refuge in Zoar ? When the fiorm I is 
 abroad, the beafts have fenfe to fly to a place 
 of fhelter : and as the wrath of God is denounced 
 againfl this world, men muft be enemies td 
 themfelves, if they refufe to be delivered in 
 the way which God hath appointed. But we 
 know nothing of this world, if we think all 
 men are friends to their own fpiritual intereft. 
 Many will rather have recourfe to their own 
 imaginations : and when pride hath got pofleffion 
 of them, they are above being direfted. 
 
 The example of Naaman is very inftrudtive on 
 this part of our fubjeft. When he was ordered 
 
 to 
 3 
 
3§ 'ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 to leek the cure of his leprofy, by wafhing {even 
 times in Jordan, the proud Syrian refufed to 
 comply with the ceremony, becaufe he could 
 not fee how it fhould have any effefh Never- 
 thelcfs, when he had thought better of it, that 
 ceremony, unaccountable and ufelefs as it might 
 feem to his carnal reafon, cured him of his dis- 
 temper. By the Church and its ordinances, 
 every Chriftian is put to the fame trial;, whether 
 he will fubmit to fuch things as reafon cannot 
 account for ? Whether he will look for an 
 effeft, to which the caufe is not adequate, with- 
 out the interpofition of an invifible power ? 
 The children of God 1 are ftill exercifed by this 
 trial. Some accept the terms propofed j they 
 believe the promifes of God, and are faved. 
 Of the reft, fome do not fee how they, can be 
 faved in this manner; and others fpend their 
 lives in vanity, and never think whether they 
 can or cannot. Men are influenced by two 
 principles totally oppofite, Sight and Faith: 
 the Chriftian walks by faith and not by fight % 
 the difputer of this world believes nothing but 
 what he fees, and fo is incapable of the benefits 
 of Chriftianity. It does not appear to him 
 how power can come from Heaven^ and be de- 
 8 iivcred 
 
ESSAY OS THE CHURCtf. 39 
 
 livered down in fuccefilon by the impofition of 
 hands : how water, which wafhes the body, can 
 wa/h avcay fins y how bread can be made the 
 vehicle of fpiritual life ; fo he lives and dies the 
 dupe of a dead philofophy, which admits of 
 nothing fpiritual in a religion whofe benefits are 
 all of a fpiritual kind. 
 
 From the nature of the Church, we fee how 
 neceflary it is, that men fhould be taken into 
 it out of this wicked world. We fee how the 
 promifes of God are confined to the ordinances 
 of the Church; and that there can be no 
 affurance of falvation without them. If we re- 
 fled on thefe things, we cannot but confider it 
 as an ineftimable blefiing, that God hath ap- 
 pointed fuch a plain and certain way of leading 
 us through the means of Grace to the hope of 
 Glory. We may perhaps wonder why men 
 fhould endeavour to deprive themfelves of thefe 
 benefits ; and how Chriftian people, fo called, 
 can fatisfy themfelves under a caufelefs depar- 
 ture from the great Law of peace and charity. 
 I will therefore proceed to fhew how they de- 
 ceive themfelves. There are three falfe prin- 
 ciples, which, if admitted, would fuperfede the 
 neceffity of any church. 
 
 The 
 
40 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 The firft of thefe is the doctrine of an abfo- 
 lute unconditional election to falvation. For if 
 God, by a mere aft of his fovereign will, and 
 according to an irreverfible decree, . elefts men 
 to eternal falvation, without regard to conditions 
 and circumftances ; then no vifible ordinances are 
 neceffary as means of grace; they are all fuper- 
 feded, and we are as fafe without them as with 
 them. This doctrine is fo convenient to all the 
 irregular claffes of Chriftian people, who have 
 caft off. the Church and its authority, that it 
 has been much, infilled upon almofi: from the 
 beginning of the Reformation ; and has done 
 Infinite mifchief. For he who is divided from 
 his brethren, with this doftrine in his mind, is 
 thereby ■ confirmed and fortified in his errors. 
 In vain fhall we recommend the benefits of 
 Church Communion to him, who is faved in 
 confequence of a decree, made before the 
 Church or the world had a being. God hath 
 eledted him, without any regard to outward or- 
 dinances ; and fo the want of thofe ordinances 
 can never render his election of no effect. And 
 fuppofing his doctrine to be true, who can deny 
 the confequence ? But the doctrine is falfe* 
 Thus much of it is true $ thaft, according to. 
 
 the 
 
BSSAY ON' THE CHURCH. 4I 
 
 the Scripture, man is chofen, or eleffed, out of 
 rldy by the free Grace of God, without 
 any refpedt to his own works, (of which he can 
 have none till he is called; beina; in the ftate of 
 an un-born infant) and brought into God's 
 Church, where he is in a 'ftate of falvation. 
 But he may fall from this ftate, or be caft out of 
 it by the authority which brought him into i-t, 
 and forfeit all the privileges of his elefiion; 
 therefore the Apoftle gives us this warning ; 
 let him thai thinketh he ftandeth, take heed left he 
 fall : and St. Peter bids us give diligence to make 
 "id election Jure. ' How can that be, 
 if we are elected to falvation, by an irreverfiblc 
 decree ? We need take no pains to make that 
 fure, which in its nature is irreverfiblc Paul 
 was a vefiel chcfen of God ; and yet this fame 
 Paul, fuppofes it poiiible for him to fall from 
 the Grace of God, and become a caftazvay. *. 
 
 Election 
 
 * Another proof of this argument may be found in 
 1 Cor. 8, c. xi, " Through thy knowledge fhall the weak 
 brother perijh for -whom Ckrijl died?' The true notion of 
 predeftination is to be met with in Eph. 1, c. xi. xii. 
 where thofe are faid to be predeftinated to the praife of God's 
 glory who trujlcd in Chrifr. Our attainment of eternal hap- 
 
 pinef3 
 
42 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 Ele&ion therefore, as it is fpoken of in the Scrip- 
 ture, hath been groisly mifanderftood : for there 
 is no fuch thing there as any eleftion of individuals 
 to final falvation, independent of tlie ordinances of 
 the Church. Eie&ion is an inward and fpiritual 
 grace > but there is no fuch thing adminiftered to 
 man without fome outward frgn. A man might 
 tell us that he is ordained to preach the Gofpel : 
 but we know this can never be without the lay- 
 ing on of hands. He may tell us fre is one 
 of God's eledt; and if the reality of his election 
 were to depend upon his own report, how fhould 
 we confute him although he were guilty of all 
 manner of wickednefs I If we believe him on 
 his own authority, we may be tempted to be as 
 wicked as he is : and multitudes have, by this 
 doftrine, corrupted one another, and fallen into 
 what is called antinomianifm ; a negled: of God's 
 Commandments, as not necefifary to thofe who 
 are ekdted independent of works and facra- 
 ments. To iecure us from all fuch dekifions, 
 
 pinefs is the cmfequence of our belief in Chrift, and the irre- 
 verfible decree of God is, that thofe that believe in him 
 fliould not peri(h, and this is probably the only fenfe in 
 which the dodrine of predeftination and eleclion can. be 
 »ainta : D"d from Scripture. 
 
 God 
 
BSSAY ON TH1 CHURCH. 4j 
 
 God hath affixed fome outward fign or pledge 
 to all his inward gifts, to aflure us of their rea- 
 lity, and prevent impofture. Therefore, where 
 there is an inward calling, there is an outward 
 calling with it ; where there is regeneration, 
 there is the Sacrament of Baptifm ; and the 
 Gofpel knows of no regeneration without it. 
 I might fhew how this dodtrine of abfolute elec- 
 tion is difhonourable to God, and contrary to 
 his molt exprefs declarations. How it encou- 
 rages fome to prefumption, pride, and ungodly 
 living * ; and how it drives others to defpair 
 and diffraction f , who have not, nor can bring 
 
 themfelves 
 
 * I remember a woman in a country parifli, who ufed to 
 boaft much of her own experiences* and infult the people of 
 the church as reprobates ; goats who were to be placed on 
 the left handy at the day of judgment ; while fhe and her 
 party were the true eledt, the J&eep who were to be placed on 
 the right hand* Such was the ufual ftrain of her converfa- 
 tion. But after a time, I heard that this ekft lady was gone 
 off with the hafband of another woman. She was a fevere 
 critic on the Clergyman of the parifh, as one who had many 
 Popifh adioos, becaufe he made a praftice of turning to the 
 Baft when he repeated the Creed ; and though he was much 
 attended to as a preacher, (he faid it all frgnified no more 
 than the barking of a dog. 
 
 + When Dr. Sparrow was BHhop of Exeter,, there rarely 
 pafled a day, without a note or notes brought to Pried, 
 
 Vicar, 
 
44 ESSAY ON" THE' CHURCH. 
 
 themfelves to an afiurance of their own perfonal 
 ele&ion to the favor of God : but my bufinefs 
 in this place is only to remark, how convenient 
 this doftrine is to all thofe who do not come to 
 God in the ordinary way of his inftitutions, nor 
 can prove themfelves to be members of his 
 •Church. 
 
 A fecond doctrine, an the ground of which 
 men place themfelves above the Church, is that 
 of immediate infpiration. For if men are now 
 receiving new direction from Heaven, and God 
 fpeaks in them as he did in Mofes, and the 
 Prophets, and the Apoftles, they have no need 
 to confult either the Scriptures or the Church : 
 for they are independent of both, and have an 
 higher rule. This is. the reafon why no im- 
 preiTion can ever be made upon a Quaker, by 
 "arguments' from the Scripture. He anfwers, 
 that the' Scriptures (as applied by us who do 
 not underftand them) cannot be brought in evi- 
 dence againft him ; becaufe (to fpeak in the 
 
 Vicar, or Reader, for the prayers of the congregation, for 
 perfons troubled in mir.d or feffejfed \ which, as fome judicious 
 perfons conjeclured, was occafioned by the frequent preach- 
 ing up of the rigid Predeftination doctrines in fome places 
 in that city. Preface to the Fti*w of the Times. 
 
 Quaker 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 45 
 
 Quaker language) he has within himfelf the 
 lame {pirit that gave forth the Scriptures -, and 
 the Revelation which is part, mult give place 
 to that which is prefent. Nothing blinds the 
 eyes of men io effectually as pride ; whence he 
 who is vain enough to believe, that he is under 
 the direction of immediate infpiration, muft be- 
 lieve many other ftrange things. Such people 
 therefore never fail to defpife the miniftry and 
 worfhip of the Church, and make light of all its 
 inftitutions. The Apoftles of Jefus Chrift fore- 
 feeing by a true revelation, that there would be 
 falfe pretenfions to infpiration in the Chriftian 
 Church, as there were falfe prophets among 
 the people of the Jews, give us warning not to 
 believe every fpirit > {that is, not to believe all 
 thofe who pretend to fpeak by the fpirit) but to 
 try them whether they ipeak by the fpirit of 
 Jrutb, or the fpirit of error. There are many 
 good .rules to direct us on this occafion : but 
 there is one which every body can underftand, 
 The fpirit of truth is the fpirit of love, and 
 peace, and unity : the fpirit of error is the fpirit 
 -of hatred, and contention, and difcord. The 
 ■-former tends to unite men into one body > the 
 latter fets them at variance^ and divides them 
 
 into 
 
46 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 into parties. Beloved, faith St. John, let us 
 love one another ; for every 07ie that loveth is born 
 cf God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not y 
 knowetb not God. When the great rule of Cha- 
 rity is broken, and men lay claim to the fpirit 
 of God while they have no title to it, then they 
 are open to the delufions of evil fpirits : an4 
 accordingly many have uttered hideous blafphe- 
 mies, under a perfuafion that they are fpeaking 
 by the fpirit of God, Some have proceeded 
 fo far as to perfonate God himfelf *. Certain 
 it Ls, that the fed who have departed far theft 
 from the Church and its ordinances, are the 
 molt forward in their pretenfions to immediate 
 
 * In the beginning of this century, there was a feci of 
 Camifar Quakers in London, in whofe afiemblies perfons of 
 both fexes, particularly young girls, pretended to deliver 
 prophecies, with ftrange fcreamings and diftortions. One 
 of thefe people, (horrible to relate) was k^n to take another 
 by the arm, and looking him broad in the face, faid, D§ 
 you not acknowledge me to be the eternal and unchangeable God? 
 To which the other, falling down and trembling, anfwered, 
 / do acknowledge thee, See. Many fine people from the 
 court-end of the town, who would have paid but little re- 
 fped to the benediclion of a Bifhop, were feen bending their 
 knees, for a blefling, to thefe frantic females. See View cf 
 the Times, vol. 4, p. 23 f. 
 
 infpiration ; 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 47 
 
 infpiration; and even where this is pretended 
 to in a lefler degree, a contempt for the Church 
 and its miniftry, feldom or never fails to attend 
 upon it in the fame proportion *. 
 
