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 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 S A M U E 
 
 SAMUEL A Q N E W , 
 
 OF PHILADELPHIA. PA. 
 
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 BT 2 65 .WA^§ 
 Whitfield, Peter. 
 The Christianity of the New 
 Testament 
 
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THE 
 
 CHRISTIANITY 
 
 O F 
 
 Cfje Jteto Ceftament 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, 
 
 A REPLY 
 
 T O 
 
 Mr. ABRAHAM BOURJSt's 
 Free and Candid 
 
 CONSIDERATIONS. 
 
 (\ 
 
 ! 
 
I 
 
fafa*& feA 
 
 THE 
 
 CHRISTIANITY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 j&eto UTeftament 
 
 O R, A 
 
 SCHOLASTIC DEFENCE 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 SCRITTU RE DOCTRINES 
 
 O F 
 
 Redemption, Propitiation, Satisfaction and 
 Salvation, by the Sacrifice of fcfusS Cftriff. 
 
 From a Comparifon of the Original Meaning of thofe Terras in the 
 Hebrew of the Old Testament, and the Greek Verfion of the 
 fame, and in the Writings of Pagan Theology, v/ith their plain 
 Ufe and Application, in the New Testament, to the bleffed 
 Effefls of the Death of CHRIST. 
 
 Againft the Infidels and Libertines of this Age. 
 
 With a PREFACE, occafionally written as a calm and rational 
 Vindication of the Author's Conformity to the Church of England, {contrary 
 io his Education) upon the Principles of fecular and ecclefiaftical Polity; as 
 laid down by Grotius, Puffcndorf, Hooker, Calvin, &c. 
 
 By PETER'WHITFIELD. 
 LIVERPOOL: 
 
 Printed for R.Williamson, at the Circulating Library, near the 
 Exchange. MDCCLVII. 
 
 m 
 
$jr <f turn** ^GlKP" <f iosfc ^5fwsf5^ «n3ri& ^h 
 
 T O 
 The Right Rev. Father in God, 
 
 E D M O N D, 
 
 Lord Bifliop of CHESTER. 
 
 May it pleafe your Lordjhip. 
 
 |*|^p;|HE bold Attempts which 
 W$> ^ 'W& have of late been made to 
 ^sA A $£H reprefent the Dodlrine of 
 ^*3Rf*^ Salvation by the Crofs as 
 WXXZ3L** Foolifinefs, and Inconfiftent 
 with eternal Reafon, give juft Occasion to 
 every true Chriftian to endeavour its De- 
 fence and Vindication, as the Power of 
 God and the Wifdom of God. And as we 
 are commanded to be ready to give an 
 Anfwer to every Man that afketh its a 
 Reafon of the Hope that is in us. It can- 
 not, I apprehend, be lefs our Duty to en- 
 deavour to oppofe every Challenge pub-r 
 
 licklv 
 
VI 
 
 p DEDICATION. 
 
 lickly made againft the Doctrines, upon 
 which our Chriftian Hopes are founded. 
 
 As I have made the holy Scriptures 
 pretty much the Object of my Attention 
 and Study for a great Part of my Life, 
 and that I might do that to the greater 
 Advantage have endeavoured to obtain a 
 competent Acquaintance with the Origi- 
 nal Languages, I humbly apprehend, I 
 have been enabled from a Comparifon of 
 thofe Ideas which the old and which the 
 New Teftament give, relating to the Doc- 
 trine of Salvation by Chrift, to form Ar- 
 guments clear and conclusive, in a Light 
 fomewhat Different from what hath been 
 ufually done, in Defence of the Faith which 
 was once delivered unto the Saint s^ and par- 
 ticularly of fome Articles which have of 
 late been oppofed by Men, who, from an 
 over-fond Apprehenfion of the Extent and 
 Capacity of Human Reafon and Under - 
 Handing in general, as well as of the Force 
 and Propriety of their own Conceptions, 
 have refufed to fubmit to the Authority 
 of fome Particulars or Divine Revelation, 
 
 which 
 
The DEDICATION, vii 
 
 which could not by any other Means have 
 been known unto Men. 
 
