"I give thefe Books
I for '.the founding of ' o. CotUgefh this Colony"

BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME
OF THE

John Elliott Fund

DEMONSTRATION OF THE
Grofs and Fundamental Errors
Of a late BOOK, called
A Plain Account of the Nature and End ofthe
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper , &c<

BOO KS printed for W. I n n y s and
R. M A N b y.
I. A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life.
/\ Adapted to the State and Condition of
^all Orders of Chriftians. The Third Edition. Svo.
1 II. A practical Treatife upon Chriftian Per
fection. The Fourth Edition. Svo.
III. The Cafe of Reafon, or Natural Religion
fairly and fully ftated. In Anfwer to a Book,
entituled, Chriftianity as old as the Creation. Svo.
IV. The abfolute Unlawfulnefs of the Stage
Entertainment fully demonftrated. The Second
Edition. Svo.
V. Remarks upon a late Book, entituled, The
Fable of the Bees, of private Vices publick Be
nefits. To which is added, a Poftfcript, con
taining an Obfervation or two upon Mr. Bayle.
The Third Edition. 8w.
VI. Three Letters to the Bifhop of Bangor.
The Eighth Edition. 8vo.
Thefe fix by the Reverend Mr. Law.
VII * A Review of the Doftrine of the Eu-
- charift, as laid down in Scripture and Antiquity.
By Daniel Waterland, D. D. Chaplain in ordi
nary to his Majefty.

DEMONSTRATION OFTHE
Grofs and Fundamental Errors .
Of a late BOOK, called
A "Plain Account of the Nature and
End of the Sacrament of the Lord's
Supper, &c.
Wherein alfo the Nature and Extent of the
Redemption of all Mankind by Jesus Christ,
is ftated and explain'd ; and the Pretences of
the Deijls, for a Religion of Natural Reafon
inftead of it, are examin'd to the Bottom.
The Whole humbly, earneftly and affectionately
addrefs'd to all Orders of Men, and more
efpecially to all the Younger Clergy.
By WILLIAM LAW, A. M.

LONDON:
Printed for W. Innys and R. Man by,
at the Weft-End of St. Paul's,

Mdcc xxxvii,

ERRATA.
PAG. 1 8. lin. i. for notohing, read nothing. Pag. 50:
lin. 11. for that of, read thought of. Pag. 68. lin. 6. ftrike
out, and. Pag. 80. lin. 2z.read, Letter of their Inflitutions.
Pag. 83. lin. 20. ftrike out, yet. Lin. 24. for lead, readied.
Pag. 128. lin. 15. for call to mind the Remembrance of Chrift,
read call to Remembrance the Death of Chrift. Pag. 302. lin.
7, 8. fax your Efteem of Chrift, read you to efteem Chrift.

:Y Defign (worthy Reader)
is not to lay before you all
the Errors and falfe Rea-
fonings of this Author
throughout his wholeTrea-
tife. This would lead you
into too much Wrangle*
and the Multiplicity of Things difputed,
would take your Eye from the chief Point
in Queftion, and fo make the Matter lefs edi
fying to you.
Many therefore of his leffer Miftakes I
lhall pafs over, and only endeavour to dis
cover fuch grofs and fundamental Errors, as
may juftly pafs for an entire Confutation of
his whole Book.

The Foundation on which he proceeds,
and the principal Matters of his Difcourfe,
are not only notorioufly againft the Truth of
B the

[O
the Sacrament, but plainly deftructive ofthe
principal Doctrines of the Chriftian Reli
gion. And if this Key of Knowledge, put into
• your Hands by this Author, is accepted by
you, you will not only lofe all the right
Knowledge of this Sacrament, but be ren-
der'd a blind, deaf, and even dead Reader of
all the Other Doctrines of Scripture. For the
Way He points out to find the Truth of the
Doctrine of the Sacrament, is the only way
to lofe the Truth of all the moft important
Parts of the Gofpel.
Who this Namelefs Author is, neither
concerns the Truth, nor You, nor Me, and
therefore I leave that Matter as he has left it.
He begins with giving us this Account of
the Principles on which he proceeds.
I have endeavoured to ejlablijh and explain
the true Nature, End, and Effe5l of the Sa
crament of the Lord's Supper. And this in
fuch a manner, that all who are concerned may, I
hope, be led into the right way of judging about
it * To this I have endeavoured to guide them, by
* P»* 5-

L 3 ]
by directing and confining their Attention to all
that is faid about this Duty, by thofe who alone
had any Authority to declare the Nature of it:
Neither on the one hand diminifhing, nor on the
other augmenting, what is declared by them to
belong to it.- -If therefore the Manner in'
which I have chofen to treat this Subject, fliould
appear to fome tofiand in need of any Apology ;
this is the only one I can perfuade myfelf to
make, That I have no Authority to add to the
Words ofChrifi and his Apojlles upon this Sub
ject; nor to put any Meaning or Interpretation
upon thefe Words, but what is agreeable to the
common Rules of Speaking in like Cafes, and to
the declared Defign of the Infiitution itfelf.*
-  All who (in the Apofile's phrafe) love our
Lord Jefus Chrifi in Sincerity, and who de-
fire to be no wifer about his Appointments,
than He himfelf was ; and are content to expect
no more from his Infiitution than he himfelf put
into it, will join with me at leafi in the one only
Method of examining into the Nature and Ex
tent ofit.'f
Here He has given us a fhort, but full Ac
count of the Principles on which he pro*-
ceeds, which I fhall reduce into the follow
ing Propofitions. B 2 ift,
* Pag. 6. f Pa2- 7-

C 4- 3
ifl, That the Nature, End, and Ef
fects of the Holy Sacrament can only be/o
far known, and apprehended by us, as the
bare Words of Chrift in the Inftitution of
the Sacrament, related by the Apoftles and
Evangelifts, have made them known to us.
zdly, That no other Meaning or Inter
pretation is to be put upon thefe Words, but
what is agreeable to the common Rules of Speak
ing on the like Occafions.
%dly, That this Examination into the
Meaning of the Words, according to the
common Rules of Speaking on the like Oc
cafions, is the one only Method of Knowing
what is meant by them.
4-thly, That this Knowledge thus acqui
red from fuch a Confideration of the Words,
is all the Knowledge that we can have of the
Nature, End, and Effects of this Holy Sacra
ment. Every one muft fee that thefe Propofi-
tions are fairly taksn from his own Words,
and that they are the Foundation of his
whole Difcourfe. He builds upon them as
i upon

L 5 ]
upon fo many Axioms, or firft Principles;
and all he fays from the Beginning to the End
of his Treatife, is founded upon the fuppo
fed inconteftable Truth of them.
Here therefore let me defire you to fix
your Eye, for here I will place the Merits
of the Caufe with him : If this Foundation
cannot be fhaken, I will difpute nothing
that He has built upon it.
But then let it be obferved, that if thefe
Propofitions are prov'd to beabfolutely falfe,
and moft evidently repugnant to the repeat
ed Letter, conftant Spirit, and whole Te
nor of Scripture, then all this whole Trea
tife from the Beginning to the End, fo far
as he proceeds upon his own avow'd Princi
ples, is mere Fiction and Fable, a Caftle in
the Air.
I shall therefore in the plaineft manner
fhew the Falfenefs of thefe Propofitions, and
that they are fo far from being what He takes
them to be, viz. the only Means of arriving at
thefulnefs of Scripture Truths, that whoever
entertains them as Truths, and abides by
them in his fearch after Scripture Truths is,
B 3 and

[6]
and mufi be, fo long as he continues in that
Sentiment and Practice, Stone-Blind to all
the Myfteries of the Kingdom of God, as
related in Scripture.
And that, if it was any ones Defire to do
exactly what our Bleffed Lord charges upon
the Pharifees and Lawyers, that they fhut up
the Kingdom of Heaven, took away the Key of
Knowledge, entred not in themfelves, and thofe
that were entring in, they kindred: Were
this the deepeft Defire of any ones heart, the
one only effectual way of doing it,- muft be
the way that this Author has taken in this
Treatife. For, it {hall alfo be made appear,
that thefe Principles of his are that very Veil
which the Apoftle fays, was upon the Hearts
of the Jews : and that the Scriptures have
never been ufelefs to, mifunderfiood or reject
ed by any People of any Age, but for this
Reafon, becaufe their Hearts were blinded
and hardened by this very Method of know
ing Scripture Truths, which He propofes to
us. All the Characters of fiijfnecked, har
dened, blind, carnal, and uncircumcifed in
Heart and Spirit, which are in the Scrip
tures given to the unbelieving Jews, are on
ly fo many various Ways of defcribing that
State

17]
State of Heart, which thefe very Principles
had produced in them.
Had they thought of any other Method of
knowing their Mejfiah, but that of the bare
Letter of Scripture, interpreted according to
the common Rules of Speaking, the greateft
Occafion of their Infidelity had been re-
mov'd. But to begin in my propofed Method.
The Holy Sacrament was inftituted in thefe
Words : . And as they were eating, Jefus took
Bread,and bleffed it, and brake it, and gave it ta
the Difciples, and faid, Take, Eat, this is my
Body. And He took the Cup, and gave it to
them, faying, Drink ye all of it : For this is
my Blood of the new Tefiament, which isfhed
for many, for the Remiffion of Sins, Matth.
xxvi. 26. In St. Luke the Words of Infti
tution are : And he took Bread, and gave
thanks, and brake it, and gave it unto them,
faying, This is my Body which is given for you,
This do in remembrance of me. Likewife alfo
the Cup after Supper, faying, This Cup is the
new Tefiament in my Blood, which is fhed far
you} Luke xxii. 19. B 4 Let

[ 8]
Let us now apply the Doctrine contain'd
in the fore-mentioned Propofitions to thefe
Words of the' Inftitution of the Sacrament.
According to the Doctrine of thofe Propofi
tions, the one only Method of underfianding
what is meant by thefe Words of the Inftitu
tion, is to confider and interpret them ac
cording to the common Rules offpeaking in like
Cafes. But, pray Sir, where muft a Man
look for a like Cafe? Does the World afford
us any Cafe like it? Have the Speaker or the
Things fpoken, any Things in common Life
that are alike to either of them ? How vain is
it therefore to refer us to the common Rules
of fpeaking on the like Cafes , when the
whole World affords us neither any Perfon
like him that fpoke, nor any Thing, or Cafe,
like the Things and Cafe here fpoken of.
The Scripture faith, He fpake the Word
and they were made, He commanded and they
were created.* Has this way of fpeaking a-
ny Parallel in the Language of Men ? Do hu
man Things and Transactions furnifh us with,
any thing like this? Now
* PfaL cxlviii. 5,

19]
Now the Word which thus fpeaking,
created all things, is not more extraordinary,
more above the common Rules of fpeaking,
or more without human Example, than that
Word which in the Infiitution ofthe Sacra
ment, fpake, and it was done, commanded,
and it was created. For it is the fame Omni
potent Word that here fpeaketh, that fpoke
the Creation into Being ; and the Effects of
his fpeaking in the Inftitution of the Sacra
ment, are as extraordinary, and as much a-
bove the Effects of Human Speaking, as when
the fame Word fpake and they were made,
commanded and they were created. And it is
impoflible for any one to fhew, that there is
lefs of Divine Power and Greatnefs, lefs of
Myftery and Miracle imply'd in thefe Words
fpoken by the Eternal Word in the Inftitu
tion of the Sacrament, than when the fame
Eternal Word faid, Let there be Light, and
there was Light.
All Words have a Meaning, a Signifi-
cancy and Effect, according to the Nature of
him, whofe they are. The Words of God
are of the Nature of God, Divine, Living
and Powerful ; the Words of an Angel, are
as that Angel is in Power and Perfection v
the

[ 1° ] s
the Words of a Devil have only his Nature
and Power, and therefore they can only and
folely tempt to Evil ; the Words of Man,
are as Men are, weak, vain, earthly, and of
a poor and narrow Signification. To direct
us therefore to the common Rules of fpeak
ing amongft Men, as the only Means of
truly knowing all that the Son of God fpoke,
when he fpoke of himfelf, and on fuch an
Occafion, and in fuch Circumftances as never
did, nor ever can happen or belong to any
one but himfelf, is furely no fmall Miftake.
The common Rules of fpeaking are like
other things that are common amongft Men,
viz. poor, empty, and fuperficial, hardly
touching the outfide of the mere human
Things we talk about. If therefore what
the Son of God faid of himfelf in the In
ftitution of this Holy Sacrament, muft ne-
ceffarily be fuppofed to have no higher Mean
ing or deeper Senfe, than fuch as is accord
ing to the common Rules of fpeaking amongft
Men; it muft neceffarily follow, that he
fpoke as meanly, as imperfectly, and as fuper-
ficially in what he faid of himfelf, and the
Matter he was upon, as when Men fpeak of
themfelves and human Things. For if
there was not the fame weak, empty, and
fuperficial Meaning in his Words, as there is
itl

I " ]
in the common Difcourfe of Men ; then the
common Rules of fpeaking amongft Men
cannot be a proper, much lefs the only Means
of underftanding all the Truth that is con
tained in them.
This Author feems to be in the fame
Miftake concerning Jefus Chrift and his
Kingdom, as his Difciples were in, before
they had received Power from on high. They
had till then heard him only with their out
ward Ears; conceived what he faid, only ac
cording to the common Rules of fpeaking
amongft Men, and fo continued perfect
Strangers to all the Myfteries and great
Truths of the Gofpel. But after the Defcent
of the Holy Ghoft upon them, their Un-
derftandings were opened, and they faw all
things with new Eyes, and in a new Light ;
they then fully apprehended what their Lord
meant by thefe remarkable Words, my King
dom is not of this World. Which is the fame
thing as if he had faid, I fpeak not as a Per
fon of this World, nor of the Things of this
World, and therefore theThings which I fay,
can neither be underftood by a worldly Mind,
nor according to the common Ways of fpeak
ing amongft Men. And had this Author
fufficiently attended to the Senfe of thefe
Words,

[ 12]
Words, and felt the Truth of them in his
own Heart, it feems next to impoflible for
him to have fallen into his prefent way of
Reafoning. For he that truly and fully be
lieves that the Kingdom of Chrift is not of
this World, and that therefore worldly Pow
ers and Privileges are not a proper Part of it,
can hardly be fo inconfiftent with himfelf,
as to affirm, that worldly Language, fpoken
on worldly Matters, is the only proper Key
to the right . Underftanding the Truths and
Doctrines of this Kingdom, that is fo out of,
above, and contrary to this World.
And if he has but one juft and good Ar
gument to prove, that worldly Power is not
the proper and only Power that belongs to
this Kingdom, the fame Argument will as
fully prove, that worldly Language under
ftood according to the common Rules of
fpeaking, cannot be the proper and only
Means of. rightly apprehending the Truths
of this Kingdom.
T o proceed ; he refers and confines us to
the bare Words of the Inftitution, for the
right and full underftanding of all that is to
be underftood of the Nature, End, and
Effects of the Holy Sacrament. Here

L J3 ]
Here he throws an eafy Deception into
the Mind of his Reader, who becaufe he
may juftly think he is right in declaring the
Words of the Inftitution to be the only true
and full Account of the Sacrament, as to the
outward Form and Matter of it, fufpects him
not to be wrong, when he concludes from
thence, that the Words are alfo the only true
and full Account of the Nature, End and
Effects of the Holy Sacrament. Whereas
this is as falfe, as the other is true ; for the
Nature, and End, and Effects of the Holy
Sacrament, neither are, nor poffibly can be
taught us (as fhall be fhewn hereafter) from
the bare Words of the Inftitution, confidered
by themfelves.
Let us fuppofe that one of this Author's
rational Men, of clear Ideas, but an abfolute
Stranger to the Scriptures, and to our Sa
viour's Doctrines, had been prefent only
when he fpoke the Words of the Inftitution ;
would his Knowledge of the Meaning of
Words, according to the common Rules of
fpeaking, have directed him to the true Senfe
of all that was imply'd by this Sacrament and
the Obfervation of it ? To fay that fuch a
Perfon thus qualified could have known the
true

[ 14]
true Nature, End and Effects of the Holy
Sacrament,is furely too abfurd to be imagin'd.
And to fay that he could not, is fully giving
up this Author's whole Doctrine, namely,
that the bare underftanding the Words of the
Inftitution according to the common Rules of
fpeaking, is the only way to underftand all
that is certain and true as to the Nature, End
and Effects of the Sacrament. For if this
were fo, it would evidently follow, that a
perfeft Stranger to all the other Doctrines
and Inftitutions both of the Old and New
Tefiament, would be as well qualified to un
derftand all that was implied in the Words
of the Inftitution, as he that had the fulleft
Knowledge of every thing that ever had been
revealed or appointed by God, either before
or fince the Birth of Chrift.
But if fome Knowledge of what God
has revealed both in the Old and New Tefia
ment be required, for a right underftanding
what is imply'd in the Words of the Infti
tution, then it is abfolutely falfe, and highly
blameable, to fay, that the bare Words of
the Inftitution,confider'd in themfelves only,
according to the common Rules of fpeak
ing, are the only Means or Method of un
derftanding all that is implied in them. Either.

L *5 ]
Either this Sacrament has fome rela
tion to fome other Doctrines of the Old and
New Tefiament, or it has not ; if it has no
relation to them, then it muft be faid to
have no Agreement with any other part of
Scripture : But if it has fome relation to
other Doctrines of Scripture, then it demon-
ftratively follows, that this Inftitution muft
be interpreted, not according to the bare
meaning of the Words in the common Ways
of fpeaking, but according to that relation
which it has to fome other Dodtrines of
Scripture. This I think is inconteftable,
and entirely overthrows his only Method of
underftanding the Nature of the Sacrament.
Again, another Argument of ftill greater
Force againft him may be taken from the
Apoftles themfelves. He confines us to the
bare Words of the Inftitution related by the
Apoftles and Evangelifts, as the only means
of knowing all that can be known of the
Nature, End and Effects of the Sacrament ;
and yet it is certain, beyond all Doubt, that
the Apoftles and Evangelifts neither had,
nor could poflibly have this Defign in rela
ting and recording the Words of the Inftitu
tion, namely, that we might thereby have
2 the

[ '6 ]
the one only means of knowing all that is to
be Underftood by it.
For they very well knew, that they had
received no fuch Knowledge themfelves from
the bare Words of the Inftitution, and
therefore they could not relate them as the
only means of Inftruction in that matter to
others. They very well knew, that if they
had received no other Light, befides that
which thofe Words convey'd, they had died
in a total Ignorance of the whole Matter.
They very well knew, that though they
had. perfonally convers'd with Chrift, had
heard from his own Mouth, Myfteries pre
paratory to their right Knowledge of their
Saviour, that notwithftanding all this, when
they heard and faw him inftitute the Sacra
ment in its outward Form and Matter, as
they relate it, by the help of the bare Words
of the Inftitution, they then neither did,
nor could rightly underftand the Nature, End
and Effects of the Holy Sacrament. And
therefore it maybefaid to be certain beyond all
Doubt, that they neither did nor could relate
and record thefe Words of the Inftitution,
as the only Means of rightly underftanding
all that is implied in the Sacrament, as to
the

L '7 ]
the Nature, End and Effects of it. And yet
this Author takes all this for granted, and
fUppofesthat the Apoftles had all their Know
ledge of the Sacrament from the Words of
the Inftitution, and that they have recorded
the Inftitution for this End, and with this
Defign, that we might know all that they
knew, and all that could be known concern
ing it.
That the Apoftles themfelves did not
comprehend the Nature, End and Effects
of the^Sacrament from the Words of the In
ftitution, is plain, for they did not then
know what Perfon their Saviour was, or how
he was to fave them, or what their Salvation
in itfelf implied. They knew nothing of
the Nature or Merit of his Sufferings, but
thought all to be loft, when he fuffer'd Death.
They knew not how to believe in his Refurre-
ction,and when they did believe it, they knew
nothing of the Confequences of it ; which is
a plain Proof that they did not at all fee into
the Meaning of the Holy Sacrament, for had
they known what was implied in it, they
muft have known their Saviour, and the
Nature of their Salvation. And yet, ( what
is well to be obferv'd ) it is alfo plain, that in
this State of grofs Ignorance and Infidelity^
C knowing

[i8 ]
knowing notohing of their Salvation, they
had all that Knowledge of the Holy Sacra
ment which this Author is recommending to
the Chriftian World, as the only true Know
ledge of it. For they muft have underftood
the Words according to the common Rules of
fpeaking, which is all that he allows to be
underftood by them. For any other Senfe or
Meaning, that is not literally exprefs'd in
the Words taken according to the common
Rules of fpeaking, is by him called a being
Wifer than Chrift in his own Appointments,
an adding to the Inftitution, or a putting
fomething into it, which he has not put in.
So that it is evidently plain, that this Purity
of Knowledge concerning the Sacrament,
which this Author has writ fo large a Volume
in Recommendation of, is that very Know
ledge of the Sacrament which the Apoftles
had, when they had no Faith in Chrift as their
Saviour, nor any Knowledge of the Nature
of Chriftian Salvation. Every one muft fee
that this Charge is juftly brought againft
him, and that he cannot poftibly avoid it.
For if that is the only right Knowledge of
the Nature, End and Effects of the Holy
Sacrament, which the bare Words of the
Inftitution, underftood only according to the
common Rules of fpeaking, declare ; if
2 every

L *9 ]
every othef Senfe and Meaning is to be reject*
ed as a Criminal adding, or putting fome-
thing into Chrift's Inftitution, and a prefu-
ming to be Wifer than he was; then it un
deniably follows, that that fimple and pure
Knowledge of the Sacrament, which he
lays fo great Claim to, and fo much contends
for, is that very grofs Ignorance of it which
the Apoftles were in, when they had no light
but from the bare Words of the Inftitution,
and had all the Articles of the Chriftian
Faith to learn.
Further, as the Apoftles did not, fo
they could not pofiibly know the Nature,
End and Effects ofthe Holy Sacrament, from
the bare Words of the Inftitution, nor is it
poflible for any one fince their time to know
it by that Help alone.
The outward Matter and Form indeed,
or that wherein the pofitive Inftitution con-*
fifts, ( as I have already faid ) is fufficiently
plain and intelligible from the bare Words of
the Inftitution, and is by them made unal
terable. This is the only Plainnefs of the
Inftitution. But what Myfteries or Doctrines
of Chriftian Faith are to be acknowledged
and confeffed by the Words, the Form> and
C 2 th@

[ «°]
the Matter of it, and what are not, cannot
be known from the bare Words of the Infti
tution, but are to be learnt by that Light
which brought the Apoftles and the Church
after them into a true and full Knowledge
of the fundamental Articles of the Chriftian
Faith. Take the Words of the Inftitution alone
as the Apoftles ,firft heard them, underftood
only according to the common Rules of fpeak
ing, and then there is nothing in them, but
that poor Conception which they had of them
at that time, and fuch as did them no good ;
and then alfo we have that Knowledge of
this Inftitution, which this Author pleads
for. But, take the fame Words of the Infti
tution, underftood and interpreted accord
ing to the Articles of the Chriftian Faith,
and feen in that Light in which the Apoftles
afterwards faw them, when they knew their
Saviour ; and then every thing that is great
and adorable in the Redemption of Mankind,
every thing that can delight, comfort and
fupport the Heart of a Chriftian, is found
to be center'd in this Holy Sacrament. There
then wants nothing but the Wedding Gar
ment

[ » ]
ment to make this Holy Supper the Marriage
Feafi of the Lamb : And it is this Holy So
lemnity, this Author is taking fo much Pains
to wrangle us out of, by fo many dry Sub-
tilties of a fuperficial Logic.
B u t I proceed to fhew, that neither the
Apoftles, nor any other Perfons fince them,
could poflibly know the Nature, End and
Effects of the Holy Sacrament, from the
bare Words ofthe Inftitution confider'd only
in themfelves, according to the common
Rules of fpeaking.1 And this may be de
monftrated from every Part of the Inftitu
tion. I shall begin with thefe Words, which
are only a Command to obferve the Inftituti-
tion, Do this in Remembrance oftne : That is,
let this be done as your Confeffion and Ac
knowledgment of the Salvation that is re
ceived through me.
Does not every common Chriftian, that
has any Knowledge of Scripture, know, that
this is the plain Meaning of thefe Words ?
And that as often as he does this, he does it
in remembrance of his Saviour, in acknow
ledgment and confeffion of that Salvation which
C 3 Man-

[ " 3
Mankind received through him ? But now,
that which is thus plain and intelligible in
the Words of the Inftitution to a common
Chriftian, knowing only the chief Articles of
his Salvation, is altogether unintelligible to
any Man that is left folely to the bare Words
of the Inftitution ; for unlefs he was inftru-
dted in the other Parts of Scripture, fo as to
know what he was to underftand by the
Words, they would fignify no more to him,
than they would to a Heathen, who had by
chance found a bit of Paper in the Fields
with thefame Words writ upon it.
N o w a Heathen, ignorant of all Divine
Revelation, if he found fuch a Paper, could
not know what it related to, nor what any
of the Words fignified ; he could not know
when he was nearer or when he was further
from a right underftanding of them ; the
common Rules of fpeaking amongft Men,
would be of no ufe to teach him, whether
there was any Truth in fuch a Paper, or
what kind of Truths were declared by it.
Now this is exactly the Cafe of him that
renounces all other Means of knowing what
is contain'd in the Inftitution, but that of
the Words themfelves, underftood only ac
cording

Os]
cording to the common Rules of fpeaking
amongft Men. Such a one is only in the
State of this Heathen, the Words of the In
ftitution are as unintelligible and ufelefs to him,
as if he had found them by chance; they
relate to he knows not what, they may be
all Fiction and Invention for ought he knows,
they cannot poffibly be underftood as having
any truth or reality in them, till he that
reads them, knows more than is related by
them, till he knows the chief Articles of the
Chriftian Salvation. For the bare Words of
the Inftitution, confider'd by themfelves,
do not at all prove, jufiify or explain, even
that which they literally exprefs; they are
all but empty, unmeaning Words, till the
Proof, the Jufiification and Explication of
them, is learn'd from fome other Parts of
Scripture. They do not at all prove, juftify,
or explain, either that we want a Saviour,
or why we want him, or that a Saviour is
given us, and how he effects our Salvation ;
and yet all thefe things are abfolutely neceffary
to a right underftanding of this Inftitution ;
and as foon as thefe things are provd, jufiified
and explain d, as foon as we know, that we
want a Saviour, and that one is given to us;
as foon as we know, who this Saviour is, how
he faves us, and the Nature and Manner of
C 4 our

[ 24 ]
our Salvation, then and not till then, all
thefe Words ofthe Inftitution become clearly
intelligible after a new Manner ; then all the
great Articles of our Salvation appear to be
finely remembred, acknowledged, and fet
forth by them.
The fhort of the Matter is this ; to un
derftand thefe Words only by themfelves,
knowing no moreen them or by them, than
what the common Ufe of Words teaches us,
is to underftand them only in fuch a Degree
as a Heathen may underftand them, who
knows nothing of the Scripture befides; and
this is the Knowledge, or rather the total
Ignorance oi the Sacrament, that this Author
is contending for.
But if thefe Words are but a Part of
the Chriftian Religion, if they are to be un
derftood according to that Religion of which
they are a part, if the Articles of our Chri-
ftian.Salvation have any Concern in them, and
we are to receive them as Chriftians vsxfuch a
Senfe as our Chrifiianity requires of us, then
it is undeniably certain, that this Author re
fers us to an Abfurdity, and Impoffibility,
when he refers and confines us to the bare
Words of the Inftitution, underftood only
accord^

L 25 ]
according to the common Rules offpeaking,
in order to have a Chriftian Knowledge of the
Holy Sacrament.
Again, Do this in remembrance of me:
Now take thefe Words in what Senfe you
pleafe, is it not equally and abfolutely neceffa
ry for the right underftanding of them, to
know who and what kind of Perfon this me
is, who is here to be remembred? For if this
is to be done in remembrance of Him, how
can he be remember'd, or acknowledg'd,
unlefs it be known what Qualities and Cha
racters of him are to be remember'd and ac
knowledg'd ?
But this is not done in the Words ofthe
Inftitution; the State, Nature, and Chara
cters of the Perfon to be remember'd are not
there declared, nor prov'd, and explain' d;
therefore fomething of the greateft Impor
tance to the Words, and that muft have the
greateft Effect upon the Senfe of them, and
that is abfolutely neceffary to the right un
derftanding of them, is neceffarily to be
learnt elfewhere; and therefore it is again
prov'd, that he refers us to an Abfurdity and
Impoffbility, when he refers and confines us to

[ 26 ]
to the bare Words of the Inftitution, to know
all that a Chriftian can righty know of them.
For if all that is done in this Sacrament,
is to be done for the fake of Remembring and
Acknowledging Him as our Saviour , then
furely it requires us to remember and acknow
ledge Him, according to what He is, with
regard to our Salvation, and according to
thofe Characters which are fo plainly afcrib'd
to Him in Scripture, and on which our whole
Religion is founded ; and therefore it is alfo
neceffary, that we rightly know (what can
not poflibly be known from the bare Words
of the Inftitution) in what Refpects and on
how many Accounts he is our Saviour, before
we can rightly make this Remembrance and
Acknowledgment of him as fuch.
It was the want of this Knowledge, that
made the Inftitution of the Sacrament ufe-
lefs to the Apoftles when they firft heard it ;
but when they had got this Knowledge, and
knew all the Characters of their Saviour, and
in how manyRtfye&s he ftood as theMediator
and Redeemer betwixt God and Man, then
the Inftitution became highly intelligible to
them, and every Part of it plainly declared the
Myftery that in a certain Senfe was both con-
ceaPd

1 27 ]
ceal'd and expreffed by it. Now the Addi
tion of this Knowledge of the Nature, Con
dition and Characters of the Perfon to be re
member'd and acknowledg'd by the Inftitu
tion, is adding nothing to the Inftitution, but
the right ufe of it, it is bringing nothing to
it, but a Mind capable of knowing and ob-
ferving it.
He that is to underftand a Propofition
written in Hebrew, cannnot be charg'd with
adding to that Propofition, becaufe he holds
it neceffary to learn the Hebrew Language,
before he pretends to underftand a Propofiti
on written in Hebrew.
Now a Scripture - Chriftian Inftitution,
muft as neceffarily be underftood according
to Scripture and Chriftian Doctrine, as an
Hebrew Propofition muft be underftood ac
cording to the Hebrew Language : And the
making ufe of Scripture and Chriftian Do
ctrine, in order to underftand a Scripture and
Chriftian Inftitution, is no more an adding of
fomething to the Inftitution, that need not,
or ought not to be done, than the interpre
ting an Hebrew Propofition by the Hebrew
Language, is an adding of fomething to it,
that need not, or ought not to be done. And

[ 28]
And on the other hand, to confine us to
the bare Words of the Inftitution, as they
are in themfelves, as they found only in com
mon Language, in order to underftand a
Scripture - Chriftian Inftitution, is exactly the
fame thing as to confine us to the bare
Words of a Propofition written in Hebrew,
confidered only according to the common
Rules of fpeaking, and not according to
that Meaning they have in the Hebrew Lan
guage to which they belong, and of which
they are a part.
For a Scripture - Chriftian Inftitution
muft in the fame manner have its Depen-
dance upon, Foundation in, and Interpre
tation from Scripture and Chriftian Doctrine,
of which it is a Part, and to which it belongs,
as an Hebrew Propofition hath Dependance
upon , Foundation in , and Interpretation
from the Hebrew Language, to which it be
longs, and of which it is a Part.
This Scripture - Chriftian Inftitution be
ing thus interpreted, according to the Scri
pture and Chriftian Doftrine, of which it is
a Part, is, when thus interpreted,, left and
kept in that State, in which Chrift left it to
be

[ 29]
be kept. Nay, the Inftitution itfelf cannot
even Literally be obferved according to the
bare Words of it, unlefs it be obferved ac
cording to this Knowledge and Acknowledg
ment of all the Characters of Chrift.
For though the bare Words of the Infti
tution do not exprefs or teach thefe Chara
cters, yet the bare Words or Letter of it re
quire thus much: For fince the Letter of the
Inftitution requires us to do this in remem
brance and acknowledgment of Chrift, the
bare Letter requires us in doing this, to ac
knowledge and remember all the Characters
of Chrift; therefore he that in doing this
does not remember and acknowledge all the
Characters of Chrift, muft be faid not to ob-
ferve the very Letter of the Inftitution. Hence
therefore there arifes another plain Demon-
ftration againft his Doctrine, viz. that we
are to know no more of the Nature or right
Obfervation of the Sacrament, than what is
exprefly taught us in the bare Words of the
Inftitution. For the very Letter itfelf of the
Inftitution contradicts this; and if he will
not directly refufe what the bare Words ex
prefly command,* he muft feek for fomething
towards the right Obfervation of this Sacra
ment, which is only required, but not taught in

t 3° ]
in the Words of the Inftitution. For by the?
Letter of the Inftitution you are command
ed to remember and acknowledge a Perfon,
whofe Characters, Condition and Offices to be
acknowledg'd, are not taught in the Inftitu
tion, but only to be found in other Parts of
Scripture ; and therefore the bare Letter of
the Inftitution is grofly violated, if we look
no farther than to the Words ofthe Inftituti
on for a right Knowledge and Obfervation of
the Sacrament.
Again, If the Scriptures teach and prove
Chrift to be the Sacrifice, Attonement and
Propitiation for our Sins, as exprefly as they
teach us the Inftitution of the Sacrament,
does not the Remembrance and Acknow
ledgment of him as the Sacrifice, Attone
ment and Propitiation for Sin, become a ne~
ceffary Part of out right Obfervation of the
Sacrament ? For if the Sacrament is appoint*
ed for the Remembrance and Acknowledg
ment of Chrift as our Saviour, and if as our
Saviour he is the Attonement, the Sacrifice
and Propitiation for our Sins, is not the Re
membrance and Acknowledgment of him as
our Sacrifice and Attonement, effential to the
Remembrance of him as our Saviour? If
thefe Characters were mentioned in the Infti
tution,

. [ 31 ]
tution, I fuppofe they would be allowed to
be an effential Part of it. But if the Letter
ofthe Inftitution directly points to, and calls
for the Acknowledgment of thefe Characters,
then they are as effential to it, as if they were
exprefly mentioned in it.
Jesus Chrift is not mentioned in the In
ftitution as our Saviour, but I fuppofe it will
not be deny'd that he is there by way of ne
ceffary Implication, fince the Perfon there
to be remember'd, is declar'd by the Scrip
ture to be our Saviour. But if we may be
allow'd thus to take our Saviour to be the
Perfon that is to be remember'd and acknow
ledge by the Sacrament, if this may be done
without adding any thing to the Inftitution,
if it muft be done as abfolutely effential to it,
then the Addition of Sacrifice, Attonement,
and Propitiation for our Sins, may be added,
without adding any thing to the Inftitution,
and muft be done as abfolutely effential to it;
becaufe the Scriptures teach and prove, that
Jefus Chrift, as our Saviour, is the Sacrifice,
Attonement, and Propitiation for our Sins.
Therefore if the Remembrance of him as our
Saviour is effential to the Sacrament, the
Remembrance and Acknowledgment of him as

t 32 ]
as the Sacrifice and Attonement, and Propi
tiation for Sin, is effential to the Sacrament.
And therefore it follows again, that the
very Words of the Inftitution direct us to a
farther Knowledge of the Sacrament, than
that which is exprefly taught by them.
T o proceed : Take, Eat, this is my Body.
Now what fignifies it what any one can make
of thefe Words , underftood according to
the common ways of fpeaking ? For the way
itfelf is fingular and uncommon, and has no
certain Meaning according to the common
Rules of fpeaking. He may as well read a
Difcourfe upon Truth,to know whether thefe
Words h&vzany Truth in them,as confult the
common Forms of fpeaking, to know what
is meant by them. For if the Things men-
tion'd and exprefs'd in thefe Words, were
not made fignificant and important to us by
fomething not mentioned in the Sacrament,
if they were not afferted and explain'd in o-
ther Parts of Scripture, it could never be
known from the Words themfelves, that
they were of any Significancy to us, or that
there was znyTruth and Reality mthtm. The
fhort ofthe Matter is this: Either thefe Words
are only a great Impropriety of Speech, dark-

[ 33 ]
ly exprefling only a common Thing ; of they
are a figurative Form of Words, which by
the Particularity of the Expreflion are to raife
the Mind to a Faith and Apprehenfion of fuch
Things, as cannot be plainly and nakedly re-
prefented by human Language. Now one of
thefe two muft neceffarily be true, that is,
they muft neceffarily be either a dark Form of
Words with only a plain common Meaning of
an ordinary Thing at the bottom, or they
muft be a myfterious Form of Words fignify-
ing fomething more than human. But now
which of thefe two they are, cannot poffibly
be known from the Words of the Inftituti
on. For the Words in themfelves prore no
thing at all of this ; from ought that appears
in the Words themfelves, they may be mere
Fiction and Impropriety about a Trifle, or
the greateft and moft important of all Truths
may be taught by them. But this can no o-
ther pofilble way be known, but by other
Parts of Scripture. And if the Scriptures
were as filent about the Truth, Nature, and
Extent of the Things barely mentioned in the
Sacrament, as the Inftitution itfelf is, it muft
be the fame ufelefs, unintelligible Form of
Words to us, that it was to the Apoftles wheii
they firft heard them, and had no Knowledge
of their Saviour. D But

[34]
But, on the other hand, if the Things
barely mentioned in the Words of the Inftitu
tion, are openly afferted, and varkufty ex
plain' d in other Parts of Scripture ; if we are
often told what the Body of Chrift is in fe
veral Refpedts, of the Neceffity and Poffibility
of Eating his Flefh and Drinking his Blood;
if the Scriptures abound with Infiruction,
fhewing us how we have our Life in him, and
from him, how we muft be born again in
him and through him, how he muft beform-t
ed in us, and we new Creatures in him; then
it follows, that to feparate the Inftitution
from thefe Scriptures that varioufiy unfold its*
Nature-, and to confine us to the bare Words
of the Inftitution itfelf, in order to underr
ftand it fully, is the fame Abfurdity, the
fame Offence againft Scripture and Reafon,
as it would be to confine us to the bare Wor4s
of the firft Promife of a Saviour made in the
third Chapter of Genefis, in order to know
fully our Chriftian Saviour, and what our
Chriftian Salvation is. For as that firft Pro
mife of a Seed of the Woman that fhould bruife
tfie Serpent's Head, contain'd the whole Cha
racter of our Saviour, and all that; related to
him as fuch, and yet contain'd nothing of it
intelligible enough^lli farther ReyeJations,Do-
2 tfrines

I 3S 3
Grinds arid jF<z^?i explain'd all that wasy^wtf
and figurative in that firft Promife , and
fhew'd how every Part Of our Salvation Was
promifed by it; fo the Inftitution of the Sa
crament contain'd every thing relating to
Chrift as our Saviour, and yet contain'd no
thing of it intelligible enough , till farther
Revelations, new Light, Doctrines and Facts:
explain'd all that was fhort and figurative in
it, and plainly fhew'd what it was in its real
Nature, how it ftood in the Heart of our Re
ligion, fully attefting and reprefenting the
chief Characters of Chrift, as he was our Sa
viour and Redeemer.
Therefore it is the fame grofs Error to
confine the Words ofthe Inftitution to their
own literal Meaning, and to underftand them
only according to the common Rules of fpeak
ing, as it would be to confine that firfi Pro
mife of a Saviour to the literal Meaning of
the Words in which it was exprefs'd, under
ftood only according to the common Rules of
fpeaking. For as it Was by the Scriptures
fpeaking a Language different from the Ex-
preffions of the firft Promife of a Seed to
bruife a Serpent's Head, and givingfarther Re
velations concerning the promis'd Saviour in
other Words, that the Words ofthe firft Pro-
D 2 snife

[36]
mife itfelf came rightly to be underftood and
believ'd; fo it is by the Scriptures fpeaking a
Language different from that of the Sacra
ment, and by revealing Doctrines on which
it is founded, that the Sacrament itfelf came
rightly to be known and underftood. And
if the Scripture may and muft be allow'd to
explain , confirm , and eftablifh the true
Meaning of the firft Promife of a Seed to de-
ftroy\the Serpent's Head, even where the
Words of it are not mention' d, or exprefly
faid to be explain'd; then the Scriptures may
and muft be allow'd to explain, confirm,
and eftablifh the true Nature of the Sacra
ment, even where the Words of it are not
mentioned, or exprefly faid to be explain'd.
Yet this Author poorly and vainly fuppo-
fes, that the Nature of the Sacrament, and
the Things meant by it, are no where to be
look'd for in Scripture, but where the Sa
cramental Words, or the Manner of the out
ward Inftitution is repeated, or exprefly faid
to be explain'd : Which is as juft and folid,
as if a Jew fhould from the fame Skill in
Words fuppofe, that the Explication of the
firft Promife of a Woman's Seed to bruife the
Serpent's Head, was no where to be look'd
for in Scripture, but In fitch Places as fpoke
2 ftrictly