 A third doftrine which makes the Church of 
 no effect, is the fufficiency of moral virtue ; and 
 a perilous do<5lrine it is. It comes forward with 
 a more fober face, but it hath lefs of the Gofpel 
 than of Enthufiafm or Predomination. For on 
 this ground,, a man need be of no Church, of 
 no feci, nor even a Chriftian believer; becaufe 
 moral honefty, which forbears thieving and 
 cheating, may be found in a Turk or an Hea- 
 then. When people would appear to be what 
 they are nor, and endeavour to fupply their de- 
 fers by fine words and plaufible pretences, we 
 call them hypocrites : and I will aflure the 
 Reader, there is a great deal of cant in the 
 world, be fide that of fanaticifm and affected de- 
 votion. Impiety can aft the hypocrite upon 
 occafion, and magnify moral virtue when it is 
 
 * The author of the Snake in the Graft prefixed a meft 
 excellent preface to that work, on the Enthufiafm of Antonia 
 Bourignon\ (hewing the original and tendency of hers and 
 every other delufion of the fame kind ; which preface the 
 leader will do well to confult. 
 
 fct 
 
4-8 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 fet in oppofition to the love of Gcd. It is not 
 unufual for perfons to praife a man's charadter ; 
 not becaufe they love his virtues, but becaufe 
 they hate his rival. So do fome bad men praife 
 morality, becaufe they hate devotion. This is 
 too frequently the cafe with thofe who make a 
 falfe eftimate of what they call a good life; 
 leaving out the duties moil eflential to the life 
 of a good Chriflian ; and thefe are a very large 
 party. Herefy and fchifm, till they turn into, 
 profligacy, never fail to defcant upon the fuf- 
 ticiency of moral duties g and in this they are 
 joined by the whole tribe of Deifts, Infidels, and 
 moral Philofophers, who are glad to hear of a 
 rule of morality, (fuch, by the way, as them- 
 ielves are to define and determine) which will 
 ferve them as a fubftitute for the Chriftian life, 
 and ail the forms of Church devotion. Here 
 alfo we find thofe Chriftians, who live in the 
 habitual neglect of the means of grace. I have 
 heard people who never were at the altar, and 
 perhaps never intended it, comforting them- 
 felves with this confideration, that they never 
 did any barm to any body : when they fhould 
 rather have afked themfelves, what good they 
 ever did to themfelves, or to any body elfe, for 
 
 the 
 
KJS'AY ONf THE CHURCH. 49 
 
 the love of God? Without which, all the vir- 
 tues of man are nothing; and if he places any 
 dependance upon them, they are wcrfe than 
 nothing. If a man is to be faved by the Chrif- 
 tian religion, he muft be a Chriftian in his life : 
 but fimple morality is not Chriftianity : it? has 
 neither faith, hope, charity, prayer, fafting, nor 
 trims, which are the duties of the Chriftian life. 
 If we mean to ferve God, we muft ferve him in 
 his Church, and conform to its ordinances. If 
 we do good to our neighbours, we muft do it 
 on a principle of faith ; and a cup of cold water 
 given on this principle, is of more value in the 
 fight of God, than all the treasures of the Indies, 
 if they are diftributed from the proud heart of 
 unbelief: and he is certainly in unbelief, who 
 dqth not direft himfelf by the rules, and aft 
 upon the principles, which Gcd hath delivered 
 to the Church. 
 
 Nearly related to the fufKciency of moral vir- 
 tue, is the principle of fintjerify, which was fet 
 up in the laft age, as fufficient of itfelf to juftify 
 man in the fight of God, independent of the 
 authority and benefits of his Church : fo that if 
 a man be not a hypocrite, it matters not what 
 .-religion he is of. If finccnty, as fiich, inde- 
 d pendant 
 
50 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 pendant of any particular way of worfhip can 
 recommend man to the favour of God, then 
 there can be no difference as to merit between 
 a fincere martyr, and a fincere perfecutor : and 
 he that burns a Chriftian, if he be but in earneft, 
 hath the fame title to God's favour, as he that 
 is burnt for believing in Jefus Chrift. This 
 pofition, (in the fenfe of it) abfurd and mon- 
 ftrous as it muft appear, was the fupport of a 
 controverfy in this kingdom, in which a Bifhop 
 led the way *, and was followed and applauded 
 by all the libertines and loofe thinkers of the 
 
 * Thus did the famous Bifhop Headley comfort all the 
 Sectaries and Enthufiafts ot his time " When ycu arc fecure 
 of your integrity before Cod — this will lead you not to be 
 afraid of the terrors of men, or the vain words of regular 
 and uninterrupted fucceflion, authoritative benedictions, ex- 
 communications — nullity or validity of ordinances to the 
 people on account of niceties and trifles, or any other the 
 like dreams." I can venture to fay, there never was a caufe 
 more efTeclually battled and expofed upon earth, than this 
 of Bifhop Hoadley, againft the Church, and Church Com- 
 munion, in the Two Letters, and the Reply of Mr. William 
 Law* which every Clergyman of the Church of England 
 ought to read, that he may know what ground he itands 
 upon, and againft what enemies he may be called forth to 
 maintain it, 
 
 nation, 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 51 
 
 nation, who fore fa w that the argument would 
 end in the diffblution of the Church as a fociety : 
 and therefore they made him a thoufand com- 
 pliments. 
 
 If we confider how the mind of man is in- 
 fluenced by cuftom and education, and that his 
 confeience and felf-approbation will be accord- 
 ing to his principles ; then we fhall fee that 
 fincerity, if admitted, would fanclify all the 
 wickednefs under Heaven. St. Paul, as a 
 zealous Jew, verily thought (that is, he was Jin- 
 cerely of opinion), that he ought to do many things 
 contrary to the name of Jefus of Nazareth ; fo he 
 perfecuted the Chriftians furioufly, and breathed 
 cut threatnings and Jlaughter. Now, as he had 
 a good meaning in all he did, to what end was 
 he converted, when his fincerity would have 
 faved him in his former way ? After his mind 
 was better enlightened, he pronounced himielf 
 to have been the greateji of finners^ for what he 
 had done in the fincerity of his heart. 
 
 Thus it would be in all other cafes ; he that 
 acts fincerely upon bad principles, muft be a 
 bad man: a corrupt tree cannot bring forth 
 good fruit: and, not he that commendeth himjelf 
 is apprGvedy but whom the Lord commendeth. 
 D 2 Upon 
 
52 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 Upon the whole* he that will be faved, nuift 
 be faved in the way which God hath appointed, 
 and not in any way of his own. We fhall be 
 judged at laft according to God's word, not ac- 
 cording to any perfuafions we may have taken 
 up, through the prejudices of education, or the 
 perverfenefs of our own hearts -, all of which 
 are indeed no better than dreams, having no 
 foundation but on that loofe bottom of human 
 imagination, on which are built all the vifions 
 of the night, and all the herefies in the world. 
 
 If thefe do&rines of abjolute deBion> imme- 
 diate injpration, the fufficiency of moral virtue, 
 and juftification from fmcerity y were true ; it 
 would follow, that God is unwife, inconfiftent, 
 and improvident. For if he appoints a vifible 
 Church and its ordinances, as neceflary to make 
 us members of the kingdom of Heaven ; and if 
 he began the way of falvation by adding to the 
 Church fuch as were to be faved', and yet, with 
 all this, has another private way of faving men, 
 by a Jecret decree which has no regard to any 
 outward means; he is inconfiftent in ordaining 
 them. And alfo, as the doctrine of immediate 
 Infpiration, or new Revelation^ without any figns 
 or credentials from Heaven, opens a way to 
 5 every 
 
V ON" THE CHURCH. £3 
 
 every pc lufion of the mind, either from 
 
 its own vain conceits, or the fuggeftions of evil 
 fpirits 5 God mwft be improvident, in not fc- 
 curing us againft fuch dangerous impofitions, 
 which may introduce all kinds of wickednefs 
 into the world, under the farr&ion of a divine 
 authority: an impoftor having nothing to do, 
 but to perfuade himfelf, as any madman may 
 do, that he acts by immediate infpi ration. 
 With this perfuallon, men have butchered one 
 :her to make bloody baptifms; have kt 
 themfelves up as Kings and Rulers of the new 
 Jerufalem ; have taken plurality of v/ives, and 
 bhfphemoufiy perforated God himfelf*. All 
 the difortlcrs of the laft century were committed 
 by fanatics, v. ho aflumed a privilege of feeking 
 the Lord, and connilting, and receiving anfwers 
 from him ; while their minds were bent upon 
 the mod horrible crimes of Rebellion, Robbery, 
 Sacrilege, Persecution, and Murder- 
 Then as to moral virtue \ if that can Jave 
 thofe who are not added to the Church, it muft 
 follow, that man never was loft, and that Chrift 
 
 # See Rofs's View of all Religfons; particularly the ac- 
 count of the Anabaptiits of Germany, 
 
 d 3 need 
 
54 ESSAY GN THE CHURCH. 
 
 need not have come into the world. VJincerity 
 in any perfuafion, good or bad,, will recommend 
 us to the favor of God; then will lies, if we do 
 but believe them, anfwer all the purpofes of 
 truth : then is there no difference between good 
 and evil; and it cannot be worth while to con- 
 vert Jews, Turks, or Heathens, to the Gofpel, 
 becaufe they are as fafe in their own way. Such 
 are the pleas, by which fome men of neceffity, 
 andfome of malignity, feek to juftify themfelves, 
 when they leave the Church, or defpife, or ne- 
 gleft its ordinances. But the foundation of God 
 fiandethfure. 
 
 After what hath been faid, few words will be 
 wanting to convince any thinking perfon of the 
 dangers and evil confequences which muft at- 
 tend the fin of caufelefs feparation. 
 
 If men for falvation are brought out of the 
 World into the Church, they cannot poffibly 
 forfake it, without hazard to their falvation. 
 If the promifes of God, and the means of 
 grace are committed to the Church, we lofe 
 them when we leave the Church : at lead it 
 will be very hard to prove that we carry 
 them away with us : and who would chufe to 
 
 be 
 
ESSAY Off THE CHURCrf. 55 
 
 be under any uncertainty in a cafe of fuch im - 
 portance ? 
 
 Another evil is that of breaking the great rule 
 of charity in our worihip. We are commanded 
 to glorify God with one mind and one mouthy and 
 all to Jpeak the fame thing. How contrary to 
 this is the practice of following different ways of 
 worfhip, fome totally difagreeing with others ; 
 and fome not deserving the name of any worfhip 
 at all; for in fome of our affemblies, people 
 meet for no purpofe but to hear one ano- 
 ther talk. There is no Praying, no confeffion 
 of Sins, no Abfolution, no Thankfgiving, no 
 Litany, no Sacraments ! We read, that the 
 Apoftles, when the Holy Ghoft defcended, 
 were all ivith one accord in one place; and fo 
 ought Chriftians to be, if they would preferve 
 the prefence of the fpirit amongft them, who is 
 the fpirit of unity. And as the fpirit of unity 
 in worihip, difpofes men to a more peaceable 
 and charitable temper ; fo the fpirit of divifion 
 and fanaticifm is attended with violence and 
 bitternefs of language, and an intolerant per- 
 fecting humour toward all who are not fa- 
 natics ; efpecially toward the members of the 
 Church of England, which is deftrvedly 
 d 4 placed 
 
$6 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 placed at the head of the Proteftant reform- 
 ation *. 
 
 ' There 
 
 * An author who put out a Syllabus of Le^urcs, in the 
 year 1778, on the Principles of Ncn- conformity, fpeaks in the 
 perfon of Jefus Chrifr, upon the tribunal of judgment at the 
 laft day, and fuppofes him prefenting to the wcr!d on that 
 tremendous occafion, his fail hful fervants, the Non- con- 
 formed minifters, as the great objects of his favour; and at 
 the fame time fending off thofe holy tyrants, the Bifhops of 
 the Church of England, into everlafting fire, with that 
 dreadful fentence — Depart! And what are they to be 
 damned for ? Becaufe they could not approve of Non-com 
 formity ! a religion of negatives! They faw enough of its 
 fruits to diflrke it in former times, from its fhft appearance 
 in this kingdom : but they did not fee, as we do now, that 
 its end is infidelity: to which it hath been tending for matiy 
 years pad, and hath now attained it in the writings of 
 J3r. Priejtley, and the Unitarian AfTociaticn. Thefe Lee- 
 tures, with this dreadful fentence of damnation to the 
 Bifhops, by Broiher Robhifon, were approved by the Eafter 
 /fficiatiofi of Effex, at Harlow, and recommended to the 
 Sifter Churches by order of all. June 18, 1778. Of what 
 character mail thefe Sifter-Churches p.-, if they are of the 
 {zmzfpirit with Brother Robinfn ? Surely they are not chafe 
 'virgins, prefentable to a meek and merciful Saviour, who 
 prayed for his murderers ; but unmerciful harlots, curfing 
 and damning the eftablifhid Church for retaining Epifco* 
 pacy. Had there been no Non-conformity, the poo? 
 Bifhops might have efcaped like other men, and have been 
 
 entitled 
 
ISSAY ON THE CHURCH* tf 
 
 There is alio great hazard of lofing the 
 marines when we leave the worjhip of the 
 
 Church, 
 
 entitled to their chance of mercy, through the merits of 
 their Redeemer, who died for them, and for all men, and 
 fent forth the firft Bilhops by his own immsdiate authority. 
 What would fuch Non conformiffs do, if they had it in 
 their power, who are provoked to fuch uncharitable ravings 
 under the prefent moil mild and moderate Hate of the Church 
 of England ? 
 