 And in Hopes that the Publication 
 hereof may happily be of feme Service for 
 the Conviction of Gain-fayers and Con- 
 firmation of the Truth of the Gofpel, I 
 beg Leave, with Humility, to lay the Work 
 at your Lordlhip's Feet, and to publifh it 
 under your Protection; hoping your Lord- 
 fhip's great Candour and Goodnefs will 
 vouchfafe Favourably to regard the Since- 
 rity of my Intention in a Performance I 
 am aware is much below the Perfection 
 and Importance of the Subject. 
 
 This Dedication, I humbly apprehend, 
 I could not have addreffed with equal 
 Propriety to any other as to your Lord- 
 fhip, both from the Eminence of your 
 Lordfhip's Station and Dignity, in that 
 which juftly claims to be the Flead of 
 the Reformed Church of Chrift upon 
 Earth ; and your Prefldence and Autho- 
 rity in that Diocefs in particular, wherein 
 it hath pleafed the Almighty my Lot 
 mould fall. 
 
 That 
 
iii The DEDICATION. 
 
 vm 
 
 That your Lordmip may, by the Blef- 
 ling of Heaven, be long continued a bur- 
 ning and a mining Light, for difrufive 
 Advantage to the Church Militant upon 
 Earth ; and after you mall have happily 
 difcharged the Truft delegated to your 
 Lordfhip by the great Bifhop of Souls, be 
 late tranflated to the Church triumphant 
 in Heaven ; and when the great Shepherd 
 Jhall appear, receive a Crown of Glory 
 which fadeth not away, is the Prayer of, 
 
 May it pleafe your Lordjhip, 
 
 Your mojl dutiful, 
 And mojl obliged, 
 
 Humble Servant, 
 
 Peter Whitfield. 
 

 
 THE 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 )K3o08( H E Prevalence of Socinianifm in this Age 
 ^ T ^ a nd Nation, and particularly amongft the 
 vJL^J{? Protectants of that Denomination, who not 
 7&tesa.7k j_j a jf a Century ago were prevalently the 
 moft zealous Affertors of the great Doctrines of Re- 
 demption, Propitiation, Satisfaction and Sal- 
 vation by JESUS CHRIST, as the only Ground 
 of Hope for a finful World, hath given a juft Alarm 
 to many Perfons of Learning and Piety to appear in 
 Vindication of thofe Doctrines, which have through 
 all Ages of the Chriftian Church appeared to contain 
 the Quintefcence of the Chriftian Revelation, and that 
 which moft eminently diftinguifheth Christianity 
 from all other Sy Items of Religion in the World, and 
 which have always appeared to be indubitably efta- 
 blifhed in the Holy Scriptures of the New Tes- 
 tament. 
 
 As, I am perfwaded, fome who have unhappily run 
 into this New Scheme of Christianity, which 
 makes the Gofpel little more than a Syftem of refined 
 Morality, and fo fets it pretty much upon a Level 
 with the Writings of the Pagan Philoibphers and 
 Moralifts, and with the Precepts of the Alcoran, 
 are not fufficiently acquainted with, or have not duly 
 attended to the original and proper Import of fome 
 
x The P R E F A C E. 
 