L 37 ]
ftrictly the Language of the firft Promife,
and mention'd the exprefs Words, Seed, and
Bruife, and the Serpenfs Head.
And indeed herein, in this poor literal
Exactnefs lay all the Infidelity of the Jews,
the Blindnefs and Hardnefs of their Hearts,
and their Incapacity to receive their Saviour.
Look at every Folly, Groffnefs, and errone
ous Principle of the Scribes and Pharifees,
look through the whole of their falfe Reli
gion, and you will find, that they fell into
it all, becaufe they had this Author's Method
of finding the Truth. They placed all in
the Letter of Scripture, as this Author does ;
they underftood that Letter only according
to the common Rules of fpeaking amongft
Men, as this Author does ; they look'd upon
and underftood all the Inftitutions of their
Religion, as this Author looks upon and un-
derftands the Sacrament; they faw juft fo far
into the Law, as he does into the Gofpel;
they had his Degree of Knowledge, and he
has their Degree of Ignorance. For take
but away from the Scribe and Pharifee the
Letter of Scripture, underftood according
to the common Rules of fpeaking, and you
take away all their Religion; they fee no more
D 3 of

[ 3»]
©f an inward Myftery, Spirit, or Doctrine
in it, than this Author fees in the Sacra
ment. Again, leave them but the Letter of
Scripture, underftood according to the common
Rules of fpeaking, as this Author would
have the Sacrament left, and then you leave
them all that they would have; and the Re
ligion of the Scribes and Pharifees is in its full
Perfection, and has exactly the Perfection of
this fathox's plain Account of the Sacrament,
This made me fay above, that it would
appear, that this Author's Method of under
ftanding the Scripture Doctrine ofthe Sacra
ment, was that very Veil, which the Apoftle
faid was upon the Hearts of the Jews ; and
that he was labouring to draw Skins over
our Eyes, and to make our Ears grofs and
dull of hearing, that the New Tefiament
might be as ufelefs to us, as the Old Tefia
ment was to the unbelieving Letter-learned
Scribes and Pharifees, For his excellent Me
thod of underftanding the Nature of the Sa*-
crament, is, to ^tittle that very Method which
kept them totally ignorant of the Nature of
tb,eir Religion, Every

[39]
Every Prophecy of our Saviour, whe
ther in the Law, or the Pfalms, or the Pro
phets, ferv'd only to keep him more out of
their Knowledge; becaufe looking only upon
it, as this Author looks upon the Words
of the Inftitution, they were under a Neceffi
ty of underftanding it wrong, and fo the more
Prophecies they had of him, the farther they
were carry'd from the true Knowledge of
their promifed Saviour. Circumcifion, Sacri
fices, Waftings, Feafts and Fafts, &c. which
were intended and appointed as fo many
Schoolmafters or Guides to Chrift, were by
them turn'd into dead, carnal, earthly Ordi
nances, that left them in their Sins, and un-
capable of acknowledging their Saviour, or
fo much as feeling any want of one; for this
very reafon, becaufe they faw no farther into
their Sacrifices, than this Author fees into
the Sacrament ; but thought that the whole
Nature and End of a Sacrifice! was fully ob
ferved, when they had fiain an Ox, and not
chang'd it into the cutting off of a Dog's Head.
This was their Great Point in Sacrifice, juft
as this Author has found out the Great Point,
as he calls it, of the Sacrament, which con
fifts in a bare Act ofthe Memory, remembring
Chrift as a Teacher, of Religion at the Inftant
V 4 yoa

[ 40 ]
you take the Bread or the Cup, and not re-
membring Ariftotle or Socinus, &c. as Teach
ers of Logic and Criticifm.
When you have by the fole Act of your
Memory thus feparated and diftinguift'd what
is done in the Sacrament, from that which is
done for Food, or Mirth, or in Memory of
your Friends, then you have fecur'd the great
Point in the Sacrament, and are to look for
nothing farther as to the peculiar Nature,
End, and Effects of it. Juft as the Letter-
learn'd Pharifee thought that the whole Na
ture and End of the Sacrifice was fully obfer
ved, when he had flain an Ox, and not cut
offa Dog's Head.
A n d if you are for adding any thing to the
Sacrament befides this diftinguifttng Act of
the Memory, you are as blameable in the
Sight of this Author, as the Apoftles were in
the Eyes of the unbelieving Pharifee, when
they taught that the Blood of flain Beafts,
was, as 10 its Nature and End, a Type and
Application of the Attonement of Chrift's
Blood. Thus does this Author ftand in the
very State and Place of the unbelieving Pha
rifee, teaching Chriftians the Gofpel, as he
taught the Jews the Law, and excluding the
true

L 41 J
true Knowledge of Chrift from Chriftian
Inftitutions, juft as the Pharifee excluded it
from the Jewijh.
And if you afk, or fearch ever fo much
into the' true Reafon why the Religion of the
Scribes and Pharifees was fo odious in the
Sight of our Bleffed Saviour, why he eaft fo
many Reproaches upon it, why he denounced
fo many Woes againft it ; the one true genuine
Caufe was this, it was, becaufe they ftood
on the outfide of the Law, juft as this Author
ftands on the outfide of the Gofpel, and were
content with fuch a plain Account of their Sa
crifices and Circumcifion, as he has given us
of the Sacrament; it was becaufe they
fluck to the bare Letter of Scripture, only
underftood according to the common Rules of
fpeaking amongft Men; it was this Fulnefs
of afalfe, empty and dead Knowledge , that
made the Scriptures ufelefs to them, that
fix'dthem in- a State of blind Self-fuffciency,
and made it harder for the Rational, Letter-
Learned Pharifee, than for a grofs Sinner to
fee the Kingdom of God, or to acknowledge
him that preach'd it.
And here we may fee the true and folid
Meaning of the Apoftle, when he faith, God had

[ 42 ]
had made them able Minifter s of the New
Tefiament, not of the Letter, but of the Spirit »
for the Letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth
Life* For the Letter of Scripture, underftood
only according to the common Rules of fpeak
ing, is the Letter that killeth, the Letter that
made the Jews Unbelievers in Chrift, that
makes fpeculative Chriftians, Idealifts, Critics,
and Grammarians fall into Infidelity; but
Scripture, interpreted not by Lexicons and
Dictionaries, but by Doctrines revealed by
God, and by an inward Teaching and TJnction
of the Holy Ghoft, is that Spirit which
giveth Life.
But this Author, according to his own
Principles, is obliged to own himfelf to be
an Anti-Apoftle, and to declare, that not
God, but Logic, and much Attention to hu
man Words and Ways of Reafoning, have
made him an able Minifter of the New Tefia
ment, not of the Spirit, but of the Letter-,
and has convinced him, that it is the Letter
alone that giveth Life. For he cannot allow
the fmalleft Degree of found Doctrine to be
in the Apoftles Words \ hadhebutdropp'd an
Ex-
* z Cor. iii.

[43]
Expreflion like it, or made the Ieaft Ac
knowledgment of a killing Letter of Scrip
ture, till the Spirit gave Life to it, it muft
have pafs'd for a full Recantation of all his
Plain Account.
B u t to return to the further Confidera-
tion of the Words of the Inftitution. This
is my Body, which is given for you; this is my
Blood, which is jhedfor many, for the Remif-
fion of Sins. Who can know what is right
or wrong in thefe Expreflions, or in what
Senfe they are to be received, if he look only
to the Sound of the Words according to the
common Rules of fpeaking? Or fuppofing
he could guefs out fome tolerable Meaning ;
yet if the Scripture has Doctrines concerning
thefe things, teaching, afferting, and ex
plaining how, and in what Senfe his Body is
given for us, and his Blood the Attonement for
our Sins, in a Way and Manner above all
human Thought and Conception; then it fol
lows, that no Meaning of the Words can be
admitted, but that which is according to
the Scripture Explication ofthe things men
tioned by them,
Nothing therefore can be more unju
ftifiable and impracticable* than this Author's only

[ 44 ]
only Method of underftanding the Nature of
the Sacrament from the Words confider'd in
themfelves. For as this cannot be the Way
of underftanding the Truth of any Doctrines
of Scripture, fo Ieaft of all can it be the
Way of underftanding the true Meaning of
the Words of the Inftitution; for thefe
Words have a more than ordinary Relation
to, and Dependance upon all the Scriptures.
For as Chrift is in fome refpect or other re-
prefented, and made further known what he
is to us, in almoft every Page of Scripture ;
fo the Sacrament, which is to be done in
Remembrance and Acknowledgment of
what he is to us, muft have its Relation to,
and Dependance upon all thofe Places and
Doctrines of Scripture, which teach what
he is to us, and what we are to remember
and acknowledge him to be. Therefore,
all thofe Paffages of Scripture, which teach
and explain the Nature, Office, and Conditi
on of Chrift, directly and immediately teach
and explain what we are to do, remember,
and acknowledge in the Sacrament, and are
in the fame Degree true and proper Comments
upon the Nature of the Sacrament, in which
they are true Accounts and Defcriptions of
our Saviour. And that which we are to be
lieve of our Saviour according to the Scrip tures,

[45]
tures, that we are to remember and ac
knowledge of him in the Sacrament ; and
therefore the Scripture Explication of the
Sacrament is not, as this Author extravagantly
fuppofes, confin'd to thofe Texts that mention
exprefly the Sacrament, or the Words of the
Inftitution, but is as large and extenfive as the
Scripture Explication of the Nature, Office
and Condition of Chrift as our Saviour.
Where-ever we are taught any thing con
cerning him as fuch, there we are directly
taught fomething of the true Nature and
End of the Sacrament, and what we are to
remember and acknowledge of him in the
doing it.
Search the Scriptures^, faith our Bleffed
Saviour, for they are they which teftify of me.
Is not this in the plaineft Manner referring
us totf//the Scriptures that fpeak of him as
our Saviour, to know what we are to remem
ber and acknowledge of him in the Sacra
ment ? For fince he faith, Search the Scrip
tures, for they are they that teftify of me ;
and in the Sacrament, Do this in Remembrance
or Acknowledgment of me ; is it not diredly
as full to the Purpofe, as if he had faid,
Search the Scriptures, for they are they which
teftify what you are to remember and acknow ledge

[4<n
ledge concerning me in the Sacrament ?
For that which they teftify of him, that
they muft teftify of the Nature and End of
the Sacrament, which is to be done in Re
membrance and Acknowledgment of that
which is fo teftified of him. Since therefore
every Scripture that teftifies any thing con
cerning Chrift, as our Saviour, teftifies fo
much of that which is to be acknowledged
of him in the Sacrament, it plainly follows,
that the Nature and End of the Sacrament
can only be fofar known, as the Nature,
Charader, Office and Condition of Chrift is
known ; and that all thofe Scriptures which
teach us the one, in the fame Degree teach
us the other, and are as neceffary to teach us
the Nature of the Sacrament, as the Nature
of Chrift; for this plain Reafon, becaufe the
Sacrament is to remember and acknowledge
that which is taught us concerning the Na
ture of Chrift.
Hence again it appears with how little
Judgment and lefs Truth this Author affirms,
that the Nature and End of the Sacrament
is only to be known from the bare Words of
the Inftitution, underftood according to the
common Rules of fpeaking. Again,

[47]
Again, another Argument which will-
make the Abfurdity of this fame Error ftill
further apparent, may be taken from the
following Paffage of Scripture. When our
Saviour faid in the 6th of St. John, that his
Flejh was Meat indeed, and his Blood was
Drink indeed, and that unlefs a Man did eat
his Flefh arid drink his Blood, he had no Life
in him ; his Difciples were afionijhed at , his
Difcourfe, and faid, How can this Man give us
his Flefh to eat? To which, by way of anfwer
he faid,The Words that I fay unto you, they are
Spirit and they are Life. For if our Saviour
had thought at all like this Author, and had
intended to be underftood according to the
common Rules of fpeaking, he would have
fpoke only common Language ; and upon
their not underftanding what he faid, he
muft have direded them to the right way,
and have faid, Confider my Words only accord
ing to the common Rules of fpeaking, and then
you will know all that is to bb known by
them. Least of all could he have faid, to help
their underftanding of them in a common
way, The Words that I fpeak unto you, they are
Spirit and they are Life; for furely fuch a
Way

[48]
Way of fpeaking could not be a direding
them to the common Rules of fpeaking
amongft Men. For if he had intended to
fhew them in the ftrongeft Manner, how
much what he faid was different from,
and fuperior to all the common Meaning of
human Words; how could he have done
this in a higher Degree, than by faying as he
did, The Words that I fpeak unto you, they
are Spirit, and they are Life.
Now, the Queftion put by his Difciples,.
How can this Man give us his Flefh to eat%
comes as naturally in the Cafe of the Sacra
ment, where we are to eat his Body and
drink his Blood, as in the foremention'd
Place of St. John ; and as there is the fame
Foundation for the fame Queftion, fo there
is ftridly the fame Foundation for the fame
Anfwer, viz. the Words that I fpeak unto
you, they are Spirit and they are Life.
And it is abfolutely impoffible for any one
to fhew, that the Words of the Inftitution
are not as truly to be look'd upon as Spirit
and Life, as the other Words about eating
his Flefh and drinking his Blood. For furely,
he that is obliged to own, that the Words in
St. John, of eating his Flefh, and drinking his

L 49 J
his Blood, are Spirit and Life, cannot have
any Proof that the Words in the Sacrament,
of eating his Body and drinking his Blood>
have nothing of that Spirit and Life in them.
For if it be afked, Why the Words in St.
John are Spirit and Life ? The one only Rea
fon is this, becaufe they fpeak of eating
Chrift's Flefh and drinking his Blood, which
is fuch afpiritual, living Participation of
the Nature of Chrift, or in Scripture Words,
fuch a putting on of Chrift, as cannot be un
derftood, or obtain'd by outward and dead
Words. And yet if the Words in the Sa
crament muft be-fkid, not to be Spirit and
Life, the one only Reafon muft' be this, be
caufe they only fpeak of eating Chrift's Body
and drinking his Blood.
But furely this is too great an Abfurdity
for any one to hold ; for it is faying, that
the drinking his Blood, when join'd with
eating his Body, is only an human Expref-
fion, to be underftood according to the com
mon Rules of fpeaking ; but that the drink
ing his Blood, when joyn'd with eating his
Flefh, is fo great a Myftery, fo above our
common ways of conceiving, that the Words
exprefling it, are faid to be Spirit and Life.
E But

[50]
But now if the Cafe be thus, if the
Words in the Sacrament muft be allowed to
be Spirit and Life, for the fame Reafon that
the Words in St. John are faid to be Spirit
and Life ; then there is an end of this Au
thor's poor Contrivance to enter into the
whole Truth contain'd in the Sacrament,
by only confidering the Words according to
the common Rules of fpeaiking. It is a Con
trivance as unfit for the purpofe, as weakly
and improperly that of, as an Iron Key to
open the Kingdom.
Again, If a Perfon hearing the Words
of our Saviour, as recorded in St. John, had
faid to him, There is no more Spirit and
Life in your Words than in the Words of
any one elfe, and they can mean no more
than our Words according to the common
Rules of fpeaking, fuch a Perfon might have
been reckon'd amongft thofe that blafphem'd
the Son of God.
Nov/ if this Author will fay the fame
thing concerning the Words of the Inftituti
on, of eating his Body and drinking his
Blood, that they are no more Spirit and Life,
than the Words of Men fpeaking of human
i Things,

L 5* J
Things, and that nothing more is to be un
derftood in them andby them,than according
to the common Rules of fpeaking ; I defire to
know, how this could be a leffer Degree of
Blafphemy, or a fmaller Offence againft the
Son of God, than in the former Cafe ? Or
why it was not as right and juftifiable for a
Perfon to fay, there was no Spirit and Life
in the Words of our Saviour, fpeaking of
eating his Flefh and drinking his Blood, as
to fay, there is no Spirit and Life in his
Words, fpeaking in the Sacrament of eating
his Body and drinking his Blood ?
Lastly, Either therefore this Author
muft fay, with thofe that blafpheme the Son
of God, that the Words of the Inftitution,
are not the Words of him, whofe Words
were Spirit and Life, or he muft give up his
only Method of underftanding the true
Meaning of them. For if they are Spirit
and Life, then to feek for the Senfe of fuch
Words in the common Forms of fpeaking,
is truly to feek the Living amongft the
Dead. From what has been faid of the Words
of the Inftitution, of their not being under
ftood by the Apoftles, of the Impoflibility
E 2 of

[52]
of their being underftood according to the
Sound of the Words in the common Ways
of Speaking; of the Impoffibility of their
being underftood, till the great Dodrines
and Articles of the Chriftian Faith were firft
known, and fo became the plain and vifible
Explication of them ; from thefe things we
may fufficiently fee the Falfenefs of this
Author's chief Propofttions concerning the
Sacrament. These Propofitions are printed in a pom
pous Manner, with great Shew of Signify-
cancy, as fo many Pillars of Truth. The
four firft are the Chief; if therefore they are
removed, the others muft go with them.
I shall begin with the Fourth Propo
fition, becaufe it is the Chief; both thofe
that are before and thofe that follow it,
depend entirely upon the Truth of it ; and
yet it has already appear'd, and fhall be made
ftill more apparent, that there is not the
Ieaft glimpfe of Truth in it.
Speaking of our Saviour's inftituting
the Sacrament, he fays as follows. Pro-

[53]
Proposition IV. It cannot be doubted,
that he himfelf fuffciently declar'd to his firft
and immediate Followers, the whole of what
he deftgnd fhould be underftood by it, or imply' d
in it. And yet it has been fully fhewn to be
out of all doubt, by a variety of Arguments,
that the firft Followers of Chrift, neither
did, nor poffibly could underftand the whole
Nature of the Sacrament from the Words of
the Inftitution ; which is all that our Saviour
himfelf declar'd to them about it, and alfo
all that this Author appeals to, as a Proof
of his havingfuffciently declar'd the whole
Matter to them.
Further, what is afferted in this Pro
pofition, is as diredly contrary to Truth,
Scripture, Fact, and our Saviour's own De
clarations; as if it had been afferted, that
our Saviour did that fuffciently himfelf,
which he declared he had not done fufficient-
ly; and alfo fhould not be done, till after his
leaving the World. For at the time that he
was about to depart from them, he exprefly
fays unto them ; / have yet many things to fay
unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. How
's. 3 beif3

[ 54 ]
beit, when he the Spirit of Truth is come, he
fhall guide you into all Truth,
From this Declaration of our Saviour,
as well as from plain Fads recorded in the
Hiftory of the Apoftles, it is out of all
doubt, that he left the Apoftles in great Ig
norance of the Chriftian Religion, and that
it was not his Intention to deliver them out of
this Ignorance by his own perfonal lnfttu&.ion
of them; but that they were to continue in
this Ignorance, till further Revelations, new
Light, and certain Facts which were about
to happen, fhould open to them a clear and,
full View of the Nature of the Chriftian
Religion, For firft, here are many things that they
were yet to be taught, which they then had not
been taught, and of which they were then
to continue ignorant ; therefore it is plain,
that they could not fuffciently know all that
they were to know, or all that our Saviour
defigned they fhould know of any Article or
Inftitution of the Chriftian Religion ; that
is, they were fo far from knowing the whole^
Nature and End of the Sacrament, that they
knew the whole Nature of nothing elfe in
the Chriftian Religion, but knew every thing that

L 55 J
that they did know, in the moft imperfect
Manner. For furely, if many things relating
to the Chriftian Salvation were yet to be kept
fecret from them, the Chriftian Salvation
was imperfedly made known unto them ;
and therefore they could only have been
taught in Part, and had only feen as it were
fome firft Sketches, or beginning Lines of
what they were afterwards to fee in its true
Fulnefs. And that thefe many things, of which
they were kept thus ignorant, were many
things of the greateft Importance and Signifi
cation to the right Knowledge of the Chri
ftian Salvation, is evident from the Reafon
given by our Saviour, why they were not
then taught by him, viz. But ye cannot bear
them now. For furely, if thofe many things
were then not taught them, for this reafon,
becaufe they were not able to bear them then ;
they muft have been things of the greateft
Importance, and moft uncommon in their
Nature; fuch things as were the bar deft to be
comprehended, the moft difficult tobebelie^'d,
and the moft contrary to the common Con
ceptions of Men, and confequently fuch as
were moft neceffary and effential to a right
Knowledge of the Chriftian Salvation.
E 4 From

[ 5H
From this alfo it appears, how low a
State of Knowledge the Apoftles were in at
the time of the Inftitution ofthe Sacrament,
fince they were not only ignorant of fo many
things of the greateft Importance to be
known, but were in a State fo contrary to
this Knowledge, fo full of Difpofitions con
trary to it, that they were then incapable of
being taught it.
And though alUthis be declar'd by our
Saviour himfelf, at the End of all his Inftrur
dions, when he was upon the Point of going
from them ; yet this Author, in direct and
full Contradidion to Scripture Facts, and
this exprefs Declaration of our Saviour, fays,
It cannot be doubted, that he fuffciently declar'd
to his Difciples the whole of what he defign' d
fhould be underftood by it.
Whereas, the contrary to this is as
plainly declar'd by our Saviour himfelf, . as
if he had faid in exprefs Words, I have in
ftituted a Sacrament to be obferved by you
hereafter ; but what is to be underftood by
it, and implied in it, can only he known by
you now, in that poor, low. and ignorant
Manner, in which you knp.w other things at
prefent

L 57 J
prefent concerning me. But when the many
things which ye now cannot bear to be taught,
fhall by my Death, Refurrection, and Afcen
fion, and the coming of the Holy Ghoft, be
made truly intelligible to you, and become
the real Light of your Minds, then fhall ye
clearly fee and know the whole of that which
I defigned to be underftood by, and imply'd
in this Sacrament of my Body and Blood.
For what our Saviour has faid concern
ing the Imperfection of their Knowledge then,
and their Unfitnefs to be inftruded further,
and of their Neceffty of being taught in ano
ther manner, is as plain a Proof of this, as if
it had in exprefs Words been applied to the
Sacrament. For though it is too much for any one
to pretend to fay exadly what or how many
thefe Things were, that they were then not
in a Condition and Capacity to underftand,
yet this may with great Affurance be affirm
ed, that the Dodrines concerning Chrift's
Death, the Nature, Neceffity, and Merits of
his Sacrifice and Attonement for the Sins of
the World, the Poffbility and Neceffty of
Eating his Flefh, and Drinking his Blood,
were certainly amongft thofe many things ;
and

[ 58 ]
and therefore this Holy Sacrament, which
hath its Foundation in this Attonement for
Sins, and is itfelf inftituted for the eating
bis Flefh and drinking his Blood, muft of all
neceffity be amOngft thofe' many things, of
which they were then greatly ignorant, be
caufe they were not in a Condition to receive
a right and full Knowledge of them. There
fore there is the fulleft Proof that can be de-
fired, that our Saviour did not, and could
not intend fufficiently to declare to them the
whole of what He intended fhould be under
ftood and implied in the Sacrament of his
Body and Blood.
And for this reafon alfo, He faith unto
them, It is expedient for you that I go away;
for if I go not away the Comforter will not
come. Rut if I depart, I will fend him unto
you. Again, Thefe Things have I faid, being
yet prefent with you; but the Comforter, tyhich
is the Holy Ghofi, whom the Father will fend
in my Name, He fhall teach you all Things,
and bring all Things to your Remembrance,
whatfoever I have faid unto you.
As if He had faid " It is expedient for
" you that I go away, becaufe fo long as I
" thus ftay with you in the Flefh, ye can-
" not

I 59 J
" not know, nor believe, nor enter into the
" true Nature, End, Merits and Effeds of
" my Death, Refurredion and Afcenfion;
" neither can the Holy Ghoft come upon
" you in my Name, till my Kingdom is thus
" fet up, and thefe Things are accomplifh-
" ed in me. Therefore thefe things I have
"faid, being yet prefent with you ; that is, I
" have fpoken thus far of thefe Things in a
" way fuited to your prefent State; not that
" they fhould be the Matter of your prefent
" Knowledge, whilft you know nothing
" rightly, nor apply any thing that I fay, to
" its proper Object; but I have faid thefe
cC Things to you, that they may be laid up
" in your Minds, then and then only to be
" truly underftood, rightly remember'd in their
" proper Place, and duly apply'd to their
" proper Objeds, when the Holy Ghoft fhall
" come in my Name, that is, upon the
" Foundation of my Death, Refurredion,
" and Afcenfion, and fhall teach you all things,
" and bring all things to your Remembrance,
%( whatfoever I have faid unto you,"
From all thefe Things it appears fufficir
ently, that this Author's fourth and funda
mental Propofition is abfolutely falfe, and
grofsly contradidory to Scripture, Facts, and

[ 6o ]
arid the exprefs Declaration of our Saviour ;
and that our Saviour himfelf, in his own
Perfon, before he left the World, did not,
could not intend fufficiently to declare to his
Difciples the whole of what he intended fhould
be underftood by, and imply 'd in the Sacra
ment. And here I muft obferve to you, that the
Confutation of this Fourth Propofition, is
not to be confidered as the Difcovery of a
Jingle Error in this Author, but as a full De
tection of the general Falfenefs, and errone
ous Procedure of his whole Book; for every
thing, and every other Propofition of any
moment, throughout his whole Book , is
founded upon the fuppofed Truth of this
Fourth Propofition. He cannot take one
ftep, in the way he is in, without it. He has
not an Argument but what is built upon it.
And all his Treatife, from the Beginning to
the End, is as idle and wandering as a fiek
Man's Dream, unlefs you grant him thefe
two bulky Errors ; i/?,That our Saviour him
felf, in , the Words of the Inftitution, Juff-
ciently declared to his Difciples the whole of
what he intended ftwuld be underftood by, and
implied in the Sacrament, idly, That the on
ly Method of underftanding the whole of what he

[61 ]
he fo fufficiently declared to them, is to in
terpret the fame bare Words of the Inftitu
tion, according to the common Rules of
fpeaking. But as both thefe Pofitions have, as I
think, been already fhewn to be grofs Errors,
diredly contrary to Reafon, Senfe, Scripture,
Facts, and the exprefs Declaration of our Sa
viour himfelf, fo the whole of his Treatife
is already in the fulleft manner confuted.
B ut I fhall now proceed to confider fome
poor, little Pretences of Argument, which
this Author brings in Support of this f^lfe
Propofition. Which are as follow:
For this being, fays he, a Ppfitive Inftitu
tion, depending entirely upon his Will; and
not deftgned to contain any thing in it, but what
he himfelf fhould pleafe to affix to it, it muft fol
low, that he declar'd his mind about it, fully
and plainly. P. 4.
This is his whole Proof, that our Savi
our himfelf fufficiently taught his Difciples
the whole Nature and Meaning of the Sacra
ment, and that they wholly underftood it. The

C 62 ]
The thing that he would here fpeak
to, is very improperly' exprefs'd, and ought
to have proceeded thus,
This being a pofltive Inftitution , by his
Will and Pleafure introduced into a Religion,
which contains the Means and Method of the
Salvation of Mdnkind by himfelf the Inftttu-
tor, cannot be deftgned by him to be any ways un
derftood, or to have any other Nature, Mean
ing, and End in it, than fuch as is truly and
fully according to the Doctrines of that Reli
gion into which he has introduced, it, and more
efpecially accotding to that part of Religion in
which he has placed it.
Whereas inftead of this, this Author
poorly fays, it was not deftgned to contain any
thing in it, but what he fhould pie afe to affix to
if. For he put nothing to be contained in it,
he affix'd nothing to it, but only placed it in
the Heart, or midft of a Religion ; which
Religion, as foon as it was truly known by
his Difciples, would fufficiently declare and
explain to them the whole Nature and End
of this pofitive Inftitution. In confequence
of what he had juft now erroneoufly faid,
he proceeds thus, Becaufe otherwife he muft be

[ «3 ]
k fuppofed to inftitule a Duty, of which nont
could have any Notion without his Inftitution?
and at the fame time not to inftruct his Fol
lowers fufficiently what that Duty w-as to be.
Whereas inftead of this, it ought to have
been exprefs'd thus: becaufe otherwife, if he
had notfo inftituted this Sacrament, as to have
its Nature, End, and Effects explain'd and
determin'd by that Religion and chiefly by that
Part of Religion, in which it was placed, it
could never have appeared to any of his Follow
ers, what they were to do in it, or that there
was any Reafon for its Infiitution,or any Benefit
to be had from the Obfervance of it.
As for Inftance; if the Religion of which
the Sacrament is a Part, did not teachu's
how his Body is given and his Blood jhed for
us, if it did not teach us fomething concern-1
ing the eating his Flefh and drinking his Blood,
what could the mentioning of thefe two
Jlrange Things in the Sacrament fignify to
us, or how could we have any Not ton of
what was to be done or acknowledg'd by the
Sacrament ? For if the Sacrament fpeaks of
any thing that the Religion in which it is pla
ced fpeaks nothing of, if it reprefents any
thing that that Religion has not to be repre-
fented, then it can fignify no more in that
Religion

[64]
Religion after its Inftitution, then it did be
fore. But if to be a Part of that Religion in
which it is appointed, it muft fpeak the Lan
guage of that Religion ; if the Things that it
reprefents, muft be the Things of that Reli
gion, theft it plainly follows ; ifi, That our
Saviour himfelf in Perfon, at the Time, and
by the Words of the Inftitution, did not,
could not fully and plainly declare the whole
Nature of the Sacrament ; becaufe the Lan
guage which it fpoke, and the Things that it
reprefented, were the Language and Things
of a Religion, which was not, and could
not then be known by his Difciples. 2dly, It
follows alfo, That our Saviour had fully and
fuffciently provided for their right Know
ledge of this Sacrament, becaufe it was fo
worded and fo placed in their Religion, that
the firft true Knowledge of their Reli
gion would become the full anchdear Expli
cation of it.
This Sacrament was inftituted, before
the Religion, of which it was to be a Part,.
was known; is it therefore any wonder in it
felf, or any Matter of Accufation of our Sa
viour, that when he appointed this Inftitu tion,

[65]
tion, he left it to be then only underftood,
when the Religion, of which it was to be a
Part, fhould be known? And if he left his
Difciples in the fame Ignorance of the Sacra
ment, as ofthe Nature, Merits, and End of
his Death, Refurredion and Afcenfion, is
there any more to find fault with in the one,
than in the other ?
And this Author might with the fame
fhew of Argument prove, that he did declare
unto them, fully and plainly, the whole Na
ture, Merits, and End of his Death. For
it may as well be faid of that, as of the Sa
crament, that he muft have fully and plainly
declared his Mind about it ; otherwife he muft
be fuppofed to have inftruded them of a Mat
ter of Faith, which, without his Inftrudion,
they could have no Notion of, and at the
fame time not to inftrud them fully about
it. Now if any thing may be faid in defence
of what our Saviour did to his Difciples with
regard to that imperfed State in which he
left them, as to the Knowledge of the Na
ture, Merits, and End of his Death; if he
might juftly leave the true and full Know
ledge of it, to its only proper Time, and only
F proper

[<S6]
proper Manner of being fully known ; name
ly, till the Confequences of his Death, till
his Refurredion, Afcenfion, and coming of
the Holy Ghoft, fhould prove the Nature,
Power, Merits, and End of it; then the
fame may and muft be faid in defence of our
Saviour's leaving his Difciples fo ignorant of
the Nature, End, and Effects of the Holy
Sacrament. It was not becaufe he was defi
cient in inftruding them, but becaufe he in-
ftruded them with the greateft Wifdom; not
giving them verbal Explications of Things
which could not fo be underftood by them,
but leaving them to be informed in the one
only proper Time, and the only proper Man
ner; namely, when by the Knowledge of
his Death, Refurredion, and Afcenfion, and
by the coming of the Holy Ghoft , they
fhould truly and fully know the whole of that
Religion, of which this Sacrament was ap
pointed to be a Part.
All therefore which this Author faith of
the Neceffity of their knowing fufficiently at
firft from the Words of the Inftitution, the
whole Nature of it, becaufe it was a Pofltive
Inftitution, and could have no more in it
than he intended fhould be in it, are mere
empty Words; for it -is granted on all Sides, that

[67]
that the Inftitution can be only that which
Chrift intended it fhould be, and can imply
no more than he defigned fhould be implied
in ir.
But the Queftion is, how we are to
know all that he defigned fhould be under
ftood by, and implied in it.
This Author fays, this can only be known
from the bare Words of the Inftitution con
fidered in themfelves, according to the com-
fnon Rules of fpeaking.
Therefore, according to this Author,
had Socrates faid the fame Things that Chrift
faid, the Inftitution had been juft the fame
thing as it is; it had had the fame Meaning,
and there had been neither more or lefs in it.
This cannot be denied : For if the Words of
the Inftitution are only to be underftood ac
cording to the common Meaning or Sound of
Words in common Life; then they muft
have the fame Meaning, and fignify neither
more or lefs, whether they be apply'd to
Chrift, or Socrates.
On the other hand, we fay, fince Chrift
appointed this Infiitution to ftand in a cer-
F 2 fain

[68]
tain Place, to be a certain Part, and to have
Relation to certain Doctrines of a Religion
not known, when this Inftitution was- ap
pointed ; that therefore what Chlift meant'
by it, and would have imply 'd in it, can then
only he fully known, and when that Religion
in which it was to have a certain Place, and
of which it was to be a certain Part, and to
whofe Dodrines it was to be related, came
to be fully known and underftood. In fhort,
that a Chriftian Inftitution, ingrafted into
the Chriftian Religion, and conneded with
its chief Dodrines, could then only be fully
known, when the Chriftian Religion was ful
ly known. Thus for Inftance: Let it be fuppofed
that at theTime of inftituting the Sacrament,
the Apoftles had no other Way of knowing
what was meant by it, but by confidering
the Words in themfelves, according to the
common. Sound of the Words. Yet, if after the
Death, and Refurrection, and Afcenfion of our
Saviour, and the coming of the Holy Ghoft,
they knew a Religion, which they knew no
thing of before, and faw this Sacrament to
be a Part of that Religion; had they not
then got a new and fure Way of underftand
ing what our Saviour meant by it ? And had
they

L b9 J
they not this very new Means of underftand
ing it from our Saviour himfelf? Did not he
teach them all that they were taught by his
Death, Refurrection, and Afcenfion, and by
the coming of the Holy Ghoft? And was not
that which he thus taught them in this man
ner, to be as facred with them, and as much
to be adher d to, as when he only taught
them the Words, outward Form, and Matter
of the Sacrament? And if he thus led them
into the Poffeflion and Knowledge of every
Truth and Doctrine upon which this Sacra
ment was founded, and to which it was rela
ted ; is he not ftill the Teacher of the Sacra
ment, as well as he was the Teacher of it in
the Words of the Inftitution ?
Vainly therefore doth this Author thus
farther argue, that feeing no one can be a Judge,
but the Inftitutor himfelf, of what he deftgn'd
fhould be contain'd in it -, therefore, fuppofing
him not to have fpoken his Mind plainly about it,
it is impofiible that any other Perfin fliould make
up the Defect. P. £.
Va i nly, I fay, is all this argu'd, becaufe
here is no Defed charg'd upon the Words of
the Infiitution, nor any other Perfon appoint-?
ed, or appeal'd to, to make up the Defed.
F 3 Ths

[ 7° 1
The Words of the Inftitution are allow'd to
be full and plain, as to all that is pofttive in
this Inftitution, both as to the Matter and
Form of the Sacrament : They were as plain
at the firft as they are now, or ever can be.
But that Part which is not pofltive in this In
ftitution, which is the greateft and chiefeft
Part of it, namely, the Truths fignified and
reprefented, and acknowledg'd by the out
ward Form and Matter of the Sacrament; as
the Body of Chrift given, and his Blood fhed
for the Sins of the World, and the Eating
his Flefh and drinking his Blood were not then,
are not now, nor ever can be truly and right
ly known from the Plainnefs of the Words
ofthe Inftitution alone. Yet here is not the
fmalleft Deject either in the Inftitutor or the
Inftitution. For fince the Inftitution was
not an independent thing, made for itfelf, and
on its own Account, nor to be pradifed at
the Time it was appointed ; it was no Defect
\n it, that it did not explain itfelf, or was not
then known, when it was not to be pradis'd.
And feeing the Inftitution was appointed for
the Sake of a, Religion, that then was not,
but foon fhould be, it could be no Defect in
the Inftitutor, that it was not known fooner
than it was wanted, or till the Time came,
that every thing elfe that was to be pradis'd, with

[7i ]
with it, or for the Sake of it, were fully and
truly known.
I t was no Defed in our Saviour as aTeach-
er of Religion, that his Religion was not
known nor underftood, till after his Afcen
fion into Heaven, and the Coming ofthe Holy
Ghoft; becaufe his Afcenfion, and the com
ing of the Holy Ghoft, were to be funda
mental Articles and principal Parts of his
Religion. S o alfo it was no Defed in him, as an In
ftitutor of the Sacrament, that the true Na
ture and End of it was not known, when
he firft inftituted it, or from the bare Words
of the Inftitution ; or that it was not to be
known, till fuch things as were to be the
principal Parts of it came to be known.
And as that which was further and fully
known of the Chriftian Religion, after our
Saviour's Death, was not by any one's making
up the Defect of his teaching, but was Jblely
done by his own Power, and in his own Name ;
fo all that which was further and fully known
of the Sacrament after the Death of Chrift,
was not by any ones making up the Defed of
his Inftitution, but was his own further teach-
F 4. ing

[ 72 ]
ing them by his Death, Refurrebtion , and
Afcenfion, and by the coming of the Holy
Ghoft. For as he thus by his own Power fet
up his own Kingdom, fo all that which was
plainly fhewn and declar'd by his Kingdom,
Was ftridly fhewn and declar'd by himfelf.
A n d as it neceffarily follow'd, that they
muft know more of Chrift as their Saviour,
and the Manner of their Salvation, after his
Death, Pvefurredion, and Afcenfion, and
Miflion of the Holy Ghoft, than they did be
fore; fo alfo it neceffarily follows, that they
muft have exadly the fame Increafe of Know
ledge at thatTime, concerning the Nature of
the Sacrament, which they had concerning
their Saviour; becaufe the Sacrament is ex
prefly appointed to do that which it does,
in Remembrance .and Acknowledgment of that
Saviour fo made known. And therefore the
more they knew of him as their Saviour,
the more they muft know of that which was
to be remember'd and acknowledg'd of him
in the Holy Sacrament,
All therefore which this Author fays,
of the making up the DefeB, if Chrift did
not at firft make the whole of the Inftitution
plain, is of no Significancy ; for what they
2 further

[ 73 ]
further knew rightly of it, when they knew
their Religion, and faw how and in what
manner it was a Part of it ; all this further
true and real Knowledge of it, came as
plainly and undeniably from him, as the
Words of the Inftitution did; and what
they were taught by his Death and Refurre
dion, and the Confequences of them, was
as truly from him, as what they were taught
by his Birth and Incarnation, and miraculous
Converfation with them.
Having thus difpatch'd this Author's
Fourth and chiefefl Propofition, and his
Proof of it ; I fhall now go back to his Firft,
which ftands thus.
Proposition I. The partaking of the
Lord's Supper, is not a Duty of itfelf or a
Duty apparent to us from the Nature of the.
thing; but a Duty made fuch to Chriftians,
by the pofttive Inftitution of Jefus Chrift,
P. 2.
There is a great deal of Error and
Deceit propofed to the Reader in this Pro
pofition. For it is to make him believe,
that the Nature and End of the Sacrament
is wholly pofttive, and that all that we are to
mean,

[ 74 ]
mean, and intend, and do by it, is fomething
that we are only obliged to do by virtue of
the Inftitution : All which is abfolutely falfe..
For the Inftitution, as to its Nature and
End, is fo far from being wholly pofttive, that
its Nature and End hath nothing pofttive in it.
And all that which it is our Duty to intend
and do by the Sacrament, is to be intended
and done for itfelf, on its own Account ; and
that which is pofltive in the Sacrament, is
only as a Means, or Mark, or Sign of our
doing it. That which is pofttive in this In
ftitution, and not to be done but becaufe of
the Will of the Inftitutor, is fomething en
tirely diftinB, and different from the Nature,
End and Intent of the Inftitution. And
that in which the whole Reafon, Meaning,
End and Intent of this Inftitution effentially
confifts; is fomething that is to be done for
itfelf, and does not take its Reafon of being
done from the Inftitution.
Now if all that is to be done, imply 'd 'and
intended by our celebrating the Lord's Sup
per, was, and is abfolutely neceffary to be
done, though the Way of doing it by the
Sacrament had never been inftituted ; then
the Meaning, End and Intent of the Sacra ment

L 75 ]
ment cannot be pofttive; and if our Obliga
tion to do all that is contain'd in this Mean
ing and Intent of the Sacrament, is an Ob
ligation arifing from the Thing itfelf, then
this is not a pofttive Duty.
Now the Meaning, End and Intent of
the Sacrament, is to remember, acknowledge
and profefs Chrift to be our Saviour, and the
Manner in which he is our Saviour; but all
this is to be done on its own Account, from
the Nature of the Thing itfelf, and muft have
been done, though the Sacrament had not been
inftituted ; therefore the Meaning, End and
Intent of the Sacrament has nothing pofttive
in it, and contains only our natural Duty to
Chrift, arifing from the Relation between
him and us. For to acknowledge and pro
fefs Chrift to be our Saviour, and in all the
Refpeds in which he is our Saviour, is no
more a pofttive Duty, than it is a pofttive
Duty to acknowledge and profefs the Good-
nefs of God towards us ; but is a Duty of
itfelf, of the fame Nature, and of the fame
Obligation, as Faith and Love, and Adorati
on of our Creator and Redeemer are.
But to fhew ftill more plainly, that the
Nature, End and Intent of the Sacrament, is