 But the mod fuperlative inflance of fanatic malignity I 
 ever yet (aw, is to be found in the works of Milton, whofe 
 malignity was rendered more malignant by the depreffed and 
 afflicted condition to which the Church was then reduced. 
 He was a man of a bright and perfect imagination, and 
 gifted with a wonderful choice of beautiful and defcriptive 
 expreflion. But the weapon is the worfe for its fharpnefs, 
 when malice hath the handling of it : and imagination is a 
 mirror which can reflect the fires of Hell as well as the lights 
 of Heaven ; of which, I think, we have an example in the 
 following invective againft the Bilhops of the Church of 
 England ; • But they-— that by the impairing and diminution 
 o^the true faith, the dift reffes and fervitude yf their- country, 
 afpire to high dignity, rule, and promotion- here, after a 
 fhameful end in this life (which God grant them !-) fhall be 
 thrown down eternally into the darkeft and deepcft gulph of 
 Hell; where under the defpiteful control, the trample and 
 fpurn of all the other damned, who, in the anguilh of their 
 torture, (hall have no other eafe than to exercife a raving 
 d 5, and 
 
58 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH, 
 
 Church. When the ten Tribes revolted from 
 the worfhip at Jerufalem, they foon loft the 
 truth of their law, and fell into an idolatrous 
 worfhipping of the Calves they had fet up in 
 Dan and Bethel. Their government was 
 troubled with great diforders, and their con- 
 fufion ended in their utter difperfion. When 
 men leave the worfhip of the Church, it is very 
 natural ^for them to become difaffefted to its 
 dodtrines : and they, who hate the Chriftian 
 Faith, will take part with thofe who are agamft 
 the Church ; becaufe they forefee, that if the 
 Church be deftroyed, the faith will be loft; as 
 the light goes out when the lamp is broken. 
 One of the moft blafphemous books that ever 
 was written in this country againft the Chriftian 
 
 and beailial tyranny over them, as their flaves and negroes, 
 they fhall remain in that plight for ever, the bafeft, the 
 lower moft, the mofi dejected, moft underfoot, and down 
 trodden vaiTals of perckion.' Conclufion of Milton s Treatife 
 on Reformation ; vol. I, p. 274.. If it were put to my option, 
 whether I would be an Idcor, without a fingie faculty of 
 mind, or a fingie fenfe of the body ; or whether I would 
 have Milton's imagination, attended with this fiery fpirit of 
 fanaticifxii ; I fhouid not hefitate one moment to determine. 
 
 Faith x 
 
ESSAY OS THE CHURCH. $9 
 
 Faith, was all of it apparently direfted againft 
 the Church: on which confideration, many, 
 who then believed the Chriftian dodtrines, were 
 drawn in by a difaffedion to the Church, to 
 take part with an infidel. 
 
 2. I am to remark farther, that with thole 
 who are ignorant and ill-in(tru6led in the nature 
 and ufe of the Church, there is a peryerfe pre- 
 judice in favour of -preaching; and. consequently 
 a fhocking negleft of thofe duties which belong 
 to the people. It is a fine eafy way for people 
 with itching ears, to. hear a preacher talk them 
 into Heaven \ while they negledt all the more 
 effential parts of divine worfhip. Many hear a 
 Sermon with the fame vain curiofity as people 
 hear a fpeech upon a ftage, and confult nothing 
 but their 'own amufement. And while the 
 whole of the minifterial duty is fuppoftd ro 
 confift in preaching, a man, who can baiil and 
 rant, is tempted to take himfelf for a minifter 
 of Jefus Chrift, without any regular million $ 
 of which fort we have multitudes in this king- 
 dom at this time : and it is to be feared they 
 are increasing. It is no uncommon thing for 
 perfons of all perfuafions to meet in the fame 
 Church to hear the fame preacher; many of 
 d 6 whom 
 
SO ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 whom have no communion with one another a(T 
 any time : how is a preacher to pleafe fuch a 
 mixt multitude of hearers > but by leaving the 
 Church of Chrift out of the queftion, and 
 preaching a loofe fort of Chriftianity, which will 
 fit them all? Perhaps, if he were to fpeak the 
 plain truth, and, from a fincere regard to their 
 fouls, give them fuch information as they (land 
 molt in need of, many of them would leave 
 him with indignation : as there were thofe 
 who would walk no longer with Jefus Chrift, be- 
 caufe they were not able to bear the things that 
 were fpoken by him. There is a fafhion of 
 inviting people to come to Chrift , without telling 
 them where and how he is to be found. Be- 
 fides, it is a great miftake to fuppofe, that the 
 whole of religion confifts in our taking of 
 Chrift ; it is beginning at the wrong end : for 
 Chrift is to take us, as he took the little children 
 in his arms and gave them his bleffing *. He 
 
 faid 
 
 # Mr» Locke, in his Reafonallenefs of Chrijllamty (a ftrange 
 piece of divinity) is in the fame miftake. He makes bap- 
 tifm a <vifible aft, whereby thofe, who believed Chrift to be 
 the MefTiah, received hitn as their king. So again in the 
 lame ftyle, he fays, that b ^aptifm men airoll thcm/ehes in 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 6* 
 
 faid to his difciples, ye have not chojcn me y but 
 I have cbcfen you. There is a covenant between 
 us and God, into which God, of his infinite 
 grace, takes us ; we do not take him, neither 
 can we : and this confines us to the ordinances 
 of the Church, which are not of us, but are the 
 gifts of God's free grace to us miferable finners : 
 and Chriftians are united to God, and to one 
 another, by the fervices of prayer, and the par- 
 ticipation of the facraments, more than' by the 
 hearing of the word of God without them; 
 which many hear for reafons of vanity and un- 
 charitablenefs. Who are the beft friends every 
 minifter hath in his parifh ? They who attend 
 the prayers and facraments with him ; who are 
 edified by his priefihcod as well as by his preach- 
 ing ; and are active in the great work of their 
 own falvation. 
 
 3. As the latter times of the Jewifti Church 
 were very corrupt, and the dodtrines of God 
 
 the kingdom of Jefus ; which is but to fay in other words, 
 that they write their qiajh names in Hearai. From fuch 
 language as this, it is too apparent, that Mr. Locke's Ideas 
 of the Chrifliau Priefthood and Sacraments, were exceed- 
 ingly low. 
 
 were 
 
6a ESSAY ON THE CHURCH* 
 
 were rendered of none effect by the inventions 
 of men : it is agreeable to the prophecies of the 
 New Teftament, that offences mujl come amongft 
 us; that men mult arile, out of the Church, 
 /peaking perverfe things, to draw away Difciples 
 after. them: alf> that many will not endure found 
 dotlrine, but heap up to themfehes teachers (of 
 their own appointing) having itching ears. 
 
 Thefe and many other like paffages give us 
 notice, that there muft be a falling off from the 
 faith, with confufion and difagreement in the 
 Chriftian fbciety. If we look at our own Chu ch, 
 we have but a melancholy profpecSt ; and cannot 
 help obierving, that it approaches too near to 
 the ftate of the Jewifli Church before its de- 
 ferutnon. As they had corrupted the dodtrines 
 of Mofes and the Prophets, and in confequence 
 of it were divided into lefts (for as truth unites, 
 error always divides men) fo have we corrupted 
 the doctrines of the GoJpel, and are miferably 
 divided in confequence of it. I could name 
 feme do£irines y which if our Saviour were now 
 to deliver in the metropolis of London, with 
 the fame freedom and authority as he did at 
 Jerufalem, I verily believe he would he per- 
 fected and put to death by people called C 
 
 6 Uan$) 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 6$ 
 
 tians, as he was of old by thofe who were called 
 Jews. The Church of- Jerufalem was infeftcd 
 with temporifing and philofophifing Jews, who 
 were fartheft of all others from the faith, while 
 they affected to be wifer than all the reft of "the 
 people. The Sadducees believed neither Angel 
 nor Spirit, and faid there was no Refurredtion. 
 The Herodians were politicians and men of the 
 world, who flattered Herod that he was the 
 Meffiah. The Pharijees were a proud lanftified 
 fe£t, very godly in outward Ihew, but full of 
 hypocrify within. They juftified themielves and 
 defpifed others, as not good enough to Hand 
 near them, or belong to the fame Church with 
 them. Of the fed: of the Ejfencs, we have no 
 particular account in the New Teftament ; but 
 from all we can learn, I take them to have been 
 the Quakers of that time, who had thrown off 
 all external rites of worfhip, and affected a re- 
 ligion perfectly pure and philofophical. The 
 Sadducees were the Socinians of Judaifm ; who 
 had nothing fpiritual belonging to them, and 
 had reduced their law to an empty form. The 
 venality and avarice of the Jews of our Saviour's 
 time, were notorious, and provoked his indig- 
 nation. Their temple, filled with buyers and 
 
 fellers, 
 
6%. tssAY on the church; 
 
 fellers, was turned into a den of thieves : and, 
 God knows, there is too much of a worldly 
 traffic amongft us > which is too far gone to be 
 reformed, and too bold to be cenfured — ven~ 
 duntur omnia * / 
 
 4. But whatever abtifes there may be in the 
 Church, it is our duty to make the belt of it. 
 The Church is our fpiritual mother \ and we may 
 apply thofe words of the wife man, dejpife not 
 thy mother when foe is old \ not even if fhe fhould 
 be in rags and dotage. The doctrine of the 
 Church of England is, by profeflion, ftill pure 
 and apoftolical j and, whatever faults it may 
 have contracted, it cannot be worfe than the 
 Church which our Saviour found in Jerufalem ; 
 yet he ftill recommended to the congregation, 
 the duty of obedience to their fpiritual Rulers. 
 The Scribes and the Pharifeesfit in Mofes 1 fiatf 
 
 * « CHURCH LIVING. 
 
 •! Two thoufand pounds ready for the next Prefentation 
 " to a Reclory of adequate value, with immediate refigna- 
 " tion. — The Advertifer is fixty-five years of age. Apply 
 «< to Mr. , Attorney, Holbcrn.*'' 
 
 Perjury, which is now in a very growing ftate, may, in 
 time, come to market with as much boldnefs as her filter 
 Simony hath done for many years paft. 
 
 air, 
 
ESSAY ON THL CHURCH. 65 
 
 ally therefore, whatsoever they bid you ohjerve* 
 that obferve and do. Bad as the Church then 
 was, our Saviour never foribok it, but taught 
 daily in the Temple: and his Apoftles attended 
 upon its worfhip at the hours of prayer ; and 
 probably continued lb to do, till they were dif- 
 perfed. Neither Chrift nor his Difciples ever 
 confidered the dodtrines of Church-authority, 
 and Succeflion, and Conformity, as vain words 
 and idle dreams, as our Socinians have done of 
 late years ; and after what hath been laid, their 
 views want no explanation. 
 
 5. In our behaviour toward thofe who have 
 departed from us, let not us, who honour the 
 Church, fall into the error of thofe who defpife 
 it. Let us not betray any fymptoms of pride in 
 ccniuring with feverity, but rather, with hearts ' 
 full of forrow and compaffion, lament the dif- 
 ferences and divifions which expofe the Chriftian 
 Religion to the fcorn of its enemies. Infidels 
 are delighted to fee that Chriftians cannot un- 
 derftand one another; for thence they are ready 
 to report, that there is no fenfe amongft them 
 ml, nor any reafon in their religion - y for that, if 
 there were, they would agree about it. In this 
 alio the Papifts. triumph ; they boaft of their 
 
 advantage 
 
66 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 advantage over the Reformed, in that they arc 
 preferved in peace and unity *, while we are- 
 torn to pieces with faftions and divifions. 
 Hence they reflett upon the whole reformation, 
 as a natural fource of confufion -, that they be- 
 long to Jerufalem> and we to Babel ; that where 
 we leave their Church, the city upon the hill, 
 we never know where to ftop, till we get to the 
 bottom : that is, till we have run either into the 
 madnefs of Enthufiafm, or the profanenefs of 
 Infidelity. How fhall we flop this wide mouth 
 of fcandal, while appearances are fo much againft 
 us ? However, this reproach doth not reach 
 us of the Church of England; who, in doctrine 
 and profcflion, are where we were two hundred 
 years ago. Let thofe who have left us, try if 
 they can anfwer the Papifts upon this head : it 
 is their bufinefs to account for the confufion 
 which they only have introduced f . 
 
 If 
 
 * But fee Mofheim's Ecclefiaftical Hiftory ; where he 
 proves by incontrovertible evidence, that the Romiih Church 
 has not always maintained her boafted unanimity, . 
 
 + It is too much the fafhion of the times to divide the 
 Chriitian Religion only into two claffes, one including the 
 Papifts, and the oilier comprehending the motley herd who 
 
 are 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 6j 
 
 If the Clergy of this Church have any defire 
 to prelerve it, they muft confider for what <rnd 
 the Church is appointed. A Chriftian Church 
 is a candleftick, to hold forth the Light of the 
 Gofpel. When it ceafes to anfwer that end, it 
 is of no ufe as a Church; and the world may 
 do as well without it. Great things have been 
 attributed of late times to moral preaching: but 
 there is no fuch thing as telling people what 
 they are to do, without telling them what they 
 are to believe -, becaufe the Chriftian morality is 
 built upon the Chriftian faith, and is totally dif- 
 ferent from the morality of Heathens. Deifm, 
 fo called, is a Religion without Cbriftianity ; it 
 has neither the Father, the Son, nor the Holy 
 Ghoft, into whofe name Chriftians are baptifed. 
 It has no Sacraments, no Redemption, no Atone- 
 ment, no Church Communion, and confequently 
 no Charity -, for Charity is the love and unity of 
 of Chriftians as fuch. Natural Religion is but 
 another name for Deifm -, it is the fame thing in 
 
 are disunited from the Church of Rome, and who are all 
 
 diftinguimed by the general name of Protectants. Whereas 
 the Sectarians are many of them as widely removed from u$ 
 of the Church of England as we are from the Papifts. 
 
 aU 
 
63 ESSAY OX THE CHURCH. 
 
 all refpefts 5 and I may challenge all the philo- 
 fopriers in Europe to fliew the difference. 
 Therefore to recommend moral duties on the 
 ground of natural Religion, is to preach Deifm 
 from a pulpit : and we fhoirkt afk ourfclves 
 whether Go J, who upholds his Church, to de- 
 clare ialvation by Jefus Chrift alone, will pre- 
 ierve a Church, when it has left the Gofpel, 
 and holds forth the light of Deifm in the candle- 
 ftick which was made, and is fupported in the 
 world, only to hold forth the light of Chrif- 
 tianity ? What elfe is it that hath made way 
 for the Enthufiaftic rant of the Tabernacle ? 
 When the wife foriake the Gofpel, then is 
 the time for the unwife to take- it up ; but with 
 •fuch a mixture of error and indifcretion, as 
 gives the -world a pretence for never returning 
 to it any more : and then the cafe is defperate. 
 