 tlLtimg in tge Mb Ceffament, ufed to explain the 
 Nature and Efficacy of the facrifical Rites in the Mo- 
 faic Religion, and thence tranfplanted into t\)t jfteto 
 Ccffament, and applied to the Death and Sacrifice 
 of CHRIST, as the great Propitiation for the Sins 
 of Mankind; I thought it might be of fome Service 
 to elucidate and confirm the Chriftian Doctrine, if I 
 could explain the natural Import of thofe Terms in 
 the Writings of Mofes and the Prophets, and thence 
 juftify their Application in a more eminent Senfe, to 
 iliew the Effects of the gjeat £Ij?iftian £>ac?iftce-, 
 as it will, I trull, hence be evident that it was the 
 Defign and Intention of the Spirit of G O D, in the 
 Writings of the Holy Apoftles and Evangel ids, to 
 communicate thereby the fame Idea, to thofe of the 
 Chriftian Religion, reflecting the Effects of the Sacri- 
 fice of the Death of CHRIST, which the fame Terms 
 in the Old Teflament did communicate to the Ifraelite 
 and Jewijh Nation, with Relation to the Sacrifices 
 under the Law ; and the fame which Terms of like 
 Import and Signification, in other Languages, did 
 give to the Pagan World, with refpect to the Sa- 
 crifices they offered. 
 
 And it is a Pleafure to me to find, that fome Gen- 
 tlemen of great Learning, who have written in De- 
 fence of the other Side of the Queftion, and endea- 
 voured to expunge the Doctrines of Redemption, Pro- 
 pitiation, Satisfaction, &c. out of the Chriftian Scheme, 
 yet feem perfuaded that the only Way to adjuft our 
 Apprehensions upon this great and momentous Arti- 
 cle of our holy Religion, is accurately to alcertain the 
 Meaning and Application of thofe Terms, as ufed in 
 Relation to the Jewifb and other Sacrifices : And, parti- 
 cularly, the very learned Author of The Scripture 
 Doftrine of Atonement examined hath profeffedly gone in 
 this Way, only with this very great and eficntial Dif- 
 ference from the Courfe of Reafoning I have endea- 
 vour'd to proiecute; that he, as well as others of the 
 
 fame 
 
The P R E F A C E. xi 
 
 fame Way of Thinking, endeavours to fhew that thofe 
 Terms are ufed, both in the Old Teftament and the 
 New, in a figurative and allegorical Senfe, which I 
 contend are, by the foveraign Appointment of the 
 Almighty, ufed in a Senfe the fame with, or plainly 
 analogous to that in which they were ufed with Re- 
 lation to Affairs and Occurrencies frequently happen- 
 ing in human Life. And here I beg leave to aquaint 
 my Reader, that the Book juft mentioned did not 
 come to my Knowledge till after I had printed off my 
 fecond Section, wherein the Remarks upon that learned 
 Performance would properly have come in j fo that I 
 have been forced to refume the Subject in the third 
 Section, fomewhat out of Order, to anfwer fuch Things 
 in that Work as I thought neceffary to obviate, for 
 further Confirmation of the Argument I am endea- 
 vouring to fupport. 
 
 Supposing the Doctrine here afferted, in the Senfe 
 it hath been generally received in the Chriftian Church 
 for more than feventeen Hundred Years, prove, upon 
 impartial Examination, as I truft it will, to be of the 
 Effence of the Chriftian Faith and Religion, it will, I 
 think, be undeniable that if any one or the Character 
 of a Christian Minister, in explaining publicly the 
 Gospel of CHRIST, and mewing the Benefits ac- 
 cruing thence to Mankind, fhall omit to mention this 
 great Benefit of Propitiation, Redemption, &c. he may 
 be fajd, in. that Performance, not to have acted as 
 becomes a Minister of CHRIST, or not to be a true 
 Chriftian. 
 
 Such a Declaration as this gave immediate Occafion 
 to this Work ; for having been informed that a certain 
 neighbouring Minifter had difcovered, in free Conver- 
 fation, a Diflike to the Doctrine of Redempii.cn, and a 
 Perfuafion of the Sufficiency of Natural Religion, 
 to recommend Mankind to the Divine Favour for 
 eternal Felicity, I took Occafion to attend on his 
 Public Service,, that I might (at leail have a Hazard 
 
 B 2 to) 
 
Xll 
 
 The PREFACE. 
 