[ 76 ]
is not pofitive, but entirely diftind and diffe
rent from that which is pofitive in the Sa
crament; take the following Inftance,
Let it be fuppofed, that God by a po
fitive Command enjoyn'd the People of one
Age to build an Altar for his Honour and
Worfhip ; the People cf another Age to fet
up a Tabernacle, and a third to build a Tem
ple for the fame End and Intent ; namely,
for his Honour and Worfhip.
Now here are three pofitive Appointments,
and three pofitive Duties; and all that is
pofitive in the one, is very different from that
which is pofitive in the other; yet the Mean
ing, End and Intent of all three is the Jame,
namely, the Honour and Worfhip of God ;
therefore the Meaning, End and Intent of
pofitive Appointments, is fomething not
pofitive, but entirely different and diftind
from that which is the pofitive Part of it.
Now this is exadly the Cafe of the Sa-r
crament : Bread and Wine appointed to be
ufed in acknowledgment of Jefus Chrift as our
Saviour, is as the Altar or Tabernacle, ap
pointed to be built for the Honour and Wor-
. flpip of God. And as, it was purely depend^

ing

[77]
ing upon the Will of God, whether it fhould
be an Altar or a Tabernacle, or a Temple, that
fhould be built for his Honour and Worfhip ;
fo it was folely depending upon the Will of
Jefus Chrift, whether it fhould be Bread
and Wine, or any other thing elfe that was to
be ufed in Remembrance and Acknowledg
ment of him. And as the Honour and
Worfhip of God, which was the fole Mean
ing, End and Intent of building either Altar
or Tabernacle, was a natural Duty, founded
in the Relation between God and his Crea
tures, and was fomething that was to be
done, though no Altar or Tabernacle had
ever been built ; fo the Remembrance and
Acknowledgment of Jefus Chrift as our Sa
viour, which is, the End and Intent of our
ufing Bread and Wine in the Sacrament ,
was a natural Duty, founded in the Relation
between Chrift and us, and was fomething
that was to be done for itfelf, though the
Ufe of Bread and Wine in the Sacrament had
never been appointed. It is therefore an un
pardonable Error in this Author, to reprefent
the Sacrament, as containing nothing in its
Meaning, End and Intent, that was a Duty
itfelf or to be done upon its own Account;
but that every thing imply'd by it, was only
a Dutv bv virtue of the Inftitution. For the

[ 78 ]
the Reverfe of all this is the very Truth;
for all that is meant, imply' 'd and intended by
the Sacrament, is as much our Duty to do
on its own Account, as it is our Duty to
believe in God; and the pofitive Part, the
Ufe of Bread and Wine in this Sacrament,
is only an appointed Way of our exprefling,
acknowledging and doing that, which it was
our Duty to exprefs, acknowledge and do,
though we had never been taught to ufe
Bread and Wine for that End.
And indeed this is the Cafe of all pofitive
Appointments and Inftitutions of Revealed
Religion; the Meaning, End and Intent of
them, was always fomething entirely different
from that which was pofttive in them ; for
the fame Reafon , that an Idea or Sentiment
is entirely different from that Englifh or Latin
Word by which you are to exprefs it, or to
putyourfelf, or another Perfon in mind of
it. For the pofitive Part of an Inftitution
has much of the Nature of Language in it,
and is to exprefs and teach fomething by
Symbols and outward Things, better than it
could be exprefs'd or taught by mere Words ;
but that which is meant, imply' d and intended
by the Symbol, is as different from it in its
whole Nature, as the Idea or Sentiment meant and

[ 79]
and intended by an Englifh or Latin Word,
is different from it in its whole Nature.
To look therefore, as this Author doth, for
the whole Nature, End and Intent of the
Sacrament, in the pofttive Part of this Infti
tution, is as abfurd, as to look for the true
Knowledge of God and the Divine Attributes
from the Englifli Word, God. For the
Things meant and intended by the Sacrament,
are as entirely and wholly different from that
Ufe of Bread and Wine by which they are
exprefs'd, as the Divine Nature is entirely
and wholly different from that Englifh or
Latin Word, which is to exprefs or remind
us of that Divine Nature.
Great Part of the Jewifh Religion
confifted in pofitive Appointments and In
ftitutions ; but the Meaning, End and Intent
of them was entirely of another Nature,
and confifted of fuch things as were Duties
of themfelves, and of the higheft Neceffity
to be done. For the End and Intent of their
Inftitutions were either to keep up and exer
cife their Faith and Hope of a Redeemer, or
to fet forth the CharaBers and Marks by
which they fhould know him, or to repre
fent to them the Nature and Manner of their
expeded Redemption, or to teach them
i fome

[ 8o ]
fome inward dying unto Sin, and inward
living unto God, or fome other "Truth,
DoBrine or PraBice, that was to be acknow
ledged and done for itfelf, though no pofitive
Inftitution had ever been made on its Ac
count. And the one only Reafon why the
greateft Part of the Jews liv'd in fuch a total
Ignorance of their Religion, was, becaufe
they had learn'd it in the fame Manner as
this Author has learn'd Chriftianity; they
would fee nothing in their Inftitutions but
what a Heathen might as well have feen, no
thing but what could be feen in the Outfide
of them; juft as this Author will fee no more
in the Sacrament, than what a Heathen that
knows only the Words of the Inftitution
may fee in it. They were too learn'd and
rational to allow of any Myfteries at the
Bottom of their Services, as this Author is
too fober a Critic to allow of any Myftery in
the Inftitution of the Sacrament. And as
they, through a blind Zeal for the Letter,
and to fhew their Fidelity to them , loft all
that which was truly meant and intended by
them; fo this Author, full of the fame
Zeal for the Letter and Plainnefs of this
Chriftian Inftitution, is doing all that he can
to make us lofe all that is truly meant and in
tended by it. The

[8i ]
T h b» Sacrifices of the Jews were at the
Bottom, only fo many Reprefentations and
Applications of that great Sacrifice for the
Sins of the World, firft promifed to all
Mankind, in thefe Words ; The Seed of the
Woman fhall bruife the Serpents Head; but
becaufe this was not exprejly faid in the In
ftitution of any of their Sacrifices, this is
done in confequence of that firft Promife, or
this is to fhew you how and in what Manner
you are to feek and find your Redeemer,
becaufe the Letter was not thus adapted to
thefe carnal Men, they contented themfelves
with the Religion of flaying Beafis. Juft as
this Author is only a bare Eater of Bread and
Wine in the Sacrament, becaufe it is not
there exprejly faid, what great Myfteries of
Chrift as our Saviour are reprefented by it.
The Jews had many Paffages in their Scrip
tures that called them to the Spirituality of
their Religion, and fhew'd them the inward
Meaning, Spirit and Intent of all their In
ftitutions; but becaufe it was not exprefly
faid, this is an Explication of fuch an Or
dinance, or this that is here faid, relates to
the true Meaning and Intent of fuch an In
fiitution, all thefe Paffages of Scripture were
negleded by them, and not applied to their
G proper

[ 8a]
proper Objeds. It is juft thus with this Au
thor; the New Tefiament abounds with
Paffages that prove, teach and explain the
true Meaning, End and Intent of the Holy
Sacrament; but becaufe thofe Paffages don't
exprefly fay, this is the Proof or Explicati
on of what is faid in the Inftitution, they
are by him overlook' d and rejeded, as having
nothing to do with it. The learned Pharifee,
in order to know the Meaning and Intent of
killing a Heifer in Sacrifice, or of Circum-
cifing the Flefh; would only look fox fuch
Places of Scripture, as appoint the killing of
an Heifer, and the Circumcifing the Flefh ;
juft fo this Author, to know the true Mean
ing and Intent of the Inftitution of the Sa
crament, only fearches the Scripture in the
fame Manner. He feeks only J'uch Places as
exprefly mention the Inftitution, or repeat
the Words of it.
The Jews neither expeded nor allow'd
any Benefits and Merits of Chrift to be ob
tain'd by means of their Sacrifices, becaufe
fuch Benefits were not literally mention'd in
the Inftitution of their Sacrifices ; juft fo
this Author, neither expeds nor allows the
Merits and Benefits of Chrift's Paffion, to be
applied to us by the Holy Sacrament, becaufe the

[ »3 ]
the Application of fuch Benefits and Merits
is not exprefly mention'd in the Words of
the Inftitution. Thus was it that the Jews
never found their Saviour in the Old Tefia
ment ; and thus it is, that this Author has
loft him in the New.
And indeed, upon his Principles, it is
impojfible that any one fhould ever know any
thing of the real Nature and Truth of the
Jewifh or Chriftian Religion. For let any
one but fearch into the Nature, Meaning and
Intent of the Jewifh Inftitutions, as this
Author doth into the Nature and Intent of
the Sacrament ; and he muft, as I faid above4
be render'd Stone-blind to all the Myfteries
of the Old Tefiament as well as of the
New. For as Chrift was the Subftance, the
Heart, and true Meaning of all their Ordi
nances; yet, though not mentioned exprejly
in the Letter of their pofitive Inftitutions,
they were obliged by this Author's Principles,
not to acknowledge him to be in them, and
to rejed all fuch Interpretations as lead to
him; v and to allow nothing to be meant by
their pofitive Inftitutions, but that which
the Words of them underftood, according
G 2 to

[ 84 1
to the common Rules of fpeaking, declared
to be in them : Therefore every Jew that
had this Author's Principles, was under a Ne
ceffity of being Stone-blind, or totally igno
rant of the real Nature and Truth of the
Jewifh Religion.
Again, the Apoftle faith, He is not a
Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that
Circumcifton which is outward in the Flefh ;
but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and
Circumcifton is that of the Heart, in the Spirit,
artd not in the Letter*
But according to this Author's Prin
ciples, you are to maintain, that he only is a
Jew, which is one outwardly, and that only
is Circumcifion which is outward in the
Flefh; for to allow Judaifm to have any
thing inwardly more than is in the outward
Letter, or Circumcifion to be any thing elfe
than that which is expreffed in the Words of
the Inftitution ; is a thing not lawful to be
done upon this Author's Principles. This I
think may fufficiently fhew you the Truth
of what I faid to you in the Beginning, that
if you accept of this Author's Key of
Knowledge, for the right underftanding the
Nature
t Rom,H. zd.

[ 8S ]
Nature of the Sacrament ; you will not only
lofe all the right Knowledge of the Sacra
ment, but be render'd a Blind, Deaf and
Dead Reader of all the other moft impor
tant Dodrines of Scripture. For according
to his Principles, you are to fee no more Spi
rit, Life, or Myftery in any other Sayings of
our Saviour, than in that of the Sacrament;
and low as he has reduced that, it is full as
high and myfterious, and deep in its Mean
ing, as any thing in the whole Nature ofthe
Chriftian Religion can be allowed to be by
this Author.
B u t to return : There are plainly two
diftind and effential Parts of the Sacrament,
which conftitute its whole Nature. The
firft is in thefe Words, This is my Body which
is given for you, this is my Blood which is Jhed
for the Remiffon of Sins.
What is here faid by our Lord Chrift,
we are to acknowledge to be true ; therefore
we are to own and acknowledge this great
Truth, that this Bread and Wine are made
Symbols and Memorials of, viz. that his
Body is given for us, and his Blood fhed for
the Remiffion of Sins; and confequently all
that the Scripture teaches concerning the
Truth, Reality and Manner in which he is
G 3 the

[86]
the Sacrifice, Attonement and Satisfadion
for our Sins, is in this Sacrament to be of all
neceffity acknowledged and confeffed by us.
And we cannot perform this Sacrament ac
cording to what it is, unlefs we fee and own
all that to be in it, which Chrift faw and
own'd to be in it; unlefs we prefent it to him
in the fame Meaning, as he prefented it to
his Difciples, For if Chrift has declared
this Nature and Meaning to be in it, we
cannot perform this Sacrament according to
Chrift's Declaration, unlefs we alfo in our
Performance of it, declare that fame Nature
and Meaning to be in it. Therefore the ac
knowledgment of Chrift's being the Attone
ment and Satisfadion for our Sins, is an
effential and important Part of the Sacra*
ment. If we were to Miftake or Negled
fomething in the right Ufe of Bread and
Wine in the Sacrament, fuch Miftake would
only relate to the outward pofitive Part of
this Inftitution, which has no Obligation
upon us but from Divine Appointment; but
if we refufe to own and confefs Chrift to be
the Attonement and SatisfaBion for our Sins,
we fin againft God and the Nature of things,
as thofe Atheifts do, who refufe to own that
it was the Gqodnefs of God that created
them, Secondly,

[ 87]
Secondly, The other effential, and no
lefs important Part of the Sacrament is, the
eating the Body and drinking the Blood of
Chrift. This is plainly another effential
Part of the Sacrament, entirely diftinB from
the other. The one refpeds Chrift, as he is
the Attornment and Satisfadion for our Sins ;
the other fhews that he is to be own'd and
received as a Principle of Life to us.
The other Words, Do this in Remem
brance of me, relate equally to both thefe
Parts, and are only as if our Saviour had faid
after the Inftitution ; Let this, which I have
thus appointed to be done, be your acknow
ledgment of that Salvation which is received
through me, both as I am the Attonement
and Satisfadion for Sin, and a Principle of
Life to all that lay hold of me.
You cannot help feeing that all this is
plain, eafy and natural in this Explication of
the Words of the Inftitution, and that I
have ufed no Art or Force to come at it, and
that no one can find any fault with it; but
he that is unwilling to own thefe two great
Truths of Scripture, that Chrift as our Sa
viour is the Attonement and Satisfadion for
G 4 our

[ 88 ]:
our Sins, and a Principle of Life to us.
The fhort of the Matter is this; the Scrip
tures are full of Proofs of thefe two great
and fundamental Charaders, that he is in
one refped the Attonement and Satisfadion
for our Sins, and in another, a Principle of a
new Life to us ; if therefore thefe two effen
tial Charaders of our Saviour, which con
tain all that is faid of him as fuch, are not
to be acknowledged by us in the Sacrament;
then the Sacrament muft be faid to be infti
tuted for the denial of Chrift; and the Words,
Do this in remembrance of me, muft have this
Meaning, Tio this in denial of me: For if he
is not to be remember'd, as the Attonement
and Satisfadion for Sin, and as a Principle
of new Life to us ; then he is not to be re
member'd and acknowledged as he is, and
therefore in the ftrideft Senfe is to be deny'd.
Hence it appears, that this Author's
plain Account can have no Truth or Reafon-
ablenefs in it, but upon this Suppofition,
that Chrift Jefus is not a real Attonement and
SatisfaBion for our Sins, nor a real. Principle of
Life to us. For if thefe things were true of
Chrift as our Saviour, then the Sacrament,
which is done in Acknowledgment of him,
as fuch, muft alfo of neceffity acknowledge
i thefe

[ 89 ]
thefe Truths. Therefore this Author's Plain
Account, which does not acknowledge thefe
Things of Chrift, can have no Truth orRea-
fonablenefs in it, but upon this Suppofi-
tion, that thefe Things are not true of
Chrift. For if thefe Things were real Dodrines
of Scripture, it muft follow, that they were
to be acknowledg'd in the Sacrament, even
though they were not exprefly mention'd or
pointed at in the Words of the Inftitution.
For fince the Sacrament is to be done in Re
membrance and Acknowledgment of Chrift,
it neceffarily follows, that that which the
Scriptures teach us concerning the Nature
and Charader of Chrift, is to be remember'd
and acknowledg'd of him in and by the Sa
crament, becaufe the Sacrament is appoint
ed for that End. And therefore, fince this
Author will not allow our Saviour to be thus
acknowledg'd in the Sacrament , he muft
deny that he is thus defcribed in Scripture.
Now deny either of thefe Charaders of
our Saviour, and you deny all the Chriftian
Religion ; the Words, Saviour, Salvation,
Redemption, and fuch like, have no proper
Meaning, Truth, or Reality in them. But

[9°]
But if you allow thefe Charaders of our
Saviour, that he really is, what he faid he
was, and what all the Scriptures affirm of
him; namely, the Attonement for Sins, and
a Principle of a new Life to us, then the
Sacrament, which is the Reprefentation and
Acknowledgment of thefe two great Truths,
has all that is great, myfterious, and adora
ble in the Chriftian Religion, center'd in it.
And had this Author believed thefe two great
Dodrines concerning our Saviour, it had
been as impoflible for him to have his prefent
poor Notion of the Sacrament, as it was im
poflible for St. John, who knew that the
Word was God, and that the fame Word was
made Flefh, to have had fo poor a Notion of
Jefus Chrift, as thofe Jews had, who took
him to be only the Carpenter's Son.
Hence alfo it plainly appears, that fee
ing thefe two great Truths are the effential
Parts ofthe Sacrament, and that it is appoint
ed to exprefs our Faith of them ; that the Na
ture and End of the Sacrament is not, as this
Author teaches, to turn an AB of our Me
mory upon Chrift ; but that it is to exercife
our Faith in Chrift, and to be our open Pro
feffion of thefe two great Truths; and alfo
that

L 9i J
that our Faith is thereby exercifed in this
twofold Manner; lft, in believing Chrift to
be the true Attonement for our Sins, and a
real Principle of Life tb us: 2dly, In believ
ing that this Attonement, and his being a
Principle of Life to us, is made certain and
confirm d to us, by taking the Bread and Wine
to be the true Significations of them.
For when our Saviour fays, Do this, it is
the fame thing as if he had faid, do thefe
two Things appointed in the Sacrament, as
your AB of Faith, that I am both the Aj>
tonement for your Sins, and a Principle of
Life to you. Don't fay bare and empty
outward Words, when you fay, This is my
Body which is given for you, and this is my
Blood which is flie d for the Remifftan of Sins ;
but let Faith fay them , and acknowledge
the Truth of them : When you eat my Body
and drinjc my Blood, don't let your Mouth
only eat, or perform the outward Adion, but
let Faith, which is the true Mouth of the in
ward Man, believe that it really partakes of
me, and that I enter in by Faith; and when
you thus by Faith perform thefe two effential
Parts of the Sacrament, then, and then only
may what you do be faid to be done in
Re-

[92]
Remembrance of me, and of what I am to
you. For nothing remembers me but Faith, no
thing acknowledges me but Faith, nothing
finds me, nothing knows me but Faith.
Iappeal to the moft ordinary Under
ftanding for the Truth of all this; for it is
fo plain and vifible, that nothing but Art or
Prejudice can avoid it.
For fince our Saviour fays, This is my Bo
dy which is given for you, this is my Blood
which is fhed for the Remiffion of Sins, what
he fays, that we are to fay, and what we fay,
that we are to believe, and therefore what
we are here to do, is an AB or Exercife of
Faith. And fince in thefe Words he fays two
Things, the one, that he is the Attonement
for our Sins; the other, that this Bread and
this Wine are the Signification or Applica
tion of that Attonement, or that which we
are to take for it; therefore we in doing this,
are by Faith to fay and believe thefe two
Things, and therefore all that we here do, is
Faith, and Faith manifefted in this twofold
Manner, AgaiNj

[93]
Again, feeing our Saviour commands us
to eat his Body, and drink his Blood, we are
to fay and believe, that his Body and Blood
are there ftgnify'd and exhibited to us; and
that his Body and Blood may be eaten and
drank, as a Principle of Life to us ; and there
fore Faith is all, or all is Faith in this other
effential Part ofthe Sacrament; and we can
not poffibly do that which our Saviour com
mands us to do, unlefs it be done by Faith.
But now this Author,in his Plain Account,
takes no more notice of thefe two great effen
tial Parts of the Sacrament, than if there
was not one Word about them : And yet they
areyo much there, that in the whole Inftitu
tion, there is not a Word about any thing
elfe. For the Words, Do this in Remem
brance of me, are as entirely diftind from the
Inftitution, as a Command to do a thing, is
diftind from the Thing that is to be done.
They enter no more into the Nature of the
Inftitution, nor any more teach us what is to
be done in it, than if Chrift had only faid,
Do this as your Duty to me. Had he faid thus,
it would eafily have been feen, that the Infti
tution muft be entirely diftind from fuch a
Command to obferve it. And yet his faying,
Do

[ 94 ]
Do this in Remembrance of me, has neither
more nor lefs in it, than if he had faid, Do
this as your Duty to me.
The plain Truth is this; The Infiitution
confifts of thofe two effential Parts juft men
tioned; that is, in oftering, prefenting, and
pleading before God, by Faith, the Attone
ment of Chrift's Body and Blood,and in own
ing him to be a Principle of Life to us, by our
eating his Body and Blood; this is the entire,
whole Inftitution.
The Words, Do this in Remembrance of
me, are only the Command to obferve the In
ftitution. Do this, is a Command to do all that had
been mentioned in the Inftitution; and the
Words, in Remembrance of me, don't fhew
what the Inftitutioivs, or what is to be done
in it, but only the Reafon, why fuch an In
ftitution, whatever it is, was commanded to
be obferved.
The Words therefore, in Remembrance
of me, are not a Part of the Inftitution, but
are only a Part of the Command to obferve
the Inftitution, and only fhew the Reafon
2 why

L 95 J
why fuch an Inftitution is commanded to be
obferved. And yet this Poor Man, (for fo I muft
call one fo miferably infenfible of the Great
nefs of the Subjed he is upon) can find no
thing in the Inftitution , but, firft, Bread
and Wine, not placed and offered before God,
as firft ftgnifying and pleading the Attone
ment of his Son's Body and Blood, and then
eaten and drank in Signiftcation of having our
Life from him : But Bread and Wine Jet up
on a Table, to put the People, that fee ir, in
Mind, that by and by they are to exercife an
AB of the Memory. And then fecondly, this
fame Bread and Wine afterwards brought to
every one in particular, not for them to
know, or believe that they are receiving any
thing of Chrift, or partaking of any thing
from him ; but only to let them know, that
the very Infant they take the Bread and Wine
into their Mouth, is the very Time for them
aBually to excite that AB ofthe Memory, for
the exciting of which, Bread and Wine had
been hefore fet upon a Table.
T h i s is this Author's Great Point in the
Obfervance of the Sacrament, and what he
calls the peculiar Nature of this Duty. And this

[96]
this he teaches, not becaufe the Church, or
Saint, or Father of any Age fince Chrift, has
taught him fo ; but becaufe being a ferious
Man, and of great ExaBnefs in weighing of
Words, He has found out, that the Words,
in Remembrance of me, which are only a Part
of the Command to obferve the Inftitution,
are the whole of the Inftitution itfelf; and
that therefore nothing is to be admitted in
to it but an AB of the Memory, and Bread
and Wine taken into the Mouth to excite that
AB of the Memory; becaufe Remembrance,
which is the whole of this Duty, neither
is nor can be any thing elfe but an ABofthe
Memory. Thus by making firft the Words, in Re
membrance of me, the whole Effence of the
Inftitution, when they are as diftind from
it, as they are from thefe Words, this is my
Body which is given for you; and teach us on
ly the Reafon why we are commanded to do
that which is to be done in the Inftitution:
And then, zdly, By limiting the Word
Remembrance, and allowing nothing to be
meant by it, but an AB of the Memory: By
the help of thefe two equally Jalfe andjhame-
ful Steps, this Author has ftripp'd the Infti
tution

[-97, ]
tution of every Myftery of our Salvation*
which the Words of Chrift fhew to be in it,
and which every Chriftian that has any true
Faith, tho' but as a Grain of Muftard Seed,
is fure of finding in it.
God, we know, made a certain great Pro
mife to Abraham ; now let it be fuppofed,
that God after the making of this Promife to
him, had enjoyn'd him to come frequently
to that Place where the Promife was made to
him in Remembrance of it: Could it be fup
pofed, that the Remembrance here fpoken
of, could fignify any thing elfe, but an Ex
ercife of his Faith in that Promife ; and as an
outward Sign of his declaring to God his full
Belief of it? Or could any thing be more
extravagant, than to fay, that God here only
required of Abraham an AB of his Memory,
becaufe the Word Remembrance relates only
to the Memory ?
Now this is ftridly the Cafe of the Sacra
ment. In the Inftitution our Saviour has
faid, This is my Body and Blood, which is given
andfhedfor you, for the Remiffion of Sins; in
the Inftitution he has bidden us to eat his Bo
dy and drink his Blood. All this is propofed
to our Faith, juft as the Promife was propo-
H fed

[98]
fed to Abrahams Faith. When therefore he
bids us to do this, that is, do thefe twoThings
in Remembrance of him; can it be fuppo
fed, that the Remembrance of him can be any
thing elfe but an Ad of Faith in him, be
lieving and owning all that concerning him,
which we Jay and do in and by the Sacra
ment ? For nothing but Faith can fee, or hear,
or underftand, or do that which is to be done
in the Sacrament: Nothing but Faith can
fay, that this his Body and Blood are the At
tonement of our Sins : Nothing but Faith can
fay, that the Bread and Wine are his Body
and Blood: Nothing but Faith can eat his
Body and drink his Blood: Nothing but Faith
can fay, that his Body and Blood are a Prin
ciple of Life to us: Therefore the Command
to do thefe Things, is a Command to exercife
fo many ABs of Faith ; becaufe the Things
commanded can only be done by Faith; and
the Perfon, in Remembrance of whom thefe
Things are to be done, can only be remem
ber'd by Faith. For to remember him, nei
ther is nor can be any thing elfe, but to have
Faith in him.
And therefore it is out of all doubt, that
when he faid, Do this in Remembrance of me,
nothing more nor lefs can poffibly be meant by

[ 99 ]
by it, than if he had faid, Do all this, as
your AB of Faith in me.
Since therefore this is fo plainly the Na
ture of the Inftitution, which is folely ap
pointed to exprefs our Faith in thefe two
great Charaders of our Saviour, both as he
is the Attonement for our Sins, and a Princi
ple of Life to us ; you may well afk how it
was poffible for this Author, with his Eyes
open, and the Scriptures before him, to give
us fo falfe and fopoor an Account of it.
Now the one only Reafon why the Scrip
tures are thus ufelefs to him, and why he is
forced to find out a Dodrine that is not in
them, is this, it is becaufe he is blinded with
a Philofophy, and Science falfty Jo call'd,
which will not allow him to believe, that
Jefus Chrift was truly and effentially God, as
well as a perfed Man : For the Foundation
and Poffibility of Chrift's being a real Attone
ment and Satisfadion for our Sins, and a real
Principle of Life to us, was his Divine Na
ture ; but as this Author cannot be fufpeded
to believe this great Foundation Dodrine,
that Chrift was truly and ejfentially God, very
God of very God, fo he could not believe him
to be a true and real Attonement for Sins, or
H 2 a true

a true and real Principle of Life to us, and
therefore could admit nothing of thefe Truths
into his Account of the Sacrament.
The way therefore that this Author came
by his Plain Account of the Sacrament, was
not, as he would have you believe, from a
bare impartial Conftderation of the Words of
the Inftitution, but from his wrong Know
ledge of the Chriftian Faith. He had firft
loft and renounced 'all the right and true Know
ledge of our Saviour in the Scriptures, and
therefore was obliged not to ftnd it in the Sa
crament. And becaufe it would be openly
confefling to the World, that he was in
the Senfe of the Scripture an Antichrift, if
he fhould plainly have told you, that he did
not believe Chrift to be truly and effentially
God, or the Attonement and SatisfaBion for
our Sins, or a Principle of Life to us ; there
fore he only tells you, that he has been led in
to this Account of the Sacrament, by a bare
Conftderation of the Words of the Inftitution,
according to the common Rules of fpeak
ing. Now if this Author will declare, that he
fincerely believes Jefus Chrift to be truly and
really God by Nature, and the true real At
tonement

[ ioi ]
ionement and SatisfaBion for our Sins, and a
true and real Principle of Life to us ; I fhall
be glad, and he ought to be glad, that I have
been the Occafion of his declaring Things
fo important to himfelf, and to the Matter
in hand. >
But this I may ftill fay* that he could
not have had this Faith, when he wrote his
Plain Account, unlefs he may be fuppofed to
have had it, but would not write of the Sa
crament conformably to it.
And Secondly, if he will now declare,
that without any Equivocation or mental Re-
ferve, he fully believes thefe great Truths,
no further a Recantation of his whole Book
need to be defired.
For if thefe Things are true and undenia
ble Charaders of our Saviour; then it follows,
that the Nature and End of the Sacrament
muft be ejfentially concerned with them ,
fince it is the confefs'd Nature and End of
the Sacrament, to remember and acknow
ledge Chrift to be that which the Scriptures
teftify him to be. H 3 The

[ I02 ]
The fhort ofthe Matter is this; either
this Author will plainly own a fincere Belief
of thefe Dodrines, or he will not: If he
will not own the Belief of them, you have
no reafon to confider him as a Chriftian Wri
ter upon this Subjed; and fo ought no more
to learn from him, than from a Jew, the
Nature of the Saqrament. But if he will de
clare his full Belief of thefe Dodrines, then
yon have the fulleft Affurance from himfelf,
that his Plain Account cannot be Chriftian :
Becaufe if thefe Things are true of Chrift,
they muft be remember'd and acknowledg'd
in that Sacrament, which is appointed for
the Remembrance and Acknowledgment of
him. Now thefe two effential Parts of the Sa-
crament,relating to this twofold Charader of
our Saviour, as he is the Attonement and
Satisfadion for our Sins, and as he is a Prin
ciple of Life to us, contain the whole Na
ture, End and EffeBs of the Sacrament. You
are to look no where, nor in any thing elfe,
for the right Knowledge of this Sacrament,
but in the right Faith and Knowledge of
thefe two great Points. And every thing
that they teach you, and every thing that the
Scripture

L 103 J
Scripture teaches you of thefe two great
Points, is the only true Dodrine of the Sacra
ment. All that you know of Chrift, as the At
tonement for our Sins, all that you know of
him, as a Principle of Life to us, is neither
more nor lefs than that which you are to
know, and confefs, and appeal to, in and by
the Ufe ofthe Sacrament. And indeed thefe
two great Points do fo plainly fhew them
felves, at firft Sight, to be in the Words of
the Inftitution, that any Man upon the bare
reading of them, without any further Know
ledge, might juftly fay, if Chrift is not an
Attonement for our Sins, why is his Body
faid to be given, and his Blood fhed for our
Sins? If he is not a Food to our Souls, or a
Principle of Life to us, why are we com
manded to eat his Body and drink his Blood ?
So that though a Man could not fay, that
thefe Things were certainly true, or in what
Senfe they were true, merely from the men
tion of them in the Sacrament, yet he might
juftly fay, that the Words of the Inftitution
pointed at fuch Truths, and could have no
Foundation, unlefs thefe Things barely men-!
tioned in it, were in the Scriptures prov'd
H 4 and

[ l°4 ]
and declar'd to be true Dodrines of the Chri
ftian Religion.
And as thefe two great Points are fo vifi-
bly plain in the Sacrament, and conftitute
its whole Nature, fo foon as we rightly under
ftand what the Scripture has taught concern
ing thefe Points; they make known to us, in
the fhorteft and plaineft way, all the Merit,
Dignity, and Value of this Sacrament, all
the Bleffings and Advantages deriv'd to us
from it, and all the pious Difpofltions with
which we are to approach it. Hence it was
that the Apoftles, after the Day of Pentecoft,
when they had all their Ignorance difpell'd,
yet gave us no farther or particular Explica
tions of the Nature of the Sacrament; be
caufe as foon as it was known, that Chrift
was a real Attonement and Satisfadion for
Sins, and a real Principle of Life to us; as
foon as thefe two great Dodrines were known,
the Sacrament had all the Explication it could
poffibly have.
For no more can be known of the Sacra
ment, than is fignify'd by them. All that is,
great, myfterious, and adorable in thefe Do
drines, as found in the Scriptures, is equal-
3

L io5 J
ly great, myfterious and adorable in them as
they are found in the Sacrament.
Needless therefore would all Books
be upon the Nature of the Sacrament, and
the right Preparation for it, did we but truly
know and believe Chrift to be the Attone
ment and Satisfadion for our Sins, and a
Principle of Life to us; for the Belief of
thefe things in the Sacrament, would like
the UnBion, fpoken of by St. John, teach us
all things concerning it; and we fhould have
no need of other teaching.
No one need then, as this Author vainly
does, enquire for fome Promife of Scripture
annexing a Benefit to this Sacrament, to know
what good we receive by it.
For the Knowledge of thefe two great
Parts of the Sacrament, would fufficiently
fhew us the ineftimable Benefit that we re
ceive by it.
For if this Sacrament is appointed by
Jefus Chrift, as the Acknowledgment of his
being the Attonement of our Sins, and a
Principle of Life to us ; if it is appointed
ty ftand between him and us, as a declar'd Proof

[ io6 ]
Proof on his Side, that he is thus our At
tonement and Life ; and as a declar'd Proof
on our Side, that we own, feek and apply to
him as fuch ; and if this is not fet as a Mark
once for all, but as a Proof that is to be
repeated continually, and that is to b<= made
good to us, not by our once having done it,
or he once own'd it, but to be perpetually
own'd and done, both on his Side and ours,
can we want any other Affurance of the Be
nefit and Advantage of obferving this Sacra
ment, than the thing itfelf by its own Na
ture declares ?
For if we are in Covenant with Chrift,
and have an Intereft in him, as our Attone-
ment and Life; not becaufe he once faid,
that this was his Body and Blood, given and
fhed for our Sins, or becaufe we once own'd
it, and pleaded it before him ; but becaufe
he continues to fay thefame thing in-the Sa
crament, and to prefent himfelf there to us
as our Attonement and Life, and becaufe we
continue to own and apply to him as fuch ; it
neceffarily follows, that the Sacrament
rightly ufed, is the higheft Means of finifh-
ing our Salvation, and puts us in the fulleft
Poffeflion of all the Benefits of our Saviour, both

L 107 J
both as he is our Attonement and Life, that
we are then at that time capable of.
F o r if the Attonement of our Sins by
Chrift, and that Life which he communicates
to us, is not to be confider'd as a tranftent
Matter, as fomething that is done and paft,
but as fomething that on the Side of Chrift
is always doing, and never will be done, till
the Confummation of all Things ; if our ap
plying to, and receiving Chrift as our At
tonement and Life, is not to be confider'd as
a tranftent Ad, as fomething that is done and
paft, but as fomething that is always doing,
and never will be done, till we depart out of
a State of Trial ifthen it follows* that that
which is the appcfinted Means or Proof of
Chrift's continuing to communicate himfelf
to us, as our Attonement and Life, and of
our continuing to apply to, and receive him
as fuch, is in its own Nature, and unlefs
hinder'd by us, a certain Means and Inftru
ment of conveying and imparting to us all
the Benefits of Chrift, both as he is our At
tonement and Life. To ask therefore for a
particular Promife annexed to this Inftituti
on, which in its Nature communicates to us
all that ever was promifed to us in a Saviour,
is highly abfurd. But

[ io8 ]
But after all, it can be truly faid, that
the Scriptures are very full and particular in
fetting forth the Benefits and Advantages of
the Holy Communion, to all thofe that have
Eyes that fee, and Ears that hear. For do
not the Scriptures plainly enough tell us of
the Benefit of believing, feeking, and ap
plying to Chrift as the Attonement for our
Sins? And is not the Benefit of this Faith
the Benefit of the Sacrament, if Chrift is
there believed, fought and apply'd to as our
Attonement ?
And is it not the fole End of the Sacra
ment to continue, confirm and exercife this
Faith, to which all'the Bleffings of our
Salvation are annex'd? Therefore, all that
the Scriptures fay of the Riches and Blef
fings, and Treafures, which Faith in Chrift
as orir Redeemer, can procure to us, all that
they fay of the Benefit of that Faith, which
is abfolutely requir'd and exercifed by this
Sacrament. Again, do not the Scriptures plainly
and frequently enough tell us of the Benefit
of the new Birth in Chrift, of the putting
on Chrift, of having Chrift formed in us, of
Chrift's

[ I09 ]
Chrift's being our Life, of our having Life
in him, of his being that Bread from Heaven,
that Bread of Life, of which the Manna
was only a Type ; of his Flefh being Meat
indeed, and his Blood Drink indeed; of our
eating his Flefh and drinking his Blood, and
that without it we have no Life in us ; and
are not all thefe things fo many plain and
open Declarations of that which we feek and
obtain, by eating the Body and Blood of
Chrift ?
For we eat the facramental Body and
Blood of Chrift, to fhew that we want and
defire, and by Faith lay hold of the real,
jpiritual Nature and Being of Chrift ; to
fhew that we want and defire, the Progrefs
of the new Birth in Chrift; to put on Chrift,
to have Chrifi form d and reveal'd in us, to
have him our Life, to partake of him our
fecond Adam, in the fame Fulnefs and Rea
lity, as we partake of the Nature of the firft
Adam : And therefore all that the Scripture
fays of the Benefits and Bleflings of thej'e
things, fo much it fays of the Benefits and
Bleflings that are fought and obtain'd by the
eating the Body and Blood of Chrift in the
Lord's Supper. For to eat the Body and
Blood of Chrift, is neither more nor lefs than to

[ MO ]
toput on Chrifi, to receive Birth and Life,
and Nourifhment and Growth from him;
as the Branch receives its Being and Life,
and Nourifhment and Growth from the
Vine. And becaufe Chrift is that to us,
which the Vine is to the Branches, therefore
there is a ftrid Truth and Reality in thefe
Expreffions ; andthe fame Truth and Reality,
whether it be exprefs'd, by faying, that we
eat the Flefh and Blood of Chrift, or that we
put on Chrift, or that Chrift is formed, ma-
nifefted or revealed in us.
F o r if you could bid the Branch to eat
the Subftance and Juice of the Vine, the
fame muft be intended, as if you had faid,
that the Vine muft he formed in the Branch,
or muft manifeft itfelf in the Branch. So
when it is faid, that we muft eat the Flefh
and Blood of Chrift, it is the fame thing as
faying, that Chrift muft be formed in usx or
manifefted in us.
But you will perhaps fay, how does it
appear, that thefe Expreffions of putting on
Chrift, of Chrift's beingformed in us, of his
being our Life, the Bread of Life, and his
Flefh Meat indeed, and his Blood Drink indeed;
How does it appear, that thefe and the like
Places

L "* J
Places of Scripture are to be underftood
Sacrament ally ?
I Anfwer, it does not appear. And the
Queftion itfelf is as abfurd, as if it was
afk'd, How does it appear, that the Scrip
tures are to be underftood Sacrament ally?
Whereas , if the Queftion began at the right
End, it fhould proceed thus, How does it
appear, the Sacrament is to be underftood
Scripturally, or according to the plain Do
drines of Scripture ? Was the Queftion thus
put, as it ought to be, it would fall of itfelf.
For furely it need not be prov'd, that the
things fpoken of Chrift in the Sacrament,
are to be underftood according to that which
is fpoken of Chrift in the Scripture. When
our Saviour faid in the 6th of St. John, That
his Flefh was Meat indeed, and his Blood Drink
indeed, and that except a Man eat his Flefh
and drink his Blood, he hath no Life in him ;
and that he who eateth his Flefti and drinketb
his Blood, dwelleth in him, and he in him ; he
did not fpeak of the Sacrament, nor could
poffibly fpeak of it, for this plain Reafon,
becaufe he fpoke of the Truth, the Reality,
and the Thing itfelf ; for the fake of which,
and for the Application of which to our-
felves,

[ 1.2]
felves, he afterwards inftituted the Sacra
ment. But if the Sacrament was inftituted for
the fake of that Truth and Reality, of which
he then fpake ; then the Sacrament muft be
ejfentially related to that which he then faid,
and muft have its Meaning and End according
to it.
And if what he then faid, was that
Truth and Reality of the Thing itfelf, and
the Sacrament was inftituted as an outward
Sign, Proof or Declaration of it, then what
he faid in St. John, he fpoke not of the Sa
crament ; and yet what he inftituted in the
Sacrament, has all its Meaning according to
that which he faid in St. John.
T o* afk, whether our Saviour meant the
Sacramental Bread and Wine, when he faid,
my Flefh is Meat indeed, and my Blood is
Drink indeed, is as abfurd as to ask, whether
he did not mean the Flefh and Blood of fome
other Perfon, when he faid, my Flefh and
my Blood ?
And on the other Hand, to afk, whether
the Sacramental Bread and Wine does not
fignify

[»3]
fignify to us that Flefh and Blood which is
our Meat indeed, and Drink indeed, is as
abfurd, as to afk, whether the appointed
Sign of a thing, does not fignify that which
it is appointed to fignify ?
These two things therefore are evidently
plain : Firft, That our Saviour in the 6th of
St. John, did not, could not poffibly fpeak of
his Sacramental Body and Blood, or Bread and
Wine, becaufe he fpoke of himfelf of his
real, natural and true Life, of which we muft
partake: Secondly, That what he calls his
Body and Blood in the Sacrament, or has
appointed to be the Signs of his Body and
Blood, muft be underftood according to that
which he has faid in St. John, of his Flefh
which is Meat indeed, and his Blood which
is Drink indeed ; for this plain Reafon, be
caufe the appointed Sign of a thing muft
fignify that which it is appointed to fignify.
Therefore in St. John there is nothing
faid of the Sacrament ; and yet what is faid
in the Sacrament, is to be neceffarily under
ftood of that very thing which is faid in St.
John.
I And