 € Deifm, properly fo called,' (faith a certain 
 writer) € is- the religion effential to man, the true 
 € original Religion of reef on and nature — It is in 
 c Deifm, properly fo called, that our more dif- 
 € cerning and rational divines have conftantly 
 c placed. the alone excellency and true Glory of 
 
 < the Chriftian inftitution The Gofpel (fays 
 
 c Dr. Sherlock) was a Republication of the haw 
 
 1 of 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 69 
 
 * of Nature, and its precepts declarative of that 
 
 x original Religion, which was as old as the crea- 
 
 < tion. — If natural Religion (lays Mr. Char.cller) 
 c be not a part of the Religion of Chrift, 'tis 
 
 < fcarce worth while \ o enquire at all, what his 
 c religion is: from whence it feems very natural 
 i to infer, that the other parts of the Religion of 
 S Chrift, are fcarce worth any thing at all of our 
 J notice.' \Deifm fairly ftated by a moral Philo- 
 
 fopher : p. 5, 6, 7.] See the whole Book, 
 which proceeds on this principle; that natural 
 Religion being admitted, it mud be a perfect 
 fcheme, a compleat ftructure , and that Chris- 
 tianity, as a fuperftrudture, is unneceflary : and 
 it is lamentable to fee what advantage this 
 author takes of the unguarded concefTions, fome 
 celebrated Chriftian preachers and controver- 
 iialifts of the Church of England;, who did not 
 forefee, or did not confider, the confequences 
 •of their doctrines. 
 
 Dr. Taylor, fome time fince a * Diffenting 
 teacher at Norwich, a man of confiderable 
 learning, was the author of certain Theological 
 Lectures, which I have reafon to think have 
 met with a more favourable reception than they 
 deferved among fome of the Clergy of cur own 
 
 Church, 
 
70 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 Church, and have been even recommended as 
 elementary tradts to young Students in Divinity. 
 In the firft chapter of thefe Ledtures, I find a 
 rule of interpretation repugnant to the rule given 
 us by the Scripture itfelf, which directs us to 
 compare Jpiritual things withjpiritual y that is, to 
 compare the Scripture with the Scripture, that 
 we may keep to the true ^enfe of it. But here 
 it is laid down as a fundamental rule, that we 
 fhould always interpret the Scripture, in a fenfe 
 confifient with the laws of natural Religion ; for 
 that the law of nature, as it is founded in the un- 
 changeable nature of things, mufi be the bafis and 
 ground-work of every confiitution of Religion which 
 God hath erefted. This rule of Dr. Taylor pre- 
 judges the Scripture before we come to it, and 
 inculcates into inexperienced Students of Di- 
 vinity, the very principle that hath ruined us, 
 and given lis up as a prey to the Deifts ; it al- 
 lows them the advantage they have contended 
 for againft the peculiar doftrines of Revelation, 
 ^fcarce worth any thing at all of our notice, in 
 cemparijon of natural Religion. For here, I fay, 
 before we defcend to the Scripture, wc are 
 poffefTed of a fyftem, founded in the unchange-1 
 able nature of things; from which, whatfeever 
 
 the 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH, 7 I 
 
 the Bible may feem to reveal, we are never to 
 depart. Let us then fuppofe, that our Chriftian 
 Baptifm teaches us to believe in the Name of 
 the* Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft: what have 
 we to do ? Natural Religion hath already deter- 
 mined, from the unchangeable nature of things^ 
 that God is but one per/on*. Therefore we 
 muft interpret the form of Baptifm to Juch a 
 Jenfe, as will dill leave this doctrine of nature 
 in poiTefTion ; either by teaching that the Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghoft, are, in reality, but one 
 per/on - y or that Jefus (Thrift is no perfon in the 
 Godhead, but a mere man, like ourjelves ; or, 
 that Christianity is not true, &c. So in like 
 manner, by another anticipation, natural Reli- 
 gion makes every man his own Prieft and his 
 awn Temple : therefore it cannot poffibly admit 
 the true and proper Priefthood of Jefus Chrift ; 
 but muft reject the whole dodtrine of atonement, 
 and the corruption of man's nature ; for this is 
 incompatible with the idea of a natural Religion; 
 inafmuch as corrupt nature muft produce a cor- 
 
 * *' This (fays Dr. Clarke) is the firfi principle of Natural 
 * l Religion? 1 See Mr. Jones's Catholic Dsdrine of the Trinity ; 
 p. 15, of the fixth Edition ; where this is confidered more 
 at large. 
 
 rupt 
 
72 ESSAY 0N r THE CHURCH. 
 
 rnpt Religion. If we fay that nature is not 
 corrupt, we overturn the foundations of the 
 Gofpel ; which teaches us, that the natural man 
 receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God > neither 
 can he know them. — Man, it feems, is fo far 
 from knowing the fpiritual things revealed to 
 him in the Scripture, that, as he now is by na- 
 iure, he is not in a condition to receive them 
 (they will be foolifhnejs to him) till he is enabled 
 fo to do by a new faculty of difcernment^ which 
 is fupernatural and fpiritual. It is therefore 
 eafy to fore fee what mull be the confequence, 
 when Dr. Taylor's rule is admitted ; and the 
 younger Clergy of this Church take him for 
 their guide. They will take the doctrines of 
 nature, and work them up with the doctrines of 
 the Scripture : that is, they will throw natural 
 Religion into the Scripture, as Aaron threw the 
 gold of Egypt into the fire : and, what will 
 come out? Not the Chriftian Religion, but the 
 philofophical calf 'of Socinus. 
 
 Mr. Locke's Reafonablenefs of Chrifiiayiity may 
 be read with fafety, by thole who are already 
 well learned in the Scripture : but what a peril- 
 ous fixation muft that poor young man be in, 
 who, perhaps, when he can but juft conftruc 
 
 the 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH, 7J 
 
 the Greek Teftament, or before, is turned 
 over to be handled and tutored by his renowned 
 veteran -, who, with a fliew of reajonablenefs^ 
 and fome occafional iheers at orthodoxy, and 
 affe&ing the piety and power of infpiration it- 
 felf, has partly overlooked, and partly ex- 
 plained away, the firft and greateft principles of 
 Chriftianity, and reduced it to a fingle propor- 
 tion, confident with Hereiy, Schifm, Arianifm, 
 Socinianiiin, and Quakerifm. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
74 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH* 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 ON THE ABUSE OF THE REFORMATION, &C. 
 
 ^TPO the DoSlrines which are pleaded in de- 
 -"- fence of feparation, I might have added 
 the life which has been made of the hifiorical 
 event of our Reformation from the errors of the 
 Church of Rome. Here the DifTenters are *in 
 confederacy with the Papifts againft us. The 
 Papifts object, that by thtfaSi of our feparation 
 from their Church, the principle of feparation is 
 admitted; and being once admitted, it will mul- 
 tiply feils and divifions amongft us, and juftify 
 them all, as much as it juftifies us. This is the 
 very argument, which the DifTenters have re- 
 peated an hundred times ; and they borrowed 
 it originally from Rome, whofe emiftaries were 
 detected among the Puritans in the days of 
 Elizabeth, feeding them with reafons and ob- 
 jections for the multiplying of lchifm, and the 
 weakening of the EpifcopaJ. Church of England : 
 -and God knows, they fucceeded but too well. 
 
 Hov/ever, 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. J * 
 
 However, the link which unites thefe two parties, 
 may eafily be broken. They both agree, that the 
 Reformation of the Church of England was a<S>- 
 paration from the Church of Rome, of the fame 
 kind, and on the fame principles, with the fe- 
 paration of our Difienters. But to fay this, is 
 to affert, that the Pope had a legal authority 
 over the Church of England; when in fadt it 
 was an ufurped authority ; and the Church of 
 England reformed itfclf, as a national Epifcopal 
 Church, on the ground of its original indepen- 
 dence on the See of Rome. Therefore, till our 
 Sectaries have given up this point to the Papiits, 
 and made the Church of England legally de- 
 pendent on the authority of Rome, the cafe of 
 our Reformation affords no precedent to their 
 feparation. This Bifhop Hoadley knew; there- 
 fore he allowed the authority of the Churc 
 Rome, and made the Reformation of this 
 Church a forcible Separation, or Schilrn, that 
 all the Sectaries might be juftificd by our exam- 
 ple. But he goes to a greater length : he 
 maintains, that we did not reform, becaufe the 
 doftrines of the Church of Rome were aft . 
 corrupt^ but becaufe we thought them \ \ putting 
 our Reformation on the foot of cfinim> not of. 
 e i reafon- 
 
j6 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 reafonable right, and a<5tual knowledge : and 
 opinion being once admitted as a rule of Re- 
 formation, will hold as good againfl us, as 
 againft the Papifts: nay, it will flop nowhUWJWfr* 
 till it make every man a Church to himfelf j 
 with fuch dodrines as he likes, and without any ■ 
 one Chriftian ordinance whatfoever. When we 
 defcend to reafon and authority, a weak caufe 
 may foon be overthrown; but if opinion is to 
 juftify, the Quakers may (land their ground; 
 and fo may Socinians, Mahometans, Jews, and 
 Heathens > becaufe the opinions of men, from 
 the force of cuftom and habit, will go with 
 the perfuafion in which they have been edu- 
 cated. The Papifts wifh to put all Reforma- 
 tion from their Church, on fuch a foot, that the 
 principle may be ruined by its own abfurdity : 
 and in" this our Sectaries, with Bifhop Hoadley 
 for their advocate, have given them all the 
 advantage they can defire. 
 
 Popular power is another engine which hath 
 been turned againft the Church ; that is, againft 
 the authority of God and his Minifters ; and if 
 this is admitted, then muft that be right which 
 the people fet up, whatever it may be. All 
 unlawful authority affe&s to ride in upon the 
 « backs 
 
ESSAY OM THE CHURCH, 77 
 
 backs of the people : and the patriots of Pagan 
 Rome, while they trampled upon captive kings 
 and looked upon all nations as made to be their 
 fiaVes, were always flattering the people of their 
 own commonwealth, with the conceit of their 
 own majejly. The Geneva difcipline went upon 
 this principle ; and they were followed therein 
 by our Puritans and Independents. But the 
 Scripture is fo exprefsly againft it* that its 
 friends were tempted to corrupt the text of 
 the New Teftament, to give it countenance. 
 In the Hiftory of the Ordaining of the feven 
 Deacons, in the fixth Chapter of the Adts, the 
 text fays — whom WE may appoint over this 
 lufinejs — giving the appointment to the Apoftles* 
 But the words were altered into — whom YE may 
 appoint — giving the appointment to the people. 
 One of the largeft and the moft numerous Folio 
 Editions of the Bible ever printed in this coun- 
 try, which is that of Field 1660, feveral copies 
 of which are ftill to be feen, upon the Reading- 
 defks in our Churches, has this corruption ; as 
 many others had from the years 1640 to 1660. 
 Field's edition was worked off in the time of 
 the Ufurpation, and was to have been publifhed 
 under the authority of the Parliaments but 
 
 e- 3 not 
 
78 ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 
 
 not coming forth till after the Reftoration, the 
 Title Page was changed, and it made its ap- 
 pearance cum Privilegio. 
 
 From this falfification of the Apoftolical 
 Fliftory, it is eafy to forefee (and every young 
 reader fhould be aware of it) how the Englilh 
 Pliftory, particularly that of the lad century, 
 muft have fuffered under the hands of the fame 
 party; what falfities and forgeries mufh have 
 been propagated, to conceal the truth, to de- 
 fame and blacken the beft charadters, and to 
 juflify the worft. Sometimes thefe bold ex- 
 periments brought the authors of them into 
 great embarraflment. Mr. Baxter, in two 
 editions of his Saint's Everlafiing Reft, printed 
 before the year 1660, inflead of the Kingdom 
 cf Heaven, as it is in the Scripture, calls it the 
 Parliament of Heaven (and, if like their own, 
 it muft have been a Parliament without a King) 
 and into this Parliament he puts fome of the 
 regicides, and other like faints, who were then 
 dead. But in the editiohs after the Reftora- 
 tion, he drops them all out of Heaven again, 
 and reftores the kingdom of God to its place, 
 in the language of the Gofpel. Lord Brook 
 was one of the faints whom Baxter thus dif- 
 
 canonized ; 
 
ESSAY ON THE CHURCH. 79 
 
 canonized : of whofe remarkable end Lord 
 Clarendon gives an accounts Vol. n. Chap. vi. 
 p. 114. 
 