 toj prove whether my Informant had not been too fe- 
 vere in his Reprefentation of the Gentleman's Prin- 
 ciples j when I had the Mortification to find the Ac- 
 count too true, and that his Public Difcourfe was 
 fuitable to the Account my Friend had given me of 
 his private Converfation. And as the Subject he treat- 
 ed on naturally led him to difcover his Sentiments 
 on this Head, he did it in fuch a Manner as gave me 
 fufficient Reafon to declare, without referve, that be 
 was not, in my Opinion, an Orthodox Chrijlian ; where- 
 of, as a Vindication was demanded, I thought it my 
 Duty in this public Manner to juftify my Affertion, and 
 fhew how inconfiftent the Sermon I heard was to what 
 has been almoft univerfally received, in the Church 
 T>f CHRIST, for the true Doctrine of the Gofpel, 
 as is before declared. 
 
 And as on this Occafion I have endeavoured, in 
 the following Sheets, to prove the Doctrine of Propi- 
 tiation and Redemption to be really eflential to the 
 Christianity of the New Testament, fo I 
 fhall, in this Preface, take Occafion to juftify my 
 own Conduct, in conforming to the eftablifhed 
 Church •, (for which I know I have been feverely cen- 
 fured) by fome brief Remarks on a very remarkable 
 Paflage, in that Gentleman's Sermon •, whereof I think 
 it neceflary, by Way of Introduction, to give fuch 
 an Account as my Memory enables me to do ; in 
 which, tho' imperfect, I pall keep Jlriclly to Truth, and 
 relate the Affair with Impartiality, and without all 
 Prejudice. 
 
 After a fliort introductory Prayer, reading a Por- 
 tion of Holy Writ, and finging Part of a Pfalm, 
 the Gentleman addrefied the Almighty in a very ele- 
 gant and pretty long Prayer, previous to his Sermon -, 
 a Prayer in my Apprehenfion fo truly elegant, proper 
 and regular, with refpect to Senfe, Kxpreflion and 
 Connection, as I apprehend very few (if any one Man 
 alive) capable of coinpofing and uttering extempore-: 
 
 But 
 
The PREFACE. xiii 
 
 But this I can fay of it truly, that to the befl of my 
 Obfervation and Memory, except the meer Conclufion, 
 the whole Prayer might have been compofed and ut- 
 tered by David or Solomon, by Socrates or Plato, or any 
 other learned and devout Jew or Pagan of Antiquity, 
 who believed the Unity of the Deity, before the Incarna- 
 tion ; or by any devout Mahometan at this Day ; (o 
 perfectly void was the whole Compofition, excepting 
 as above, of any Thing peculiarly relating to the Chri- 
 fiian Religion. The former Part of the Prayer con- 
 tained a very elegant Declaration of the Divine Per- 
 fections of Being, Wifdom, &c. But in his Enlarge- 
 ment upon thefe glorious Attributes of God, he took 
 no Notice of their Agency, in the great Work of the 
 Redemption of the World by the Death of CHRIST. 
 Particularly, in fpeaking of the Divine Wifdom, he 
 never mentioned that Wifdom of GOD in a Myftery 
 which was ordained before the World, unto our Glory in 
 the Gofpel of CHRIST: i Cor. ii. y. That Depth 
 of the Riches of the Wifdom and Knowledge of GOD, 
 Rom. xi. I?,' which is adored by the Angels in Hea- 
 ven, and by the Church on Earth, as manifefted in 
 the Redemption of loft and fallen Mankind, by the 
 Sacrifice and Death of the Son of GO D. 
 