[ »4]
And the Reafon is plain 5 for the Thing
iseffentially different from that which is ap
pointed to be a Sign of it ; therefore, he that
fpeaks of the Thing, cannot in fpeaking of
that, fpeak of the Sign. But the Sign, as
fuch, has all its Nature from the Thing that
it is to fignify; and therefore the Thing
itfelf muft be meant by that which the Sign
fpeaks of.
To fay, as fome do, that our Saviour
could not fpeak of that in St. John, which
is intended by the Sacrament, becaufe the Sa
crament was not then inftituted, is very
weak and unreafonable; for it is faying, that
he could not then fpeak of a Thing or Do-
Brine, becaufe he afterwards appointed
fomething to be a Sign or outward Declara
tion of it. For if he had appointed an In
ftitution, or pofttive Rite, which related to
nothing that he had before taught, it muft
have been very unaccountable. Thus to
command us to eat his Body and Blood in the
Sacrament, if he had not before-hand
taught that we had our Life from him, and
that his Flefh was our Meat indeed, and his
Blood our Drink indeed, had been very un
accountable. But feeing he had in the
1 openeft,

[ »S]
openeft, plaineft Manner declar'd, that he
was the Life of Men, and that except we eat
his Flefh and drink his Blood we have no Life
in us ; the Command to eat Bread and Wine
as his Body and Blood, is plain and intelligi
ble ; and we have the fulleft Affurance of the
Meaning of it, for this reafon, becaufe
Chrift had often, and long before-hand
taught that Truth, of which he afterwards
appointed the Sacrament to be an outward
Sign, and an outward Means of our owning*
confeffing and embracing it. Thus all the
Controverfy about this Place in St. John,
and other like Paffages of Scripture, is at an
end, and has the moft plain and fatisfadory
Solution ; fuch Paffages do not fpeak of the
Sacrament, becaufe they fpeak of the thing
itfelf, of which the Sacrament is an ap
pointed outward Signification; but the Sa
crament direBly fpeaks of, and points to thofe
Paffages, becaufe they contain that Truth
and Reality which the Sacrament is appointed
to fignify.
For were not Chrift our real Life, there
had not been any outward Figure or Declara
tion of it appointed; was there not a real
Eating the Flefh and Drinking the Blood of
Chrift, was there not a true fubfaniial putting
la on

[..6]
on of Chrift, or partaking of the Nature of
Chrift, the Sacramental Eating and Drink
ing of his Body and Blood, had not been ap
pointed ; there could have been no Founda
tion for it; or if appointed, it could have
had no meaning fuitable to the Words. But
fince That which is Sacramentally^gw-W or
ftgnify'd, by the Eating and Drinking the Sa
cramental Body and Blood of Chrift, is in
the Scriptures declar'd to be a real Truth,
fince its reality is taught, declar'd and ex
plain'd by various Ways and Manners of
Speech, it is undeniable, that the Sacrament
which is an appointed Figure, muft be ex
plain'd and afferted according to that Truth
and Reality, of which it is the appointed
Figure. When our Saviour faid, he that eateth
my Flefh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in
me and I in him : When he faid, I am the
Life; and again, / am the true Vine, and ye
are the Branches, &c. he fpake as muchftriB
and real Truth, and as much according to
the Letter, as when he faid of himfelf, he
came down from Heaven, or that he is in
the Father, and the Father in him. What is
there faid, is no more to be confider'd as a
Metaphor, or Figure of Speech, than when it

[ "7]
it is faid, that God is our Father, or that in
God we live, m&ve, and have our Being.
For what is faid of Chrift, as our Life,
is as ftridly true, as when it is faid, that in
God we live and move, and have our Being;
and what is faid of Chrift's being the true
Vine, has the fame real Truth in it, as when
God is faid to be our Father.
Had Chrift indeed faid, this Vine is me,
and thefe Branches are ye, what he faid, muft
then have been as figurative, as when he faid
of the Bread, this is my Body ; and his fpeak
ing fo of a Vine, muft have been only a
Sign to us, that he was in Truth and Reality
that to us, which the Vine is in a poor,
earthly, perifhable Manner to its Branches.
But feeing he does not fpeak of a Vine, but
fpeaks diredly of himfelf, and fays, that I
am the true Vine ; it is as if he had faid, I
am the Vine in Truth and Reality, as God is
the Father of you all in Truth and Reality,
becaufe I am that in a true, and real, and
living Manner to you, which the Vine is in
a poor, earthly, perifhable Manner to its
Branches^ \ I 3 Therefore

[ »» ]
Therefore all that is here faid, is the
real Truth, as far as human Words can fet it
forth ; and when it is faid, that we muft put
on Chrift, or that Chrifi muft be formed in
us, or that he is the true Vine, and we are
the Branches, there is-the fame literal, real,
immutable and eternal Truth in thefe Expref
fions, as when it is faid, that in God we live
and move, and have our being, or that God is
our Father and we his Children.
Now to deny that Chrift is thus our Life,
is as great a denial of him, as to deny him to
be the eternal Word, or the Son of God, or
the Light that lighteth every Man that cometh
into the World. And to deny that we receive
our Life from him, or eat his Flefh and
Blood in the fame Reality as the Branch
eateth of the Subftance and Juice of the
Vine, and receiveth what it hath from it, is
as great a denial of him, as if we deny that
he came from Heaven and was in Heaven,
even when he was upon Earth,
Put if we own thefe great Truths, which
are the very Heart and Subftance of Chri-
fiianity, if we know and acknowledge that
we are thus of him, and by him, that our
inward

[ "9 ]
inward Man, which is all that is Chriftian
within us, has all its Birth, Life, and Growth
from Chrift, as its Principle, eating, drink
ing and drawing in Life from him, as the
Branch eats, drinks and draws its Life and
Subftance from the Vine; then we cannot
be at a Lofs either to know what is meant
by the Sacrament, and the Benefits we receive
thereby, or to know what Parts of Scripture
explain thofe Benefits to us. Since it muft
appear to us beyond all doubt, that all that
which the Scriptures fpeak to us of Chrift,
as the Attonement for our Sins, and our
Peace with God, and all that they fpeak to
us of our Life in Chrift, of his forming and
manifefiing himfelf in the Birth and Growth
of our inward new Man ; is that which it
fpeaks to us of the Meaning and Benefits of
this Holy Sacrament, which is folely ap
pointed as the Figure of all this, as the Ap
plication of all this to us, and as an eftablifli
ed Means of exercifing, increafing and
ftrengthening our Faith in him, as he is all
this to us,
Here therefore is full room for all our
Devotion, and at the fame time a full Security
againft all Delufion.
1 4 For

[ 120 ]
For whilft we believe nothing of the
Sacrament, feek nothing in it, nor plead any
thing by it, but fuch Scripture Truths and
Benefits as we are obliged to believe, own
and plead, though the Sacrament had not
been appointed, all the Devotion which the
Sacrament thus raifes in us, is as fecure from
Delufion, has as much the Stamp of Truth
upon it, and is as proper an Exercife of folid
Piety, as when any Thing or Occafion ex
cites us to an ad of loving God with all our
Mind and Heart and Strength. For as we
cannot too much efteem, love and adore our
Saviour, both as he is the Attonement for our
Sins, and a Principle of Life to us ; fo if
the Ufe of the Sacrament quickens, nou-
rifhes, keeps up, and increafes this Efteem,
Love and Adoration of him, as fuch, it
cannot do this too much.
For as we do nothing in the Sacrament,
but what is our natural Duty, and good and
right in itfelf; as we feek to Chrift, truft in
Chrift, rely upon his Merits, defire to have
Life in and from him, only in fuch a Manner
as we ought to do, though we were not
aflifted in it by the Sacrament ; fo all this
Faith and Hope, and Love and Defire, and
Devotion

L I21 ]
Devotion which we pradife by Means of the
Sacrament, has every thing in it, that can
prove it to be right, and juft, and good. And
the Want of this Faith, Hope, Love, Defire,
Adoration and Devotion, is more blameable
in the Ufe of the Sacrament, than any where
elfe, becaufe it is there more properly requi
red, and has the moft proper Objed and Oc
cafion to excite it.
You muft therefore confider the Sacra
ment purely as an ObjeB of your Devotion,
that is to exercife all your Faith, that is to
raife, exercife, and inflame every holy Ar
dour of your Soul, that tends to God. It is
an AbfiraB, or Sum of all the Myfteries that
have been revealed concerning our Saviour,
from the firft Promife of a Seed of the Wo
man to bruife the Serpent's Head, to the Day
of Pentecoft.
As you can receive or believe nothing high
er of our Saviour, than that he is the At
tornment for our Sins, and a real Principle of
Life to us, fo every Height and Depth of De
votion, Faith, Love, and Adoration which
is due to God as your Creator, is due to God
as your Redeemer.
2 Jacob's

[ 122 ]
Jacob's Ladder that reach'd from Earth
to Heaven, and was fill'd with Angels amend
ing and defcending between Heaven and
Earth, is but a fmall Signification of that
Communion between God and Man, which
this holy Sacrament is the Means and Inftru
ment of.
Now here it may be proper for you to ob
ferve, that whatever Name s or Titles this In
ftitution is fignify'd to you by, whether it be
called a Sacrifice propitiatory, or commemo
rative, whether it be called an holy Oblation,
the Eucharift, the Sacrament of the Body and
Blood of Chrift, the Sacrament of the Lord's
Supper, the Heavenly Banquet, the Food of
Immortality, or the Holy Communion, and the
like, matters not much. For all thefe Words
or Names are right and good, and there is
nothing wrong in them, but the ftriving and
contention about them.
For they all exprefs fomething that is true
of the Sacrament, and therefore are every
one of them, in a good Senfe, rightly appli
cable to it; but all of them are far fhort of
expreffing the whole Nature of the Sacra ment,

[ «3 ]
ment, and therefore the Help of all of them
is wanted. He therefore that contends for one Name,
as the only proper one in exclufion of the reft,
is in the fame Miftake, as he that fhould con
tend for one Name and CharaBer of our Sa
viour, as the only proper one, in exclufion
of all the reft. For as all the Names and Titles
by which Chrift is defcrib'd, from the Seed of
the Woman in Genefis, to the Alpha and Ome
ga in the laft Chapter of the Revelations, are
only to help us to know, believe, and expe
rience more of him as our Saviour, than can
be exprefs'd by all thefe different Charaders
of him: So all the various Names and Titles
given to the Sacrament, are only to teach us
to know, believe, and find more of our Re
demption and Salvation in the Sacrament,
than can be pointed out to us by any or all
thefe Expreffions.
If you have yet known Chrift in any true
Degree, what muft you think of him, who
fhould contend that the Lamb of God was the
only proper Charader of our Saviour, and
that therefore thofe other Names, Seed ofthe
Woman, Root of David, Bright and Morn
ing Star , Bread of Life, Tree of Life, Son of
Man,

[ I24 ] ¦
Man, Firft born of all the Creatures, Word of
God, could not belong to him as our Sa
viour, becaufe of the Difagreement there is
between a Lamb, and the Bread of Life, or a
Tree of Life?
Now this is the Learning this Author is
full of; from this fcrupulous Attention to
Words, and the Ideas annex'd to them, he
rejeds almoft all the Names by which the Sa
crament has ever been exprefs 'd.
He is able to prove, that the Sacrament
is not a Commemorative Sacriftce, becaufe it
is the Supper of the Lord ; juft as another by
the fame Skill in Words, might prove, that
the Lamb of God, is not the Tree of Life, or
the Bread that came down from Heaven, be
caufe of the great difference there is between
a Tree, Bread, and a Lamb.
Now the Reafon why our Saviour is de-
fcribed under this vaft Variety of Charaders,
is this, becaufe no one Phrafe or particular
Form of Expreflion can truly defcribe him
to us ; therefore that is to be done as well as
it can, by different and feemingly contrary
Charaders, Thus

T h u s he is called the Seed of the Woman
that was to bruife the Serpent's Head, in a-
nother refped the Lamb of God, in another
the Deftre of all Nations, in another the Son
of Man, in another the Brightnefs of his Fa
ther's Glory, in another the Bread that came
down from Heaven, in another the Tree cf
Life, the Alpha and Omega. Now it is the ex
ceeding Difference, and even literal Contrarie
ty of thefe Expreffions, that makes them pro
per and ufeful to us; and we have the more
true Knowledge of our Saviour becaufe of
thefe Charaders, which confidered in them
felves, feem to have no Agreement with each
other. Thus the Lamb of God, and the Bread of
Life, are Charaders of our Saviour, that
have no Connexion with each other, and yet
they teach us the greateft Truths concerning
our Saviour, becaufe they are thus without
Connexion, and fo unrelated to each other.
It is juft thus with the Sacrament; the
different and feemingly incoherent Chara-
Bers and Expreffons by which it is fignify'd
to us, help us to know more Truth of it,
merely becaufe of their Difference, than
could

[ '*6]
could be taught us by fuch Expreffions as
had a literal Agreement and Connexion with
each other.
Do you therefore rejed this Author's Wif
dom of Words which He propofes to you, and
be content to be devout without it. Be glad
to know, that as the Nature, Office, and
Condition of our Saviour could not be made,
known to us, but by a Variety of different
Names and Titles afcrib'd him, fo the Na
ture and End and Effeds of this Holy Sacra
ment could not be made known to us, but
by a Variety of different Names and Titles
afcrib'd to it; that in one refped it is a Pro
pitiatory Sacrifice, in another a Commemora
tive Sacrifice, in one refped it is the Seal 'and
Renewal of the Covenant between God and
Man, in another the Food of Immortality, the
Life of the Soul, the Bread that came down
from Heaven, the Tree of Life; that in one
refped it is the Holy Eucharift, in another
the Holy Communion.
And be allured, that he who tries to fet
thefe Expreffions at Variance with each o-
ther, and would perfuade you that if one is
a true Account of the Sacrament, the others
cannot be fo, is as vain a Difputer of this
World,

[ I27 ]
World, as he that would perfuade you, that
if our Saviour be the Seed of the Woman, he
cannot be effentially the Son of God, or that
if he be the Lamb of God, he cannot be the
Bread of Life.
The Reafon why this Sacrament is faid in
one refped to be a Propitiatory, or Commemora
tive Sacrifice, is only this, becaufe y6U there
offer, prefent, and plead before God, fuch
Things as are by Chrift himfelf faid to be his
Body and Blood given for you: But if that
which is thus offered, prefented, and pleaded
before God, is offer'd, prefented, and plead
ed before him only for this Reafon, becaufe
it fignifies and reprefents both to God, and
Angels, and Men, the great Sacriftce for all
the World, is there not fufficient Reafon to
confider this Service as truly a Sacrifice? Or
even fuppofing, that the calling this Service
a Sacrifice, is no more according to a certain
literal ExaBnefs of fome Critics, than when
our Saviour fays of himfelf, / am the Refur-
reBion; or that a Quibbler in Words may be
able to objed as much againft it, as againft
our Saviour's faying of himfelf, / am the Re-
furreBion and the Life, have you any reafon
to diflike it on that Account, or to wifh that
fach little Criticks might find more of their
empty,

[ '28 ]
empty, fuperficial, worthlefs Niceties in the
Language of the Church, than in the Lan
guage of Scripture?
The miferable Ufe which this Author
makes of this Kind of Learning, may be fuf
ficiently feen by the following Inftances :
To fay, fays he, that this Communion is the
adual partaking of all the Benefits of Chrift s
Body broken and Blood Jhed for us, or of his
Living and Dying for our Good, ¦ has this
peculiar Abfurdity in it , that in this Rite,
which was infiituted for the Remembrance of
Chrifi, it defiroys that very Notion o/'Remem-
brance, which is the Effence of it. The great
Defign of this Infiitution is to call to mind the
Remembrance of Chrifi, and to commemo
rate the Benefits accruing to Chriftians from
it. To make it therefore the adual partaking
of thefe Benefits, is altering the Nature of it,
as much as adual partaking of any thing, is
different from remembring it.* Many other
Paffages like this are to be found in this Au
thor. Now to fee the Truth and Senfe of this
Dodrine in its proper Light: Let it be fup
pofed
* Pag. 158.

L 129 J
pofed, that our Saviour, after the Inftitution,"
had thus added, " Obferve well what it is that
" I have taught you to underftand and do
" by this Rite: I have indeed faid, This is my
" Body which is given for you; but the mean-
" ing of my Inftitution does not lye in thefe
" Words, nor are you to think that I am
" any way prefent in that which I call my
" Body, or that you are to prefent, and fhew,
" and plead it before God as my Body, which
" is given for you ; for this is not my Intent,
" though I thus fpeak. I have alfo faid,
" This is my Blood which isjhedfor the Remift
" fton of Sins, and have order'd you to fay fo
" of it before God, and Angels, and Men in
" the Church ; but what I have taught has
" nothing to do with this Inftitution, nor is
cc it any Part of it ; there is no Remiflion of
" Sins to be thought of in it, or pleaded by it.
" I have alfo bid you to eat that which I have
" declar'd to be my Body, and to drink that
" which I have declar'd to be my Blood; but
" you muft not therefore imagine, that you
" receive any thing of me, or of my Nature
" into your felves, or that I am a Principle
" of Life to you. For though I thus fpeak
" fo fully and plainly of eating my very Bo-
¦** dy and Blood, yet nothing is meant, of any
" real partaking of any thing from me. For
K " this

[ 13° )
*c this is no part of my Inftitution, nor is it
" appointed for you to receive any thing
" from me, nor for me to communicate any
" thing to you. And to prevent your A p-
" prehenfion of any thing of this kind, and
" to fecure you from the dangerous Error of
" fuppofing that any Benefits and Bleflings
" are received by your receiving my Body
" and Blood; I have added, Do this -in Re-
" membrance of me ; which Words fufficient-
" ly fhew, that neither Me, nor the Benefits
cc of me, as your Saviour, can here be re-
" ceived, becaufe that which is appointed
" here to be remember'd , cannot without
" great Abfurdity be fuppofed to be prefent.
" Had I indeed faid, Do this in Acknowledg-
" ment of me, or of that Salvation which is
" received through me ; or had I faid, Do
" this as an Ad of Faith in me as your Sa-
" viour, then indeed you muft have believ-
" edthat there was great Benefits and Bleflings
tc prefented to you by this Inftitution; for
** ye could not by Faith appeal to this my
" Body and Blood as given for you, and by
" Faith eat this as my Body and Blood, with-
" out the adual partaking of my Benefits
" and Bleflings, both as I am the Attone-
" ment for your Sins, and a Principle of
*e Life to you; But as I have chofen the
" Word

[«3i]
" Word Remembrance, you muft fee that it
" is only an AB of your Memory that is re-
" quired of you ; for this is the great Point
" in this Inftitution, perform but this and
" you have performed all that the Nature
" and End of this Inftitution requires of you.
" Take care therefore that you keep ftridly
" to this bare AB of the Memory, and that
<c you don't add any thing to it ; for the Ef-
" fence of this Inftitution confifts in this^/w-
" pie AB of the Memory. But above all,
" take heed of fuch Faith, Devotion, and
" Defire of me, as may lead you to hope or be-
" lieve that you partake of my Benefits by
" the partaking of this holy Rite ; for fuch
" a Faith and Hope are fo inconftftent with
" this Inftitution, that they would deftroy
" the very Nature and Effence of it, which
" is to be the Remembrance of my Benefits>
" and therefore cannot poffibly be the adu-
" al partaking of them. Nor can you think
" of partaking of them by this Holy Infti-
" tution, but by making it an Inftitution of
«< your own, diredly contrary to that which
" I defign'd it to be."
Every one, I believe, muft at firft Sight
perceive, that to put this Paraphrafe upon
the Sacrament into the Mouth of our Saviour,
K 2 would

[ «32 ]
would be Prophanenefs and Blafphemy ; and
yet every one muft as plainly fee, that pro-
phane and blafphemous as it would be, there
is not aThought or aWord in it, but what is
flridly according to this Author's Dodrine.
Secondly, Let it be fuppofed, that inftead
of Do this in Remembrance of me, our Saviour
had faid, Do this as a Means of partaking of
all my Benefits to. Mankind: This Author's
Criticifm would prove it abfurd to make the
Sacrament even then an aBual partaking of
thofe Benefits. For he muft fay, that the
great Defign of it, was to be a Means of par
taking of thofe Benefits. To make it there
fore the aBual partaking of thofe Benefits, is al
tering the Nature of it, as much as aBual
partaking of any thing is different from the
Means of partaking of it. Such is his Wif
dom of Words!
Thirdly, If it was true, that the aBual 'par
taking of Chrift's Benefits was not only not
intended by, but alfo inconfifient with the
right Obfervance of this Inftitution, fo as to
defiroy its Effence and alter its Nature, if fuch
adual partaking was thought of by it ; then
it would follow, that ' no good Chriftian ought

L x33 ]
ought to obferve this Inftitution, or ad ac
cording to the Nature and Intent of it.
For it is as unlawful and even atheiftical
for any Chriftian to think himfelf not an
aBual Partaker of the Benefits and Bleflings
of Chrift, as to think himfelf not an aBual
Partaker of the Benefits and Bleflings of a
God and Providence. Without me, fays our
bleffed Lord, ye can do nothing:* But ac
cording to this Author, we not only can, but
muft do all that is done in this Sacrament
without him, and muft look upon the' Sacra
ment as inftituted for this very End, to keep
up a Senfe and Belief of our being without
him, and to affure us, that we are not aBual
Partakers of him, that he is not prefent with
us, nor ading in us. Again, faith our bleffed
Lord, Abide in me, and I in you; as the Branch
cannot bear Fruit except it abide in the Vine,
no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
But according to this Author, he that
would rightly perform this Inftitution, muft
every time he performs it, come out of Chrift
as perfedly as he can, and make himfelf as
feparate from Chrift, as the wither d Branch
r,hat is feparated from the Vine ; that having
K 3. no.
* John *v. 5.

C *34 ]
no aBual Poffejfion of the Benefits and Blef-
fings of Chrift, he may be qualified to do this
in Remembrance of them.
Further, no one can believe in Chrift,
love Chrift, adore him, and hope and truft
in him, without being an aBual Partaker of
the Benefits of Chrift by fo doing; if there
fore to the due Obfervation of the Sacrament,
and to preferve its Nature and Effence, there
muft be no aBual partaking of the Benefits
of Chrift allow'd in it, or by it, then it muft
be perform'd without Faith or Love of Chrift,
and without any Devotion towards him, or
Adoration of him; for if thefe accompany
that which we do in the Sacrament, and at*
tend our Reception of it, the Benefits of
Chrift muft; be aBually received by it.
Fourthly, To fee ftill more of the Abfur
dity and Impiety of this Author's Obferva*
tion on the Remembrance in the Sacrament,
we need only apply it to this parallel Text
of Scripture, Remember thy Creator in the
Days oj thy Youth* For according to our
Author, he that would not alter and deftroy
{he Nature and Effence of this Duty of re?
membring God, muft not pretend, or hope, pr-
f Eccl, xii. i.

L 135 ]
or believe, that by the Obfervance of this
Duty, he is made an aBual Partaker or Sha
rer of the Goodnefs, Perfedions, and Attri
butes of his Creator, or of any thing that be
longs to his Creator, or that can be remem
ber'd of him : Becaufe fo long as he keeps
ftridly to the true Nature of this Duty, and
continues to remember his 'Creator, fo long
every Thing, or Attribute, or Perfedion
that belongs to his Creator, muft be con
fider'd as at a Diftance from him, as unen-
joy'd and unpoffeffed by him, becaufe that
which is to be remember'd, cannot be prefent.
And therefore the Command to remember our
Creator, is, according to this Dodrine, a
Command to look upon our Creator as at a
Diftance and far from us, and is inconfiftent
with our believing, that in him we live, move,
and have our Being ; becaufe we cannot re
member a Creator fo prefent with us, and of
whofe Perfedions we are aBual Partakers,
If therefore this Author has found out the
right way of remembering God as our Re
deemer, he ought to have told us, that the
fame way of remembring God as our Crea
tor was wrong, and tended to Atheifm. For
to remember God as abfent, is but a very lit
tle way from Atheifm. K 4 Last-

[ 136 ]
Lastly, If, as this Author teaches,, the
aBual partaking of the Benefits of Chrift's
living and dying for us, by Means of this Sa
crament, is an Abfurdity that cannot be fup
pofed, without deftroying the Nature and
Effence of the Sacrament, for this Reafon,
becaufe that which is pofleffed as prefent, and
aBually partaken of, cannot be remember'd ;
then it follows, that no Man can fully per
form this Duty, that is, make it a Remem
brance of all the Benefits of Chrift, but he
that is aBually difpoffeffed of all of them.
Becaufe he Cannot remember all, if any
of them are then prefent' With him and en-
joy'd by him.
zdly, I t follows, that he who dally grOws
in the Gifts and Graces of Chrift, and in
whom Chrift is every Day more and more
formed, muft in Proportion as the Strength,
and Spirit, and Power of Chrift is revealed
in him, be daily lefs qualify'd to do per-
fedly that which is to be done in the Sacra
ment ; becaufe being daily more and more
poffefs'd of the Benefits and Bleflings of
Chrift, he has every Day lefs and lefs to com
memorate in and by the Sacrament.
z

L x37 ]
idly, I t follows, that he who falls from
his State of Grace in Chrift, who becomes
every Day more and more empty and deflitute
of his Gifts and Graces, who daily lofes
fomething of the Senfe and Tafte of the
heavenly Gifts, and the Powers of the World
to come, and finds himfelf lefs animated,
aflifted and ftrengthen'd by the Power and
Spirit of Chrift, muft in Proportion, as he
becomes every Day more earthly, fenfual,
carnal, blind and weak, and wretched, and
dead, and fallen from Chrift, be more and
more qualified to do that, which according
to this Author is to be done in the Sacrament;
for lofing every Day fomething of the Bene
fits of Chrift, and being daily a lefs Par
taker of them, he is daily qualified to com
memorate more of them, and fo to perform
that which is to be perforffl'd in this Sacra
ment in a more perfed manner.
Again, the Apoftle faith, Know ye not
that Chrifi Jefus is in you, except ye be Re
probates? * But this Author muft fay, Know
ye not that Chrift Jefus is not in you, nor
can be in youj if the Sacrament is to be ob-
ferv'd in Remembrance of him ? For how can ye
* 2 Cor. xiii.

[ '38 ]
ye without Abfurdity commemorate that
which is not abfent from you ?
Lastly, He who can fay with the
Apoftle, the Life that I now live is not mine,
but Chrifi that liveth in me, is utterly inca
pable of remembring Chrift in the Sacra
ment ; for he cannot commemorate an abfent
Chrift, and therefore cannot commemorate
him, till Chrift has done living in him.
But there is no end of expofing all the
impious Confequences of this Author's
learned Account of the word Remembrance.
Which, monftrous as it is, is only founded
upon a little Criticijm, that the Word Re
membrance can only fignify an AB of the
Memory upon fomething that is abfent.
And yet it is certain that it- does not, cannot
fignify fo, when you are to remesiber your
Creator, and therefore need not fignify fo,
when you are to remember your Redeemer.
And if you do but fuppofe it poffible, that
Do this in Remembrance of me, may only
fignify, do this in regard of me, as your Ad
of Faith in me ; then all this extraordinary
Dodrine of the Impoffibility and Abfurdity
of partaking of the Benefits of Chrift by
partaking

L "39 ]
partaking of the Sacrament, has not fo much
as one of his Quibbles to fupport it.
Further, this Author's abfurd Interpre
tation of the word Remembrance in the Sa
crament, is founded on this grofs Error, that
the things to be remember'd, are things done
and paft, and therefore only capable of be
ing remember'd by an Ad of the Memory.
This he exprefly fays in many places. Thus,
They, fays he, could not do the ABions here
named, in remembrance of any thing which was
not done and paft.* And in other Places,
that the Benefits cannot be prefent that are to
be commemorated. And therefore the whole Support of this
arguing is founded on this Error, that the
Things to be remember'd, are done and paft.
Which iJfyn. Error, that he could not have
fallen into, if he had but moderately un
derftood the Nature either of the Jewijh
or Chrifiian Religion.
Now that which is to be remember'd in
the Sacrament is Chrift, or the Benefits and
Bleflings of Chrift as the Saviour of Man
kind; but neither Chrift, nor his Benefits and
* Page 30.

[ 140 ]
and Bleflings have the Nature of things done,
or gone and paft, but are1 always prefent,
always in being, always doing and never
done. Jefus Chrift, the fame Tefterday, to Day, and
for ever, always was, now is, and ever will
be prefent as the Saviour of the World. He
is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and
the End, and therefore equally prefent in
and through all from the Beginning to the
End. Behold, faith he, I ftand at the T)oor
and knock ; if any Man hear my Voice, and
open the Door, I will come into him, and will
fup with him.* Thus he ftood at the Door
, of Adams Heart, as near as he ftood to the
Apoftles, and thus he ftands, and will ftand
knocking at the Door of every Man's Heart,
till time fhall be no more. Happy he that
does not confider this Chrift as abfitet, and is
only for fuch a Supper of the Lord, as will
not admit of his Prefence.
The Benefits and Bleflings of Chrift as
the Saviour of Mankind, began with the
firft Promife of a Seed ofthe Woman to bruife
the Serpent's Head; they have continued with
this Promife, they are the Benefits of every Age,
* Rev. iii. 20.

L x4* J
Age, they will never be at an End, till all
that was imply'd in that Promife fhall have
its full Completion in the utter Deftrudion
of the Serpent. Jefus Chrift was the Lamb
flain from the Foundation of the World; and
the firft Sacrifice of the firft Man, and every
Sacrifice fince, that hath been accepted of
God, has been made folely acceptable thro'
, the Benefits and Bleflings of Chrift.
All the Shadows and Types, Sacrifices
and Ceremonies of the Jewijh Religion were
only fo many ways of applying the Benefits
of Jefus Chrift to that People.
Jefus Chrift, the fame Tefterday, to Day, and
for ever, is the fame in and through all Ages ;
he was the Saviour of Adam , the, Patriarchs
and the Jews, juft as he is our Saviour.
His Body and Blood, offer'd in their Sa
crifices, was their Attonement, as it is ours,
offer'd upon the Crofs. His Flefh and Blood
was Meat and Drink, or a Principle of Life
to them, as it is to us. i.
Jesus Chrift was theirs as he is ours, he
was the Life, and Subftance, and Spirit of
the Law, as he is the Life, and Subftance, and
Spirit of the Gofpel; only with this Difference,

[ '42 ]
rence, that then Chrift was cover'd, and re^
ceived under more outward Figures and Ce^
remonies than he is now ; we do that more
openly, which was then done more covertly
by the Ifrael of God.
His Attonement for our Sins is not a
tranfttory Thing, that began and ended with
his Paflion and Death, but it began with
the Lamb that was flain from the Foundation
cf the World; for he was the Lamb of God
flain in all their Types and Sacrifices through
every Age, till he became the real expiatory
Sacrifice on the Crofs for the Sins of the
World. When he died upon the Crofs, his At
tonement did not then become a thing that
was over, or paft and done, that was only to
be remember'd by an AB ofthe Memory, but
continued increafing in its Power and Virtue.
A s Chrift by his Death put an End to
nothing in Religion but Types and Prefigu-
rations, fo by his Death he put an end to
nothing of his Attonement, but that which
was typical and prefigurative of it. And as
he arofe from the Grave with greater Power
and Strength, and became inftead of a meek and

L *43 ]
and fuffering Lamb, a powerful Conqueror
over Death, a Royal Prieft over the Houfe of
God, fo his Attonement went on increafing
in Strength and Virtue.
His Attonement was fo far from being a
Thing then done and paft, when his Blood
was fhed upon the Crofs, that it was fhed
for this very end, that he might for ever do
that in the Reality, which the High Prieft
did in the Type, when with the Blood of the
Sacrifice he entred once a Year into the holieft
of all, to make the higheft Attonement for the
People. Thus Chrift, to perform, and to con
tinue for ever the moft powerful Way of
attoning for us, by his own Blood he enter d
once into the Holy Place — Now to appear in
the Prefence of God for us* Where he con-
tinueth for ever, and bath an unchangeable
Prieftbood ;-f- and therefore our Attonement
is never done and paft, but is juft as perpetual
and unchangeable as his Prieftbood. For he
can be no longer a Prieft, than while he
maketh an Attonement and Interceffion for
us. And from this his unchangeable Prieft bood,
* Heb- xi. 24.
f vii. 24,

[ 144 ]
hood, theApoftle thus argues, wherefore he
is able alfo to fave them to the uttermoft, who
come unto God by him,* feeing he ever liveth
to make Interceffion for us ?
But if he is able tojave them to the utter
moft who come unto God by him, then his At
tonement is not fomething done and paft, but
always in being, always prefent, always do
ing, and always prefenting itfelf every where
and to every Man ; and if he is ever living to
make Interceffion for us, then we have a Pro
pitiation that never ceafes, that is as ne$r to
us as it was to the Apoftles, and will be as
prefent to thofe that fhall be born two thou
fand Years after Chrift, as it was to thofe
who ftood by his Crofs when he died.
Agreeable to this, St. John faith, We have
an Advocate with the Father, Jefus Chrift
the Righteous. And he is the Propitiation for
our Sins. He does not fay, we have had an
Advocate in this World, but that we have
one with the Father, nor that Chrift was our
Propitiation fometime ago, but that he is the
Propitiation for our Sins.
And indeed Jefus Chrift is the Attone
ment for our Sins, in that fame unlimited, univerfal
* Heb, vii. 2$..

L H5 ]
Univerfal and omniprefent Manner, in which
he is the Life and Light of the World. And
as he is the Light which lighteth every Man
that cometh into the Worlds and is not an
aBual prefent Light to fome, and a difiant
unpoffeffed Light to others, only to.be re
membered by an AB of their Memory ; fo he
is the Attonement for every Man that cometh
into the World, and is not an aBual, prefent
Attonement to fome, and a difiant Attone
ment to others, only to be remember'd by an
AB of their Memory, but is an Attonement
aBually and really prefent to all, as he is a
Light adually and really prefent to all, and
every Man that cometh into the World.
Therefore this Author's Account of
the Remembrance in the Sacrament, has not
only thofe Abfurdities in it demonftrated
above, but is alfo folely founded upon this
groffeft of all Errors, that the Benefits and
Bleflings of Chrift, as the Saviour of Man
kind, are fomething done and pafi ; which is
an Error that no one could have fallen into,
that had but a common Knowledge of the
firft and plaineft Principles either of the
Jewijh or Chrifiian Religion. For both
thefe Religions are founded upon this great
Truth, and fuppofe it in every Part, that the
L Benefits

C '46 ]
Benefits and Bleflings of Chrift were always
in being, always doing, always prefent in and to
every Age, as well before as fince the Incar
nation and Death of Chrift.
And as this Author has been forced to
affert, they were things abfent, done and paft-,
in order to make the Sacrament to confift
of an Adion of the Memory upon thofe
abfent things; fo feeing it is an undeniable
Truth, that they are not things abfent, done
and paft, but are as adually prefent, as ever
they were or ever could be, it follows ac
cording to his own Principles, that the Re
membrance fpoken of in the Sacrament, can
not poffibly fignify only an ABion of the
Memory, but muft neceffarily fignify fuch
Faith and Acknowledgment of Chrift, as
when we are bid to remember our Creator,
or believe in God.
Further, this Author proceeds thus, To
fay that the Communion is the aBual partaking
of all the Benefits of Chrifi 's living and dying
for us, is to put that upon one Jingle AB of Obe
dience, which is by our Bleffed Lord made to
depend upon the whole Syfiem of all Virtues
united.* And again, Such a DoBrine as
this
* Page 158.

L J47 ]
this would, in my Opinion, be not only incon-
fijlent with the plainefi Declarations of the
Gofpel, but directly contradiBory and defiru-
Bive to the main Defign of it.*
What this Author calls here a Jingle
AB, and a Angle Inftance of Obedience, is
true only of his own Sacrament, which con
fifts only of a Jingle ABion of the Memory
eaft upon Chrift at a certain Infiant of Time,
and to which fingle Adion, this Author
exprefly fays, that no Prayer is neceffary,-j-
not even neceffary to attend upon it, either
as going before or following after it. That in
its own proper and peculiar Nature, it has
nothing to do with Prayer or Devotion of
any kind, can have no Perfedion from it,
nor be in any Degree imperfed as to its
Nature and Effence, for want of any Prayer,
becaufe its Effence is entirely diftind from
Prayer. And therefore all Prayers, Thankjgivings
and Devotions, are to be confider'd as things
diftind from this Sacrament, that have no
relation to the peculiar Nature and proper
Effence of it.|| L 2 Hence
* Page 144. f P»Ee «6°- II P»g« »73«

['48 ]
Hence it is plain, that we do not over
charge this Author, when we fay, that he
places the whole Nature of the Sacrament in
a barefingle ABion of the Memory. For if,
as he fays, no kind of Prayer, Devotion or
Thankfgiving, is of the Effence of this Sa
crament, or tan be an effential Part of it,
then it has all its Perfedion within itfelf, as
it is a bare Ad of the Memory, and cannot,
as to its own proper Nature or Effence, have
any thing added to it by Prayer, or taken
from it by the want of Prayer. Hence it is
alfo undeniable, that this Author's Sacrament
is not fo much as a bare AB of Religion,
nor can have any more Religion in it, than
if it was the Ad of a Parrot. For no Ad
can be a religious Ad, but fo far, and in
fuch Degree, as it is an Ad of Faith, and
Love, and Devotion to God. But this Au
thor's Sacrament will not, as it is a Sacra
ment, allow Faith, or Love, or Devotion to
be any Part of it, therefore it cannot be fo
much as a bare AB of Religion.
Nay, it may and muft be faid, that the
right Obfervation of this Author's Sacrament
is diredly an Ad of Atheifm. For if it is
2 an

[ H9 ]
an Ad, that in its own Nature, and accord
ing to itspeculiar Effence, cannot be perform
ed according to what it is, unlefs it be done
without Faith, and Love, and Devotion to
wards God, then it is diredly an AB of
Atheifm, becaufe Atheifm is nothing elfe but
a Ceffation of Faith, Love and Devotion
towards God. But the Effence of this Au
thor's Sacrament cannot be preferv'd, unlefs
you keep Prayer, Devotion and Thank/giving
out of it. Therefore to perform it rightly
according to what it is, is tb perform an Ad
of Atheifm.
And if at the taking of the Bread and
Wine, you fhould fuffer Faith, or Love, or
Adoration of God, or Thankfgiving, to take
up your Mind, you might as well have let
the Sacrament alone, for you have negleded
all that in which its whole Nature confifts;
and have only been in fuch a State of Devo
tion, as has nothing to do with it, nor can
poffibly be a part of it. And therefore, if
you will perform this Sacrament rightly ac
cording to this Author, you muft perform
it Atheifiically, you muft excite fuch a Re
membrance as excludes Faith, Love, Devo
tion and Thankfgiving, from being a Part
of it. And your Remembrance is not per-
L 3 form'dj

[ ijo]
form'd, unlefs it be fuch a Remembrance as
thefe things cannot be a Part of.
The Devils are faid to believe a God;
but why is it that their Faith is no religious
AB, nor of any Benefit to them ? It is be
caufe their Faith is only a bare AB of be
lieving, juft as this Author's Sacrament has
only a bare AB of remembring; and that
which is the Perfedion of his Sacrament,
is their Wretchednefs.
I f you afk this Author, why Faith, and
Prayer, and Adoration, and Thankfgiving,
are not ofthe Effence, or cannot be effential
Parts of the Sacrament : All he has to fay is
this, that the Duty of Prayer is a Duty
abfolutely difiinB from the Participation of the
Lord's Supper,*
I t may and muft be granted, that Prayer,
Humility, Faith, Hope, Charity, &c. are
abfolutely difiinB from each other; that Hu
mility is not Prayer, nor Faith in its proper
Idea Prayer, and fo of the reft. Yet not-
withftanding this Diftindion between them,
they are all of them effential to each other,
Faith is of the Effence of Prayer, Hope is
of
m Page i6@.