 But to return to the fubjedt of popular 
 Ele&ion. I have an author before m?, a de~ 
 claimcr againft Prieft craft, who finds the right 
 of the people in the Hiitory of the Election of 
 Matthias to the Apoftlefliip. " Matthias is 
 defied/' fays he, S€ to tejiify that ordination 
 might be valid by the votes of the people only, 
 without the immediate inter pojition of Heaven" 
 He calls the Affembly of Apoflles and Dif- 
 ciples, who were an hundred and twenty in 
 number, the people > of whom we know that eleven 
 were Apoftles ; that feventy more were ordained 
 Minifters; and nothing appears, but that (the 
 women excepted) all the reft of this affembly 
 were of the Miniflry likewife. But fuppofing 
 them to be the people, how does it appear, that 
 ordination was valid by their votes ? Where is 
 the account of this voting ? The election is 
 referred to God in the determination of a lot. — 
 Thou, Lord, Jbew whither of tbeje two thou haft 
 chofen. Here the immediate interpofition of 
 Heaven is applied for -, but our orator fays, this 
 ordination was from the votes of the people 
 e 4 only, 
 
$0 ESSAY OK THE CHURCH. 
 
 only, without any fuch in«terpofition of Hea- 
 ven *. Thefe two examples may be fufficient 
 to fhew the wretched fhifts, and bold experi- 
 ments, to which men are driven in the handling 
 of the Scripture, to uphold the Anti-chriftian 
 do&rine of a Churchy derived from the authority 
 of the people. 
 
 * See the Axe laid to the Root ofVriefltraft in four Difcwrfn* 
 Difc, iv, p. 5, 
 
 A SHORT 
 
SHORT VIEW 
 
 OF THE PRESENT STATE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ARGUMENT 
 
 BETWEEN THE 
 
 CHURCH OF ENGLAND 
 
 AND THE 
 
 DISSENTERS, 
 
( 3j ) 
 
 SHORT VIEW, &c. 
 
 THE excellent Hooker, in the Preface to fits 
 Ecclefiaftical 'Polity, gives us a curious and 
 clear account of the zeal and artifice with which 
 the firft Puritans maintained and recommended 
 their fchifm agarnft the Church of England. 
 But every member of this Church fhotdd fee, 
 within as fliort a compafs as may be,- how the 
 fame caufe (allowing for the difference of times 
 and fafhions) is maintained now, 
 
 A worthy Divine diftinguifhed himfelf fome 
 thirty years ago, in Three Letters to a Gentleman 
 dijfenting from the Church of England ; which 
 Letters were much attended to at the time, and 
 procured the author the notice and encourage- 
 ment of Archbifhop Seeker. He afterwards 
 reduced the fubftance of them into a fmaFl 
 manual, addreffed to a Diffenting Varijt:krici\ 
 £ 6 
 
84 A SHORT VIEW., See. 
 
 with the pious defire of guiding 'him to the t 
 Church of England: and an excellent little piece 
 it is. But as the zeal of our Di (Tenters permits 
 nothing of this kind to pafs, without the ap- 
 pearance of an anfwer, it is probable they &t 
 on? oftheii belt hands upon the work of writing 
 a ftlort reply to it ; that the DilTenting pa- 
 rifhioner might not be guided to the Church 
 of England. This reply > which was printed at 
 Birmingham } (that modern mint of bale money, 
 and falie dodtrine) I have, with fome difficulty ^ 
 procured ; and I fhall produce, in their order, 
 fuch arguments as I have found in it; from 
 which it will be feen, how the DiiTenters of the 
 prefent age defend their reparation. 
 
 1. They make very light of the fin of Schifm, 
 as a thing which has nothing frightful to wife 
 people; although it be dreffed up by us in a 
 frightful form, to terrify the ignorant, and fuch 
 as are children in underflanding. 
 
 Such is Schifm, when it is committed againft 
 us-, but when it comes home to themfelve.s y they 
 have entertained a very different opinion of it, 
 and have carried the principle of unity as high 
 as the moft zealous of the Church of England. 
 Liberty of confeience, when it operated againft 
 
 themfelves > 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C. $$ 
 
 •themfelves, v/as called, curjei Toleration, that 
 hideous monffer of Toleration, in a book fubferibed 
 by the Minifters of the Province of London* 
 Dec. 14, 1647*. We are then agreed, that 
 Schifm muft be of pernicious confequence., and 
 that it is a grievous affliction to the Chriftian 
 fociety ; though we are not rightly agreed as to 
 the objects of Schifm. If confidered in itfelf, 
 it is the oppofite to St. Paul's Virtue of Charity ; 
 as any intelligent perfon may fee, who reads the 
 13th Chapter of the firft Epiftle to the Corin- 
 thians as a continuation of the 12th Chapter* 
 And if Charity is the greateft of all virtues, its 
 contrary > which is Schifm, muft be the greateft 
 of all fins; therefore we juftly pray againft it in 
 the Litany. Whether the Diffenters ever follow 
 our example, is more than I know ; though it 
 
 * See a friendly debate between a Coaformift and a Non- 
 conformist. Edit. 3, p. 76. That the Diffenters are, to 
 this day, of the fame intolerant fpirit , is not to be doubted 3 
 and I have had repeated demonftrations of it under my own 
 eye, who have feen a fmall minority of Diffenters, though 
 unprovoked, ftir up fuch a furious oppofition againft a. 
 Church, and its Minifter, that a good man, of a peaceable 
 temper, made this reflexion upon it to his Clergyman : — 
 * Sir, I perceive we fhould not have fo much as a barn to* 
 ■ worfhip God in, if they could prevent it,' 
 
 caa 
 
$6 A SHORT VIEW, &C. 
 
 can fcarcely be expc£ted that they fhould pray 
 againft, while they continue in it, and think it 
 hath nothing frightful to wife people. But if 
 we may judge of it by its fruits, (and there is 
 no better rule) what envy and hatred, what dif- 
 pu tings and railings, what cruelty and perfe- 
 ction, what rebellion and facrilege, hath it not 
 produced in this kingdom ? and they who a£ted 
 thefe things were fo far from taking fhame to 
 themfelves, that they laid all the guilt of them 
 upon the Church, which they perfecuted and 
 plundered ! We fhould be glad to forget thefe 
 things, but that there are fome amongft us who 
 delight in the memory of thofe unhappy times, and 
 chew all the murder and the mifchiefof them over 
 again, which is the cafe with the author of the 
 Confejfional, and other writers of the fame fpirir. 
 As to the corruption of do6trine, which follows 
 upon Schifm r it was fo apparent to the a£tors 
 in the Schifm of the kft century, that it forced 
 from them, that teftimony above-mentioned, 
 againft the curfed nature of Toleration. Three- 
 fcore different fedts, fome holding monftrous 
 and blafphemous opinions,, rofe out of the Pref- 
 byterians of that time. Now, to make light of 
 ail thefe things,, as if Schifm, which is a roo£ 
 
 of 
 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C, 87 
 
 of bitternefs, i. e. an aftive principle of mifchief 
 in the mind, were but a flight offence, a mere 
 fcarecrow to wife people, is to deceive men, 
 and bring their confciences and fouls into a fatal 
 fnare. Nay, it is not only to deceive them, 
 fimply, but with the very deception which 
 brought death into the world, The tempter 
 fuggefted to our firft parents, that they fhould 
 notjurely die; and that their apprehenfions of 
 danger arofe from the ignorance and cbildiflonefs 
 of their under/landings. 
 
 2. They plead next, that their Schifm, with 
 refpedl to the Church of England, is no more 
 than a Separation from an human efiablifhment ; 
 for that the Church of England has no foundation 
 but upon the King and the Parliament ; whereas 
 the Church of Chrift is founded upon the doctrines 
 taught by the Apoftles. 
 
 If our Church has no foundation hut upon tbt 
 King and Parliament, then certainly it is net 
 founded upon the Authority of Chrift, and con-r 
 jequently it is no Church of Chrift, But will 
 any man fay, that a national Church; being a 
 member of the Catholic Church of Chrift, ceafes 
 to be fueh, when adopted as a part of the con- 
 futation, and cftabli-fhcd by the civil power ? 
 
 Suppofe 
 
88 A SHORT vrew, &c. 
 
 Suppofe it were perfecuted by the civil power- 
 and its minifters and worfhip were profcribed; 
 would it therefore ceafe to be a Church of 
 Chrift ? Certainly not : for the Church of the 
 Hebrews in Egypt, was ftill the Church of 
 God, though the people were under a cruel 
 edi£t not to ferve him, and God owned it as 
 fuch, and delivered it at laft. Do the powers 
 of this world unmake the Church by their re- 
 ception of ft, when they do not by their perfe- 
 cuting of it ? Do its Bilhops and Priefts ceafe 
 to be Bifhops and Priefls ? Do its Sacraments 
 ceafe to be Sacraments ? Doth its difcipline 
 ceafe to be Chriftian difcipline, and love its 
 authority, becaufe the ftate admits of it, and 
 cftablifhes it? I fay, fuppofe they w r ere to de- 
 clare againft all thefe things, as the Heathens 
 and Jews did in the firfl: ages of the Gofpel, 
 their declaration would fignify nothing : becaufe 
 the Church, in its Priefthood and Sacraments, 
 derives its authority only from Jefus Chrift., 
 which the perfecution of the civil powers cannot 
 reach; much lefs can their allowance turn it 
 into an human authority, and render it of none 
 tffecft. But we fhall fee hereafter, how all this 
 is overthrown, by another plea which the Dif- 
 
 fenters 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C. 89 
 
 fenters (forgetting this) have made ufe of to 
 defend their feparation from the Church of 
 England. 
 
 To fay, that the Church of Chrift is founded 
 upon the dcffrines taught by the Apoftles, is a 
 grofs miftake. Doctrines can no more confer 
 authority of office to Church minifters, than the 
 Statute book in England can make a juftice of 
 the peace ; whofe power muft come to him by 
 peribnal deputation. A written law does no- 
 thing, till there comes an executive power, law- 
 fully ordained, to adminifter and bring it to 
 efFed. Let any DifTenter fhew us the text or 
 do&rine that will make a Prieft. We can foon 
 fhew him one which tells us how Priefts muft be 
 made. — No man taketh this honour to bimfelf, but 
 he that is called of God, as was Aaron ; who was 
 called by an outward confecration, from a per- 
 ion whom God had commiffioned to confecrate : 
 and the power thus given defcended by fucceffion 
 to his pofterity. The power of abjolution was 
 given by Chrift to the Chriftian miniftry, and 
 without this power there can be no fuch thing 
 as a Church of Chrift. The Priefthood had 
 the power of abfolution under the Law of Mofes; 
 and even the Priefts of Heathenifm were never 
 
 con- 
 
9<3 A SHORT VIEW, &C. 
 
 confidered as the reprefentatives of the people, 
 but of the God to whom they belong ; to pro- 
 nounce bleffngs and forgive fins in his name. 
 But the Prefbyterians are fo far from claiming 
 this power to themfelves, (though fuppofed to 
 be in all the Prfefts of the world.) that they 
 mock at it in us, and call it Popery and 
 Juggling ; and a Church fo rejecting a power 
 effentiai to the nature of priefthood, is in a ftate 
 of abjuration againfi its own exiftence. 
 
 3. They fay, the Church of England hath 
 impofed fuch articles of faith, as the Gofpel 
 hath not impofed ; for which impofition Chrift 
 hath given no autkority. 
 
 This obje&ion extends to every Church upon 
 earth, that requires any articles of faith, as 
 terms of Church Communion ; and it proves 
 too much if it proves any thing. The Gofpel, 
 it is true, impofes nothing but Baptifrn, and its 
 Faith in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghoft : all other articles are intended for the de- 
 fence and fecurity of this one in its proper ex- 
 tent. And fuch articles will be more or lefs, 
 according to times and occafions, as the adver- 
 saries of the faith afiault it on different fides, 
 and with different principles of offence. The 
 
 Gofpel 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C. t)t 
 
 Gofpel does not require that we fhould renounce 
 the World, the Flefh, and the Devil ; nor fet 
 down the Apoftles* Creed, as a condition of 
 communion : and, if we had a mind to be per- 
 verfe and captious, we might argue, that a man 
 may come to Chriilian Baptifm with his mouth 
 fhut, and not fay one word for himfelf, becaufe 
 the Gofpel hath not fet down the form, nor fpe- 
 cified the terms of the Baptilmal Covenant; 
 though the intention or fenfe of it (what we are 
 to renounce, and what we are to believe) is 
 clear throughout the New Teftament. The 
 Church of England hath articles exprefsly 
 againft Popery : but the Gofpel hath impofed 
 no fuch articles j it knew nothing of Popery ; 
 and the principle of the Diffenters would leave 
 us defencelefs againft the Papifts, as well as all 
 our other enemies, and is contrary to the fun- 
 damental principle of all fociety, and even of 
 nature itfelf. We have no occafion here to 
 enquire, what the Articles of the Church of 
 England are ,* becaufe the objection extends to 
 all articles whatfoever, except fuch as are {tt 
 down in the Scripture, which fets down nothing 
 but baptifm j and is fo brief in its accounts, that 
 every true principle of the Chriftian Faith might 
 
 be 
 
$2 A SHORT VIEW, SCC. 
 
 be evaded, if we were to lay hold of ibme lliort 
 expreflions, and make them exclujhe 3 contrary 
 to common rules of reafoning, the plaineft fafts, 
 and the nature of the cafe, as fome have done -, 
 particularly the celebrated Mr. Locke, who con- 
 tends, that the Chriftian Gofpel has but one 
 article, namely, that Jefus Chrifi is the MeJ/iah ; 
 whereas the one great condition of Salvation, in 
 the Gofpel, is Baptifm in the name of the Fa- 
 ther, Son, and Holy Ghoft; therefore the great 
 and fundamental article of the Gofpel, is that of 
 Faith in Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft. 
 