 H e enlarged no lels elegantly in acknowledgment 
 and Praifes of the Mercy and Goodnefs of God to 
 Mankind, in the Courfe of Nature and Providence; 
 but not a Word, to my Remembrance or Obfervation, 
 of the Goodnefs and Mercy of God in the Redemp- 
 tion of the World by our Lord JESUS CHRIST; 
 even that tender Mercy of our GOD, whereby the Day- 
 Spring from on High hath vifited us, to give the Knowledge 
 of Salvation to his People, by the Remission of their 
 Sins: Luke i. yy, 78. Not a Word of that Love of 
 God, which was in this 'manifefted tozvards us, becaufe that 
 GOD fent his only -begotten Son into the World, that we 
 might live through him. John v. 9. Rom. v. 8. &c. Not 
 a Word of that ^olmef^ of CDoO, which was difcover- 
 
 ed 
 
xiv The PREFACE. 
 
 ed in requiring that his only-begotten Son fliould die 
 as a Propitiation for the Sins of Mankind, before 
 his Mercy could, confidently with the Wifdom and 
 Rectitude of the Divine Government, Ihew itfelf in 
 their Pardon and Salvation. In fhort, I know not that 
 the Name of CHRIST was once mentioned in the 
 whole Prayer, except it was (but I think it was not in 
 this Prayer) that he made an Acknowledgment of the 
 Mercy of God in fending JESUS CHRIST to make 
 known to us the true Religion of Nature. But I rather 
 think this was after the Sermon;, otherwife I think the 
 Name of CHRIST was not mentioned till the very 
 Clofe, as I laid before; and this Clofe I thought not 
 of a Piece with the Reft of the Compofition, as having 
 a Pretence and Appearance of begging fuch Bleflings, 
 and making fuch Acknowledgements of Mercies, re- 
 ceived from the Almighty through JESUS CHRIST 
 our Lord, as implied JESUS CHRIST to ftandin 
 iuch a Relation between God and us, as he is indeed 
 reprefented in Scripture to do, but fuch as had not been 
 mentioned or hinted at before in the whole Prayer. 
 
 I had attended the DifTenters Worfhip for many 
 Years, after I became in fome Meafure capable of Rea- 
 foning and Reflection, but never before heard fuch a 
 Prayer. But (not to dwell longer upon this) when this 
 was ended, the Minifter addrefled himfelf to his Ser- 
 mon, and gave out fuch a Subject as I could have wiili- 
 ed ; The Truth Jhall make you free. In treating upon 
 which he told us, that by Truth, in this Proportion, 
 v/as meant the Gofpel of CHRIST \ and the Freedom 
 this gave to Mankind was, to the bed of my Remem- 
 brance, declared to confiit in thefe four Particulars: 
 
 First. The Gofpel, he laid, freed Mankind from 
 the Bondage and Slavery they were generally before un- 
 der to their irregular Delircs and depraved Patiions, by 
 fetting forth the Excellency and Rewards of Virtue and 
 Holinefs. Life and Immortality being peculiarly brought 
 to Light by the Gofpel > &c. 
 
 The 
 
The PREFACE. 
 
 xv 
 
 The fecond Particular, I think, was, that the Gof- 
 pel freed Mankind from the Fears and Apprehenfions 
 they were before under, from the wavering and uncer- 
 tain Opinions, touching a World to come, &c. Of 
 this I have not fo much AfTurance as with Refpect to 
 the Reft. If I mifreprefent, I afk the Gentleman's 
 Pardon. 
 
 Thirdly, theGofpel, he told us, delivered us from 
 the burthenfome Rites of the Mofaic Inftitutions, &c. 
 Under all thefe Heads the Gentleman, as I thought, 
 fpoke with a good deal of Force and Propriety both of 
 Reafon and Oratory : But not a Word of fuch Things 
 as I had been wont to hear enlarged on from fuch-like 
 Texts •, nothing of being delivered by the Gofpel Dif- 
 penfation from the heinous Guilt of Sin ; from the tre- 
 mendous Wrath of God; from the tyrannical Domi- 
 nion of our fpiritual Enemies; and the dreadful Tor- 
 ments of eternal Perdition, originally threatned upon 
 Difobedience. What he faid under thefe Heads was 
 very true, but, I apprehend, not the whole Truth, 
 but far fhort of the Extent of that Deliverance which the 
 Gofpel gives the Notice of to the Children of Men. But, 
 to atone for this Defect, he told us in the 
 
 Fourth Place, that the Gofpel delivered us from 
 all Subjetlion to the Ordinances and Decrees of Men, in Mat- 
 ters of Religion, or to this Effect. Under this Head the 
 Orator feemed to exert the utmoft of his Faculties; in- 
 fomuch that he appeared to me to have had this Topic 
 principally in View, when he determined to treat or 
 the Liberty wherewith CHRIST had made us free ', Gal . 
 v. I. 
 