L '5i ]
of the Effence of Faith, and all of them are
effential Parts of Prayer. Therefore when
this Author afferts that Prayer is not an effen
tial Part of the Communion, he is j uft as
much in the right, and has as much Truth
on his fide, as he who fays, that Humility,
Faith ancr Hope are not effential to Prayer,
becaufe Prayer is diftind from Humility,
Faith and Hope.
What this Author faith of the Sacra
ment, that it is one Jingle AB, or one Jingle
Inftance of Obedience, is only true of his own
FiBion of a Sacrament, which he makes to
confift in a fingle Ad of the Memory ; and
indeed it would be highly inconfiftent with
the Gofpel, to make fuch a Sacrament a
Means of obtaining the Benefits of Chrift,
But this is not the Sacrament of Chrift, nor
the Sacrament which the Church of Chrift
obferves. For all that relates to our Salvation,
either on the Part of Chrift, or on our own
Part, is plainly united in that Sacrament
which Chrift has inftituted. All that relates
to our Salvation on the Part of Chrifi^ is in
the Sacrament, becaufe he has faid, that his
Body and Blood are therefor the Remiffon of
L 4 oar

[ 152 ]
our Sins, and that his Body and Blood are
there to be eaten and drank, as the Food and'
Life of our Souls, therefore Chrift as our
Saviour is wholly there.
And all that relates to our Salvation on
our own Part, is there, becaufe we can
not come to Chrift, or find him to be there,
as he has faid he is, unlefs we come to him
with all thofe Qualities and pious Difpofl
tions that correfpond to him, as he is an At
tonement for our Sins, and a Principle of Life
to us ; therefore all that relates to our Salva
tion, either on the Part of Chrifi, or on our
own Part, is plainly united in the Sacrament.
And to call fuch a Communion one Jingle AB
of Obedience, is juft the fame Abfurdity, as
fo fay, that the Baptijm of a Heathen con
verted to Chriftianity, is but one Jingle In*
fiance of Obedience. For every thing that is
imply'd in fuch a Converfton and Baptijm,
whether it be on the Part of Chrift, or on
the Part of the Perfon baptized, is imply'd
in this Communion,
And as the Baptifm of fuch a Perfon
contains all in ;t that relates to his Salvation,
either on the Part of Chrift, or on his own
P^rt? and therefore cannot without great

I *53 1
Ignorance be called aftngle Inftance or Ad
of Obedience: So it is with the Sacrament,
it is all that to the pious Communicant, both
on the Part of Chrift, and on his own Part,
that Baptifm is to the true converted Hea
then ; and he is made an adual Partaker of
all the Benefits of Chrift by it, as the Convert
is made fo by Baptijm ; and therefore it is the
fame Abfurdity to call it a fingle Ad, or In
ftance of Obedience.
And as it would be vain andgroundlefs to
fay, that it was inconftftent with the maiti De
fign of the Gojpel, to make fuch Baptifm the
aBual partaking of all the Benefits of Chrift;
fo it is equally, if not more fo, to fay the
fame thing of Communion; becaufe every
pious and holy Difpofition is to be fup
pofed to be in an higher State, in the pious
Communicant, than in the pious Defirer of
Baptifm; and therefore, it cannot without
much Abfurdity be fuppofed, that the Sacra
ment is not as beneficial to the-pious Com
municant, as Baptifm is to the pious Con
vert. For if Chrift has appointed this Inftitu
tion, to affure us, that he is there, both as
the Attonement for our Sins, and a Principle of

[ '54 ]
of Life to us, and we come to it with fuch
pious Difpofltions as correfpond and anfwer
to him in both thefe Refpeds, and make us
capable of him; it muft be great Abfurdity
to fay, that we find him not there as our At
tonement, nor receive him as a Principle of
Life to us, nor are made Partakers of thefe
Benefits of him.
If we ftand before this Attonement with
out fuch Difpofltions as correfpond to it; we
are as abfent from the Sacrament of Chrifi, as
they are that refufe to come to it; if we eat
that which is before us in the Sacrament,
without fuch Faith and Purity as qualify us
to receive the Flefh and Blood of Chrift, we
are only eating that, which might have been
the Bread of Life to our Souls.
But if we, according to the Condition
of our Humanity, are That which thefe two
effential Parts of the Sacrament require us to
be, then we may and ought as firmly to be
lieve, that we are by this Sacrament made
aBual Partakers of all the Benefits of Chrift,
as that we are fav'd through Chrift, and not
by ourfelves. This

L *55 ]
This Author makes great Complaint of
afcribing thefe Benefits to the Reception of
the Communion, becaufe it is, as he fays,
to put That upon a Jingle Inftance of Obedience,
which our bleffed Lord has made to depend upon
the whole Syftem of all Virtues united in us:
That is, Chrift has made the Syftem of all
Virtues united in us, to be the only Qualifica
tion for the aBual partaking of his Benefits;
which is not only utterly inconfiftent with
the Gofpel, but nonfenfical in itfelf; for it is
faying that we are then only qualified for the
Benefits of our Saviour, when we have no
need of them ; for if all Virtues were fo uni
ted in us, all that our Saviour could do for
us, would be done beforehand.
B u t let us take an Inftance or two from
our Saviour's own Words, and then we fhall
beft fee how truly this Author has faid, that
he has made the adual partaking of his Be
nefits, to depend upon the whole Syftem of all
Virtues united.
When our bleffed Lord ftood by Jacob's
Well, talking with the Woman of Samaria,
he faid to her, If thou knewefi the Gift of God,
and who it is that faith to thee, give me to drink,
I thou

[ 1*6 ]
thou wouldfi have afk' d of him, and he would
have given thee living Water; a Water which
fhall be in him that drinketh it, a Well of Wa
ter fpringing up into everlafiing Life*
Here, I fuppofe, are offer'd to this poor
Woman all the Benefits of the Saviour of
Mankind. Our Lord does not fay to her,
If thou hadft the whole Syftem of all Virtues
united in thee, then thou mighteft be made
a Partaker of all my Benefits; I could make
the Water of eternal Life perpetually fpring
up within thee.
No, there is no fuch Jargon as this in the
Gofpel: But as he came as a companionate
Saviour, to make the blind to fee, the deaf
to hear, and the dumb to fpeak, and the
dead to awake ; as he came as a good Shep
herd to feek that which was. loft, and as a
Phyfician to heal the fiek; fo he only fays to
the Woman, if fhe had ajk'd, that is, if fhe
had felt the Want of a Saviour, as the blind
feel the Want of Sight, and her Heart had
only defir'd this Gift of God, he would then
have beftowed this greateft of all Gifts upon
her.
But
* John iv.

[ '57]
But furely, if this Defire in the Woman
would have made her thus capable of all the
Benefits of our Saviour, it cannot be incon-
fiftent with the Gofpel, to make the fame
Defire as beneficial to a true and pious Chri
ftian, as it would have been to an unbaptized
Samaritan. Again, our Lord faith, All things, what-
foever ye Jhall afk in Prayer, believing, ye fhall
receive.* Here [you fee, all things, and therefore
all the Benefits of Chrifi, are afcrib'd to Faith,
and we have every thing that we can defire
or pray for, by vertue of it. Does not our
Lord here afcribe as much Benefit to Faith,
as ever any one afcrib'd to the holy Commu
nion ? Or who ever faid that of the Power, or
Benefit, or Efficacy ofthe Sacrament, which
our Lord here fays ofthe Benefit of Faith in
Prayer? Is not this as inconfiftent with the Gofpel,
as the adual partaking of Chrift's Benefits, by
the Jingle Duty of receiving the Sacrament ?
Is not this Benefit of the Prayer of Faith as
contrary
• Matth. xxi, 22.

.[ i5« ]
contrary to this Author's whole Syftem of Vir
tues united in us, as the otlier Benefit of the
Sacrament ?
I s it not as juft to fay, that this Prayer of
Faith is only a Jingle Inftance of Obedience,
as to fay fo of the Sacrament ?
A n d is not the main Defign of the Gofpel
as much deftroy'd by making Faith to be
thus beneficial, as by making the Commu
nion to be fo beneficial?
O r can it be fuppofed, that when our
Lord, who afcribes thus much to the Prayer
of Faith, when it is alone, would think it
too much to be afcribed to it, when the Holy
Sacrament is united with it ? Or muft it be
fuppofed, that this Prayer of Faith lofes its
Virtue and Power, is depriv'd of its excellent
Effeds, only then, when it is a Part of the
Communion of Chrift's Body and Blood.
Again, our Lord faith, Verily, verily,
I fay unto you, whatfoever yejhall afk the Fa
ther in my Name, he will give it you.
Must not this Author have as much to
complain of in this Dodrine, that afcribes fo

[ if 9 ]
fo much to Prayer in the Name of Chrifi, as
in that Dodrine, that afcribes fo much to the
Sacrament ? Muft he not fay, that the pray
ing in the Name of Chrifi, is but one fingle In
flame of Obedience; and that to fay, we are
thereby made Partakers of all the Benefits of
Chrift, is putting that upon one fingle AB of
Obedience, which our bleffed Lord has made
to depend upon the whole Syftem of all Virtues
united in us ? Muft he not fay, that this Ac
count of the Power and Efficacy of Prayer
in Chrift's Name, is a Dodrine deftrudive of
the main Defign of the Gofpel ?
For every thing that this Author objeds a-
gainft this Dodrine of the Sacrament, muft
with the fame Strength be objeded againft
thefe, and many other the like exprefs Decla
rations of our Saviour.
Every one muft know that it would be
very eafy to produce various Paffages of the
Gofpel, that teach the fame Dodrine, as
thefe do that I have quoted ; and that when
this Author faid, our Saviour made the parta
king of his Benefits to- depend upon the whole
Syftem of all Virtues united in us, he had juft
the fame Reafon and Authority from the Go
fpel to fay fo, as he has to fay, that Chrift de
clared

[ i«o]
clared he came to feek that which was not loftt
to heal thofe which were notftck, and Jave
thofe who ftood in no need of a Saviour.
But now, feeing this is the Nature,
Power, and Efficacy of the Prayer of Faith,
and of Prayer in the Name of Chrift; feeing
he himfelf has affured us, that they make us
adual Partakers of every thing that we can
afk of the Father, or that he through Chrift
can give us, we have the fulleft Affurance,
that if we do that which the Sacrament re
quires to be done, if we don't feparate Faith
and Prayer in the Name of Chrift from it ;
but perform it in this Faith and Prayer, or
make it as it ought to be, a real Exercife of
thi)6 Faith and Prayer, then we receive in
and by it all the Benefits of our Saviour.
But becaufe this Author feems entirely
out of his Element, when fpeaking of the Be
nefits of Jefus Chrift, and not to be able to
fpeak an intelligible Word about it, as to
the true Grounds and Nature of it, but only
to puzzle himfelf and the Reader with an
empty fuperficial way of arguing from the
Sound of Words: I fhall therefore, in a
Word or two, endeavour to lay before you the

the true Grounds of the Benefits of Jefus
Chrift, as he is the Saviour of all Mankind.
It is the fundamental Dodrine, or rather
the known Foundation of all reveaVd Reli
gion, and the unknown Foundation of all na
tural Piety and Goodnefs, that Jefus Chrift
is the fecond Adam : That he is a common
Head, or Parent, or Perfon to all Mankind,
in the fame manner, as Adam is the com
mon Head, or Parent, or Perfon to all Man
kind. That a real Birth, Life, Nature, and
true Man, is in the fame Truth and Reality
deriv'd to us from this our fecond Adam, as a
real Birth, and Life, and Nature is deriv'd
to us from our firft Adam. And that as with
out any Figure or Metaphor of Speech we are
all faid to be born of Adam, and defcended
from him, fo we are all in the fame Depen-
dance upon our fecond Adam, really and not
figuratively born of him, and have our De
fcent from him ; Spirit of his Spirit, Life of
his Life, in the fame Truth and Reality,
as every Man has the Nature of the firft
Adam. M And

[.62]
And herein is feen the infinite Depth of
Divine Love and Goodnefs to Mankind, who
though they were by the Condition of their
Creation to be derived from one Head or Pa
rent, and to take his State of Perfedion or
Imperfedion; yet were by the Goodnefs and
Care of God for them, provided from the
very Beginning, with a fecond Parent, or com
mon Head, who after the Fall of the firft,
and the fallen State that he had brought upon
his Pofterity, fhould be a common Refiorer,
and put it in every Man's Power to have the
fame Choice of Life and Death, as the firft
Man had ; that fo, they who were loft be
fore they were born, and were made Inheri
tors of a miferable Nature without their
Choice, might have a Divine Life reftor'd to
them in a fecond Parent, which fhould not
be in the Power of any one to lofe for them,
but fhould depend entirely upon their own
Will and Defire of it, upon their own Faith,
and Hope, and Hungering after it.
This eternal and immutable Truth, wor
thy of being written in capital Letters of
Gold, is the Foundation of all reveal'd and
natural Religion; and a ftanding Monu
ment of God's univerfal Goodnefs and Love to

[ i6j]
to all Mankind, and fuch as is fufficient to
make all Men rejoice and give praife to
God. For by this Truth, all that feems hard
and cruel to human Reafon, that the Pofte-
rity of Adam fhould. be involved in the Con
fluences of their firft Father's Fall* (yet
how could it be otherwife ? ) all this, I fay,
is made a wonderful Scene of Love, as foon
as we confider, that all Mankind were re-
deem'd as foon as they were loft, and that
their Redemption was as early, as univerfal,
and as extenfive in its Effeds, as the Fall
was. And that no Son of Adam is left to in
herit a poor, earthy, perifhable, corrupt Na
ture from him, without having it in his
choice to be born again of a fecond Adam,
and reftor'd, with Advantage, to all the
Riches, and Treafures, and Bleflings of a di
vine and paradifical Nature, which were loft
without his Confent.
T h e r e is fomething fo amazingly loving
and merciful in this Condud of divine Pro
vidence over Mankind, that I cannot help
thinking, no one can calmly confider it in
the Quiet of his Mind, without having all
his Infidelity melted down by it. And that
M 2 fuch

[r«4]
ftich an AB of general Pardon, as early as the
firft Sin, and a new Parent provided for us,
to be our Parent by Choice and Faith, as foon
as our firft Parent had undone us without
our Confent : Such an Ad of Pardon being
the Beginning and Foundation of all reveal'd
Religion, and of every thing that is after
wards reveal'd in it, has furely enough in it,
if once known, to make reveal'd Religion
the Joy, and Comfort, and Defire of every
Man's Heart. What would I give that I
could but dart one Ray of this Truth into
every Unbeliever's Heart; for the fmalleft
Ray of it, would do to every one as the Light
that fell from Heaven did to St. Paul, it would
make as it were Scales fall from his Eyes :
And he would find that all Books and Syftems
of Infidelity, were as unreafonable in them
felves, and as hurtful to him, as thofe Com-
miffions were which Paul had from the High-
Prieft to bind all that called on the Name of
Chrift. But to proceed:
That Jefus Chrift is thus the Saviour
and univerfal Redeemer of all Mankind, that
he is this fecond Adam or Parent, giving a
new Birth and Life to all that which was ex-
tinguifh'd

[ >65 ]
tinguifh'd and loft by Adam; reftoring Adam
himfelf, and in him all Mankind to a Poffi-
bility of being born again, by their own Will,
Choice, Faith, and Deftre; and that reveal'd
Religion began with the Declaration of this
Redemption, and has reveal'd nothing but
for the Sake and Support of it, is a Truth fuf
ficiently attefted by Scripture,
The Declaration which God made to
Adam immediately after his Fall, of a Seed of
the Woman to bruife the Serpent's Head, was a
Declaration of Pardon and Redemption to
Adam, and in him to all Mankind; for what
he faid to Adam, that he faid to all that were
in the Loins of Adam; who, as they fell in
his Fall, before they were born, without the
Poffibility of any one Man's being exempted
from it; fo were they all put into his State of
Pardon and Redemption before they were
born, without the Poffibility of any one
Man's being excluded, or left out of it.
Thus reveal'd Religion begins with an
Offer of a fecond Adam, and upon the Foot
of an univerfal Pardon and Redemption to
all Mankind. Every Son of Adam is in the
fiune Covenant with God that Adam was,
and has the fame Bruifer of the Serpent as
M 3 near

[ '66]
^rtohim, as he was to Adam, and de
clar'd to be his Redeemer, in the fame De
gree as he was declared to be the Redeemer of
Adam.
And who would feek for Arguments a-
gainft fuch a Saviour? Or who would cavil
at a reveal'd Religion, that has no other Be
ginning or End, but to reveal an univerfal
Redemption ? Or who can enough call upon
all the Creation, Heaven and Earth, Angels
and Men, and every thing that hath Breath,
to praife the Lord, for fuch Salvation ? You
muft forgive thefe little Digreflions, for I
want fo much to touch the Heart of my Rea
der, and make him in love with God, and
his own Salvation in Chrift Jefus, that I
know not how to content my felf with bare
Arguments. •
Now this Declaration of God to Adam,
of his Pardon and Redemption by the Seed
of the Woman, is not to be confider'd, as we
confider the Declaration of a Pardon made
by fome great Prince to an offending SubjeB,
which is only a Declaration of Words, that
are heard only with our outward Ears, and
of a Perfon that is entirely diftind from us.
God's

[ «67]
G o d's pardoning a Sinner, or redeeming
fallen Man, has nothing like this in it. If
this offending Subjed had his Life, and
Breath, and Being in and from this great
Prince, or could be faid to live and move,
and have his Being in him, it would be eafy,
nay, neceffary to believe, that his Declara
tion of Pardon to him, muft be fomething
very different from a Pardon of Words, and
muft fignify fome inward EfteB, or Change,
or new State of Exiftence in his Prince.
Now this Declaration of God's Pardon
and Reconciliation to Adam, and in him to
all Mankind, is not the Declaration of a Be
ing that is out of, or feparate from us, but
of a God in whom we live and move, and
have our Being; who is the Center of that
which is moft Central in us, the Life of our
Life, the Spirit of our Spirit : His Declara
tion therefore of Pardon is not a Declaration
of Words, or of a Being that is feparate from
us, but muft fignify fome inward Change, or
new State of our Exiftence in him, or that
he is to us, and in us, that which he was not
before he pardoned us. For his Words are
Power, and what he fpeaks he ads, and
what he ads he ads not out of 'us, but in the
M 4 inmoft

[ I68 ]
inmofi Effence of our Being, becaufe fo we ex-
ift in him and he in us.
If God at the Fall, had faid, Let us fave
Man, the fame had been effeded, as when he
faid, Let us make Man.
When therefore. God faid to Adam and
Eve, The Seed of the Woman ftall bruife the
Head of the Serpent, what was faid, was
done ; and it was the fame Thing, had the
fame Meaning and Effed, as if he had faid,
Be ye henceforth in a State of Salvation, and
let the redeeming, conquering Seed of the
Woman from this .time begin to have Power in
you, and to be in you a Strength and Might a-
gainfi the Serpent. And what he faid was
done; as when he faid, Let there be Light,
and there was Light.
Thus this Declaration of Pardon and Re
demption made by God to Adam, and, in
him, to all his Poflerity, was not folely a
Promife of fomething to come, or of a Par
don that was at a Diftance, no more than it
was the Promife of a God that was at a Di
ftance from him; but the Declaration of fome
thing then inwardly done and given, by a God
inwardly prefent in him, and fignify'd no
lefs than God's peeking and manifesting him felf

L If>9 ]
felf again to a Creature, that had loft him as
his God and only Good.
For how can the Anger of that Being,
in whom we live and move, and have our Being,
be only an Anger of Words, or made known
to us only by Words ? Or how can it be any
thing elfe, but fome inward Lofs of that
which is our Good in him ?
O r how can his Pardon, be only a Par
don of Words, or fomething heard only
with our Ears ? Or how can it be any thing
elfe, but his refioring that to us, or his re
viving that in us, which makes us again ca
pable of finding him our God and only Good?
Therefore God's Declaration of Pardon
to Adam, ' was not barely a Promife of fome
thing to come, but the Pardon itfelf; and was
the real Communication of fomething to Adam,
which made him capable of enjoying God as
his Good, which he had not when he wanted
to be pardoned, and which he could not
have, if God was in a State of Anger with
him. Now had not God fpoken this Pardon
arid Reconciliation to Adam after his Fall, he
I

[ *7° ]
he had been in the Condition of the Deep,
when it was faid, 'Darknefs was upon the Face
of the Deep.
N A Y, it had been much worfe with him ;
for had not God made this Declaration of
Pardon and Redemption to him at that time,
that is, had he not done inwardly in the
Depth of his Soul, fomething like that which
he did to the Darknefs of the Deep, when
he fpoke Light into it, Adam and Eve, and
all their Pofterity, had been inwardly mere
Devils, and outwardly mere Beafts, a motly
Mixture of both, till the Beaft fell into the
Earth, and the Soul to the State of Devils.
For had not God thus in the Beginning
of the Fall, before any Man was born into
the World of Adam and Eve, had he not
fpoke Pardon and Redemption unto Adam
and Eve ; neither they, nor any of their
Pofterity had been capable of any Faith, or
Hope, or Defire of God, but had liv'd as
much without all Confidence, or InfiinB of
Goodnefs, as the Beafts of the Earth and
Devils do.
Therefore God redeemed Man, that
is, reftor'd to him a Power of being again his

[ I7I ]
his Creature, or a Power of knowing and
finding him to be his God, when he faid,
the Seed ofthe Woman fhall bruife the Serpent's
Head. He redeemed him by communicating to
him a Senfe, a Feeling, and a Defire of God,
by communicating to him a Capacity to
enjoy him as his o«/y Good, by fowing into
him a SV^v/ of the Woman, a Spark of Life,
an InfiinB of Goodnefs, a T#/?<? of Heaven,
a Principle of Holinefs, a TW£ of Love}
the Pearl of the Gofpel, the Pledge of Im
mortality, the hidden Kingdom of God.
For all thefe Expreffions of a Seed, a
Spark, an Inftind, a Principle, a Pearl and
Kingdom, are infufficient to exprefs that
inward Treafure of the Soul, and Fund of
everlafting Happinefs, which God in the
Beginning of the Redemption, or as his
Ad of Redemption, communicated to Man.
Now in this Degree of Redemption is
every Creature that is born of Adam; he has
this Kingdom of God in his Soul, as a
Grain of Mufiard-Seed, as a Spark of Life,
as a Pledge of Immortality, as his AttraBion
to God: If he tramples this Pearl under his
Feet,

[ "72 ]
Feet, if he will choak this Word, if he will
put out this Spark, if he will refifi this At-
tradion ; then his Deftrudion is from him
felf ; and when the Carcafs of Flefh and
Blood falls off from him, he muft find him
felf in his own Hell, and muft have the Mi-
fery of a darkned, anxious, fiery, felf-tor-
mented Nature for ever, that would not fuffer
itfelf to be redeemed.
But if he will confent to his Redempti
on, and co-operate with that inward Re
deemer which God has put into his Soul, if
he will fuffer his Spark to kindle, his InfiinB
of Goodnefs to fpread itfelf, the Light of
Life to arife in him, the Voice of God to
be heard in him ; then will the Divine Life,
the inward Man, be brought forth in him j
and when his Body breaks off, Heaven will
be made manifefi in his Soul, and he will
fall into all the Fulnefs of God. The Son
of God will be his Light, the Holy Spirit
will breathe in him, and the Power and Om-
nipotency of the Father, will be Life and
Strength in him; and thus in the compleateft;
Senfe of the Words, fhall he ever live and
move, and have his being in God, And

[ »73 ]
And now, my dear Reader, what fhall I
fay to you ? How fhall I do that, which I
moft of all defire to do, touch your Heart ?
Or how can your Heart be untouch'd with
this affeding View ofthe Mercies of God in
Chrift Jefus, and of the Riches and Trea
fures which lie hid in your own Soul, want
ing nothing but your own Confent and good
Wifhes to be manifefted in you ?
But it may be, modern Infidelity has
ftole into your Heart, and fo you lie flarving
in the midft of Plenty, chufing rather to
famifh on the dry Husks of Reafon, Difpute,
and Infidelity, than to have this Divine Life,
this Riches of your own Soul, difcover'd to
you on the Terms of the Gofpel. It may
be you have buried this Spark of Life, this
inward Man, and have heap'd all the Earth
upon him that you can get, that you have
feal'd the Stone of his Sepulchre, and have
fet your greateft Enemy, a reafoning Infidelity,
upon the Watch, to difpute, wrangle and
deny every Dodrine of Scripture, that as a
good Angel would roul away the Stone of the
Sepulchre, and let your inward Redeemer
arife in you.

If

[ "74 ]
I f this is your Cafe, if you have let a
reafoning Infidelity into your Heart, you
know not what Mifchief you have let into
it; for the Denial of the Gofpel reaches
much further, and is more extenfive than
you imagine.
F o r to deny Jefus Chrift, is to deny your
Share in the firft Pardon of God to Man, it
is returning into the firft State of the Fall,
and refufing to be a Partner with Adam in
his State of Forgivenefs ; it is going over to
the Side of the Serpent, and declaring that
you will not enter into Peace with God on
the Terms of bruifing his Head ; for Jefus
Chrift that calls upon you in the Gofpel, is
that fame Chrift which became Adam's Par
don, and if you rejed him in the Gofpel,
it is rejeding him from the Beginning ; and
is faying, that you will have no fhare in that
Salvation which was granted to Adam, and
in him to all Mankind. Nay, what is ftill
more, if you rejed the Saviour offer'd to you
in the Gojpel, you rejed all that which makes
you differ from a Devil ; for that Saviour
which fpeaks to you in the Gofpel, is that
very fame inward Light of your Mind, which
makes you now differ from a Devil ; for hadyou

[ '75]
you nothing of that Jefus Chrift in you,
whom you rejed in the Gofpel, you would
be in the fame dark Malignity, and felf-tor-
menting Wretchednefs, in which every diabo
lical Nature is.
T o refufe him that fpeaketh to you in the
Gofpel, is not barely to renounce a certain
particular Religion revealed by God at a cer
tain Time, it is not barely to rejed Chrift as
come in the Flefh ; but it is rejeding all that
God has ever tranfaBed with Man, it is re
nouncing all that is Divine and Good within
you , all that God inwardly fpeaks and teaches
in the Depth of your Soul ; it is faying that
you will have no Benefit from the good
Workings or Motions of your own Heart, or
the InftinBs of Goodnefs that are ftirring in
it ; for Jefus Chrift that calls you to Repen
tance in the Gofpel, is the very fame blefled
Saviour, that warns, reproves and preaches
Repentance in the inmoft Effence of your
Spirit. For it is a Deceit of the grofleft
Kind, to think that Chrift came only as our
Saviour, when he came in the Flefli, or that
he only fpeaks to us that which is outwardly
fpoken in the Gofpel; for he always was
That in every Man thatfavedhim from being
entirely a diabolical Nature, and always was
2 as

[ '76]
as really the Teacher and Mover of all that
is good within you, as he was the Teacher
of the Gofpel. Therefore to rejed him as
your Saviour, to refufe him as fuch, and to
defire to be without him, is in reality to de
fire to be in Hell, to have the Darknefs and
Diftrefs of diabolical Beings, it is defiring to
be without any Light of God upon your
Mind, or any InftinBs of Goodnefs ftirring
in your Heart.
And if this is not the immediate EffeB
of your Infidelity, if you don't immediately
find that the denial of Chrift, is putting nut
all the Light within you ; 'tis becaufe Chrift
is Love, and will be fo good towards you,
as to continue his inward Light to you,
though you rejed his outward Light of the
Gofpel. But, my Friend, be wife in Time, for
this Goodnefs will continue but a Time ;
don't let a poor worthlefs Infidelity beguile
you to eat the Duft of the Earth with the
Serpent, when God has provided for you the
Bread of Life. For this Time of Goodnefs
and Forbearance will foon be over, and if
the End of it finds you in your Infidelity,
rejeding the Benefits of Chrift, you will
then

t J77 ]
then fee the whole of all you defir'd, you
will be without Chrift, you will find that all
is gone with him, and that you will have
nothing left, but that Nature which is the
Torment of Hell.
You now think, that becaufe you can
frame Ideas of Virtue, and exert fome ABs
of Goodnefs, though you rejed all Faith in
Chrift, that therefore he is not neceffary to
your Virtue and Happinefs ; but your re
ferable Miftake lies here, that you think
Chrift is only he that preached the Gofpel,
and that it is not him that fpeaks and moves
every good Thought or Word that is fpoken
in you, but that you have a Light and Good
nefs of your own. But when this Time is
over, and you have fpent your Hour of
Grace, Chrift will no longer ftand knocking
at the Door of your Heart, and then you
will find, that you are as empty of all inward
Light, as you are of the Gofpel, and that
by rejeding him as your Saviour, you have
rejeded all that was Divine and Good within
you. Infidelity therefore is a much deeper Evil than
you may imagine, it denies and rejeds more
than you think of; you may intend by it only
N to

[ '7» ]
to change the Light of the Gofpel for the
Light of Reafon, but Chrift will not be di
vided by your Intention ; he is the one only
Light of Men, the fame in the Heart that
he is in the Gofpel, and though you may now
think that you have two Teachers, becaufe he
teaches in two Places, and therefore may
adhere to one, and rejed the other, yet this
is a Deceit that can laft no longer than the
difputings of this World laft with you.
When the Veil of Flefh and Blood is
pulled of, and you muft ftand in the Na-
kednefs of your Soul before God; then you
will know, that thefe two Lights are only
one, and that neither of them can be rejed-
ed by itfelf. Thefe Lights appear now as
two, only becaufe God is fo good as to leave
no part of you untry'd , but preffes the
Kingdom of Heaven upon you, both from
within, and from without.
The eternal Word, the Son of God, took
human Nature upon him, work'd all his
Miracles, taught all his Dodrines, under
went all his Sufferings, to make that Light
of the Mind, which every Man that cometh
into the World, had received from him, effe-
dual to their Salvation j therefore the Light
z of

[ '79 ]
ofthe Gofpel, and the Light ofthe Mind, are
one, as Chrift is one, whether he fpeaks to
you inwardly or outwardly. If therefore
you rejed Chrift in the utmoft Efforts of his
Goodnefs to fave you, you will find that the
renouncing of Chrift, is renouncing all that
you have from him, and that all the good
Light of your Mind, call it what you will,
as it was his, is all rejeded with him, and
that nothing is left in that Soul, where he is
not, but mere Darknefs.
B u t to return to my Subjed ; what I
have faid above of God's Covenant with
Adam, and the Redemption granted to him,
is God's Covenant with all Mankind, and
therefore thus far all Mankind are the re
deemed of Jefus. There is no Partiality in
God, no Eledion of one People to Salvati
on, and Derelidion of another to their own
Mifery. As all fell and died in Adam, fo all
Were reftored in his Reftoration.
Thus fays the Apoftle, As by the Offence
of one, Judgment came upon all to Condemna
tion ; even fo by the Righteoufnefs of one,
the free Gift came upon all Men unto Juftifi-
cation of Life.* N 2 But
* Rom. v. t%.

[i8o]
But you will perhaps fay, how does it
appear, that this firft Covenant of God with
Mankind, or Redemption of all Men in the
Redemption of Adam, is the Redemption
in and by Jefus Chrift ?
I may better ask you, where you can
have the fmalleft Reafon even to fufped the
Contrary ? For is not the Seed of the Woman,
Jefus Chrift? And if our Salvation then
began, when God made Declaration of the
faving Power of this Seed, it is plain, that
Chrift's Redemption then began in Mankind,
that he was thenceforward in every Man as
a Spark of Life, that as a fecret Power,
fhould bruife the Serpent, and fupport us
againft him, till he in the Fulnefs of Time,
fhould in the Fulnefs of the Promife, become
fuch a Seed of the Woman as fhould openly
triumph over Death and Hell, and all the
Kingdom of the Serpent. For if it was
Chrift that became Adam's Redeemer in the
promifed Seed, if he had adually the Power
of that Salvation manifefted in his Soul,
and was in a State of Redemption, becaufe
Chrift was become the Ranfom and Life of
his Soul ; then all the Sons of Adam, from
the firft to the laft, are in Adam's State of
Covenant

[ i8i ]
Covenant with God through Jefus Chrift,
and have the Seed of the Woman doing all
that for them, which it did for Adam.
Again, does not the Gofpel exprefly
fay, that Jefus Chrift is the True Light which
light eth every Man that cometh into the World?
Therefore Jefus Chrift is in every Man that
cometh into the World, and every Son of
Adam is in a State of Redemption in and by
Jefus Chrift, and every Son of Adam has re
ceived that fame from Jefus Chrift, which
Adam receiv'd from him, viz. an inward
Light of Life, a Beginning of his Salvation,
an aBual Power or Strength to refift the Ser
pent ; therefore Jefus Chrift, as he is the
Light and Life of Men, as he is the Bruifer of
the Serpent, as he is the Power of Salvation,
is and ever was the Free Gift of God unto all
Men. Again, does not the Scripture teach us,
that God is as well the God of the Gentiles,
as the God of the Jews ? But if he is their
God, then they are his People. And as we
know that God is not the Creator of any
Beings, but in and by Jefus Chrift, by whom
every thing was made, that was made, fohe
is not the God of any People, but in and by
N 3 Jefus

[i8«]
Jefus Chrift, who is the Reconciler of all
things unto God, by whom alone all Things
and Perfons are made acceptable to him j
therefore if he is the God and Father of the
Gentiles, then the Gentiles have an Intereft in
Jefus Chrift, have all their Accefs to God as.
their Father and Creator, in and by the Be
nefits and Merits of Jefus Chrift, or in other
Words, are adual Partakers of the Benefits
of Jefus Chrift, as he is the Saviour of
Mankind. Which is a Privilege or Blefling that
this Author will not allow Chriftians to have,
even when eating the Flefh and drinking the
Blood of Chrift ; fo little does he know what
he fpeaks of, when he fpeaks pf the parta-s
king of the Benefits of Chrift,
But you will perhaps further afk, How
can the Gentiles have an Intereft in the Bene
fits of Jefus Chrift, fince they know hirri,
not, nor afk any thing in his Name ?
May you not as well afk me, how they
can be faid to live and move, and have their
being in God, who know not what it is to
have Life, and Motion, and Being in him,
nor ever confefs'd it in a true manner, or
under-

[ >»3 ]
under a right Senfe of it? For if they can
have the Benefit of a Life in God , and be
bleffed by it, who are either totally or much
ignorant of it; then Chrift as he is the At
tonement and Life of Adam and his Pofteri
ty, may be a Benefit and Bleffing to thofe
who are totally ignorant of it, or at Ieaft
know nothing of him, as he is Chrift, or the
Son of God manifeft in the Flefh.
Again, the Scripture fays of Jefus Chrift,
that he came unto his own, and his own re
ceived him not, that is, they knew him not:
Now if he could come unto his own, tho'
they knew him not, then it is plain, that
they may be his, who know him not, that is,
they may have fome Intereft in him, be pur
chafed by him, have received much from
him, be greatly related to him, who yet are
jnfenfible of it,
Lastly, you might much better afk me,
how can they who never knew any thing of
Chrifi, as their Mediator and Attonement, be
judged by him at the laft Day ? For if they
were altogether Strangers to Chrift, had no
relation to him, had receiv'd nothing from
him,or by means of him, he could not be their
Judge. For Jefus Chrift cannot do any thing
N 4 as.

[ 18+ ]
as a Judge, till he has done every thing as a
Saviour, nor be any where a Judge but
where he has firft appeared as a Saviour,
Therefore it is an evident Truth, that
had not all Nations, and every individual
Man received a certain Means of Salvation
through him, he could not be the Judge of
fill.
Heathens, Jews, and Chriftians differ
not thus, that the one have a Saviour and
are in a redeemed State, and the other are not;
or that the one have one Saviour, and the o-
ther have another, for the one Judge of all,
is the one Saviour of all ; but they only dif
fer in this, that one and the fame Saviour
is differently made known to them, and dif
ferently to be obtained by them. The Hea^
thens knew him not as he was in the nume
rous Types of the Jewijh Law, they knew
him not as he is glorioufly manifefted in the
Gofpel, but they knew him as he was the
G-od of their Hearts, manifefting himfelf by
a Light of the Mind, by InftinBs of Good
nefs, by a Senfibiiity of Guilt, by Awakenings
and Warnings of Confcience; and this was
their Gofpel, which they receiv'd as truly and
yeally in and by and thrpugh Jefus Chrift ',
I as

L *«5 ]
as the Law and Gofpel were receiv'd through
him. Therefore it is a great and glorious
Truth, enough to turn every Voice into a
Trumpet, and make Heaven and Earth ring
with Praifes and Hallelujahs to God, that Je
fus Chrift is the Saviour of all the World,
and of every Man of every Nation, Kindred,
and Language. Therefore faith St. John,
They fung a new Song, faying, Thou art wor
thy to take the Book, and to open the Seals there
of; for thou wafi flain, and haft redeemed us to
God by thy Blood, out of every Kindred, and
Tongue, and People, and Nation* And a-
gain, After this I beheld, fays he, and lo, a
great Multitude, which no Man could number,
of all Nations and Kindreds, and People, and
Tongues, ftood before the Throne, and before the
Lamb, cloathed with white Robes, and with
Palms in their Hands, and cried with a loud
Voice, faying, Salvation to our God which ftu
teth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb.-j*
I must, before I proceed further, put in here
a Word of Caution to two Sorts of Readers.
If you are in fuch a State, as I fuppofed one
to be above, touch'd with modern Infidelity, having
• Rev. v, 9-; t Rev- vii- 9» l°-

[ '86]
having your Reafon fet upon the watch to
guard you againft the Gofpel, it may here do
its Office, and will perhaps tell you, that
what I have here faid in favour of the gene
ral Light, or Seed of Life that is in all Men,
is much the fame thing that you fay in De
fence of natural Reajon, or Religion, only
with this difference, that I mention it as
coming from Chrift, and you confider it as
the bare Light of Nature.
Now if this were all the Difference, is
not this enough to fhew you, that my Opi
nion is the very denial of yours; for if I prov'd
that what you call'd the natural Light of
Men, was wholly deriv'd from the divine
Revelation, would not that be a fufficient
Proof that I deny'd and difprov'd your Re
ligion of natural Reafon? And have I not
done the fame thing, if I have afferted the
Light of Men to be a Light deriv'd from
Chrift? And how can fuch an Affertion be
made in the Ieaft favourable to your Opinion^
that fuch a Light is natural?
But to prevent all Mifapprehenfion, I
now declare to you, and will fhew you in
the moft explicit manner, that that which I
call the Light of Men, or the Seed of Life
fown

[ '«7 ]
Town into all Men by Jefus Chrift, is as whol
ly different from that which you call natural
Reafon, as Light is different from Darknefs ;
and that they ftand in that fame State of Con
trariety to each other, both as to their Ori
ginal, their Nature, and Qualities, as our
Saviour and Pontius Pilate did,
I must therefore affure you, that as I
fear God, and wifh your Salvation, fo I can
no more fay a Word in favour of what is now
call'd the Religion of natural Reafon, than I
Would recommend to you the antient Idola
try of Heathens. And yet at the fame time,
1 am no more an Enemy to Reafon, than I
am an Enemy to the Light of the Sun, and
as freely wifh you all the Benefits of the one,
as of the other.
B u t if you do by Reafon, as they did by
the Sun, who thought it to be divine, fell
down before it, and expeded all from it, then
I muft fpeak as plainly to you of the Inability
pf Reafon to do you this Good, as I muft
have fpoke of the Inability of the Sun to fuch
Idolaters of it.
And if I fhould have told them, that the
Sun was no more their God, than the pooreft
Worm upon Earth, and that it could no more
make

[ i88 ]
make thofe to be divine, that worfhipped it,
than a Storm of Hail could make thofe to be
divine, that it fell upon, I fhould have told
them a great Truth. So if I fay to you, that
Reafon,or the Faculty of Reafoning, is no more
the Religion of Man, than the Faculty of
doubting or erring is ; and that it can no more
make thofe to be divine who place their
Truft in it,than a great Error can make thofe
to be divine who abide by it ; I fhould tell
you a great and ufeful Truth.
For Reafon, or a Faculty of Reafoning
upon the moral Habitudes and Relations of
Things and Perfons, or upon the moral Pro
portion of Adions, has no more of the Na
ture and Power of Religion in it, than fo
much Reafoning upon the Relations of
Squares and Triangles. And if a Man had
this Religion of Reafon only when he was
dreaming in Sleep, it would be the fame good
thing to him, as it is to thofe who make it
their Religion, when they are awake.
For the Good pf Religion, is like the
Good of Food and Drink to an hungry and
thirfty Creature; and if inftead of giving
fuch a one Bread and Wine, or Water, you
fhould teach him to feek for Relief, by at
tending

[ l89 j
tending to clear Ideas of the Nature of Bread,
of different ways of making it, and the Re
lation it hath to Water; he would be left to
die in the Want of Suftenance, juft as your
Religion of Reafoning leaves the Soul to pe-
rifh in the Want of Religion. And as fuch
a Man would have no more Benefit from
fuch Reafoning about the Relation that Bread
had to Water, whether it was the Reafon
ing of a Dream, or the Reafoning of a Mail
awake, becaufe either way he was kept un
der the fame Want of that which was topre-
ferve his Life ; fo whether a Man has your
Religion of Reafoning only when he is aftleep,
or when he is awake, is the fame thing ; be
caufe either way he is kept under the fame
Want of that which can alone preferve the
Life of the Soul. For the Good that is in Re
ligion, or the Good that we want to receive
by it, is no more within the reach of our Rea
fon, or to be communicated to us by it, than
the Good of Food is in the reach of our Rea
fon, or can be communicated to us by it.
And yet as a Man may have theGood of Food
much aflifted and fecured to him, by the
right Ufe of his Reafon, though Reafon has
not the Good of Food in it, fo a Man may
have the Good of Religion much aflifted
and fecur'd to him by the right Ufe of Rea fon,

i 19© ]
fon, though Reafon has not the Good of Re-
ligion in it.
A n d as a Man ought not to be accufed as
an Enemy to the true Ufe of Reafoning about
Food, becaufe he declares that Reafon is not
Food, nor can fupply the Place of it; fo a
Man ought not to be accufed as an Enemy
to the Ufe of Reafoning in Religion, becaufe
he declares that Reafon is not Religion, nor
can fupply the Place of it.
But to fhew you the Bottom of this
whole Matter, pray confider with me as fol
lows :
W e have no Want of Religion, but fo far
as we want to better our State in God, or fo
far as we are unpoffeffed of God, Or lefs pof
feffed of him than we might be. This is the
true Ground of Religion, to alter our State
of Exiftence in God, and to have more of the
Divine Nature or Perfedions communicated
to us. Nothing therefore is our Good in Re
ligion, but that which alters our State of Ex
iftence in God for the better, and puts us in
poffeflion of fomething of God, or makes us
Partakers of the Divine Nature in fuch a
Manner and Degree as we wanted it.
Every