 4. From the preceding article, which afierts 
 that the Church of England hath impofed arti- 
 cles which (Thrift hath not impofed; it is argued, 
 that in oppofing the Church of England, they 
 oppofe an invafion of the kingly authority of Jefus. 
 Chrifi. 
 
 Jefus Chrift doth not act in perfon, but hath 
 ccmmifiloned his Church to aft for him, and 
 hath promifed to be with it, and fupport its 
 authority, to the end of the world. Therefore^ 
 to argue for Jefus Chrift againfl his Church, is 
 to fet up Jefus Chrift againft himfelf ; and the 
 like objeftion may be made againft all the 
 Churches m the world : which, fo far as they 
 
 aft 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &CC. 93 
 
 aft for their own juft rights, under Jefus Chrift, 
 may be faid to a£l againft him. Every true 
 Church is bound to affert and defend the faith it 
 hath received : but its enemies will call this ne- 
 ceffary defence an impcfiticn> and thd ttendj 
 that they are free from all obligation But 
 with what grace doth this argument come n 
 the party, who impofed their ownfolemn league 
 and covenant on men's confeiences in this king- 
 dom, at the peril of their lives and fortunes, and 
 profcribed them as malignant s if the- refufed 
 to take it ; for which there certainly is either 
 precedent nor precept in the Gofpel ? How 
 marvelloufly do the opinions of men change, 
 when they argue for thetnfelves, and when they 
 argue againft us I 
 
 5. To explain away the offence of Schifm, it is 
 farther argued, that as there were Schifms among 
 the Corinthians, when it does not appear that 
 there was myfeparation; fo there may be a fe- 
 paration where there is no Schifm : becaufe 
 Chriftians may ftill be united in heart and affec- 
 tion, though they perform the offices of religion 
 in different places and in different ways. 
 
 The hiftory of fadts in this country gives us 
 a different profpeft of things, and indeed it is 
 
 pre- 
 
94 A SHORT VIEW, &C. 
 
 prepofterous to fuppofe, that if we fow in Schifm, 
 we fhall reap in Unity : or, in other words, that 
 if we murder and mangle the body of the Church, 
 we fhall preferve charity, which is the life and 
 foul of it. It is true, we fhall not difpute much 
 about any thing, if we are indifferent to every 
 thing : but mifguided religious zeal is not of this 
 infipid chara&er. The ordinance of Parliament 
 of the nth of Auguft 1645, for putting in exe- 
 cution the directory, has thefe words : — Cf If any 
 cc perfon or perfons whatfoever, fhall, at any 
 u time or times hereafter, ufe, or caufe the 
 cc aforefaid Book of Common Prayer to be ufed 
 fC in any Church, Chapel, or public place of 
 f worfhip, or in any private place, or family, 
 " within the kingdom of England, or the do- 
 cc minion of Wales, or port and town of Ber- 
 " wick : every perfon fo offending herein, fhall, 
 cc for the firft offence, pay the fum of five 
 < c pounds of lawful Englifh money; for the 
 cf fecond- offence, ten pounds 3 and for the 
 " third, fhall fuffer one whole year's imprifon- 
 €C ment, without bail or mainprize." This law 
 was one of the fruits of Schifm ; and there never 
 was a law more fevere and cruel. The kin 
 was then living, and the private worfhip of his 
 3 fa mil 
 
A SHORT TIEW; &C. £$ 
 
 family is not excepted. But thefc were days of 
 religious madnefs ; we know better now. So 
 it is faidj but I fear with very little truth. 
 What would not that perfecuting fpirit do, if it 
 had power, which is fo confpicuous in the Syl- 
 labus of Mr. Robinfon's Le&ures, a Dijfenting 
 teacher at Cambridge? How frefli is the re- 
 membrance (or ought to be) of the riots in 
 London, which fhook the kingdom, and brought 
 us fo nearly to ruin in a few days : all conducted 
 by a fanatic Prefbyterian, with a rout of forty 
 thoufand diforderly people at his heels ? And 
 if the principles of fanaticifm can perform fuch 
 wonders here, even in a man without learning, 
 without parts, without morals, without fenfe : 
 how dreadful may their effects be upon a future 
 occafion ! and who can tell how foon that occa- 
 fion may happen ? efpecially as Dr. Priejlley> 
 another Dijfenting teacher, is now threatening us 
 with impending ruin, from himfelf and his party; 
 who give us warning, that they have long been, 
 and are now, conveying gunpowder under our 
 foundation, to blow up the old rotten fabric of 
 the Church of England ? Neither is that zeal 
 totally departed which produced the cruel edi6l 
 of 1645, a g a inft the ufe of our Liturgy i a Dif- 
 
 fenter 
 
9^ A SHORT VIEW, &C. 
 
 fenter (to my knowledge) having been lately 
 heard to declare, that every Common Prayer 
 Book in England ought to be burned! and this 
 was from a perfon, who, abftracted from thefe 
 paroxyfms of religious bigotry, was of a peace- 
 able and quiet temper ! Add to this, that 
 pra&ice, which is almoft univerfal with the Dif- 
 fenters, oi forcing their fervants and dependants 
 into the worjhip of the Meeting-houfe, however . 
 ftrong their affections may be to the worfhip of 
 the Church by birth and education. But our 
 Diffenting apologift affures us, Chriftians may 
 ftill be united-in heart and affeflicn, though they 
 worfhip God in different places : and that there 
 may be feparation without Schifm, as there was 
 Schifm at Corinth without feparation. But 
 thefe fmaller Schifms of the Corinthians, which 
 did not a&ually feparate them into different 
 communions, were yet, according to the Apof- 
 tie, very reprehenfible, and of bad tendency : 
 therefore, adtual feparation, being Schifm in the 
 extreme, muft be more reprehenfible. To fup- 
 pofe it lefs, is to contradift the reafbn of things ; 
 as if it fhould be argued, that becaufe we may 
 hurt a man without killing him, therefore we 
 may kill a man without hurting him. 
 
 6. How- 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C. 97 
 
 6. However, if there fhould be any Schifm 
 betwixt the Church of England and the Dif- 
 fenters, they fay the guilt of it is with the 
 Church, who will not yield to weak brethren in 
 things which are confejfed to be indifferent and of 
 Jmall moment. 
 
 With what propriety can things of Jmall 
 moment be introduced, as objeflions to our 
 Communion, after it has been aflerted, that the 
 Church of England is no Church of Chrift? If 
 that objection be good, all things of Jmall mo- 
 ment are fuperfluous. For who can be obliged, 
 or who indeed will confent, to be a member of 
 a Church, which is no Church of Chrift? 
 * c Leave things indifferent (faith this reply) as 
 they are in their own nature, and as Chrift hath 
 left them, and the reparation is over." So 
 then, if theie indifferent things were removed, the 
 Diflencers would communicate with a Church, 
 which is no Church of Chrift ! Who can be- 
 lieve this ? Is it- not much more probable, 
 that the Diftenters do not mean to throw up the 
 fapararion for any conceflions that can be made 
 by a Church, which, in their- opinion, is itfelf 
 feparated from the Communion of Jefus Chrift ? 
 Thefe objections are fo inconliftent, that they 
 f leave 
 
9$ A SHOKT VIEW, &C. 
 
 leave fmall hopes of the poffibility of a recon- 
 ciliation. For if all thefe fmall things were re- 
 moved, ftill there will remain the infuperable 
 (and we truft, uncharitable and groundlefs) ob- 
 jection, that the Church of England is no 
 Church of Chrift : and that Diflenters cannot 
 upon any principle communicate with a Church, 
 which they think to be excommunicate. The 
 cafe between us is very bad under this reprefen- 
 tation of itj but it becomes, if poffible, more 
 hopclefs in what follows. 
 
 7. For the Reply tells us, that the DifTenters 
 do not (land out for the value of the things re- 
 quired, which are matters of indifference ; but 
 ftand up in defence of that liberty, wherewith 
 Chrift hath made them free, and will not be 
 brought into bondage. 
 
 Do they think then, that Chrift hath given 
 them liberty to break the peace of the Church, 
 for matters indifferent? That is, to deftroy 
 peace, efiential to falvation; to fave liberty, 
 the creature of human pride ? Another apologift 
 of the Diflenters, the author of The independent 
 Whig, puts this matter out of qucftionj and 
 affirms without refcrve, that Schijm is fo necef- 
 fery to the prefervation of liberty ', that there can 
 
 be 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C. 99 
 
 be no Liberty without Schifm. What would the 
 Chriitian world be, if this principle were univer- 
 sally followed ? No two of us could confent 
 together -, becaufe the one muft lofe his liberty, 
 till he goes off into Schifm; fo it would break 
 all Chriftian focieties into individuals. Liberty 
 and bondage are words of ftrange Bonifications 
 in this land, which it would be tedious to dif- 
 play. Only let us diftinguifh, that there is no 
 bondage in dutiful fubmiffion ; for that is the 
 fervice of God which is perfect freedom : nor any 
 liberty in unreafonable difobedience ; for that is 
 the bondage of Satan, who works in the chil- 
 dren of difobedience, and puts them to a great 
 deal of trouble ; making them reitlefs and im- 
 patient, and leading them fuch a wearifome life, 
 that if it were not called liberty, they would wifti 
 themfelves out of the world. 
 
 8. The Church of England is accufed of 
 taking away the Bread and the Cup, unlefs 
 people will receive kneeling ; and Chrift hath 
 not made kneeling a neceffary term of Com- 
 munion. 
 
 Nor is it neceffary with us ^ becaufe we ad- 
 
 minifter the Sacrament to the fick or the infirm, 
 
 either fitting, kneeling, or lying. Kneeling is 
 
 f 2 proper 
 
roo a short vieWj £cc. 
 
 proper to an aft of devotion -, fuch the Sacra- 
 ment of the Lord's Supper is now, and not a 
 focial aft of eating, as at the Paffover, when it 
 was firft inftituted. Kneeling may admit of a 
 bad conftruftion, becaufe the Papifts kneel and 
 worfhip the Hoft: but Charity will give it a 
 good conflruftion, and then all the difficulty is 
 over. However, let us call it an impofition: 
 yet why ftiould the enjoining of it be objefted 
 to by the very people, who impofed on all that 
 took their folemn league and covenant, the 
 poflure of founding, with the ceremony of lifting 
 up the right hand bare ? But, what is ftill more 
 to the purpofe, one of their apologifts affures 
 us, they make no fcruple of giving their Sacra- 
 ment to all thofe who chule to kneel in a Meet- 
 ing-houfe*. Therefore it is not the thing 
 (though that is fometimes highly exclaimed 
 againft) but the enjoining of the thing that ren- 
 
 * " In Come of our Churches, there are fome who receive 
 jlanding, fome kneeling. — Nor is there, I believe, among!* 
 our minifters, one in five hundred, who would refufe to give 
 the Sacrament either (landing or kneeling, to any one who 
 thought either of thefe the fitteft pofture of receiving." 
 Dijftnti?ig Gentleman's Anjwer to the Rev. Mr, White's 
 Three Letters. P. 21. 
 
 ders 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C. 1 01 
 
 ders it offenfive : and it appears from this cafe, 
 that Diffenters will do that to pleafe themfelves, 
 which they will not do to pleafe God ; who hath 
 enjoined us all to be at peace with one another, 
 and to agree in his worfhip. 
 ' Sponfors in Baptifm, and the fignature of the 
 Crofs, are obje&ed to. But the firft is only a 
 prudent provifion, as a farther fecurity for the 
 child, if the parents fhould die, or be of fuch 
 characters as renders them unfit for fponfors ; 
 which the child cannot help. The fignature of 
 the Crofs can give no offence (as one fhould 
 think) to any perfon who delights in the me- 
 mory of the Crofs itfelf. The pureft ages of the 
 Church ufed it on all occafions, particularly in 
 exorcifms, which were antiently a part of Bap- 
 tifm ; and there are fome pretty clear intimations 
 in the Scripture for the ufe of fome fignature on 
 the forehead ; and the firft of all fignatures is 
 that of the Crofs. For motives of worldly 
 traffic, the Dutch, inftead of preferring it to a 
 place ia their foreheads, trample it under their 
 feet : and our Diffenters rejeft it from an affec- 
 tion to their Schifm. If the Papifts are fuper- 
 abundant and fuperftitious in the ufe of the 
 Crofs, what is that to us ? If they repeat the 
 f 3 Lord's 
 
102 A SHORT VIEW, &C. 
 
 Lord's Prayer twenty times in an hour, are we 
 not to repeat it all * ? 
 
 9. It is farther cbje&ed to our Church, that 
 the people have a right, an unalienable right, to 
 chufc their own minifters; which with us they 
 are not permitted to do. 
 
 As for the patriotic term unalienable, it is ap- 
 plied to the rights of nature, which are unalien- 
 able becaufe they are inherent. But here, it can 
 only mean, that the Diffenters claim it, and are 
 refolved not to part with it. On this part of 
 the fubjefr, I muft lament with tears in my 
 eyes, the great abufes in the Church of Eng- 
 land, in refpeft to patronage and admiffion into 
 Church-livings. But in bad times, no regula- 
 tions are fufficient to fecure us from corruption ; 
 and even the very means appointed to keep out 
 bad men, will let them in: for there are times, 
 when perfons of no confcience or charadter may 
 aft with impunity ; and the word of men are the 
 mod ready to play with all religious fecurities. 
 That chis cafe would be mended if the choice 
 of minifters were always with the people, is by 
 
 * See the ufe of the Signature of the Crofs in Baptifm, 
 fully and learnedly vindicated in Bennefs Abridgment of 
 the London Ca/h, chap. vi. 
 