[ '9']
Every thing that is in Life, has its De
gree of Life in and from God, it lives, and
moves, and has its being in God. This is as
true of Devils themfelves, as of the higheft
and moft perfed Angels. Therefore all the
Happinefs or Mifery of all Creatures confifts
only in this, as they are more or lejs poffeffed
of God, or as they differently partake of the,
divine Nature, or according to their different
State of Exiftence in God.
B u t if this be the Truth of the Matter,
(and who can deny it) then we have the Cer
tainty of Demonftration, that nothing can
be our Good in Religion, but that which com
municates to us fomething of God or the di
vine Nature, or that which betters our State
and Manner of Exiftence in God.
F o r if Devils are what they are, becaufe
of their State and Manner of Exiftence in
God, if bleffed Angels are what they are,
becaufe of their State and Manner of Exift
ence in God, then it undeniably follows,
that all that is betwixt Angels and Devils,
all Beings from the Happinefs of the one to
the Mifery of the other, muft and can have
no other Happinefs or Mifery, but accord ing

[ 192 ]
ing to their State and Manner of Exiftence
in God, or according as they have more or
lefs ofthe State of Angels, or the State of
Devils in them. Therefore nothing can be
our Good in Religion, but that which alters
our State and Manner of Exiftence in God,
and renders us poffefs'd of him in a different
and better Manner.
Now if you was to fend to the fallen Spi
rits of Darknefs, all the Syftems of your Re
ligion of Reafon, that have been publifhed
here, to let them know that they have the
Power of their own Reftoration and Happi
nefs within themfelves, that they need feek
to nothing, but their own natural Reafon,
and Underftanding, and the Strength and A-
Bivity of their own Powers, to raife them to
all the Happinefs they are capable of; fuch
a Religion would be fo far from altering or
mending their State of Exiftence in God, or
doing them any good, that it would add
Strength to all their Chains; and the more
firmly they believed and relied upon it, the
more would they be confirm'd and fix'd in
their Separation from God.
And yet, a Religion that muft neceffarily
keep them in Hell, is the only Religion that you

L *93 ]
you will have to carry you to Heaven. May
God deliver you from this Error !
On the other hand, if you could infufe
into thofe dark Spirits a Glimpfe of that
Light of the Mind, or InfiinB of Goodnefs,
which I have faid all Mankind have received
from Jefus Chrift, as their fecond Adam,
their Salvation would be fo far begun, and
Hell would become a State of Trial for their
Redemption. Therefore that Light of the
Mind, or Inftind of Goodnefs which I have
fpoken of, has the utmoft Contrariety to
ypur Religion of Reafon, that can poffibly be
imagined. The one is theBeginning ofthe new Birth
in Chrift, and the Foundation of Heaven ;
the other is the Growth of Death, and the
very Effence of Hell in the Soul. Now that
here is no Aggravation of the Matter, but
the plain and naked Truth, you may eafily
fee from a Confideration of the Articles of
your Religion of Reafon. Your Religion of
Reafon, is a Religion of natural Strength and
Power, that rejeds the Neceffity of a Saviour,
that feels no Want of him, that rejeds the
Neceffity of Divine Grace, the Guidance of
the Holy Spirit, and feels no Want of it;
O thefe

[ J94 ]
thefe are the effential Parts of your Religion
of Reafon, which are in Truth and Reality
the Religion of Hell, or that very State of
Mind which reigns and governs there.
For could thofe miferable Spirits re
nounce thefe Articles of your Religion, their
Chains of Darknefs would break off from
them. Could they eaft themfelves down be
fore God, humbly conferring, that of them
felves they are not able to fave themfelves, or
even to think a good Thought : Could they
in Humility and Penitence beg of the Mercy
of God, to do fomething in them and for them,
which they cannot do to themfelves: Could
they acknowledge the Want of a Saviour,
afk God to find one for them : Could they
feel and own the Want of his Holy Spirit,
and humbly beg of God to be aflifted by it,
a Door of Salvation would be opened to
them. And yet you fee that nothing opens
this Door, but the plain and full Renuncia
tion of every Part of your Religion of Rea
fon. )
And if it be afked, why they cannot be
faved ? no other Reafon can be given, but be
caufe they will not"; they cannot renounce
your Religion of Reafon, that is, they cannot
z humbly

L 195 ]
humbly acknowledge their own Inability to
do themfelves good; they will not admit the
Thought of a Saviour, they will not be af-
ffted by the Spirit of God, or own the Want
of his Life in them, and therefore they are
and muft be what thsy are, Prifoners in
Chains of Darknefs.
Awake therefore, my dear Friend, and
eaft away this Religion from you, with more
Earneftnefs, than you would eaft burning
Coals out of your Bofom : For could it only
deftroy your Body, I fhould have been lefs
earneft in giving you notice of it. But as I
have the fulleft Convidion, that it is the
Death and Darknefs of your Soul, and is
bringing the Effence of Hell fecretly and in-
vifibly into it ; you muft forgive me, if I ufe
all the Expreffions and Defcriptions I can
think of, to prevent your giving into it. Had
I a fuperficial Charity for you, or a flight
View of the Hurt you are doing to your felf,
I fhould fpeak to you accordingly; but the
Depth and Earneftnefs of my Defire to do
you good, muft have Expreffions fuitable to
it. Study not therefore how to find fault
v with me, or to diflike the Words, or Man
ner of my Stile, for it is the Stile of Love
and Zeal for your Salvation; and if you con-
O 2 demn

['96]
demn any thing but Love in it, you condemn
fomething that is not there.
I h ave fhewn you, that the Religion of
Reafon is the very State of hellifh Minds,
and that they are what they are, becaufe they
will do all for themfelves, place all in their
own Strength, becaufe they cannot be humble,
cannot own the Want of a Saviour; and I
have only appeal'd to this Inftance of the
Nature and Power of your Religion of Rea
fon, to fhew you in the moft undeniable
Manner, that it muft, and can have no other
Effed upon you, than it has upon them;
that it muft produce the fame Hell in your
Soul, the fame Separation from God, and
cannot poffibly be any more the way of Sal
vation for you, than it is for them.
W h at is the Reafon that the Faith ofthe
Devils, or their Belief of God does them no
good? It is becaufe there is nothing in it but
their own AB, a mere Produd of their own;
it is becaufe it is an Ad of your Religion of
Reafon, that will have no Virtue but by its
own Strength, and of its own Growth. But
if they could have fo much ofthe Religion of
the Gofpel, as to fay in the Language of it,
Lord help our unbelief, their Faith would be
changed,

C '97 3
changed, and be beneficial to them, only for
this Reafon, becaufe they had renounced
your Religion of doing good to themfelves by
their own natural Powers.
Hence it fufficiently appears, that your
Way of natural Reafon, cannot be the Way of
Salvation : ift, Becaufe the Want of Salva
tion is nothing elfe, but the wanting to have
our State, or Manner of Exiftence in God al-
ter'd for the better, or to have fomething of
God communicated to us, which we want
and are capable of receiving. But if this is
the Nature of Salvation, then no Religion
can fave us, can do us our proper Good, or
fupply our proper Want, but that which has
Power to alter our State of Exiftence in God,
or to communicate to us that of God which
we want and are capable of. Therefore it
follows, that nothing but that fame God
which created us, which gave us our State
and Manner of Exiftence in him, and com
municated to us that which we poffefs of
him ; nothing but that fame God can redeem
us, or help us to that State or Manner of Ex
iftence in him, which we have loft, or are
in want of, O 3 But

[ '98 ]
But if God alone can redeem us, and for
the fame Reafon that he alone can create; if
Creation and Redemption neceffarily require
the fame Power, and muft for the fame Rea
fon be neceffarily appropriated to God, be
caufe each of them equally imply the Com
munication of Jomething of God to us; then
I fuppofe it may be granted, thafr the Re
ligion of Reafon, which is for Javing our-
felves by our own natural Powers, is the
greateft of all Abfurdities ; as abfurd as to
fuppofe, that we can create by our own na
tural Powers, becaufe Creation and Redem
ption both of them equally imply a Commu
nication of fomething of the Divine Nature;
and therefore he that cannot do the one, can
not do the other.
And if a Man was to afk himfelf, why
he cannot be the Saviour of other People, as
well as of himfelf? He could fay nothing a-
gainft the one, but what muft for the fame
Reafon be faid againft the other. For if Sal
vation is a Communication of fomething of
God to the Perfon faved, then it is plain, that
a Man can no more do this for himfelf, than
he can do it for another. There

[ '99 ]
There never could have been any Dif
pute about the Poffbility of faving ourfelves,
nor any Pretence to fave ourfelves by our
own natural Faculties, had not Men loft all
true Knowledge both of God and themfelves.
For this Difpute cannot happen, till Men
fuppofe that God is fome outward Being,
that our Relation to him is an outward Rela
tion, that Religon is an outward Thing that
paffes between God and us, like Terms of
Behaviour between Man and Man; that Sin
hurts and feparates us from God, only as a
Mifdemeanour hurts and feparates us from
our Prince ; that an offended or angry God
either gives or refufes Pardon to us, as an
angry Prince does to his Subjeds ; and that
what he gives us, or forgives us, is fome
thing as diftind and different from himfelf,
as when a Prince fitting upon his Throne
gives or forgives fomething to an Offender,
that is an hundred Miles from him.
Now all this is the fame total Ignorance
of God, of what he is, of the Relation we
have to him, and the Manner of his being
our Good, as when the old Idolaters took
Men to be Gods. And yet nothing is more
plain, than that your Religion of Reafon is
O 4 wholly

[ 200 ]
wholly founded upon thefe grofs and falfe
Notions of God. You have not an Argu
ment in its defence, but what fuppofes all
thefe Errors juft mention'd; that our Relati
on to God is an outward Relation, like that
of Subjeds to their Prince, and that what
we do to, and for God, as our Service, to
him, is and muft be done by our own Power,
as that which we do to, and for our Prince,
muft be by our own Power. And here lies
the Foundation of all your Religion of Rea
fon and Natural Power, that if it was not
fuffcient to obtain for us all that we want of
God, he muft be lefs good than a good
earthly Prince, who requires no more of us,
than that which we have a natural Strength
to do, or can do by our own Power./
And yet this Error appears to have all
the Grofsnefs of Idolatry, as foon as you
fuppofe, that God is no outward feparate
Being, but that we are what we are, have
what we have, can do that which we can do,
becaufe he has brought us to this State df
Life, Power and Exiftence in himfelf, becaufe
he has made us, fo far as we are made Par
takers or Poffeffors of his own Nature, and
has communicated to us fo much of himfelf 3
qr in the Words of Scripture, becaufe in
him

[ 201 ]
him we live, move, and have our being, and
confequently have no Life, Motion or Being
out of him. For from this State of our
Exiftence in God, it neceffarily follows,
firft, that by the Nature of our Creation we
are only put into a Capacity of receiving
Good : A Creature as fuch, can be in no
other State, it is as impoffible for him to
enrich himfelf, or communicate more good
to himfelf, as it was to create himfelf. 2dly,
That nothing but God himfelf can do us any
good. %dly, That God cannot do us good,
but by the Communication of himfelf in
fome manner to us.
For hence it evidently follows, that your
Religion of Reafon, which fuppofes that we
have natural Powers that can put us in
poffeflion of that, which we want to be
poffeffed of in God, or that we need no more
divine Affiftance( to recover what we have
loft of God, than to obtain a Pardon from a
Prince, or that God need communicate no
more of himfelf to us in our Salvation,
than a Prince communicates of himfelf to
his pardon'd Subjed, has all the Miflakes,
Error and Ignorance of God, that is in Ido
latry, when it takes God to be fomething that
he is not; and has all the falfe Devotion that is

[ 202 ]
is in Idolatry, when it puts the fame Truft in,
and expeds the fame Help from its own
Powers and Faculties, which Idolaters did in
and from their Idols.
Therefore your Religion of Reafon,
which you efteem as the modern Refinement
of an human Mind, and more excellent and
rational than the Faith and Humility of
the Gofpel, has all the Dregs ofthe Heathen
Idolatry in it, and has changed nothing in
Idolatry, but the. Idol ; but has the fame
Miflakes of the Nature of God, and of the
Manner in which he is our God, and our Good,
as thofe Idolaters had ; and only differs from
them in fuch a Degree of Philofophy, as the
Religion of worfhiping the Sun, differs from
the Religion of worfhiping an Onion.
A n d if you exped that divine Affiftance
from your Reafon, which one did from the
Sun, and another from an Onion ; ye are all
equally Idolaters, though ye may not be
equally Philofophers.
F o r as foon as it is known and confefs'd,
that God is all in all, that in him we live,
move, and have our Being ; that we can
have nothing feparately or out of him, but

[ 203 ]
but every thing in him; that we can have
no Being, nor any Degree of Being, nor
any Degree of Good but in him ; and that
he can give us nothing but himfelf, nor any
Degree of Salvation, but in fuch Degree as
he communicates fomething more of him
felf; as foon as this is known, then it is
known with the utmoft Evidence, that to
put our Truft in the Sun, an Onion, or our
own Reafon, if not equally abfurd, is yet
equally Idolatrous, and equally prejudicial
to our Salvation.
This, I think, my dear Friend, may fuf
ficiently fhew you both the Nature and Dan
ger of your Religion of Reafon; and that it
can no more fupply the Needs and Neceffities
of your Soul, than an Idol can fave them
that worfhipped it ; that in this refped it has
the Infignificancy of an Idol, the Vanity of
an Idol, and the Sin of an Idol ; that it is
that fame Self-confidence, Self-acquiefcence,
that fame Refufal of a Saviour and all divine
Affiftance, that keeps loft Spirits the Prifo
ners of Hell. Could they touch the Spirit
of the Gofpel, their Freedom would be
begun; and becaufe they will not, cannot
depart in the fmallefi Tittle from your Reli
gion of natural Strength, their Chains are
unmoveable. For

[ 204 ]
For no Soul can be loft, that can truly
humble itfelf before God, and apply to his
Mercy to be help'd, fav'd and redeem'd in
fuch a Manner as it fhall pleafe him. Let it
be hid, or bury'd, or imprifon'd where it
will, Hell and Earth, Death and Darknefs,
and every thing muft give way to the Soul
thus converted to God, that has no Confidence
in itfelf, that fees nothing of its own but
Sin, and that defires and calls upon God to
fave it by feme Miracle of his own Mercy
and Goodnefs. By this Senfibility of the
want of a Saviour, and by this humble Con-
verfion and Application to God for him, all
Chains are broken off, all Wounds are healed,
and the Soul muft infallibly find, if it thus
continues to feek, its Salvation in the unknown
Depths and Riches of the divine Mercy.
O n the other hand, no Soul, however
refin'd and fpeculative, however lofty and
afpiring in its Imaginations, fpiritual in its
Conceptions, or deep in its Penetration, can
poffibly be fav'd, that trufts in its own
Strength and Ability, and will have no other
Saviour or Redeemer, but its own natural
Reafon and Faculties. The

L 205 j
The whole Univerfe has not two Truths
of greater Certainty than thefe. And yet if
they are Truths, and Truths of the utmoft
Certainty, then the abfolute Neceffty of the
Gofpel Salvation , and utter Impoftibility of
being faved by your Religion of Reajon, has
its final Decifion.
Further, that Principle of Life, or
Light of the Mind, which I have faid that
every Man receives from Jefus Chrift, as the
^Beginning of his Salvation, is entirely diffe
rent from your magnify'd Light of Reafon,
as that fignifies a Faculty of viewing the
Relations of the Ideas of Things, and drawing
Confequences from them. For that Light I
fpeak of, is Goodnefs itfelf, a Seed or Degree
of fo much ofthe heavenly Life in the Soul ;
but this Faculty of Speculating and Reafon
ing has nothing of the Nature of Goodnefs
or Religion, it has not fo much as the
Shadow of it, and is in its own Nature as
foreign from Religion, when it is fpecula-
ting upon it, as when it is fpeculating upon
any thing elfe. Juft as our Faculty of Seeing
has no more of Goodnefs, or the Nature of
an Angel in it, when it fees the Pidure of
an

[ 206 ]
an Angel, than when it fees the Pidure of a
Beaft. And as a blind Man has no more Light
in him, when he reafons about Light and
Colours, than when he difcourfes about
Weights and Meafures ; fo this Ratiocinati
on, or Reafoning of the Mind, has no more
of Religion in it, when it fpeculates its
Ideas of God, Goodnefs and Morality, than
when it fpeculates its Ideas of Trees and
Houfes. And the Reafon is plain, becaufe this
Faculty of fpeculating and arguing, is only
the ABivity of the Mind upon its own Ima
ges and Ideas, and is only the J'ame bare Adi-
vity, whatever the Images be that exercife it;
it has nothing of the Nature of the Images
that it views, nor gets the Nature of them,
becaufe it views them ; as it does not become
dark when it confiders the Nature, Caufes
and Effeds of Darknefs, nor becomes Light
when it reafons about it ; fo neither is it
Religion, nor gets any thing of the Nature
of Religion, when it is wholly taken up in
making Defcriptions and Definitions of it.

If

C 207 ]
I f the Needle touch'd with the Loadfione
was an intelligent Being, it could reafon
and make Definitions of itfelf, of AttraBion,
and of the Loadfione; but it would be eafy to
fee, that the AttraBion in the Needle, or the
Virtue of the Loadfione that was left in it,
was fomething in its whole Nature really
different from this reafoning about it; and
that this reafoning and defining had no rela
tion to this Attradion, nor would ever be
the more like it, for its reafoning upon it,
though it continued ever fo long, or imffrov'd
ever fo much in its Defcriptions of it, but
would always be at the fame Diftance from
it, and could have nothing of its Nature in
it. But now if this reafoning Faculty in the
Needle fhould pretend, that the Needle need
not be drawn by an inward Attradion, that
it need not be unfix' d, or deliver'd from any
outward Impediments of its turning to the
Loadfione, becaufe this reafoning Faculty
was its true and proper AttraBion, being full
of Ideas and Definitions of it ; you would
then have a plain Example of your PradiCe,
in taking natural Reafon to be true Religion,
and to have the Nature and Power of fome
thing that carries the Soul to God. For

I

[ 208 ]
For this Inftance is a clear Explication of
the whole Matter ; for that which I have
called the firft Redemption of Chrift in the
Soul, a Seed of Life, an InfiinB of Good, a
Stirring of Confcience, an AttraBion to
God, is that to the Soul, which AttraBion
is to the Needle that is touch'd, and is as
different from your Religion of Reafon, as a
reafoning Faculty in the Needle would be
different from its AttraBion, and never could
be Attradion, or have the Nature of it.
If the Needle lofes its Attradion, its
Communication with the Loadfione is at an
end, and though it reafons never fo long
about it, it is ftill at the fame Diftance from
it. S o if the Soul lofes its InfiinB of Good
nefs, its Seed of a Divine Life, its AttraBion
to God, all its Reafonings and Definitions
about God and Goodnefs are of no ufe to
carry it to God, but it muft lye in an abfo-
lute State of Separation from him, , if its
Attradion, its inward Tendency to God,
is loft.
And

L 209 ]
And let me tell you, my dear Friend,
for fo I muft call you and thinks of you,
that there is much more in this Inftance than
you imagine. For all is Magnetifm, all is
Sentiment, InfiinB and AttraBion, and the
Freedom of the Will has the Government
of it. There is nothing in the Univerfe but
Magnetifm, and the Impediments of it.
For as all things come from God, and all
things have Jomething of God and Goodnefs
in them, fo all things have magneticalEffet\s
and InfiinB s both towards God and one
another. This is the Life, the Force, the
Power, the Nature of every thing, and
hence every thing has all that is really Good
or Evil in it ; Reafon ftands only as a Bufy-
Body, as an idle Spedator of all this, and
has only an imaginary Power over ic.
We difcover this Magnetifm in fome
things,, where it breaks out fenflbly ; but it is
every where, for the Jame Reafon that it is
any where, though we are too bufy with the
Fidions of our own Minds to fee it, or too
much em ploy 'd in fuch things as refifl and
fupprefs its Force.
P But

[ 21° ]
But becaufe this Magnetifm is a fecret
Life, that wants to increafe its Strength,
before it can fenfibly fhew its Power; and
becaufe we have an ABivity of Reafon within
us, that is foon in Adion, and concerns it
felf with every thing, and takes all upon it,
as if it did all, becaufe it can look at all, and
dijpute about all, therefore it is, that- this
Magnetifm, or Inftind towards God and
Goodnefs, has much difficulty to fhew it
felf fufficiently, and only flirs now and then
within us, or when Sicknefs, Diftrefs, or
fome great outward Shock has fo dafh'd in
pieces all Images of Reafon, and flopp'd the
ABivity of our Minds, that this fecret
Power of the Soul has liberty to awake in
it. This is that Trumpet of God which
will raife and feparate the Dead, and then
all Impediments being remov'd, every thing
will take its place, not according to the Ima
ges and Ideas it has here play'd with, but
according to the inward Tendency and At
tradion of its Nature, and Heaven and
Hell will each take its own.
And

[ *'• ]
And even whilft we are in this Life, this
Magnetifm is the Mark within us, to what
part we belong ; and that which has its At
tradion in us, has the Right to us, and
Power over us, though for a while Flefh and
Blood, and the Nature of our temporal
State, hinders this from being vifibly and
fenfibly known.
Nothing however is more plain, than
that our Goodnefs bears no Proportion to
our intelledual Abilities of Reafon; every
one fees this, and yet no more than this need
be feen, to give us the fulleft Demonftration,
that natural Reafon has no Connexion with
Virtue and Goodnefs, and therefore furely
can have no Connexion with our Salvation,
or be the proper Caufe of it.
Hence we fee, that learned, acute, rati
onal Philofophers are often Atheifis; and
thofe that can demonftrate the Foundation
of Virtue, and paint every Office of it, are
Rakes and Debauchees, and will fell every
appearance of pradical Virtue for a Salary
of fo much a Year ; whilft thofe that feem
to have little of intelledual Accomplifh-
ments, are Virtuous and Honeft, have a
P 2 Tafte

[ 2I2 ]
Tafte and Relifh for every pradical Vir
tue* v.
The natural Love or Affedion of Rela
tions, bears no proportion to our rational
Abilities to fpeak or write of them.
AParent that is of too refin'd an Un
derftanding to content himfelf with the
Morals of the Gofpel, or its low Way of
making Men good, and that wants to be en-
tertain'd with a Virtue of more Mathema
tical Exadnefs, is often content with the
Demonftration, and fo remains deficient in
the plainefi Duties of Domeftick Affedion ;
when the poor Labourer or Mechanick, that
knows not what you mean by a Definition,
has all the folid Love and Affedion that be
comes a good Relation. All this, and much
more, which you and every one may think
for himfelf of the fame Kind, is a fufficient
Proof, that the Ground of Goodnefs in every
Man, is fomething entirely diftinB from our
natural Faculties of Reafon and Speculation.
Atra therefore, when you place the Power
of your Salvation in your intelleBual Light,
or the Strength of your own Reajon, you
place it in your weakeft Part, in the pooreft,
2 moft

[ 2I3 ]
moft trifling and inftgnificant Thing that be
longs to you, and upon that which has the
Ieaft Effed in human Life.
The only good that Reafon can do to
you, is to remove the Impediments of Vir
tue, and to give room to that inward Inftinft
or AttraBion to God, and Goodnefs, to dis
play itfelf; that the inmoft Spirit of your
Mind may receive its Strength and Affiftance
from the Spirit of God, from which, as the
Needle from the Loadfione, it has all its In
fiinB of Goodnefs and Tendency towards
God. For this inward Inftind of Goodnefs,
or Life of God in the Soul, is all the real
and living Goodnefs that is in you, and is as
different and diftind from natural Reafon, as
the Light, and Heat, and Power and Virtue
of the Sun, is different from a PiBure of it
upon a piece of Canvafs, and has as different
Effeds upon the Mind.
For this Light of bare Reafon, or the
reafoning Faculty of the Mind, has no Con
trariety to the Vices of the Heart, it neither
kills them, nor is kill'd by them. As Pride,
Vanity, Hypocrify, Envy or Malice, don't
P 3 take

[ 214 ]
take away from the Mind its Geometrical
Skill, fo a Man may be moft Mathematical
in his Demonftrations of the Religion of
Reafon, when he has extinguifh'd every good
Sentiment of his Heart, and be the moft
zealous for its Excellency and Sufficiency!
when he has his Paffions in the moft diforder-
ed State.
B u t in that Light of the Heart, or At
traBion to God, which I have faid is com
mon to all Mankind in and through Jefus
Chrift, all is contrary. As it is a Gift and
Grace of God, fo it is a real Life, a living
Thing, a Sentiment of the Heart, and fo far
as it grows and increafes in us, fo far it de-
ftroys all that is bad and corrupt within us.
It has the fame Contrariety to all Vices of
the Heart, that Light has to Darknefs, and
muft either fupprefs or be fupprefs'd by
them. Now when I fpeak of this Light, or In-
flind of the Heart, or Attradion to God,
I have not only the Authority of Scripture,
but every Man's own Experience on my fide j
that Diftindion between the Head and the
Heart, which every one knows how to make,
plainly declares for all that I have faid. It
i fhews

L "5 ]
fhews that the State, and Manner, and Ten
dency of our Heart, is all that is good within
us ; and that the Reafonings and Speculations
of the Head, are only an empty fhew and
noife that is made in the outfide of us.
For that which we mean by the Heart,
plainly fpeaks- thus much, it is a kind of
Life and Motion within us, which every one
knows contains all that is good or bad in us ;
that we are that which our Hearts are, let us
talk, and reafon, and difpute what we will
about Goodnefs and Virtue; and that this
State of our Heart is as diftind from, and
independent of all Speculations of our rea
foning Faculties, as it is diftind from, and
independent of all the Languages in which
a Scholar can reafon and fpeculate upon ir.
And if a Man fhould fay, that the Excellency
and Sufficiency of natural Religion confifted
in knowing all the Languages in which Vir
tue, Goodnefs and Religion are exprefs'd by
different Sounds and Charaders, he would
have faid as much Truth, and as well
grounded, as he who places the Excellency
and Sufficiency of natural Religion in the
many Arguments and Demonftrations which
Reafon can raife about it. For all Reafon
ing and Speculation ftand on the outfide of
P 4 the

[ 2.6]
the Heart, in the fame fuperficial Manner
as all Languages do.
For our Heart is our Manner of Exift
ence, or the State in which we feel ourfelves
to be ; it is an inward Life, a vital Senfibili-
ty, which contains our Manner of feeling
what and how we are ; it is the State of our
Defires and Tendencies, of inwardly feeing,
hearing, tafting, relifhing and feeling that
which paffes within us ; it is that to us in
wardly with regard to ourfelves, which our
Senfes of feeing, hearing, feeling, &c. are,
with regard to Things that are without, or
external to us.
Now as Reafon is a poor, fuperficial, and
infignificant Thing with refped to our out
ward Senfes, unable to add any thing to our
hearing and feeing, &c. or to be the true Pow
er and Life of them, by all its Speculations
and Reafonings upon them; fo it is much
more a poor, and fuperficial, and infignifi
cant Thing with refped to the inward Sen-
fibility of the Heart, or its feeing, feeling,
&c. and much more unable to add to, or a-
mend the State of the Heart, or become the
Life and Power of its Motions, by its Argu-
ings about them, And

L 217 ]
And therefore, to feek for the Religion or
Perfedion of the Heart in the Power of our
Reafon, is more groundlefs and abfurd, and
againft the Nature of Things, than to feek
for the Perfedion and Strength of our Senfes
in the Power of our Reafon.
N o w I appeal to every Man in the World
for the Truth of all this; for every Man has
the fulleft inward Convidion, that his Heart
is not his Reafon, nor his Reafon his Heart,
but that the one is as different from the other
in its whole Nature, as Pain, and Joy, and
Defire, are different from Definitions of them;
and that as a thoufand Definitions of Joy and
Defire, will not become that Defire and Joy
itfelf; fo a thoufand Definitions of Religion,
will not become Religion itfelf, but be al
ways in the fame State of Diftance from it;
and that all Reafoning and Speculations up
on Religion, are at the fame State of Di
ftance from the Nature and Power of Reli
gion, as Speculations upon our Paffions are
from the Nature and Power of them.
You know, not by Hearfay, Reafoning,
or Books, but by an inward Sentiment, that
yqur Reafon can be very nicely religious, ve ry

[ ii8 ]
ry ftrid in its Defcriptions of Goodnefs, at
the fame time that the Heart is a mere Liber
tine, funk into the very Dregs of Corrupti
on: On the other hand, you know, that
when your Reafon is debauch'd with Argu
ments, is contending for Prophanenefs, and
feems full of Proof that Piety is Superftition,
that your Heart at the fame time has a Vir
tue in it, that fecretly diffents from all that
you fay.
No w all this Proof that the State of Rea
fon is not the State of your Heart, is the fame
Proof that Reafon is not the Power or Strength
of our Religion, becaufe what our Hearst is,
that is our Religion ; what belongs to our
Heart, that belongs to our Religion; which
never had nor can have any other Nature,
Power, or Perfedion, than that which is
the Nature, Power, and Perfedion of our
Heart. Yo u are forced to know and feel, whether
you will or no, that God has a certain fecret
Power within you, which is watching every
Opportunity of faying fomething to you, ei
ther of your felf, the Vanity of the World,
or the Guilt and Confequences of Sin. This

[ 2I9 ]
T h i s is that Inftind of Goodnefs, Attra
dion of God, or Witnefs of himfelf in the
Soul of every Man , which without Argu
ments and Reafonings rifes up in the Soul,
and would be doing fome good to it, if not
quenched and refilled by the Noife and Hur
ry either of Pleafures or Bufinefs.
And this is' every ones natural Religion,
or Call to God and Goodnefs, which is faith
ful to every Man, and is the only Founda
tion of all the Virtue and Goodnefs that fhall
be brought forth in him. And the Ieaft
Stirring of this inward Principle, or Power
of Life, is of more Value than all the ABivi
ty of our Reafon, which is only as it were a
Painter of dead Images, which leave the
Heart in the fame State of Death, and Em-
ptinefs of all Goodnefs in which they fine}
it. Therefore, my dear Friend, know the
Place of your Religion, turn inwards, liften
to the Voice of Grace, the Inftind of God
that fpeaks and moves within you ; and in
ftead of forming dead and lifelefs Images,
let your Heart pray to God, that all that is
Good and Holy in him, may touch, and
ftir,

[ 220 ]
ftir, and revive all that is capable of Good
nefs and Holinefs in you. Your Heart wants
nothing but God, and nothing but your
Heart can receive him. This is the only
Place and Seat of Religion, and of all Com
munication between God and you.
We are apt to confider Confidence only as
fome working of our Heart, that checks us,
and fo we are rather afraid, than fond of it.
But if we look'd upon it as it really is, fo
much of God within us, revealing himfelf
within us, fo much of a heavenly Life, that
is to raife us from the dead, we fhould love
and adhere to it, as our happy Guide to
Heaven. For this Reafon, I have call'd this Spark
of Life, or Inftind of Goodnefs, our inward
Redeemer ; not only becaufe it is the only
Thing within, that helps forward our Salva
tion, but alfo becaufe it is the firft Beginning
of Chrift's Redemption in the Souls of all
Men, by his becoming the Attonement for-
all. And as it is the firft Step of Chrift's Re
demption in the Soul, and that which be
came.

[ 221 ]
came their Capacity of Salvation ; fo the Pro
grefs of their Redemption confifts in the In
creafe and Growth of this firft Seed of Life,
till the new Man be wholly raifed up by it.
Last l y, another real Difference between
this InfiinB of Goodnefs, or Piety of the
Heart, and your Religion of Reafon, is this,
that natural Reafon in itfelf is incapable of
Jefus Chrift; it cannot comprehend him, it
is at Enmity with him, and fets itfelf up a-
gainft him. For it feels no Want of a Savi
our, and therefore is unwilling to receive one.
Or if it was to admit of a Saviour, it muft
be only fuch a one as came to increafe the
Number of its Images and Ideas, or to help
it to be more aBive and artful in the ranging,
dividing and diftinguifhing them.
And for this Reafon it is, that a Book
of Ideas and DifiinBions is more valued by
fome People, than all the Salvation that is
offer'd in the Gofpel.
But this natural Religion or Inftind of
Goodnefs, of which I have fpoken, as God's
free Gift to all Men in Jefus Chrift, has that
natural Fitnefs for the receiving of Chrift,
as the Eye has for receiving the Light ; it
wants

[ 222 ]
wants him, it defires him, it is for him, it
knows him, k rejoices in him, as the Eye
wants, defires, knows, and rejoices in the
Light. And of this natural Religion, or Re
ligion of the Heart, does our Saviour plain
ly fpeak, when he fays, He that is of God
heareth God's Word, <—— — and again, My
Sheep hear my Voice. Therefore this Inftind
of Goodnefs, or Piety of the Heart, though
it is God's Gift to Man before his hearing the
outward Word, is yet a certain Preparation
for it ; and if it be brought forth in us, is a
never- failing Fitnefs to receive it. Therefore
he that has this natural Religion of the
Heart, of which I have fpoken, has the
greateft Fitnefs to receive the Gofpel, he is
fo of God, that he heareth God's Word, fuch
a Sheep of Chrift as knoweth his Voice. And
therefore the receiving, or not receiving the
Gofpel, is the greateft of all Demonftrations,
whether a Man hath, or hath not that right
Religion that is antecedent to it.
Natural Religion, when rightly un
derftood, is a real Thing, and of the fame
Truth as reveal'd Religion. But the Mi
ftake lies here, in our taking natural Reli
gion to be the Work or Effed of natural
Reafon ; whereas Reafon, or our Faculty of
reafoning

L 223 ]
reafoning upon our Ideas, is not a Part of
natural or reveal'd Religion, but only a bare
Spedator of its own Images of natural and
reveal'd Religion, juft as it is^iot a Part of our
hearing and Jeeing; nor can come any nearer
to them, than as it is a bare Spedator of its
own Images of them.
All Men by virtue of God's firft Pardon
to Adam, are put into a State of Salvation ;
and as this State, though it is the free Gift
of God, is common to all Men, as Men, or
born of Adam, fo it may in a good Senfe be
call'd their natural State, and the Religion
of this State, their natural Religion.
Now the Queftion is, What is the natu
ral Religion of this State? It is that which
his State and Condition fpeaks to him. Now
his Condition and State in the World plainly
fpeaks thus much to him, that he is a Sinner,
and yet in a State of Favour with God, or in
a Poffbility of being accepted of him. Eve
ry Man's Nature teaches him thus much, with
the fame Certainty that it teaches him, that
he is weak and mortal. That he is a Sinner,
and at the fame time an Objed of Divine
Mercy, are things that are made known to
him,

[ 224 ]
him, not by Arguments or Speculation, but
by his own being what he is.
Therefore the whole of natural Reli
gion confifts in a Man's following this Voice
of Nature, and ading conformably to it; in
acknowledging the Sinfulnefs of his State,
and in imploring and relying upon the divine
Mercy to be delivered from it. This is the
whole Truth of natural Religion ; an hum
ble penitent Senfe of Sin , and an humble
Faith and Trufi in the Mercy of God to be
deliver'd from it ; though it is not known by
what Name to call that Deliverance, or what
kind of Saviour is wanted to effed it. But
he that thus according to the Diredion of
his natural State lives before God, in Peni
tence, and in Faith in his Mercy, is fure of
having the Benefit of all the Mercy of God,
though he does not know the Method, or the
Means, by which the Mercy of God will fave
him. So that true, natural, and reveal'd Reli
gion agree in thefe two great and effential
Points, that Man is in a State of Sin, and
yet in a State of Acceptance with God thro'
his Mercy; therefore the Piety ofthe one, is
the Piety of the other, viz. a penitent Senfe of

L 225 ]
of Sin, and a humble Faith and Trufi in
God to be delivered from it by his Mercy.
And here you may again fee, why this Na
tural Religion is to be confider'd, not as a
Matter of Reafon, but as an InfiinB of Good
nefs, or Piety of the Heart ; becaufe it is no
thing elfe but^o much Goodnefs, not in Idea,
but in the very inward Effence of the Soul,
as diftinguifhes and preferves it both from
Beafts and fallen Spirits.
Had a Man no Senfe of Shame for his
Sins, he would be in the very State of the
Beafis; had he no Faith and Hope in the Mer
cy of God, he would be in the State of the
Devils. Therefore that internal Sentiment of
Heart, that InfiinB of Goodnefs, is his only
true Religion of Nature, becaufe it is thus
the Prefervation of his Nature, and the Ja-
ving him from being like to Beafts and fallen
Spirits. Reason therefore , as it is a Facul
ty of fpeculating and comparing Ideas, has
no more Share in this Religion of Nature,
than it has a Share in our natural Powers
Q_ of

[ 226 ]
of hearing and feeing; and as it can only
in a little way , and in certain Circum-
ftances, do fome outward Service to thefe
Senfes, fo it can only in the fame little and
low way, help and affift this Religion of Na
ture by fome outward Services.
A nd as this Inftind of Goodnefs, or in
ward Sentiment of the Heart, is that alone
which prejerves our Nature, and therefore is
alone the true Religion, or Salvation of Na
ture, fo the whole of all reveal'd Religion,
is to improve this true Religion of Nature in
its two effential Parts, Penitence for Sin,
and Faith and Truft in the Mercy of God.
For all reveal'd Religion has only this End,
it teaches nothing, intends nothing, but to
give us more Reafons for Penitence, and more
Reafons for Faith and Truft in the Mercy of
God. And therefore it was that I faid, this In
ftind of Good, or true Religion of Nature,
is the very Preparation of the Heart for the
Reception of the Gofpel. For fo much as
there is of this Penitence and Faith living in
the Soul, fo much it has of Eyes to fee, of
Ears to hear, and of a Heart to underftand
all the Truths of Divine Revelation. The
2 Humi-

[ 227 ]
Humility and Penitence of the Gofpel, the
Mercies of God in and through Jefus Chrift,
are as agreeable to a Man in this State of
Heart, as Food and Water to the hungry and
thirfty Soul. The Gofpel prefents every
thing to him that he wants ; and God is
thereby become all that to him, which the
miferable State of his Soul ftood in need of.
And fo when he finds the Gofpel, he finds
the Pearl, for which he gladly fells all that
he hath.
Therefore a Man can have no greater
Proof that the Religion of Nature is fuppref-
fed in him, that he has not the Religion of
Penitence and Faith, than by his Refufal of
the Gofpel ; for the Gofpel as naturally a-
grees with fuch a State of Heart, as Light
mixes with Light, and Darknefs with Dark
nefs. Lay the Caufe of Infidelity where you
will, it is a certain Truth, that it lies only
in this Infenftbility of Heart, in this Extin-
Bion of the Religion of Nature. And if the
Ieaft Sentiment of Penitence arifes in your
Heart, or a Senftbility of the Need of Divine
Mercy, the Gofpel has got fo far an En
trance into you, and it cannot lofe its hold
cl? of

C 228 ]
of you , but by your lofing this State of
Heart. Let your Reafon pretend what it will,
and fancy it has ever fo many Objedions of
Speculation and Argument againft the Gofpel,
they are all Objedions of the Heart. For the
Gofpel fpeaks only to the Heart, and nothing
but the Heart can either receive or rejed it.
For this is an eternal Truth, which you can
not too much refled upon, that Reafon al-
vrays follows the State of the Heart, and what
your Heart is, that is your Reafon. If your
Heart i§ full of Sentiments of Penitence, and
of Faith in the divine Mercy, your Reafon
will take part with your Heart, and will en
tertain itfelf with all Arguments, Ideas, and
Difcourfes, that can exercife this Religion of
the Heart.
But if your Heart is fhut up in Death
and Drynefs, your Reafon will be according
to it, a poor Quibbler in Words, and dead I-
mages, and will delight in nothing but fuch
dry Objedions and Speculations as anfwer
to the Deadnefs and Infenfibility of your
Heart.

So

L 229 ]
S o that what you imagine, of your ha
ving a Religion of pure Reafon, is the meer-
eft Fidion of Deceit that can be impofed
upon you ; for Reafon has nothing of its
own, it ads nothing of itfelf, it barely refieBs
that which comes from the Heart, as the
Moon barely refleds that which comes from
the Sun; it is the Servant of the Heart, and
muft ad or not ad in Obedience to it; what
the Heart loves, that Reafon contends for;
and what the Heart has no Inclination to,
that Reafon objeds againft. Therefore there
neither is, nor was, nor ever can be any o-
ther Religion but the Religion of the Heart,
and Reafon is only its Servant, in the fame
Manner, and in the fame Degree, whatever
the Religion of the Heart be, whether true
or falfe.
And to imagine that Natural Religion is
the Effed of pure Reafon and Speculation,
is as great an Error againft the Nature of
Things, and more hurtful to you, than to
imagine that natural hearing and feeing is the
Effed of Reafon and Speculation.
Natural Religion, if you underftand
it rightly, is a moft excellent Thing, it is a
0^3 right-

[ 230 ]
right Sentiment of Heart, it is fo much Good
nefs in the Heart, it is its Senfibility both of
its Separation from, and its Relation to God ;
and therefore it fhews itfelf in nothing but
in a penitential Sentiment of the Weight of
its Sins, and in an humble Recourfe by Faith
to the Mercy of God.
Call but this the Religion of Nature,
and then the more you efteem it, the better,
for you cannot wifh well to it, without
bringing it to the Gofpel State of Perfe
dion. For the Religion of the Gofpel is this Re
ligion of Penitence, and Faith in theMercy of
God, brought forth into its full Perfedion.
For the Gofpel calls you to nothing, but to
know, and underftand, and pradife a full
and real Penitence, and to know by Faith,
fuch Heights and Depths of the divine Mer
cy towards you, as the Religion of Nature
had only fome little uncertain Glimmerings
of. Therefore there is the fame Agreement,
and the fame Difference between the true
Religion of Nature, and the Religion of the
Gofpel, that there is between the Breaking
of the Day, and the Rifing of the Sun to its
fneridian Height $ the one is the Beginning, and

[ 23i ]
and the other is the PerfeBion of the fame
Thing. And as the Light of the Day-break,
and the Light of the Noon-Day, are both the
fame Light, and from the fame Producer of
Light; fo the Light of the Religion of Na
ture, and the Light of the Gofpel, are the
fame Light, and from the fame Producer of
Light in the Mind.
I f you only ftood for fome Time, in the
firft Break of Day, fenfible of the Mifery
of Darknefs, and only feeling fome Hope
and Expedation of the Light, yet knowing
nothing of that Globe of Fire that afterwards
was to appear, and blefs you with fo many
unknown and unhop'd for Joys and Com
forts of the Noon-Day Light, you would
then refemble one ftanding for fome time in
the Day-break of Natural Religion, fenfible
ofthe Weight of his Sins, and only hoping in
God for fome Kind of Mercy towards him ;
yet knowing nothing of that Globe of Fire,
that Myftery of divine Love that was by de
grees to difcover itfelf, and blefs him with fo
many unknown, unhop'd for Joys and Com
forts of the divine Mercy towards him.
The original Inftind of Goodnefs in the
Soul, which I have fhewn to be the Religion
QL4 °*

[ 232 ]
of Nature, is the Light of Day-Break in the
Soul, and is that Light which lighteth every
Man that cometh into the World. The Light
ofthe Gofpel is that Noon-Day Light, which
difcovers fuch Joys and Comforts as no one
could have thought of, that had only flood
in the Break of Day.
A n d as no one when the Day arifes, can
rejed or difpute the Coming or Goodnefs of
the Rifing Sun, but becaufe he has loft that
Senfe which was to diftinguijh Light from
Darknefs ; fo no one can rejed or diflike, or
difpute againft the Light of the Gofpel, but
he that has extinguijh'd that InfiinB of Good
nefs in his Soul, which alone can diftinguifli
Good from Evil, and make him love the one
and rejed the other.
Don't therefore, my dear Friend, de
ceive yourfelf, nor let any one elfe deceive
you. The Matter is of infinite Confequence
that you have before you. You come into
the World but once, and have but one Tri
al, but the Effeds of it are to laft for ever.
The Time of difputing and fpeculating up
on Ideas, is fhort ; it can laft no longer than
whilft the Sun of this World can refrefh your
' Flefh and Blood, and fo keep the Soul from
knowing

[ 233 ]
knowing its own Depth, or what has been
Growing in it. But when this is over, then
you muft know and feel what it is to have a
Nature as deep, and firong, and large as E-
ternity. I F you have liv'd upon the Amufements
of Reafon and Speculation, your Life has
been worfe than a Dream, and your Soul
will at the End of fuch a Life, be left to it
felf in its own Darknefs, Hunger, Tbirfi,
and Anxiety, to be for ever devour'd by its
own Fire.
But if you have watch'd over that InfiinB
of Goodnefs which God planted in your Soul,
and have exercifed yourfelf in that Penitence
for your Sins, and humble Faith in the Mer
cy of God, that the Gofpel propofes to you ;
then when your Body falls off from you, you
will feel and know what a Kingdom of God
lay hid in your Soul, you will fee that you
have a Life and Strength like that of Eterni
ty, and the Fulnefs of God himfelf will be
your everlafting Enjoyment.
For Heaven and Hell ftand ready to a-
wake and be reveal'd in you, ,and can no
longer be hid from from you, than whilft you

[ 234 ]
you are under the Cover of Flefh and Blood.
And then will be fully verified in you, that
Saying of Scripture, he that feeketh findeth :
For you will find that which you have
fought, and according to your Faith, fo will
it eternally be done unto you. Your Soul
will have nothing taken from it, but it will
have all that Good which you fought after,
and provided for it. You chofe to be faved
only by the Powers of your own Reafon,
and refufed the Mercy of God that was to
have faved you, and therefore you will have
that very Salvation you have chofen, you will
be entirely without the Mercy of God, and
left wholly to your own Nature : And that
Salvation is the Mifery of Hell.
You are now your own Carver, and
muft be that which you fhall have made of
yourfelf. If the Depth of your Heart has
not in this Life's Time its proper Cure, if it
has not fomething done to it, which your
Reafon can no more do, than it can create
the Light, your Heart will become your
Hell. And if you let the Light of the Gof
pel fhine into it, and revive the good Seed of
Life in it, then it will become the Seat and
Habitation of your Heaven,
You

[ 235 ]
You may perhaps imagine, that becaufe
you pradife Sobriety and Juftice, and are a
Friend to moral Behaviour, both in your-
felf and other People, that therefore your
Difbelief of the Gofpel cannot proceed from
the Dijbrder of your Heart, or a want of
Piety. But this, Sir, is all miftake. For you
may have all this moral Behaviour, and yet
have nothing at all of that Sentiment of Pe
nitence, and Faith in the Divine Mercy,
which I have fhewn to be the only true Reli
gion of Nature.
It is as eafy to have all this kind of
Goodnefs which you appeal to, as it is to be
civil, well-bred, and a Friend to the Peace
and Order of that Society of which one is a
Member. Even an Atheifi may find his Ends, and
ad fuitably to his own Principles of Self-
love, Eafe and Reputation, by this moral
Behaviour, But the Preaching of the Gofpel dis
covers all, and fhews from what Principle all

[ 236 ]
all this Morality proceeds. If there was this
Sentiment of Penitence and Faith in the
Mercy of God at the Bottom, then this Mo
rality would want and rejoice at the Precepts
and Dodrines of the Gofpel, becaufe they
raife a Morality upon the Foundation of
Penitence and Faith. But when this Mora
lity is only a worldly Wifdom, a Convenience
of Life, apolitical Conformity, and as meer
a Gratification of Selfijhnefs, as any other
worldly Accomplifhments are, then this
Morality is in the greateft Enmity with the
Gofpel, becaufe the Gofpel takes away its
Worth, and all the Self-accomplifhment
that was placed in it.
Therefore it is not the mere moral Man
that has that Goodnefs of the Heart, that is a
Qualification to receive the Gofpel : For an
Atheift may be fuch a Moral Man ; but it is
he, whofe Heart is in a State of Penitence
for his Sins, and humbly looking to the Mercy
of God to be feme way or other deliver'd'
fromthem. This is the only Foundation of a reli
gious Morality, and this is that State of
Heart which muft be wanting in every Mo-
ralift that refufes the Gofpel. Hence

[ 237 ]
Hence therefore it is plain, that you
may have a great deal of Morality in your
Behaviour, and yet nothing of the Religion of
Nature in your Heart, and fo be entirely un
qualified to receive the Gofpel, becaufe of
the Dijbrder of your Heart. For the Mora
lity of an unrejormed Heart, adds no more
G oodnefs to it, than whited Sepulchres do to
the Rottennejs of dead Men's Bones.
What I fay, I fay not to reproach you,
but from ^a fincere Defire of doing you all
the good that 1 can. For I have too much
Experience myfelf of the Weaknefs and
Miflakes of human Nature, to reproach
any Degree of them in other People. But
if you will take in good Part what is well
meant, I hope you will find that I have been
your Friend in difcovering the Bottom of
your Diforder.
B u T it may be you will fay, you would
believe the Gofpel if you could, but that its
Evidence cannot have that Effed upon your
Mind. You may fay alfo, the Gofpel is a
Matter of Fad ; you muft examine into
the Truth of it as you do into the Truth
of other Matters of Hiftory ; and as
both the internal and external Evidence of
the

[ 238 ]
the Gofpel is much defended and oppofed by
Learned Men, its Evidence is fo perplexed,
and made a Matter of fuch laborious and
intricate Enquiry, that your Mind cannot
come at any Certainty of what you ought to
believe concerning the Truth of it.
I will therefore propofe the Jhorteft,
and at thefame time the fureft of all Methods,
and fuch as you fhall either be obliged to ac-
quiefce in as fufficient, or to own that you
have fupprefs'd that InftinB of Goodnefs
within you, which I have fhewn to be the
Original Birth-right of all Mankind, and to
be the only State of Heart that faves us from
being a mere Mixture of the Beafts and the
Devils. I don't recommend to you to lay afide
Prejudice, and begin again the Controverfy
from the Bottom, and read all on both Sides
with all the Impartiality that you can.
I would as foon fend you on a Pilgrimage,
to be a Penitent, as propofe to you this
Travel to be a Chriftian, The Truth of the
Gofpel lies much nearer to us than we
imagine, and we only difpute and wrangle
ourfelves into a Diftance from it. Do

[ 239 ]
D o you think that you need many Books
to fhew you that you are a Sinner, that you
have the Diforder of almoft all the Beafts
within you, that you have befides this, fuch
Paffions and Tempers of Pride, Envy,
Selfifhnefs and Malice, as would make you
fhun the Sight of other People, if they
could fee all that paffes within you ? Need
any Learning inftrud you, that at the fame
Time that you have all thefe Diforders, both
of the Beafts, and evil Spirits within you,
you have a great Defire to feem to be with
out them, and are affeding continually to
have, and appear in thofe very Virtues which
you feel the want of? When you are full of
Hatred and Envy, you affed to be thought
good and good-natur'd, when proud, to ap
pear as humble.
Now I defire you to know no Books,
but this Book of your own Heart, nor to be
well read in any Controverfy but in that
which paffes within you, in order to know
the Gofpel to be the greateft of all Truths,
and the infallible Voice of God fpeaking the
way of Salvation to you. No Eccho anfwers
to the Voice that raifes it, fo certainly and
agreeably, as the Voice of Nature, or the
State

[ 24Q-]
State of your own Heart anfwers to that
which the Gofpel preaches unto you. And
this I will fhew you to be the fhoneft and
fureft of all Methods to difcover the Truth
of the Gofpel.
The Gofpel is built on thefe two Pillars,
Firft, That you are a fallen: Secondly, That
you are a redeemed Creature. Now every
Man's own Soul, and what daily paffes
within him, fpeaks thefe two great Truths
to him, with a Convidion and Senfibility
that cannot be avoided.
You have feen, and you feel, and know
that you are a Sinner, that you have the Dif
orders of the Beafts, and the Depravity of
evil Spirits within you. Is not this faying to
you, not in the Sound of Words, but by the
Frame and Voice of your Nature, that you
are a fallen Creature, and not in that State
in which a good Being muft have created
you ? For I appeal to yourfelf, in your own
Degree of Goodnefs,. if you could create
your own Children, whether you would not
create them in a better State, and with lefs
Evil, both of the Beaft and the Devil in
them, than that in which you was born your
felf? i Therefore

[ 24i ]
Therefore, only fuppofing God to have
your Degree of Goodnefs, he could not have
created the firft Man, from whom your Na
ture is deriv'd, in the State that you are ; and
therefore fuppofing him only to be good,
you have a fufficient Proof ; but fuppofing
him to be infinitely good, or Goodnefs it
felf, you have an infallible Demonftration
written in the Frame of your Nature, that
you are a fallen Creature, or not in that
State in which God created you.
Again, do you want any Learning or
Books, or Reafoning, to fhew you, that
every Man, as well as yourfelf, affeds to ap
pear virtuous, to have good Qualities, and is
afhamed of every beaftly and diabolical Dis
order ; and would feem to have Virtues and
Goodnefs .that he has not, becaufe of an
innate Love that he has for them, and from
a Senfe of their being proper for him? And
is not this faying again with the fame Fulnefs
of Certainty, that you are a redeem d Crea
ture, that there is in you an inward Redeemer,
a Light of the Mind, a Seed of Goodnefs,
an InfiinB to Virtue, given you by God,
though without Revelation you don't know
when nor how ?
R And

¦:[ 242 ]
And is not this fuch ah Evidence of the
Truth of the Chriftian Religion, and of its
fitnefs ;to fave your Soul, as not only needs not
tfteAfliftarice of Foreign Books andLearning,
but is alfo fufficient to fupport itfelf, againft
all the Books and Learning in the World,
that fhould dppofe it ? Can any Ecchb an
fwer better to the Voice that raifes it, than
the Voice of your Nature anfwers to the
Sound of the Gofpel? And do you not
hereby plainly fee, that you ftand nearer to
the Truth of the Chriftian Religion, than
you do to any thing elfe ? It is only the Des
cription of ' that which paffes within you.
It is the Book of your felf, it talks of nothing
out of you, but that which is faid within
you, and' therefore you have a fufficient
Help to underftand it. To look for outward
Teftimonies, is like looking foi: yotir felf
abroad; ''turn but your Eyes inward, and
you have ho need of Miracles to fhew you,
that Jefus Chrift came from that God that
made you, arid that he teaches you the only
way to find that Perfedion'and Happinefs
for which he made youi1-'
', - t; ..'!•'' , >"¦¦
What can the G ofpel" fay to you of the
Fall of Man, that your Heart does not feel
2 tO

[ 243 ]
to be true ? What can it fay to you of your
Redemption, that is not at the fame Time
faid to you, by the State of your own Soul?
For if you was not fallen, how could
you labour under fo much Corruption ? A
finful Creature cannot come from God in its
finful State. And on the other hand, if you
was not redeem'd, how could you feel a
Diflike of Sin, an Inclination to Goodnefs,
and a Defire of appearing Virtuous? For
what elfe is this Defire of Goodnefs, but a
certain inward Principle that has begun your
Redemption, and is trying to carry it on ?
Now the Chriftian Religion fays nothing
to you, it has not one Dodrine, or Pradice,
or Inftitution, but what has its immediate
relation to thefe two great Truths, and is for
the fake of them, either to convince you of
your Fall, or to affift your Redemption.
Now if a Revelation from God had only
told you, that you had a Mixture of Evil
and Good in you, could you have any doubt
about the Truth of fuch a Revelation ? Or
if it told you that the Evil came from the
Fault of your firft Parents, and the Good
was God's free Gift to you at their Fall,
R 2 that

[ 244 ]
that the Evil might be refifted and fupprefs'd ;
if it told you, that God had a Defire, and
a Defign in the Depths of his Mercy, to
affift the Good that was in you, that it might
conquer and put an entire End to all the Evil
of your Nature, would you ask for Proofs
of the Goodnefs of fuch a Revelation, or of
its being worthy of God, and fuitable to
your own Needs ?
Now the Chriftian Religion is this Reve
lation. It tells you only this great Truth,
that you are fallen and redeemed, that is, that
you have a Mixture of Evil and Good in
you ; it tells you that God as early as the
Fall, redeem'd you, when the Seed of the
Woman became the Enemy of the Serpent ;
that is, as foon as the Evil came into you,
he of his free Gift, put a good Power into you>
to withftand it ; it tells you, that from the
Beginning of the World, it has been God's
gracious Defire and Defign in and by Jefus
Chrift to render your Redemption effedual,
that is, to make the Good that is in you per-
fedly overcome all your Evil.
Complain therefore no more of want of
Evidence ; neither Books, nor Study, nor
Learning is wanted; the Gofpel is within
you, and you are its Evidence, it is preach'd unto

[ 245 ]
unto you in your own Bofom, and every
thing within you is a Proof of the Truth of
it. Ask how you fhall know there is fuch a
thing as Day and Night ; for the Fall and
Redemption are as manifeft within you, as
Day and Night are manifeft without you.
Here, Sir, in this intimate and true
Knowledge of yourfelf lies the moft precious
Evidence of the Gofpel, and is as near to
you, as you are to yourfelf; becaufe all that
is faid and declar'd, and recorded in the Gof
pel, is only a plain Record of that which is
faid and done, and doing in yourfelf.
And when you once feel it thus prov'd to
you, by its Agreement with the State of your
own Nature, then it becomes a Pearl that is
dearer to you than your Life, and what is
beft, it is then a Pearl which no one can rob
you of. You are then in fuch Affurance and
Poffeffion of the Power and Goodnefs of
Chrift, as thofe blind Men were, whofe
Eyes he had opened to fee the Light.
Then all the Wrangle and Difpute of
Learned Men againft the Truth of the Gof-
R 3 pel.

[ 246 ]
pel, will fignify no more to you, nor raife
any more doubt in you, than if by Hifiory
and Criticifm they would prove, that you
never had any Benefit from the Light of the
Sun. If you go only outwardly to work, and
feek only for an outward Proof ofthe Truth
pf the Gofpel, you can only know it by fuch
Labours, and in fuch Uncertainty as you
know other Matters of Hiftory, and muft
be always balancing what is faid for and
againft it. And if you come to believe it this
way, your Faith will be held by an uncertain
Tenure, you will be akrm'd at every new
Attack, and frighted at every new Enemy
that pretends to leffen the Evidence of the

But thefe, Sir, are Difficulties that we
make to ourfelves, by negleding the proper
Evidence of the Gofpel, and chufing only
to know it, as we know other Hiflories that
have no Relation to us, or Connexion with our
pwn State.
The Gofpel is not a Hiftory of fome-?
thing that was done and paft 1700 Years ago,
pr pf a Redemption that was then prefent, 'fev»t

C 247 ]
but to be tranfmitted to Pofterity as a Matter
of Hiftory; but it is the Declaration of a
Redeemer, or a redeeming Power that is
always in its redeeming State, and equally
prefent to every Man. ;
W e all ftand as near to the Reafons and
Motives for receiving the Gofpel, as they did
to whom it was fitft preach'd. No one then
did, or could receive Jefus Chrift when he
was on Earth, but for the fame Reafons, that
the Sick, the Lame, and the Blind, fought
to him to be cur'd, namely, becaufe they
felt their Infirmities, and wanted to be reliev'd
from them. But if this; State of Heart, or
their Senfibility of their Condition, of what
they were, and what they wanted, was then
the only pojfible Reafon they could have for
receiving Chrift ; then it follows, that every
Man of every Age, has all the Reafons for
receiving or not receiving the Gofpel within
himfelf, and flands juft as near to, and juft
as far from the Evidence of it, as thofe did
who firft heard it.
If you know of no Burden or Weight of
Sin, nor want any Affifiance to overcome it,
the Gofpel has no Evidence for you, and tho'
you had flood by our Saviour, you had been
R 4 never

[ 248 ]
never the nearer to it. But if you know
your State, as the Sick, the Lame, and the
Blind, knew their State, if you groan under
the Power of Sin, and are looking towards
God for fome Affiftance to overcome it,
then you have all the Reafons for receiving
the Gofpel written in your Heart, and you
ftand as near all its proper Evidence, whether
you was born the laft Age, or 1700 Years
ago. No w if you don't know and feel, that the
Gofpel has this Foundation in you, that you
have that Fall and Redemption in you that it
teaches, then all external Evidence of it can
be of no ufe to you, becaufe you are not the
Perfon that wants fuch a Salvation.
But if you know that thefe two things
are written in the Frame of your Nature,
that Evil and Good, or the Fall and the Re
demption, are at Strife within you, and that
you want fome Divine Affiftance to help you
to overcome the Evil that is in you ; then the
Gofpel needs no external Evidence, becaufe
your Heart is a Witnefs of all the Truth of
it. For you are then only doing that in a
lower Degree, which the Gofpel teaches
: apd

[ 249 1
and enables you to do in a more perfed and
prevailing Manner.
Further, if you have only that InfiinB
of Goodnefs in you, which I have fhewn to
be the only Religion of Nature, if you have
a Defire to ad fuitably to this State, of your
Heart, this Struggle of Evil and Good that
is in you, and are weary of your Sins, and
defirous to be deliver'd from them, then you
are fully prepared to love, admire, and re
ceive all the Precepts of the Gofpel, becaufe
they have no End, but to do that which you
want and defire to have done in you ; that
is, to fupprefs the Power of Evil in you, to
deftroy the old Man, or the firft Life of your
corrupt Nature, and to raife the new Man,
or Principle of Goodnefs that is in you, to
its full State of Strength and Perfedion.
And here you have the fhorteft and fureft
of all Methods, to find both the Truth and
Excellency, and Neceffity of the Gofpel Me
thod of Salvation.
I p u t no Labour or deep Enquiry upon
your Hands: I defire you only to know,
what you cannot help knowing, that you
have Good and Evil alive and at work in you. For

[ 250 ]
For this is the whole of the Fall of Adam,
and of the Redemption of Jefus Chrift. Say
that you have no Evil in you, and I will not
defire you to believe the Fall of Adam. Say
that you have no Senfe of Goodnefs in you,
and I will not defire you to acknowledge the
Redemption through Jefus Chrift. But if
neither of thefe can be deny'd to be in you,
if your own Heart confeffes thefe twoThings;
How can you want a Proof of the Truth of
that Religion, which only tells you that
which your own Heart is a Witnefs of?
Again, fay that you have no InfiinB of
Goodnefs in you, that you have no Diftike
of the Corruption of your Nature, nor the
fmalleft Defire to be free from it, and then I
will excufe your Ignorance of the Truth and
Fitnefs of the Precepts of the Gofpel.
B u t if you will but own fo much of natu
ral Religion, as to be at all troubled at your
Sins, or but Jecretly wifh that God would
fome way or other help you to get the better
of them ; then you are under a Neceffity of
feeing and knowing that the Precepts of the
Gofpel are highly fuited to the State of your
Soul, to affift this Degree of natural Religion in

[ *5' ]
in you, and to help you to that Conqueft over
Sin which you want.
S o that from this plain and eafy Know
ledge of yourfelf, you are abfolutely obliged
either to deny the moft known State of your
Heart, and to deny that you have any De
gree, or Deftre of Goodnefs in you ; or to
own the Gofpel to have every thing in it;
both as to Dodrine and Precept, that ftrid-
ly anfwers to the State and Neceffities, and
good Inclinations of your Heart.
And therefore the Proof ofthe Gofpel is
at no Diftance from you, requires no Labour
of Learning, or Search of Hiftory, but ari-
fes from the moft obvious Knowledge of your
felf, what you are, and what you want. And
you may have the utmoft Aflurance, that
you cannot hurt or deceive yourfelf in this
fhort Method that I have recommended.
For if you cannot be hurt or deceiv'd in be
lieving yourfelf to be a Sinner, and yet to be
in a State that admits of the divine Mercy to
you, then you are fure that you Cannot have
any Hurt or Deceit put upon you by the Go
fpel ; becaufe it is to do nothing to you, you
are to receive nothing from it, but a Confir mation

C252 ]
mation of your Penitence, and a Strengthen
ing your Faith in the Mercy of God.
Understand all the Gofpel in this Man
ner, and then you underftand it according to
the Truth, as it is in itfelf.
For there is not a Dodrine or Precept of
the Gofpel, but is given you for this End ; to
perfed your Penitence, to fhew you all the
Grounds, and Reafons, and Extent of it, and
to confirm, increafe, and exercife your Faith
in the Mercy of God, by fuch a Difcovery of
God, and his Goodnefs towards you, as
without the Gofpel could not have been
known. S o then, if you know the Religion of Na
ture, the Religion of Penitence and Faith, to
be a true and good Religion, if the Proof of
the Truth and Goodnefs of this Religion lies
within you, then the Proof of the Truth and
Goodnefs of the Gofpel is in the fame De
gree of Nearnefs to you, and you cannot but
know it in the fame Manner and Degree as
you know yourfelf, what you are, and what
you want. Thus

[ 253 ]
Thus much may ferve to convince my
unbelieving Reader, if I have fuch a one,
whom I would fain lead to God, that I have
faid nothing in favour of a modern Religion
of Reafon ; which I have fhewn to have the
Vanity, Infignificancy, and Sin of the antient
Idolatry in it, and to be that very Confidence
in natural Strength, and Hardnefs of Heart,
which keeps fallen Angels Prifoners of Dark
nefs. I must now fay a Word to the zealous
Chriftian, who may perhaps imagine from
what I have faid of that inward Light, which
is the Gift of God to all Men in Jefus Chrift,
that I have brought this Light too near to the
advantageous State of reveal'd Religion, whe
ther Jewifh or Chriftian.
T o fuch a one I fay, firft, that what I
have faid of this Light of the Mind, or In
fiinB of Goodnefs common to all Men, is fo
much faid of the Light and of the Benefit of
Divine Revelation. Becaufe this Light of
the Mind, or InfiinB of Goodnefs, is not
fomething independent of, and antecedent to
all divine Revelation, but was the EffeB of
God's revealing himfelf as reconcil'd to Adam
through

[ 254 ]
through the Seed of the Woman. God's par
doning Adam as the Head 'and Reprefent aiive
of all Mankind, and giving him a Mediator
and Redeemer, was putting him into a State
and Capacity of being renewed in his Mind ;
and this renewing Power, which God then
by pardoning him beftowed upon him, is
that InfiinB of Goodnefs, or Light of the
Mind, of which I have fpoken.
And therefore all the Poffbility of Reli
gion, and all that is good in it, is to be afcri-
bed to divine Revelation. '<*
S e c o n dly, what I have faid of this com
mon Light, or Piety of the Heart, is only
to fignify, that they have a Poffbility of fuch
good Difpofitions as belong to thofe, of
whom it is faid, He that is of God, heareth
God's Word; and of fuch as Chrift fpoke,
when he faid, My Sheep hear my Voice,
N o w if there were not a Poffibility or Capa*
city of this Degree of Goodnefs in Men, di
ftind from all outward Revelation, How
could Mankind be fit for God to make a Re
velation to? For if Men could not be in this
State of Goodnefs, fo as to be prepared or
qualify d Hearers of the Word of God, why
fhould

[ *S5 ]
fliould God fpeak to them ? Or why fhould
the Voice of Chrift be founded, if there were
no Sheep that could know it ? Therefore what
I have faid of this Light of Men, is only fo
much faid of their Capacity to receive divine
Revelation ; it is only a Glimmering of Light,
a Seed of Goodnefs, a Poffibility of Piety,
which lies only in the Soul, as the Beginning
of its Salvation, and therefore is in great
want of, and muft be much benefited by
further Revelations from God.
I have not confider'd it as a Species of
Religion that may truft in itfelf, or fet up it
felf againft divine Revelation, as having no
Need of it. When it is thus, it is not the
Religion that I fpeak of, it is fo far from be
ing then the Light of Chrift in the Soul, or
the InfiinB of Goodnefs that it had from him,
that it is the Darknefs and Depravity of the
Heart , and the Foundation of that Hell
Which will be at laft manifefted in it.
Last lY, if my zealous Chriftian fhould
find it a difagreeable Thought to him, to
think that all Mankind have had fome Bene
fit from Chrift, and that the Seed of the Wo
man from the Beginning, has help'd, and
will to the End of the World help and call
every

[ *56]
every Man to refift and make War againft the
Serpent ; I muft tell him, he need have no
greater Proof than this, that his own Heart
is not yet truly Chriftian, that he is not a
true Difciple of that Lord who would have all
Men to be faved.
Having faid thus much to guard againft
all Mifapprehenfion, either by the Unbelie
ver, or the Chriftian, I now return to my
Subjed, concerning the Benefits of Chrift,
as he is the Saviour of Mankind.
Now this great Truth that I have already
declar'd, namely, that all Mankind were
pardoned and redeemed in Adam's Pardon
and Redemption; that at the Fall, Jefus
Chrift became the fecond Adam, or Parent of
all Mankind, who from him received a Prin
ciple or Seed of Life, an Inftind of Good
nefs, which was to be in every Man a Be
ginning of a new Birth, a Poffibility of his Sal
vation, or receiving a new Man from this
fecond Adam, in the fame Reality as he re
ceived a natural Life from the firft Adam ;
this great and glorious Truth is of great Im
portance when rightly known, and is the
Key to all the Myfteries of Scripture; it leads you

[ 257 ]
you into the Fulnefs of the greateft Truths,
and difperfes all Difficulties.
This Free Gift of God to all Men, in
thus making all Men Partakers of Chrift's
Redemption, by a Seed of Life, which all
Men, as Men, receive from Chrift, is the
true and folid Meaning of that which is
call'd Preventing Grace, and which, when
rightly fpoken of, is faid to be common to
all Men. It is Grace, becaufe it is God's
Free Gift, we could not lay hold of it by any
Power of our own, nor had any Right to
claim it. ¦ It is Preventing Grace, becaufe it
prevents, or goes before, and is not given us
for any thing that we have done. And there
fore it has its plain Diftindion from God's
affifiing Grace, which always is in Proportion
to the Nature of our Adions, and only works
as they work.
Hence there is a full End of all the
wretched Difputes of an abominable EleBion
and Reprobation, and of other Difputes con
cerning the Grace of God.
F o R if all Men, as Sons of Adam, are by
the Free Gift of God made Sons of the Jecond
Adam, and, as fuch, have a Principle or Seed
S of

[ *58 ]
of Life in them from him, in order to be
raifed up to a Perfedion of the new Man in
Jefus Chrift ; and if this Seed of Life, or In
fiinB of Goodnefs, or Light of the Mind, is
the General Preventing Grace of all Men,
that enables them fo to ad as to obtain God's
afffting Grace in the Renewal of their Minds ;
then you muft eafily fee, that all Men have a
general Call and a general Capacity to obtain
their Salvation, and that the Dodrine of par
ticular abfolute Eledion and Reprobation is
pluck'd up by the Roots, and moft of the
Difficulties of God's Difpenfations fairly
folv'd. But this by the by.
Now you muft have obferved that this
general Grace, or Redemption, or Life given
to all Men in Chrift as their fecond Adam, is
not done only by an outward teaching, as
when one teaches another the way of a new
Life, or by an outward Adoption, as when a
Perfon takes a Stranger to be his Son j but by
the Communication of an effential Seed or
Principle of Life from the fecond Adam to
all the Sons ofthe firft Adam.
From which Seed or Principle of Life,
every Son of Adam has Chrift for his fpiri-
tual Father and Parent in ihe fame Reality*
2 as

[ 259 1
as he had the firft Adam for his natural Pa
rent. For this Reafon, the Change that Reli
gion aims at, is conftantly reprefented as a
new Birth, and our Progrefs in Religion as
our Progrefs in Regeneration, or being born
again. We are not call'd upon only to
change our Notions, or to receive fuch an Al
teration, as Scholars may receive from their
Teachers, but to die to ourfelves, that a new
Life may be raifed up in us; or to fuffer
fomething to be revived in us that is not of
our own Growth, or any Change that we can
make upon ourfelves.
Thus fays our Lord, Except a Man be
born of Water and of the Spirit, he cannot en
ter into the Kingdom of God.*
An d to fhew that this new Birth is to be
underftood according to the literal Truth of
the Expreffion, there is added, That which is
born of the Flefh is Flefh, and that which is
born of the Spirit is Spirit. Therefore the
Birth of the Spirit is as real as the Birth of
the Flefh, and Chrift is a Principle of Life
S 2 to
* John iii. 5'

[260 ]
to us, as furely as we derive our Flefh from
Adam. Again, Thefirfi Adam was made a living
Soul, the laft Adam was made a quickning Spi
rit.* That is, the firft Adam was made to
be a Fountain, or Original, of a natural Life
to Men, the fecond Adam was made a Re
viver or Parent of a Jpiritual Life in Men.
Therefore the fpiritual Life deriv'd from the
fecond Adam, is in the fame Degree of Reali
ty, as the natural Life deriv'd from the firft
Adam. The Apoftle adds, Thefirfi is of the
Earth, earthy, the fecond is the Lord from
Heaven. And as is the earthy, juch are they
alfo that are earthy : And as is the heavenly,
fuch are they alfo that are heavenly.
Therefore thofe that are related to
Chrift, have his heavenly Life and Nature
in them, in the fame Reality as thofe that
are related to Adam have his earthy Nature
in them. And as we have bore the Image of
the earthy, fo wejhall alfo bear the Image ofthe
heavenly. Therefore as we bear the Image of the
firft Adam, by having his Nature and Life in
us,
* i Cor. xv. 4£,

[ 26. ]
us, deriv'd from him; fo we can only beaf
the Image of the fecond, by having his Na
ture and Life in us, deriv'd from him.
So that it is an undoubted Truth, that
Chrift is our fecond Adam, or a Raifer of a
new Birth and Life in us, in the fame Reali
ty as we have our natural Birth and Life from
Adam. Hence it is that you fee fo much
mention in Scripture of Chrift's being in us,
form'd in us, reveal'd in us, of our putting
on Chrift, of our receiving Life from him,
as the Branches from the Vine. Hence alfo
fo much mention of a new and old Man that
is in us, and the whole of Religion reprefent-
ed as a Conteft betwixt this twofold Man that
is in us, the one from the firft, the other from
the fecond Adam,
The Knowledge of this great Truth, that
Chrift is our fecond Adam as mention'd a-
bove, renders all the moft myfterious, and
feemingly hard Paffages of Scripture, not
only plainly intelligible, but full of a moft
affeding Senfe. Thus when it is faid, that
Chrift muft be formed in us, and that we are
Members of his Body, of his Flefh, and of his
Bones, &c * All this, and the like, is high-
S3 ly
* Eph. v. 30,

[ 262 ^
ly intelligible, as foon as it is known, that
Chrift is the Parent of a fpiritual Man in us,
in the fame Reality, as Adam is the Parent of
our natural Life, }
Thus alfo when Chrift faith, Except ye*
eat the Flefh of the Son of Man, and drink his
Blood, ye have no Life in you. And again, I
am the Bread of Life, he that cometh to me
ftall never hunger, and he that believeth on me
ftall never thirft.* And again, Whofoever
fhall drink the Wafer that I ftall give him,
ftall never thirft: But the Water that I ftall
give him, fhall be in him aWell of Water fpring*
ing up into everlafting Life.-f And again, I
am the RefurreBion and the Life.— ¦Whofoever
liveth and believeth in me, ftall never die]\
Now if Jefus Chrift had been only a Tea*
cher of Morality, how unaccountable muft
all this Language have been ? But as foon as
it is known that he is a fpiritual Parent, of
Principle of Life to us, in the fame Reality
as we derive our Flefh and Blood from Adam%
and that this Life lieth in us. as a Seed, which,
is to be brought forth to the Fulnefs of its
Stature, by Faith in Chrift, then all thefe
Paffages have a Meaning that is plainly intel
ligible, yet never to be exhaufted, but is al
ways
* John vi. 35. f John iv. i|, || John xi, 35.

[ 263]
ways fuited to the State and Progrefs of th«
Reader. For if Chrift is a Principle of Life to
us, and this Life is drawn into, or formed in
us by means of our Faith ; then how juftly
are we faid to eat Chrift as the Bread of Life,
to eat his Flefh and drink his Blood, &c.
¦when by Faith we draw him into us, as our
Principle of Life ? For what can exprefs the
Nature of this Faith, fo well as Hunger and
Thirft ? Or how can it be a real Faith, unlefs
it have much of the Nature of Hunger, of a
ftrong Defire, and ardent Thirft ?
Therefore all thefe Expreffions are as
literally fuited to the Nature of the Thing,
to that which Chrift is to us, as human
Words can be, and are not a Language
adapted to our Reafon, to increafe its Ideas ;
but are the Language of Heaven to the hea
venly Part of us, and are only to excite,
dired, and confirm our Faith in Chrift, or
to raife, increafe, and exercife our Hungery
Thirft and Defire of the new Birth of Chrift
in our Soul.
But this Author knowing nothing of this
Dodrine, is forc'd to deny the moft precious
S 4 Truths

[ 264 ]
Truths of Scripture. Thus all that our Sa
viour fays of himfelf in the fixth of St.
John, of his Flefh being Meat indeed, and
his Blood Drink indeed, and of the Neceffity
of eating and drinking it, to have eternal Life
in us ; all this, fays this Author, was only a
very high figurative Reprefentation to the Jews
then about him, of their Duty and Obligation.
to receive into their Hearts, and digefi his
whole Doctrine, as the Food and Life of their
Souls,* Therefore, according to this Author,
Chrift is our Life, in no other Meaning or
Senfe, than any other Perfon who teaches us
any Dodrine that may do us good, and we
have no Life from him any other way, than
we may have from any Teacher of ufeful
Truths. And therefore what he fays of
himfelf, of his being the Life ofthe World,
has juft as much Truth in it, as if any of
the Apoftles had faid the fame things of
themfelves. Nay, had Socrates or Plato, or
any Body elfe preached the fame Gofpel that
pur Saviour has done, there had been juft the
fame Meaning, and neither more nor lefs in,
it than in the Gofpel of Jefus Chrift, St,
* Page 100,

[ 26S ]
St. John faith, Who is a Liar, but he
that denieth that Jefus is the Chrifi ? He is An
tichrift, that denieth the Father and the Son.*
Now furely the Son could not be men
tioned with the Father, as an equal Objed
of our Faith and Acknowledgment, if he
could not in reality be faid to be our Life in
fuch a Senfe, as the Father may be faid to be
our God, not by a very high, or fir ong Figure
of Speech, but in Truth and Reality.
The Scriptures tell us, that Jefus Chrift
is the Word that was with God, and was that
God by whom all Things were made.-f That by
him all Things were created that are in Heaven
and in Earth, vifible and invifible,  and
that in him all Things confifi.\
Must not this Author be here obliged to
have recourfe to much higher and ftronger
Figures of Speech, to account for the Mean
ing of thefe Expreffions? For if there is
any thing in the Nature of our Saviour, to
fupport the literal Meaning and Truth of
thefe Expreffions, then it muft not only be
groundlefs, but abfolutely falfe to fay, that we
f I John ii. 22. t John '¦ 3- II Co1' 1 16<

[ 266 ]
we can only be faid to dwell in him, or have
our Life from him, by a very high or ftrong
Figure of Speech.
For furely, if all things both in Heaven
and Earth are created by him, if in him all
fhings confifi, then it may be faid without any
ftrong Figure, that he is our Life, and that
we dwell in him and he in us, in the fame
Reality, as we are faid to live, and move, and
have our being in God. For if this Creator
becomes our Redeemer, we may be faid to
receive Life from him, to be new born or
created again by him, in the fame Reality
and Fulnefs of Truth, as we can be faid to
be created by him at firft.
When therefore this Author faith, We
may be faid, ( by a ftrong Figure of Speech) to
dwell in him, and he in us, to be one with Chrifti
and Chrift with us, that is, that Chrift and
we to all the Intents and Purpofes of true Re
ligion fhall be inperfeB Friendftip and Union
together : * It is the fame bare-fac'd Denial
of the Gofpel, the fame dired Blafphemy
againft God, as to affirm, that God can only
by a ftrong Figure of Speech, be faid to be
our Life, our Creator, in whom we live, and
move,
2 Page uu

[ 2<$7 ]
move, and have our Being. It is the fame
Blafphemy as to affirm, that we have no
Relation to, or Dependance upon God, or
Exiftence in him, but fuch as any Party of
People, whether at Court, or the Exchange,
have with one another, when they are to all
the Intents and Purpofes of their Party In
tereft, in perfeB Friendftip and Union toge
ther. B u T to return ; from this Dodrine of
Chrift's being a Principle of Life, or Parent
of a new Birth in us, we may fee the plain
Reafon, why the Scripture defcribes a Chri
ftian as a Creature, or Inftrument of the
Holy Spirit, and entirely animated by it, fo
far as he is truly Chriftian. Becaufe as Chri-
ftianity confifts in the Birth of a new Man
within us, it muft needs have a Spirit and
Breath as fuitable to it, as the Spirit and Air
of this World is fuitable to a Life of Flefh
and Blood, And as every Thought and Mo
tion of our outward Man muft be in, and
by the Affiftance of the Spirit, and Air of
this outward World ; fo every Thought and
Motion, and Defire of our inward fpiritual
Man, muft be in, and by the Affiftance of
the Spirit, and Air of that World, whofe
Creature it is, Now

[ 268 ]
Now was there not as really this new
fpiritual Man within us, in the fame reality
of Exiftence, as our outward rational Na
ture, there could be no Foundation for this
Dodrine of the Neceffity of God's Holy
Spirit. Nor could the Scripture Account of
the Guidance of that Holy Spirit be at all
intelligible, upon this Suppofition, that we
had nothing more in us, but our outward ra
tional Nature.
Thus when it is faid, No one can call
Jefus the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit : How
could this be intelligible, or have any Truth
in it, if there were not a Principle in us, a
fpiritual Man diftind from our rational
Nature ? For our rational Nature can as well
call Jefus Lord, as it can call any one elfe
Lord, or as Judas faid, Hail Mafier.
Therefore fince Man in his natural
State, and by his Powers as a rational Man,
cannot truly call Jefus Lord, it follows, that
he has a fpiritual Nature or Principle in him,
entirely diftind from his rational Nature,
and which receiving its Life and Power from
the Spirit of God, has alone the Power of
owning,

[ 269 ]
owning, knowing and receiving Jefus Chrift
as Lord.
S t. Paul faith, Te are not in the Flefh but
in the Spirit, iffo be the Spirit of God dwelleth
in you. Now if any Man hath not the Spirit
of Chrifi, he is none of his* And again,
Now we have received not the Spirit of this
World, but the Spirit which is of God, that
we might know the things that are freely given
to us of God. But the natural Man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they
are fooliftnejs unto him, neither can he know
them, becaufe they are fpiritually difcerned.-\
Therefore there is a fpiritual Life, or
Man within us, by which alone we have our
Communication with God, and which is fo
diftind and different from our natural, ra
tional Man, that thev are of a Nature con-
trary to each other. The one is by Nature
fitted to receive, and know the things ofthe
Spirit of God, the other has a Nature that
cannot know, nor receive them.
This is not to be underftood, as if the
natural Man could not underftand the Words of
* Rom. viii. 9. f 1 Cor. ii. iz,