 4 no 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C. IO3 
 
 no means clear. For nothing is fo common as 
 for people to be divided in interefts and affec- 
 tions on very unworthy motives; and thence 
 many great and fcandalous difturbances arife ; 
 and a parifh is fo divided into parties, that per- 
 haps they do not come into humour again for 
 fome years. Befidesj flippofe a Socinian fhould 
 have got poflTeflion of a pulpit, and preached 
 the people (or a feza of the moil aftive, noify y 
 and cunning, who overbear all the reft) into 
 Herefy : whom would they chufe, but a So- 
 cinian, at the next vacancy ? And would it 
 not be much better that an Orthodox minifter 
 Ihould be put upon them ? If the people have 
 this right, then ail the people have it ; and con- 
 fequently a Socinian congregation have a right 
 to chufe a Socinian minifter. How the Scrip- 
 ture hath been handled, as to this affair of 
 popular eleclion, was noted in the Poftfcript to 
 the EJfay on the Church. 
 
 10. Though the Diffenters have no miniftry 
 by SucceJJion, they make light of this defeft, and 
 think they are as well off as we are, becaufe 
 they fay, our right of ordaining came down to us 
 through the channel of Popery. 
 
 Bifhops, Priefts, and Deacons, in a Church, 
 f 4 were 
 
104 A SHORT VIEW, &C# 
 
 were no invention of Popery, nor is our ifuo 
 ceffion any more aftefted by Popery, than the 
 A pottles' Creed, which is alio come down to us 
 through the channel of Popery ; and fo is Canon of 
 the Scripture itfelf : yet we take the old Creed 
 and the old Scriptures, and think them as good 
 as ever. The Church of Rome is under fuch 
 an opprobrium with Proteftants, that it is a 
 convenient bugbear, brought forward upon all 
 occafions by thofe who want better argument, 
 to frighten us out of our Church principles, and 
 cover the weaknefs of their own innovations. 
 But the fucceffion of Church offices is no more 
 affe&ed by the errors of Popery, than a man's 
 pedigree is affedted by his bodily diftemper, 
 or the diftempers of his parents ; and if the 
 man, by alteratives and reftoratives, is cured 
 with the bieffing of God, he returns to the ftate 
 of his purer anceftors of a remote generation. 
 A felf- originated upftart, who has been railing 
 at him for things pair, id which he had no (hare, 
 may take his name, and claim his inheritance ; 
 but when his title comes to be examined, the true 
 right will appear, and juftice will take place. 
 
 If we trace the pedigree of the Church of 
 England far enough backwards, we find a 
 
 Chriftiau 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C. IC5 
 
 Chrifuan Church of the Epifcopal form in 
 Britain, with an independent right and authority 
 of its own, before Auftin fet his foot in the 
 country, as the mefienger of Rome. At the 
 Reformation, this Church did but return to its 
 original rights, with an Epifcopacy independent 
 of the Pope, and enjoyed it for fome years, with 
 the general approbation of the people, and there 
 was no fuch thing as a Prefbyterian in the nation. 
 It was approved and congratulated for its felicity 
 by the reformed of other countries : and even 
 Calvin and Beza, then little thought that they 
 ihould have any followers fo mad> (I life their 
 own word) as to reject fuch an Epifcopacy ~as 
 ours, which had freed itfelf from the ufurpation 
 of the Papacy. Calvin, in his Kpiftle to Car- 
 dinal Sadolet, faid of thole who fhould reject 
 fuch an hierarchy, that he fhould think them, 
 nullo non anathemate dignosy i. e. < c that no curia 
 could be too bad for them." Beza would not 
 believe that any could rejeft the order of Bifhops 
 in a reformed Church. If there be fuch, faid he, 
 God forbid that any man in his wits fhcidd ajfent 
 to the madnefs of thofe men *. And in the fame 
 Book f, fpeaking of the hierarchy of England 
 
 * Ad Trad, lb Mini ft. E<vang. ah Ifadr. Sarav. Edir. 
 Btlgo, c, i* + Cap. 18. 
 
 f 5 and 
 
106 A SHORT VIEW, &C. 
 
 and her Bifhops, he fays, Let her enjoy that/in- 
 gular bleffing of God, which I wijh may be per- 
 petual to her. Such at that time were the fen- 
 timents of Beza and Calvin -, who afterwards 
 found it convenient to change their ftyle -, and, 
 when the war was carried on againft Epifcopacy 
 itfelf, the expurgatorial authority of their editors 
 in later editions expunged thefe charitable at- 
 teftations out of their works j which hath a very 
 guilty appearance. 
 
 11. The Diffenters plead, that what is called 
 the Aft of Toleration, has given a fanftion to 
 their feparation, and taken away the fin of it. 
 They are " not chargeable with Schifm, fince 
 they who have the power of continuing or altering 
 our Church at their pleafure, have given them 
 liberty to withdraw, and have taken their places 
 of worihip under their proteffion as well as 
 ours." 
 
 If I underftand this plea right, it is a mill- 
 ftone about the neck of all the reft •, becaufe it 
 fliews, that the apologift of the Diflenters hath 
 argued without principles, and fo hath fallen 
 into a manifeft contradiction. He began with 
 mocking at the Church of England, as having 
 no foundation but upon the King and Parliament: 
 
 or, 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C. IO7 
 
 or, as another Diilenter hath expreffed it, in 
 the like infulting ftrain, as " built upon the 
 foundation of the Lords and Commons, the King 
 himfelf being the chief corner ft one" And they 
 have argued, that it even ceafes to be a Church 
 of Chrift, becaufe it a£ts under the allowance of 
 the civil power. Yet in their own cafe, die 
 King and Parliament, by an aft of Grace, can 
 make Schifm to be no Schifm ! The protection 
 we have from the civil government is caft in our 
 teeth, as a difadvantage, which extends even to 
 the unchurching of us, and throwing us out of 
 the kingdom of Chrift \ but the fame thing 
 (luppofing them to have it) takes away from 
 them the guilt of their feparation ! And thus 
 they give to the King and Parliament, the 
 privilege of God himfelf, who only can forgive 
 fin : which is more than we ever allowed them. 
 
 It is a very falfe fuggeition, that our civil 
 government can alter the Church at their plea- 
 fure. There is, indeed, a fenk, in which it 
 may be faid, that a man has power to do what- 
 ever he can do by force and violence : but ftill 
 there is an eflential difference between the power 
 of force and the power of right and authority. 
 The Church of England never can be altered 
 F 6 legally, 
 
108 A SHCRT VILW, &C. 
 
 legally y without the confent and aft of the Con- 
 vocation, who are a part of the conftitution : and 
 if it were otherwife done, it muft be done by an aft 
 of violence, againft the rights of Englishmen ; for 
 Englilhmen do not lofe their rights by being 
 Chriftians and Churchmen •> as their enemies are 
 inclined to have it. There can be no power of 
 authority in laymen to make or unmake a 
 Church, any more than there can be a power 'in 
 the Church to make or unmake the civil con- 
 ftitution -, and nothing can confound thefe powers 
 but an overbearing principle of infidelity ; from 
 which may God deliver us ; who hath promifed 
 that the gates of Hell (the judicial power of the 
 adverfaries of Jefus Chrift) fhall not prevail 
 againft us. Suppofe the civil power fhould 
 make an aft, that the King fhall ordain Priefts, 
 or that Priefts fhall not baptize children, nor 
 confecrate the Sacrament ; what would fuch an 
 aft fignify ? Therefore, they have not the 
 power to alter the Church at their pleqfure ; for 
 this might be their pleafure, if their wits, or the 
 grace of God were to forfake them. Such a 
 power, if it were claimed, was never exercifed 
 even by Heathen perfecutors. However, the 
 DiiTenters do not feem unwilling that fuch a 
 
 tyran- 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C. !Op 
 
 tyrannical power fhould be exercifed, and ap- 
 pear to relifh the idea of it, if it be but turned 
 againft the Church of England. No one spiritual 
 act can be exercifed, nor is it claimed by the 
 civil power in this country ; which can neither 
 baptize, nor ordain, nor abfolve, nor confecrate, 
 nor excommunicate; although the Diflenters, 
 in the heat of their zeal, have given the ftate a 
 fpirital power, and even more, over us and 
 themfelves too. But the ftate can fay, who 
 lhall or fhall not partake of temporalities : and 
 this very ftate will fay, fome more, fome lefs, 
 as long as the Church accepts of their protection, 
 and enjoys a legal maintenance and iupport un- 
 der them. Worldly politics in fuch a cafe will 
 be lure to interfere, and abufes will arife. 
 Churchmen will be apt to accommodate them- 
 felves to the views and inclinations of the ftate, 
 or fome of the a<5ting members of the ftate, 
 who are their friends: their doctrines will change 
 with the times -> their confeiences will become 
 too flexible and eafy, and the people whom they 
 teach will be in danger from them. There is 
 no convenience in this world without its incon- 
 venience. When the ftate was fchifmatical in 
 the days of the grand ufurpation, the Church of 
 
 that 
 
HO A SHORT VIEW,. &C. 
 
 that time could find no fuch fin as facrilege in 
 the Scripture, for the fear of giving offence to 
 their patrons, who were deep in the guilt of it: 
 and the AJfembly of Divines (as it was remarked 
 long ago by Bp Patrick) avoided all mention 
 of it in their Annotations. 
 
 12. The DifTenters hold themfelves blame- 
 lefs, becaufe many perfons of the Church of 
 England, and fome of great and popular cha- 
 racter, have juftified and even applauded their 
 feparation. 
 
 I find great ftrefs laid upon this circumftance, 
 which is blazoned out with pompous words and 
 fplendid quotations, as well of what hath been 
 fpoken (or fo reported) as written. But the fear 
 or favour pf men, efpecially of men too attentive 
 to the interefts of this world (as fome of their 
 friends have certainly been) is a very unfound 
 bottom for the DifTenters to reft upon : and fo 
 they efteem it themfelves, when it is on our 
 fide. But if any falfe brethren amongft us take 
 part with them, all fuch are excellent men, orna- 
 ments of the eftablifhmenty and of unanfwerable 
 authority. Sometimes the DifTenters are all for 
 the Scripture; Jefus Chrifl is their only King; 
 and to him they appeal for theie£litude of their 
 
 pro- 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C Ill 
 
 proceedings : but if they find a flatterer amongft 
 us, they make the moft of him : and fome fuch 
 are always to be found; for all are not Ifrael 
 that are of Ifrael ; and it doth not follow, that a 
 man muft be true to the Church of England, 
 becaufe it hath introduced him to a feat in the 
 Houfe of Lords. Temporal confiderations bring 
 fome men into the Church, whofe hearts and 
 affe&ions never were, nor ever will be with it. 
 Of fuch no honeft man can approve j and there- 
 fore the approbation of fuch, with all their tefti- 
 monies and certificates, is but of little value at 
 laft. Bifhop Hoadley was of this character : a 
 Socinian in principle : who, while he was cele- 
 brated by the enemies of the Church of England, 
 (and perhaps. affifted toward his advancement) 
 for having banifhed all Mitres and Lord/kips, 
 and Spiritual Ccurts y out of the Kingdom of 
 Chrijl, was, himfelf, an anfwer to every thing 
 he had written ; who fcrupled not to adorn him- 
 felf with a Mitre and a Lordfhip in one of the 
 firil preferments in this Church ; while he was a 
 greater favourer of thofe who were out of it, 
 than of thofe who were in it -, unlcfs they were 
 in it upon his own principles. 
 
 Amongft 
 
112 A SHORT VIEW, &C. 
 
 Amongft other bright ornaments of the Church 
 who applaud the feparation of the Diflenters, 
 the authors of the Free and Candid Vifquifitions 
 are brought in. Thefe are not only tender to 
 the Diflenters, but they rather think we fhall 
 never do well without them -, that they are ne- 
 cefiary to preferve the virtue of the nation ; to 
 fave our religious liberty, to prevent the return 
 of Jlavery\ and to ferve as a check, left we 
 fhould cad a favourable afpecl toward Rome. 
 Thefe things are fairly faid, but not truly; and 
 if we confider a little farther from whence they 
 came, little honour will acrue to the Diflenters 
 from the Teftimony of thefe authors. For it is 
 by no means clear that they were members of our 
 own Church, though they mod folemnly and re- 
 peatedly profefled themfelves fo to be in their 
 work. It was fufpefted very early, that they 
 were not fuch as they called themfelves, but 
 enemies under the difguife of friends. Of this 
 their work itfelf carries fome internal marks, 
 which feem to have efcaped them unawares. — 
 Fifta cito ad Naturam reciderint fuam. The 
 author of Free and impartial Confederations on 
 the Free and candid Difquifiticns y pre fled them 
 with this (Anno 1 75 1) and with great appear- 
 5 ancc 
 
 ^ 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C. Ilj 
 
 met of rcafon. He told them farther, " It 
 begins now to be reported, and I partly believe 
 it, that an eminent Diflenter, well known by 
 his writings, has had a hand more or lefs in the 
 Difquifitions *. But, fome few years after, in 
 1758, when this fecret had been fearched a little 
 farther, or had tranfpired of itfelf, I find an 
 author, and, I believe, a very honeft one, aflert- 
 ing in the plained terms, that thofe authors 
 were adtually Diflenters 5 and taxing the party 
 very roundly with tteir prevarication, in theie 
 words : cc Amidft the greateft indulgence, and 
 in open defiance of the laws, they impugned and 
 libelled our Liturgy, and our Conftitution — 
 without the lead proof or foundation : they 
 charged our Liturgy with all the defe6ls, with 
 all the faults, improprieties, and corruptions, 
 which had been fuggefted by Papifts, Heretics, 
 Enthufiafts, and the moft inveterate enemies of 
 our conftitution. And for fear the people 
 fhould fay, that an enemy had done this, they, 
 by the moft folemn and repeated infinuations, 
 declared themfelves to be true and dutiful Jons 
 
 f Page 59. 
 
 of 
 
114 A SHORT VIEW, &CC. 
 
 of the eftablijhed Church *." If, after fuch pro- 
 feflions, thcfe writers were DifTenters, their 
 Difquifitions exhibit fuch a fcene of treachery, 
 prevarication, felf-adulation, and ingratitude, to 
 the government under which, and the eftablifhed 
 Church with which they live, as is fcarcely to 
 be paralleled in hiftory. 
 
 On this fuppofuion, all the fine things thofe 
 authors thought fit to fay of the DifTenters, sad 
 their virtues, and the nature and merits of their 
 feparation, are of no authority; for that Dif- 
 fenters fhould praife DifTenters, is nothing won- 
 derful; but, if DifTenters did this, under the 
 name of true and dutiful Jons of the Church, then 
 fuch praife is again ft them in every word 
 of it. What fort of principles they muft be, 
 which can reconcile men's confciences to fuch 
 Jefaitical frauds and difguifes, they who practice 
 them are bound to confider. 
 
 If the DifTenters think they can juftify their 
 feparation by the praife of men; let them pro- 
 ceed fairly, and take it, fuch as it is, all to- 
 gether. They fhould remember, and eftimate 
 
 * Cafe of the Royal Martyr confidercd with candour, 
 P*333> 334- 
 
 pro- 
 
A SHORT VIEW, &C. I I 5 
 
 properly, how much of it comes from the bench 
 of our Bifhops, and how much from the feat of 
 the fcornful : how univerfaily they are be- 
 friended and admired by Deifts, Free-thinkers, 
 Socinian Philofophers, and loofe-livers ; who 
 delighting to fee the Church oppofed, and 
 Chriitian people divided, are exadly of the 
 fame opinion with fome of thofe great ornaments 
 vfthe efiablifoment of whofe teftimony our apo- 
 logift hath fo loudly boafted. " I heartily thank 
 God" fays the author of The Independent Whig, 
 " that we have Di/J enters, and I hope we Jball 
 never be without them.*" 
 
 13. The laft and the moft general argument 
 on which the Diflenters depend ; and which, if 
 it were juft, would render all other arguments 
 fuperfluous, is this ; that all men have a right 
 to judge and chufe for them/elves in matters of 
 Religion. 
 
 This is an extenfive principle, which juftifies 
 all fe6ts, and fuperfedes all inititutions and facra* 
 ments whatfoever. It alfo fhews the Diflenters 
 of this day, who have recourfe to it, to be 
 quite a different clafs of men, from the Puritans 
 
 * Vol, Hi, p. 223. 
 
 in 
 
Il6 A SHOPvT VIEW, &C. 
 
 in the days of Elizabeth ; for here they extend 
 their claims from Schifm up to Herefy, and 
 beyond it, even into the privileges and immuni- 
 ties of infidelity itfelf. The Puritans formerly 
 judged againft us in our difcipline : but the 
 DifTenters, and their friends, now judge againft 
 us in our doftrines. For, thus faith the author 
 of the Independent Whig, another apologifl of 
 the DifTenters. — cc No man ought to pay any 
 fubmiflion to that dottrine or difcipline which he 
 does not like:" and the war, which was once 
 carried on againft Prelacy and Ceremonies, is 
 now turned againft Articles and Creeds. 
 
 If the DifTenters at large have this right of 
 chufing what they like, and rejecting what they 
 dijlike : then the Quakers have it : and why not 
 the Jews and the Mahometans ? For, I defire 
 to know, what there is betwixt us. and them, 
 but matters of Religion. 
 
 As to this affair of' chafing, efpecially in mat- 
 ters of Religion, there are ftrange examples of 
 human perverfenefs and wickednefs. How 
 often did the people chuje new Gods ? Herefy 
 is fo called, becaufe it is a doftrine which a 
 man doth not receive but chufe for himfelf ; and 
 if his choice is of right, there can be no fuch 
 
 chins 
 
A SHORT VIEW, SCC. 117 
 
 thing as Herefy in the world. But Herefy is 
 reckoned among the works cf the flejh \ and they 
 that heap up teachers to them/elves, are faid to do 
 it of their own lufts. Thus every cafe becomes 
 defperate : for lnft> being an irrational, brutal 
 principle, hears no realbn; and nothing but 
 diforder and confufion can follow, when this 
 principle takes the lead in religion. When 
 men took wives dfjuch as they chofe, and had no 
 rule but this rule of choice ; the earth was foon 
 filled with violence : and if men may take what 
 they chufe in Religion, fedts and divifions, 
 ftrife and envying, rebellion and facrilege, with- 
 out end, muft be the confequence : and fo it 
 is already recorded in the annals of this king- 
 dom. 
 
 POST- 
 
( »« ) 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 AX ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST SEPARATION OF 
 THE DISSENTERS FROM THE CHURCH OF 
 ENGLAND, 
 
 THE preceding Ihort View of the Argument 
 betwixt the Church and the Diffenters, 
 having brought the authors of Free and Candid 
 Difquifitions on the Liturgy cf the Church of 
 England^ under our confideration -, I cannot 
 help mentioning on this occafion, that I have a 
 Manufcript in my poffeffion of feventy-two 
 fheets, containing Remarks on that work, 
 written immediately after its publication, by 
 one of the firft Scholars, and bell Divines of 
 this century. 
 
 The public never did, and probably never 
 will, receive any information from thefe papers; 
 but to me they have been very entertaining and 
 inftru&ive. In one of the Author's Notes 
 upon a large Quotation from the Epiftles of 
 St. Cyprian, I find the following account of the 
 
 the 
 
POSTSCRIPT. IT9 
 
 rife and progrefs of the Schifm, which hath 
 troubled the ftate of the Church, more or Ids, 
 ever fince the Reformation; and as this little 
 work may fall into the hands of fome readers, 
 who never heard, whether our Diflenters 
 originally divided from us, or we from them-, it 
 may be ufeful to fhew how the cafe (lands. The 
 faft is this; they went cut from us, after the full 
 cftablifnment of this Church. 
 
 c For, in the year 154.8, 2 Ed. vi, the Arch- 
 hi/hop of Canterbury, and twelve b£ the other 
 principal Bijhcps and Divines, joined in a 
 Committee, drew up the Form of celebrating the 
 Lord's Supper ; and, after that, of the reft of 
 the Common Prayer-, chiefly from the belt pri- 
 mitive formularies of Public Prayer they could 
 find ; which was foon after confirmed by Autho- 
 rity of Parliament, with th'.s Teflimony fubjoined, 
 viz. that None could doubt, but that the authors 
 were infpired, and affifted therein, by the Hc J y 
 Ghojl. At the fame time, (as Nichols, in his 
 Defenjio Ecclefia Anglican*, • obferves) it was 
 the peculiar happinefs of our Reformatio':, that 
 it had been ejtabiifhed by the concurrent Autho- 
 rity of the Church and State, fo we enjoyed the 
 mofr perfect agreement and unanimity of all 
 
 orders 
 
120 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 orders of men among us; the very name of 
 thofe fwarms of Settarifis (the filthy pollutions 
 whereof have, ftnee, infected fo far, and wide) 
 being then not fo much as heard of in our land. 
 Neither did any one, either at home or abroad, 
 (the envy, ill-nature, and heterodoxy of Calvin 
 only excepted) charge us, in the leaft, with any 
 remains of Pofifh leaven, as mixt with our fer- 
 vices and orders, or any thing that looked that 
 way : but all men honoured our Churchy as the 
 moft Holy Mother of the people of God com- 
 mitted to her, as well as the moft ftrenuous op- 
 pofer of Antichrifl, and the chief bulwark of the 
 Reformation. And fo matters continued ; not a 
 dog moving his tongue, or fowing the leaft feed 
 of Schifm, or DiJ/ention, to corrupt her. Till 
 under the perfecution ih Queen Mary's time, 
 when, many flyfhg (as it was to be expected) 
 into the Proteftant States . abroad, there fettled 
 themfelves into little Chapelries, or Churches, 
 by permiffion of the Magiftrates, according to 
 the order of the Common Prayer, and Service of 
 the Church of England. Only, at Frankfort, 
 one Fox, a man of a turbulent innovating fpirit, 
 with others affociated to him, were drawn into 
 fondnefs for Calvin's Plan, (fchifma.ical, as it 
 
 was, 
 
POSTSCRIPT- 121 
 
 was, from all Chrifiian Churches Jince the <dpof- 
 tles) and made themfelves a new farrago of 
 Public Prayers y as oppofite to the Englifh, and 
 confequently to thofe of all the Primitive 
 Churches j as they could devife i which, upoa 
 Queen Mary's death, they brought home with, 
 them : and, in preaching and writing, endea- 
 voured to force ', or palm upon the people; but 
 yet, without any direffy and open Schifrn : till one 
 Cartwrighty m a Theological Difputation held 
 at Cambridge before the Queen, [Elizabeth] 
 being rebuked by her for his unreafonable and 
 turbulent manner of conducting himfelf in it, 
 thereupon went off, full fraught with fpleen and 
 fpite y to Calvin: from whence returning, with. 
 new ulcers added to his old fores , and caufing; 
 frefh difturbances, he was expelled his College, 
 and deprived of tke Margaret- Pr of ejfir/hip, by 
 Dr. Whitgifty who was head of the fame College 
 [Trinity] and Vice- Chancellor of the Univerfity.. 
 Whereupon, with others of his own Calvinifiical 
 cafty he began to fet up his Novo -puritanical 
 Schifniy with clajfeSy convenlicles, &c. in avowed 
 contempt and rebellion againft the Church* 
 The fmoking brands of which fire of Schifra 
 being blown up by the tainted breath of his 
 G folr 
 
112 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 followers, broke out, in half an age, into a 
 flame that once fct three kingdoms into a 
 blaze, brought one of the bed of Kings to the 
 block, extirpated Epifcopaey, and the Peerage, 
 fo as without the vifible interpofition of Provi- 
 dence, there appeared no more hopes of their 
 reftoration for ever. Neither are the coals of 
 the old brands yet quenched, but they burn ftill 
 tinder the embers of /edition, wherewith they 
 are raked up, and threaten, yet, new and worfe 
 fires, perhaps to the civil, but certainly to the 
 religious fi ate of things among us; which God 
 avert !" 
 
 This good man did not live to fee the dis- 
 membering of the Britifh empire, by the fe- 
 paration of the American Colonies, begun and 
 carried on by the lame party both here and 
 there, to the lofs of fo many thoufand lives, 
 and the opprefling of the people with new and 
 endlefs burthens of taxes. So notorious was 
 the cafe, that even the gentlemen of the army, 
 who had an opportunity of making proper ob- 
 fervations, and were properly difpofed to make 
 them, brought home this report with them to 
 the Mother country^ that if the Church of 
 England had but obtained that timely fup- 
 
 port 
 
POSTSCRIPT. IJJr 
 
 port in the Colonies, for which it had fo often 
 petitioned, the American rebellion had never 
 happened : and if this government fhall be 
 as remifs toward itfelf, in the Mother coun- 
 try, as it has been toward the Colonies^ 
 the fame evils will foon break out at home. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Printed by Eye and Law, Sit John's-Square, Clerkenweli. 
 
LATELY PUBLISHED, 
 
 BY D£SIRE OF THE 
 
 SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE^ 
 
 NEW EDITIONS of 
 i. 
 
 A SHORT ASD EASY 
 
 METHOD WITH THE DEISTS; 
 
 Wherein the Certainty of the Chriftian Religion is demon- 
 ftrated by infallible Proof, from four Rules, which are 
 incompatible to any Jmpofture that ever yet has been, 
 or can poffibly be. In a Letter to a Friend. To which 
 is added, The Truth of Christianity demonftrated, in a 
 Dialogue between a Chriftian and a Deifl; wherein the 
 Cafe of the Jews is like wife confidered. 
 
 By the late Rev. CHARLES LESLIE, M. A. 
 
 With a Letter from the Author to a Deifi:, upon his 
 Converfion by reading his Book. 
 
 To which is prefixed, APreface. by the Rev. W. Jones, 
 M. A. Author of the Catholic Dodrine of the Trinity, &c 
 Price 2s. 6i fewed. 
 
 ir. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS on the CONVERSION and 
 
 APOSTLESHIP of ST. PAUL. 
 
 In a Letter to Gilbert WtsT, Efq. By the late Right 
 
 Hon. GEORGE, LORD LYTTELTON. 
 
 Price is. 6d. fewed, 
 
 III. 
 
 Ths TRIAL of the WITNESSES of the 
 
 RESURRECTION of JESUS, 
 
 Price 25. fewed. 
 
■ 
 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 
 "1385S^P*B5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 | 
 
 
 GAYLORD 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 »RI N-ED IS U.S. A 
 
10, 
 
 V! 
 
1 1012 01021 0351 
 
 msfr 
 
 ■ 
 
 i 
 
 
 I 
 
 mm 
 
 ■ 
 
 *?■ 
 
 i 
 
 B9f 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 v# 
 
 
 ml Ji 
 
 '% 
 
 f* 
 
 ■ 
 
 ?kS i 
 
 ■ *