[ 270 ]
of Scripture, as other Words are to be uri
derftood, for he can reafon and difcourfe aa
well upon Scripture, and the things of the
"Spirit of God, as upon other Matters.
Neither are we to take him that is
able to difcern things fpiritually, to be only
fuch a one whofe Faculty of Reafoning is
aflifted by the Holy Spirit. For this does
not make the fpiritual Man here fpoken of.
No, the Subject of the Holy Spirit, or that
which it operates upon in us, is not our Rea
foning Faculty, it no more affifts our Reafon
in this Manner, than it affifts our Eyes to
read a difficult Print, or our Ears to hear
Sounds more diftindly.
For as the Holy Spirit is Holinefs itfelf,
or the Life and Power of Holinefs, fo it
operates only in the Manner of itfelf, and
only upon that Part of us, which has its
own Nature, or a real Agreement with it.
Therefore the fpiritual Man that is animated,
enlightned and guided by the Holy Spirit,
is that vital InfiinB of Goodnefs, that Spark
of Life, of which I have fpoken fo much,
and which fhews itfelf in an inward Senti
ment of the Weight of Sin, and in an inward
Sentiment

[ 27i ]
Sentiment of Hope and Convcrfion to the
Mercy of God.
This is the Beginning, or Foundation,
or Seed of that fpiritual Man, for whom the
Scriptures are written, to whom they fpeak,
and who alone has a Capacity to hear and re
ceive them, becaufe he alone has a Capacity
to be animated, moved, and governed by
the Holy Spirit.
And therefore it is, that our Saviour
faith fo often, He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. Meaning only this inward State
or Senfibility of the Heart. He is fo far
from faying, according to modern Learning,
he that hath clear Ideas, that has accuftom'd
himfelf. to Reajon, and diftinguifli about
them ; he that can fpeculate impartially,
and fearch into the Nature of Things, Adi
ons and Perfons, by comparing the Ideas of
them ; let fuch a one fo prepar'd, draw near
to the Kingdom of Heaven; he is fo far from
faying any thing like this, that he rejeds it
all as the Burden and Darknefs of the Heart
and fays, Except ye be converted, and become as
little Children, ye cannot enter into the King
dom of God.
But

[ 2r2 ]
But you will perhaps fay, If the Scrip
tures are not propofed to our Reafon, if
Reafon is not the SubjeB or Faculty of Reli
gion in us ; is not this the fame as to fay,
that the Scriptures and Religion are propofed
to the unreafonable Part of us? Is it not
faying, that we muft negled or fupprefs that
which is moft excellent in us, in order to be
religious ?
You fhall fee Reafon poffefs'd of all that
belongs to it, and yet Religion fetT up in a
better Place.
I w i L l grant you much more than you
imagine in refped of Reafon ; I will grant it
to have as great a Share in the good Things
of Religion, as it has in the good Things of
this Life ; that it can affift the Soul, juft as
it can affift the Body ; that it has the fame
Power and Virtue in the fpiritual World
that it has in the natural World; that it can
communicate to us as much of the one as
of the other, and is of the fame Ufe and
Importance in the one, as in the other. Can
you ask more?
Now

[ 273 J
Now Man confider'd as i Member of
this World, that is to have his Share in the
Good that is in it, is a fenfible and a rational
Creature; that is, he has a certain Number
of Senfes, as Seeing, Hearing, Tailing,
Smelling and Touching, by Which he is
fenfible of that which the outward World ,
in which he is plac'd, can do to him, or
communicate to him, he is fenfible of what
Kind and Degree of Happinefs he can have
from it ; befides thefe Organs of Senfe, he
has a Power or Faculty of Reafoning upon
the Ideas which he has receiv'd by thefe
Senfes. Now how is it, that this World, or the
goodThings of this World are communicated
to Man ? How is he put in Poffeflion of
them ? To what part of him are they pro
pofed? Are his Senfes or his Reajon the
Means of his having fo much as he has, or
can have from this World ?
Now here you muft degrade Reafon,
juft as much as it is degraded by Religion.
And as we fay, that the good Things of
Scripture and Religion, are not propofed to
our Reafon, fo you muft fay, that the good
T Things

[ 274 ]
Things of this World are not propofed to
our Reafon. And as St. Paul fays, the na
tural Man cannot receive the Things of the
Spirit of God, becaufe they are fpiritually
difcerned ; fo you muft alfo fay, the rational
Man cannot receive the Things of this
World, becaufe they are to befenfibly receiv'd,
that is, by the Organs of Senfe.
Thus muft you neceffarily fet Reafon as
low, with refped to the Things of this
World, as it is fet with refped to the Things
of the fpiritual World. It is no more the
Means of communicating the good Things
of the one, than of communicating the good
Things of the other.
I t Hands in the fame Incapacity in one
World, as in the other.
For every one knows, that we know
no more, can receive no more, can poffefs
no more of any thing that is communicable
to us from this World, than what we know,
receive and poffefs by our Senfes, or that
fenfible Capacity that is in us, of having
fomething communicated to us by the
World. Sounds are only propos'd to our
Ears, Light to our Eyes j nothing is com-
I municated

L 275 J
municated to our Reafon ; no part of the
World hath any Communication with it.
Reafon therefore has no higher Office or
Power in the Things of this World, than in
the Things of Religion. The World is
only fo far known, received and poffefs'd,
as we receive and poffefs it by our Senfes.
And Reafon ftands by, as an impotent
Spedator, only beholding and fpeculating
upon its own Ideas and Notions of what has
pafs'd between the World and the fenfible
Part of the Soul.
A n d as this is the State of Man in this
World, where he receives all the good he
can receive from it, by a Senfibility of his
Nature, entirely diftind from his Faculty
of Reafoning, fo is it his State with regard
to the fpiritual World, where he ftands only
capable of receiving the invifible good
Things of it, by a Senfibility of his Nature,
or fuch a Capacity as lets the fpiritual World
into him, in the Manner as the natural is let
into him in this Life. Religion therefore
does no more Violence to your Reafon, or
rejeds it in any other way, than as all the
; good Things of this Life rejed it. It is not
Seeing, it is not Hearing, it is not Tafting
and Feeling the Things of this Life, it can
T 2 frppty

L 27& J
fupply the Place of no one of thefe Senfes.
Now it is only thus helplefs and ufelefs in Re
ligion ; it is neither Seeing, nor Hearing,
Tailing nor Feeling of fpiritual Things;
therefore in the Things of Religion, and in
the Things of this World, it has one and the
fame Infignificancy. So that the Things of
the Spirit of God belong not to Reafon,
cannot be known and receiv'd by it, for the
fame Reafon, that the good Things of this
World belong not to Reafon, and cannot be
known and receiv'd by it.
I t is the Senfibility of the Soul that muft
receive what this World can communicate to
it ; it is the Senfibility of the Soul that muft
receive what God can communicate to
it. Reafon may follow after in either Cafe,
and view through its own Glafs what is done,
but it can do no more.
Now the Senfibility of the Soul, whioh
is its Capacity for Divine Communications,
or for the Operation of God's Holy Spirit
upon it, confifts in an inward Sentiment of
the Weight and Diforder of Sin, and in aa
inward Sentiment of Hope and Converfion to
the Mercy of God. This is the firft Seed
of Life, fown into the Soul, when Adam was

[ 277 3
was redeemed ; and it is this Seed of Life, or
Senfibility, that the Holy Spirit of God ads
upon, moves and quickens, and enlightens ;
and to this it is, that all that is faid in the
Scripture is addrefs'd. Nothing but this
Senfibility, or State of Heart, has Eyes to
fee, or Ears to hear the Things of the Spirit
of God,
Reason may be here of the fame Serr
vice to us, as it may be when we want any
of the Enjoyments of this Life. It may
take away a Cover from our Eyes, or open
our Window-fhutters, when we want the
Light, but it can do no more towards feeing,
than to make way for the Light to ad upon
our Eyes. This is all its Office and Ability
in the good Things of Religion, it may re
move that which hinders the Senfibility of
the Soul, or prevents the Divine Light's ad-
jng upon it, but it can do no more.
Hence you may judge of the following
Paffage of the Plain Account, We may be fure
we arepleaftng God, whilft we are obeying the
Command of his Son.  But in this particular
Inftance of our Duty, we can with Reafon go
farther, I fay with Reafon; becaufe the Bene
fits received from all fuch Performances by rea-
T 3 fonable

[ 278 ]
fonable Creatures, cannot poffibly be received
but in a reafonable way. Thefe Duties, how
•well foever perform' d, cannot be fuppos'd to
Operate as Charms; nor to influence us, as if
we were only Clock- Work, or Machines, to
be aBed upon by the arbitrary Force of a fu
perior Being.*
Now all this is in dired Contradidion to
the Nature and State of Man in this World.
For no good thing of this World, no Power,
or Virtue in the whole Syftem of Beings that
furround us, can poffibly be communicated
to our Reafon, or by the Way of our Reafon.
Whatever the World communicates to us of
its Power and Virtue muft be communicated
to the Senfibility of our Nature, to that Part
of us which is as diftind from our reafoning
Faculty, as feeing the Light is diftind from a
ConjeBure about the Nature of it.
Now let us fuppofe a Man to ftand in
this World, only with his rational Nature,
or Faculty of Reafoning, but deftitute ofthe
Senfibility of his Nature, or the Organs of
Senfe ; What would all this World, or all
the Good of it fignify to him ? If he was to
receive nothing but by the way of Reafon, would
* Page 154.

C 279 ]
would it not be the fame Thing as to fay,
that he was to receive nothing from it ?
Now this is the State that this Author
would have you be in, with relation to God,
and the fpiritual World. No Power, or
Virtue, or Influence of God, or the fpiritual
World, is to be communicated to you, but
by the way of Reafon, and you are to ftand
with relation to all the Riches and Powers,
and Virtues of God, and the fpiritual World,
in the fame State, as he ftands in this World,
who is to know, and feel, and poffefs no
more of it, than he can know, and feel, and
poffefs by the way of Reafon, without any
one Senfe. Therefore it is plain, that this
Author defires all Communication from God
to you, to be as much at an End, as all Com*
munication from this World muft be at an
End, if you had not one SenJ'e left.
I have juftfuppos'd a Man to ftand in
this World, without all Senfibility of Nature,
endued only with a Faculty of Reafoning 5
let it now be fuppos'd, that you had a Power
to awaken a Senfibility of Nature in him,
and to help him to all thofe Senfes that are
common to Man. Would you fay, this muft
by no means be done? Would you fay, that
you muft keep off this Senfibility of Nature,
3 T 4 that

s

[ 28o ]
that you might preferve him a free Agent ?
And that if the Light and Heat of the Sun,
theVirtues and Powers of the World, fhould
operate upon him in any other manner than
by the Way of Reafon, he would be turn'd
from a rational Creature, into a mere Ma
chine and Clock-work.
Now this is the Way that this Author
would preferve you a Free Agent, with Re
lation to God, and the fpiritual World: He
will not allow you to have any Senfes, that
he may preferve your Reafon. For if God,
or the fpiritual World could do that to you,
which this outward World can do to a Man
that has his Senfes ; if God fhould commu
nicate any Good to you, as the Sun commu
nicates its Light and good Influence without
the Affiftance of your Reafon, and only by
making you fenfible of them, you are undone,
the Freedom and Rationality of your Nature
is loft, and you are turn'd into Clockwork.
Let me afk this rational Man, who is fo
great an Enemy to all that is, not done in a
rational Way, whether he feels no Attach
ment to the World, and his Intereft in it;
whether he purfues it no farther, and has no
Senfibility of its Power over him, but juft fo
much

[ »8i ]
much as pure Reafon ahd the Light of the
Gofpel raife in him; whether he has no Self-
love, no Family-love, no Party-love, no Am
bition, no Pride, no Senfuality, but what is
weigh'd out to him by Arguments and Mo
tives of pure Reafon, enlighten'd by the Let
ter of the Gofpel? Now if there is fome-
thig, of thefe Tempers in him, arifing from
fome fiecret Power that is working in him,
that has not all its Life and Working from
pure Reajon, will he therefore fay, that he is
a mere Machine, that he has no Liberty left,
that he is no longer a rational Creature? Now
if a Degree of Goodnefs fhould fteal upon
him this way, without confuking his Rea
fon, if he fhould find a heavenly Love, a Pu
rity of Heart, an AttraBion to God, a De
fire of Holinefs, a Poverty of Spirit, a Con
tempt of the World, a Senfibility of the Great-
nefs of Eternal Things fiirring and awaken d
in hirn in a greater Degree than ever he in
tended to have them by his own Reafon,
would he be obliged to cry out, that his rea-
fonable Soul was undone, that he had loft the
Rationality of his Nature, was become a
Machine, becaufe fuch a Senfe of God and
Goodnefs had got Entrance into him without
confuking his Reafon?
2 And

[ 282 ]
And if God is as ready to operate upon
our Souls, and to manifeft his Power and
Prefence in them, when we give way to it,
as the World and the Devil are when we
leave an Entrance for them, has a Preacher
of the Gofpel any Authority from thence, to
reproach this divine Affiftance, as Communi
cations and Impreffions from above, which leave
the Mind in a State Jatisfied with what carries
no rational SatisfaBion in it?*
For however this Author may pleafe him
felf with thinking that his Mind is free from
Communications and Impreffions from above,
and fatisfy'd only with fuch Things as carry a
rational SatisfaBion in them, yet it is an eter
nal immutable Truth, founded in the Na
ture of Things, that no Soul can enjoy any
Degree of Good whatever, but by a Com
munication or Impreffon of fomething upon
it. Every Creature, as fuch, is by the Ne
ceffity of its Nature, in a State of Poverty
and Want, and may be defin'd to be only a
Capacity to receive fo much Good as fhall be
communicated to it, or imprefs'd upon it,
Were not this the State of our Souls, it would not
f Page 156.

[ *83 ]
not be the State of our Bodies : And as the
Body ftands in this World, in Poverty and
Want, only capable of being fed, nourifh'd,
comforted and blefs'd by Communications
and Impreffions from the Things that fur
round it, fo the Soul ftands in the fame Po
verty and Want in the fpiritual World, and
only capable of being nourifh'd, comforted,
and blefs'd by Communications and Impref
fions from God.
S o that this Author's Satisfadion which
he has chofen for himfelf, a Satisfadion
purely rational, or by way of his Reafon, in
ftead of divine Impreffions, is the Choice of
a Man in a Dream, that knows nothing of
the Nature of God, or of his Soul, or of
the State and Nature of Things. For the
Satisfadion of every Being, from the higheft
Angel to the loweft of human Creatures, is
0,11 fenfible, and wholly feated in the Senfibili
ty of their Nature.
T h i s is as certain, as that a Child has no
rational Satisfadion; for no Man ever was
fatisfy'd or diffatisfied for any other Reafon,
or upon any other Account, than as a Child
is fatisfied or diffatisfied, namely, according
as its Senfes, or the Senfibility of its Nature, has

t 284 ]
has or has not that which is agreeable to it.
For Nature fhews what it is in a Child, and
does not become another Thing in a grown
Man. The Child has no Cunning or Fraud,
and therefore he plainly owns what he wants,
and cries for it.
Grown Men are under the fame Senfi
bility of Nature, want only what the Child
wanted, viz. to have their Senfes gratify'd,
but they have the Cunning not to own it,
and the Fraud to pretend fomething elfe.
And thus it muft be with every human
Creature. He muft be govern'd by this Sen
fibility of his Nature, muft be happy or un
happy according as his Senfes are gratify'd,
ixlljuch time as he is born again from above,
till the new Birth has awaken'd another Sen
fibility in him, and open'd a Way for divine
Communications and Impreffions to have more
Effed upon him, than the Things of this
World have upon his natural Senfes. For
no created Being whatever, can any Mo
ment of Time be free from Communications
and Impreffions of fome Kind or other ; if
it is not govern'd by Communications and
Impreffions from afove, it is certainly go
verned

[ *8S]
verned by Communications and Impreffions
from below.
The Needle that is touched with the
Loadfione, does not then begin to be under the
Power of Attradion, for it was under the
Power of Attradion from the Earth before.
And if it lofes the Attradion of the Load
fione, it does not ceafe to be attraded by
fomething elfe.
The Soul that is touch'd with an Im-
preffion from God, does not then begin to be
under the Power of fomething that ads upon
it, for the World and the Devil, or the Na
ture of thofe Things that furround it, at-
trad it, and ad upon it. For as it has fome
thing of the Nature of every thing in it, fo
the whole Nature of Things as continually
ad upon it by Impreffions, as the Sun ads
upon every Thing that has any thing of the
Nature of the Sun in it.
Now the Freedom of the Will, is not a
Freedom from Communications and Impref
fions, but is only a Liberty of chufing to be
made happy, either by yielding ourfelves up
to the AttraBion or Operation of God upon
us, or to be miferable, by yielding ourfelves up

[ 2B6 ]
up to the Impreffions of the World, and fenfi
ble Things.
T h e r e is no middle way ; if we rejeB, or
make ourfelves incapable of Impreffions
from God, we are the Machines and Clock
work of this fenfible World.
Two Men born blind may talk and dif
pute about receiving Light in a rational Way,
and think it ought only to be receiv'd by their
Reafon, or in Conformity to its Power of
fpeculating: As foon as their Eyes are open'd,
they both fee that Reafon was a Fool, and that
Light can only ad upon them by way of
Impreffon upon the Senfibility of their Na
ture. It is fo far therefore from being a dange
rous Delufion to expeB, defire, believe, and
pray for Communications and Impreffions
from above, by means of the holy Sacrament,
that it is as right and found a Faith, and as
beneficial to the Soul, as to believe that the
Goodnefs of God's Providence is in every
thing, and that every thing is blefs'd by his
Power and Prefence in it to the faithful Re
ceiver. All

[ *87 ]
All the Perfedions of God have fome
Kind of Similitude or Refemblance of their
Power in the Perfedions of the Sun, which
refrefh our animal and rational Nature by
continual Communications and Impreffions
upon it, as the Perfedions of God commu
nicate, and imprefs themfelves upon the in
moft Spirit of our Souls.
And he that would have his animal ratio
nal Nature comforted and refrefhed only in
a rational way, without Communications
and Impreffions from the Sun, would be juft
fuch a Pleader for Reafon, as he that would
have religious Satisfadion only in a rational
Way, without Communications and Impref
fions from above.
For the Impreffions from God are more
neceffary and effential to the pious Life of the
Soul, than the Impreffions of the Sun are to
the comfortable Life of our outward rational
Man. And he that prays for nothing elfe but
thefe divine Communications and Impref
fions, who thinks of nothing elfe, defires
nothing elfe, trufts in nothing elfe as able to
comfort,

[ 288 J
comfort, ftrengthen, and enrich his Souli
He that is thus, all Prayer, all Love, all De
fire, and all Faith, in thefe Communications
and Impreffions from above, is juft in the
fame State of Sobriety, as he that only prays
that God would not leave him to himfelf
* For he that is without any thing of thefe
Communications and Impreffions of God up
on him, is in the fame State of Death and
Separation from God, as the Devils are.
And to turn Men from the Faith, and Love,
and Defire of thefe divine Impreffions, is to
lay the Axe to the Root of Religion, and is as
direB a Way to Atheifm, as to teach them, as
Epicurus did, that God is afar off. For a
God without any Communications and Im
preffions upon us, and a God afar off, are
equally atheiftical Tenets, equally deftru-
dive of all Piety.
The one Opinion is the fame Denial of
God as the other.
And when Men have once loft all Senfe
ofthe Neceffity of being inwardly, invifibly,
and fecretly fupported , aflifted , guided,
and bleffed by Communications and Impref
fions of God upon their Souls, it fignifies not

[ a8g ]
not much what Religion they profefs, or
for what Reafons they profefs it, whether
they have the Reafon of Epicurus, or Hobbs,
or this Author. For a Religion has no good
of Religion in it, but fo far as it introduces
the Life, Power, and Prefence of God into
the Soul.
For there is nothing Good even in Hea
ven itfelf, but the Fulnefs of divine Commu
nications and Impreffions ; no Wretchednefs
in Hell, but what arifes from an entire Cef-
fation of them ; and this Life has no Poffi
bility of being changed into a heavenly Life,
but fo far as it is capable of divine Commu
nications and Impreffions.
F o r as the Sun is the Light of this World,
only by Communications and Impreffions of
his Light upon all Objeds, according to their
Capacity to receive it, fo God is the God of
all his Creatures, only by Communications
and Impreffions of his Life, and Power, and
Prefence upon all his Creatures, according
to their Capacity to receive them. And
therefore to difcredit and ridicule the Defire,
Hunger, Faith, and ExpeBation of divine
Communications and Impreffions in all Ads
and Parts of Religion, is to teach Men to u-
U nite

[ 290 ]
nite Religion with Atheifm, and to make
their very Ads of Religion, a Renunciation of,
and Departure from God.
Had this Author openly and plainly faid
with Epicurus, God is afar off, the Atheifm
had been plain and apparent, and confeffed
by all ; and yet he has faid more than this ;
for to fay that we are without all Commu
nications and Impreffions of God upon us,
for this Reafon, becaufe they would make us
Machines and Clock-work, and could give us
no rational Satisfadion, is not only faying
that God is afar off, but that he ought and
muft continue to be fo, if we are not to be
Machines, and lofe the Rationality of our
Nature. So that according to this Author's
Dodrine, rational and free Agents are not
only to believe with Epicurus, but alfo ought
to rejoice that God is afar off, and to defire
for the fake of the Rationality of their Na
ture, that he may always be at the fame Di
ftance from them.
H e n c e it is, that this Author is, as Epi
curus was, forced to invent afummum bonum,
or chief Good for Man, exclufive of the En
joyment of God. Thus fays he, The higheft
Good of mortal Man, is the uniform PraBice
2 ef

[ 29I ]
cf 'Morality ', chofen by ourfelves, as our Happi
nefs here, and our unfpeakable Reward here
after* For as Epicurus was fbrc'd to place the
higbefi Good of Man in his Philqfbpbical Gar
den, becaufe he had feparated the Gods from
Men, and placed them apart by themfelves ;
fo this Author having rejeded all divine Com
munications and Impreffions upon us, as ha
ving no rational Satisfadion in them, as ma
king us Machines and Clock-work, was
forc'd to invent abigheft Good for mortal Man,
both here and hereafter, that has nothing of
God in it.
Epicurus therefore and this Parochial Mi
nifter of the Gofpel agree in this ; Firft, that
they place the higheft Good, or Happinefs of
Man, in fomething that is exclufive of God.
Secondly, that they place it in fomething
that they can do for themfelves.
The Church of which this Author fays
he is a Minifter, fings every Day, Holy, Holy,
Holy, Lord God, Heaven and Earth are full of
thy Majefty and Glory ; but according to him
it fings of fomething that is no Pare of its
Happinefs, either here or hereafter.
U 2 The
* P*g- 157-

[ 292 ]
The Gofpel of which he pretends to be
a Preacher, brings the glad Tidings of a Sa
viour, and Salvation to all Mankind; but
he preaches a higheft Good of mortal Man,
that has nothing of this Saviour or Salvation
in it Jesus Chrift fays, Except a Man be born
again of the Water and the Spirit, be cannot
enter into the Kingdom of God. ^ That as the
Father raifes up the dead, and quickenetb ibem,
evenfo the Son quickenetb whom be will.* And
that to as many as received bint, to tbem gave
be Power to become the Sons of God. Who
were born, not of Blood, nor of the Will of the
Flefb, nor of the Will of Man, but of God.f
Again, If ye abide in me, and my Words abide
in you, ye fhall afk what fe will and it ftall be
done unto you. Afk, and ye fhall receive, thai
your Joy may be full. If any Man love me,
my Father will love him, and we will come un
to bim, and make our Abode with bim. The
Apoftle faith, Giving Thanks unto the Father,
<wbo bath deliver' dm from the Power of Dark
nefs, and both tranflated us into the Kingdom
of bis dear Son, in whom we have Redemption
through bis Blood. Now
•John v. 21. f Johai. 12.

C 293 ]
Now had a Celfus, or a Porphyry, or any
modern Adverfary of the Gofpel, a Mind to
fhew their utmoft Deteftation and Abhorrence
of thefe Dodrines, of a Birth of the Spirit,
a Birtb of God, a quickening Saviour, a Life
in him and through him, a Redemption thro*
bis Blood, a Tranflation into bis Kingdom, of
our afking and receiving all through him, of
his Father's and his Abode in us, had they the
greateft Defire to perfuade all People that all
this was a groundlefs Fi&ion , without the
Ieaft Truth or Reafonablenefs in it, need they
declare any more, or defire any more to be
believ'd than this, That the higheft Gcod cf
Man, is the uniform PraBice of Morality,
chofen by ourfehes, as our Happinefs here, and
cur unfpeakable Reward hereafter? For is not
this the fame thing as to fay, all the DocTrines
of the Gofpel Saviour and Salvation, of a
new Birtb, of the Spirit of God, of Redem
ption through Chrift, of Rigbteoufhefs in him,
of entering into his Kingdom, are abfolutely
falfe? For it is the fame total Denial of all
the Chriftian Method of Salvation, as to fay,
that we have our Happinefs or higheft
Good both here and hereafter from Epicu
rus. For the Salvation, and Happinefs, and
eternal Life which we receive through Jefus
U 3 Ch:

una

[ 294 ]
Chrift, is equally deny'd and rejeded as falfe,
whether you place our higheft Good in what
we can do for ourfelves, or in what Epicurus
can do for us.
The Scripture faith, The Gift of God is
Eternal Life, through Jefus Chrift our Lord.*
And again, He that hath the Son hath Life,
and he who hath not the Son hath not Life, -f
Again, By Grace ye are faved through Faith ;
and that not of y ourfelves, it is the Gift ofGod.\\
And again, If Chrifi be not raifed, ye are yet
in your Sins : And, As in Adam all died, fo
in Chrifi ftiall all be made alive. And again,
Tour Life is hid with Chrift in God. When
Chrifi who is our Life fhall appear, then ftall
ye alfo appear with him in Glory. J
Now this Author does not exprefly fay
all this is abfolutely falfe, and not fit to be
believ'd, but he only defires you to believe
fomething, that will fhew it to he impoffibh
to be true.
For if out own Morality, chofen by our
felves, is our higheft Good and Reward both
here and hereafter, it, is jmpoffible to be true^ that
. * £°,m-...vi- *3< f J John v. ij, | Eph. ii. ?,
% Col. m, 3.

C 295 ]
that we have no Life but in the Son of God,
or that eternal Life is the Gift of God to us
through Jefus Chrift, or that we are fav'd by
Grace, through Faith, and not of ourfelves.
So that this Author is not to be confider
ed as one that has barely miftaken fomething
in the Nature of the Sacrament, but as one
that rejeds the whole Method of Salvation
through Jefus Chrift, and will have no Hap
pinefs or Redemption from him here, or E-
ternal Life hereafter.
When therefore he faith, Do we not par
take of the Benefit of Remiffon of our Sins, by
partaking of the Lord's Supper worthily ? I
muft anfwer, No; if the Gojpel be true*
This ought to have no more weight
with you, than if Celfus or Porphyry, or
Hobbs, had faid the fame thing. For fince
he makes our own Morality, chofen by our
felves, to be our higheft: Good, both here and
hereafter, he as abfolutely rejeds our Salvati
on through Jefus Chrift, and denies the
Love and Goodnefs of God towards us in
Chrift Jefus, to be our higheft Good, both here
and hereafter, as ever Celfus or Porphyry did :
U 4 And
* Pag, 144.

[ 296 ]
And therefore can have no more Right or
Pretence to explain any part of that Salvati
on, which he has fo totally denied, than
they had. In the Gofpel, fays he, No Par
don of paft Sins is promifed or given, unlefs
to thofe juft converted, renouncing their Sins,
and baptized into the Chriftian Faith ; or to
thofe, who having finned after Baptifm, aBu
ally amend their Lives. This is to fhew you
that there is no Remiffion of Sins obtain'd
by the worthy Partaking of the Sacrament,
if the Gofpel be true.
Now in the Gofpel, our Bleffed Lord
feeing their Faith, faith to the Sick of the
Palfy, Son, be of good cheer, thy Sins are
forgiven thee.
Now here Pardon of Sins is given,
diredly contrary to this Author's Affertion,
to one not converted and baptized into the
Chriftian Faith, but becaufe of his and their
Faith that brought him on a Bed.
Again, of Magdalen, our Lord faith,
Her Sins which are many are forgiven ; for
Jhe loved much. But to whom little is forgiven
fhefame loyetb little.
Here

[ 297 ]
Here you fee again a plain Confutation
of this Author's Dodrine ; for here Remif-
fion of Sins is adually given and declar'd to
be due to Love, and Love is affirm'd to be
the Meafure of it.
Therefore it is an undeniable Dodrine
of the Gofpel, that Faith and Love are cer
tain Means of obtaining Remiffion of our
Sins; if therefore the Sacrament is an Exercife
of our Faith and Love, then we have the
utmoft Affurance from our Saviour's own
Words, that we thereby obtain Remiffion of
our Sins.
But this Author has another Argument
againft it, taken from our Liturgy. In our
Publick Office, fays he, It is notfuppos'd that
the worthy Partaking of the Lord's Supper
does itfelf operate this Forgivenefs ; but it is
made part of a Prayer to God, that they who
have partaken of it, may obtain Remiffon of
their Sins, &c. They are taught to pray thus,
after the AB of Communion is over, which
fuppofes that it is not already obtained.*
Now if there was any Truth or Reafon
in this Argument, it would follow, that our
Saviour's
* Pag. I4S-

[ 298 ]
Saviour's Apoftles had obtain'd no Remiffion
of Sins from him ; and though he had chofen
them out of the World, called them his
Friends, and declared his extraordinary Love
for them, and though they left all and follow-
edhim, yet he had not done that for them,
which he had done for the Sick of the Palfy,
and many others ; for this Reafon, becaufe
he had taught and enjoyn'd them a Form of
Prayer, in which they were to pray for the
Forgivenefs of their Sins.
For if it is rightly argued, that there is
no Remiffion of Sins obtain'd by the Ufe of
the Sacrament, becaufe afterwards, there is
Prayer made for the Forgivenefs of Sins,
then it muft follow, that our Saviour's
Apoftles could not have receiv'd any Remif
fion of Sins, when he taught them to pray
for it. It muft follow alfo, that he never
intended that they fhould be in the State of
new Converts, baptiz'd for the Remiffion of
their Sins, becaufe then they could not
without great Abfurdity have ufed that
Form of Prayer which he gave them.
I t follows alfo, that the Apoftles could
not have taught this Form of Prayer, or
enjoyn'd the Ufe of it to their new baptiz'd
Converts,

[ 299 ]
Converts, becaufe it would have been, ac
cording to this Author, a proving to them,
that they had not receiv'd the Pardon of
their Sins by Baptifm.
Now the Inconfiftency which this Au
thor finds in praying for the Forgivenefs of
Sins, and all other Benefits of Chrift's Paf-
fion, after the Reception of the Sacrament,
if the Sacrament itfelf was a Means of ob
taining them, all this Inconfiftency and
Difficulty had been remov'd, if he had only
known or acknowledg'd, that the Chriftian
IJfeha.progre//?veStat£, and that Forgive
nefs of Sins is a Grace and Benefit of Jefus
Chrift, beftow'd upon us in the fame Man
ner as every other Grace or Degree of Holi
nefs, as a Talent to be improv'd, as a Seed to
be nourifhed up by us to its full growth.
And for this Reafon it is, that we are obliged
to pray for every Grace, and every Virtue,
that we have already received, becaufe we
have receiv'd it to grow up in us, and Prayer
or Defire of it, is the only Soil in which it
(an grow.
Thus he to whom God has already given
the Grace of Penitence, for that reafon
frays, for Penitence; he that has already re-
ceivd

[ 300 ]
ceiv'd of God the Gift of Faith, for that
reafon prays, Lord help thou mine Unbelief;
and he that is the fullefi of Righteoufnefs,
feels the greateft Hunger and Thirft after it.
But according to this Author's Religion,
he that has received the Spirit of God, can
not be fuppos'd to pray for it ; and yet ac
cording to the Religion of the Gofpel, no
one can pray for it, but becaufe he has re
ceiv'd it.
I s h a ll now only add a Word or two on
what this Author fays in Defence of the
Safety of his Dodrine of the Sacrament,
though it fhould be erroneous.
It ought certainly, fays he, to be far from
the Thoughts of every Chriftian to leffen any
Privileges, or undervalue any Promifes, an
nexed by Chrifi to any Duty or Infiitution of
his Religion. It is an inexcufable Fault wilfully
to attempt it, and an inexcufable Carelefsnefe
to do it for want of due Confederation, — But
this, I think, may with Truth be faid, that an
Error of this fort, (fhould it be fuppos'd)
does not really hurt any Chriftian, nor alter
the EffeB of the Duty at all,* The
* Pref. p. *.

I 3°i ]
The Safety therefore of his Dodrine of
the Sacrament, fuppofing it to leffen and
undervalue the Benefits of it, is grounded
upon this general Propofition, which he
takes to be a great Truth, viz. " That to
" leffen or undervalue the Privileges and
" Promifes annex'd to any Duty or Infiituti-
" on by Jefus Chrift, does not really hurt any
" Chriftian, or alter the EffeB of, the Duty
" at all."
Now this Dodrine diredly leads to In
fidelity, for Infidelity is nothing elfe but a
leffening and undervaluing the Privileges and
Promifes annexed to Faith in Chrift.
The Scripture faith, In this was mani-
fefied the Love of God towards us, becaufe that
Godjent his only begotten Son into the World,
that we might live through him; and again,
HeJ'ent his Son to be the Propitiation for our
Sins.* God Jo loved the World, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whofoever believeth
in him, fhould not perifh, but have eternal
Life. Here the Privilege and Promife of
Life, and Attonement for our Sins, is annex'd
to Faith in Chrift ; but according to this
Author, it does you no real hurt, nor alters
the EffeB of your Faith at all, though you
leffen
* i John iv. 9.

[ 3^2 ]
leffen and undervalue this Privilege and Pro
mife of Life , and Attonement for your
Sins, offer'd to your Faith in Chrift Jefus.
I s not this diredly faying, that Infidelity
is as fafe and beneficial to you, as a Belief of
the Privileges and Promifes of the Gofpel ?
Is it not faying, that it is as beneficial to your
Efteem of Chrift only as a Carpenter's Son,
as to exped Attonement and Life from him
as the only begotten Son of God ?
It is faid of our Bleffed Lord, that
amongft thofe of his own Country, He did
no mighty Works, becaufe of their Unbelief.
Now what was their Unbelief? It was no
thing but the Infidelity which this Author
would prove to be harmlefs ; it was only a
Leffening and Undervaluing all thofe Privile
ges and Promifes which our Saviour offer'd to
thofe that would have a juft Senfe of the Va
lue of them. Now if we leffen or undervalue
any Privileges and Promifes annex'd to Faith
in Chrift, or any other Duty, fuch Unbelief
will certainly have the fame Effed upon us,
that it had upon thofe amongft whom Chrift
liv'd, it will hinder him from doing any
mighty Works amongft us, or in other
Words, render our Knowledge and Profef
fion of him, ineffedual to our Salvation. Prayer

[ 3°3 ]
Prayer and Faith are amongft the greateft
Duties of the Chriftian Life, and are the
moft powerful Means of obtaining all the
Bleffings of our Salvation. Now to thefe
two Duties the greateft Privileges and Pro
mifes are annexed by Chrift. The Promife of
the Holy Spirit is made to Prayer. Now ac
cording to this Author, if you leffen and
undervalue this Privilege and Promife annex'd
to Prayer, if you grow indifferent about the
Neceffity or Benefit of the Holy Spirit, and
fancy that you are fufficient of yourfelf for
all the Virtue that you want, all this does
yon no real hurt, nor alters at all the EffeB
of your Prayer.
Again, another Privilege annex'd to
Prayer, is that of being heard in and thro*
the Name of Chrifi.
Hitherto, fays our bleffed Lord, ye have
afiked nothing in my Name; ajk and ye ftiall re
ceive, that your Joy may be full.  Whatfoe-
ver ye ftiall afk the Father in my Name, he will
give it you*
Now if any Infidel, to abate your Zeal for,
and Confidence in this Kind of Prayer, fhould
teach you, that no one can fuffer any real
Hurt
* John xvi. 24.

[304 ]
Hurt by leffening and undervaluing Prayer in
the Name of Chrift, and that it would have
the fame Effed upon you, tho' you exped-
ed little or noGood'from it,theGofpel would
be preach'd to you, juft as it is by this Author.
Again, All Things whatfoever ye ftall ajk
in Prayer, believing,, ye ftall receive. Now
what is this Believing, but an entire Faith in
the Privileges and Promifes annex'd to Prayer?
B u t if Prayer is effedual becaufe of this
Faith in the Promifes made to Prayer, then
every one fuffers a real Hurt, and the EffeB
of his Prayer is altogether hinder'd by this
Want of Faith, or by a leffening and under
valuing the Privileges and Promifes annex'd
to it,
B u t if this Author's Dodrine was true,
it might then be faid, in Contradidion to the
Gofpel, Prayer does you as much real Good,
when you have little or no Faith in it, as when
you have ever fo much, and your Believing
is no Help to your Receiving.
The Scriptures attribute a Kind. of Om-
nipotency to Faith; thus, All Things are pof-
fible to him that believeth. Again, According
x to

[ 305 ]
to thy Faith, fo be it done unto thee. — Thy
Faith hath fav'd thee.— Thy Faith hath made
thee whole. But according to this Author, it
muft be faid, that the Want of Faith does
you no real Hurt, that you will be heal' d and
fav'd, and have all Things done to you, in the
fame Manner, whether you be faithlefs or
believing. And on this Foundation it is that he
grounds your Safety in receiving his Dodrine
of the Sacrament, though he fhould have
leffened and undervalued the Benefits annex
ed to it. But you ought to obferve, that you
can have no Safety in receiving his Dodrine
of the Sacrament, unlefs it be fafe for you to
receive another Gofpel.
Had the fiek, the lame, the blind, and the
deaf believed that which this Author would
have you believe, as fafe Dodrine, viz. that
to leffen and undervalue the Promifes and
Privileges made to Faith, could do them no
real Hurt, they had continued in their Infir
mities, merely for knowing Jefus Chrift and
the Gofpel as this Author would have you
know them. X When

[ 3°6]
Wh e n two blind Men ran crying after
our Saviour to have Mercy on them, . He faith
unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this?
They faid unto him, yea, Lord. Then touched
he their Eyes, faying, according to your Faith,
be it unto you. And their Eyes were opened!*
The poor Woman that wanted to be healed
of her Infirmity, faid, If I may but touch his
Cloaths I ftiall be whole: Upon this Faith of the
Woman our Saviour faid, I perceive that
Virtue is gone out of me ; and turning him
about, and feeing the Woman, He Jaid unto
her, Daughter be of good comfort, thy. Faith
hath made thee whole.-f
Now had the blind Men anfwer'd to our
Saviour's Queftion, No, Lord, we do not be
lieve that thou canft give us Sight : Had the
difeafed Woman faid, I am fo far from ex-
peding to be heal'd by touching his Cloaths,
that I don't believe he has the Power of hea*
ling in himfelf; according to this Author,
their Infidelity muft have help'd them to juft
the fame Benefit from Chrift, as their Faith
did, notwithftanding that Chrift himfelf
afcribes it to their Faith. For unlefs it be
r,rue, that their want of F^ith had help'd them
f Matth. ix. 27. f Math. i*. 20. Lyk& viii. j6.

[ 307 ]
them to the fame Benefit from Chrift that
their Faith did, it cannot be true, that to
leffen and undervalue the Privileges and Pro
mifes annex'd to any Duty, does you no real
Hurt, nor alters the EffeB of it at all.
And therefore the Safety which this Au
thor propofes to you, in leffening and under-
Valuing the Privileges and Promifes annex'd to
the Sacrament, is only the Safety of Infide
lity, and fuch a Safety as they are in, who
leffen and undervalue the Privileges and Pro
mifes annex'd to Faith in Jefus Chrift.
And indeed herein he is, though incon-
fiftent with the Gofpel, very confiftent with
himfelf. For if, as he has faid, an uniform
Morality chofen by ourfelves, is our highefi
Good both here and hereafter ; our higheft
Good makes Chrift as needlefs to us as the
Sacrament; for if this is true, you can no
more need the Benefits of a Saviour, than
the Benefits of a Sacrament, and it can fignify
nothing to your Happinefs, whatever Pri
vileges and Promifes are offer'd to you in the
Gofpel, becaufe you want none, can receive
none as a Part of your Happinefs, becaufe
you have it all from yourfelf, both here and
jiereafter. ¦% So

1 3°8 r
So that if this Minifter of the Gofpel
carries his Point with you, if you believe his
Dodrine of the Sacrament, upori the Prin
ciples on which he teaches it, you may indeed
retain fomething of the outward Form of the
Sa.erament,^ but muft rejedrthe whole Salva
tion of the Gofpel.