 Under this Head the Young Declaimer faid a great 
 deal to mew that neither Princes, nor Popes, nor Coun- 
 cils, nor Fathers, nor Bifhops, nor Synods, nor Par- 
 liaments, nor all together, had the lead Right autlc- 
 ritaihely to prefcribe in Matters of Religion; and 
 for himielf, he faid, he did in that Public Manner Pro- 
 test againfl all religious Prefcription or Impofidon 
 
 what- 
 
xvi The P R E F A C E. 
 
 whatfoever, except the Bible ; or Words to that Effect. 
 This I thought affuming too much of the Apoftle for 
 one of his Years ; for his Appearance to me was, that 
 of a 2"outh rudely and of a fair Countenance, i Sam, 
 xvii. 42. 
 
 Now, as I took this to be the moil important, and 
 by much the moll laboured Part of the Sermon, ex- 
 prefled with great Force of Oratory, but, in my Ap- 
 prehenfion, not quite equal Strength of Reaibning; 
 having in my Book endeavoured to mew that the Doc- 
 trine of the Gofpel of CHRIST is much more exten- 
 five than reprefented by his Sermon, and the jfreeoom 
 which that Diipenfation has blefs'd Mankind with, tgf 
 of a different Conception ; I mall here beg Leave 
 briefly to enquire into the Truth of this Propofition j 
 That no Power on Earth hath Right to prefcribe in Mat- 
 ters relating to Religion, and the Public Worfbip of GOD. 
 And I hope I fhall, without much Pains, make the 
 Propofition, confidered in general, appear as falfe as 
 this Gentleman feemed convinced he had proved it 
 true. I fay then, 
 
 In the firft Place, No Power oh Earth, fince the 
 ceafingofthe immediate, fupernatural, infallible Gui- 
 dance of the Holy Spirit, hath Authority to inftitute 
 new $itfrtt3 of jfattij, new g)acrament0, or new 
 Rules of general moral praftur, which can be ob- 
 ligatory upon the Chriftian Church. With refpecl: to 
 thefe, the Declaration of the Prophet in the Clofe of 
 the Holy Bible, Rev. xxi. 18, 19. may be applied ; If 
 any Man fhall add unto thefe Things, GOD (hall add unto 
 him the Plagues that are written in this Book •, and if any 
 Man fhall take away from the Words of the Book of this 
 Prophejy, GOD fhall take away his Part out of the Book 
 of Life and out of the holy City, and from the Things which 
 are written in this Book. 
 
 I know not whether this particular Text have Re- 
 lation to the whole Canon of the Scripture, or only to 
 that Prophecy in particular. The learned Dr. Ham- 
 mond 
 
The PREFACE xvii 
 
 «wffifeems to favour the former; and fays, that as this 
 was the laft Book affuredly written by the Infpiration 
 of the moft High (though there might be fome Pro- 
 phets after St. John, as Juftin Martyr fays the Gift of 
 Prophecy remained in the Church till his Time, which 
 was the former Part of the fecond Century, and not 
 long after the Date of this Book ; ytt) this Book mould 
 be the laft, and fo the Clofe and Seal of all public Pro- 
 phecies : But, I fay, whether that be the Meaning of 
 this Place or not, it is very certain that fince the Fini fil- 
 ing of the Canon of the Holy Scripture, no Man, nor 
 any Set or Number of Men, can have Power to infti- 
 tute as above faid; and fo faid the bleffed Apoflle, 
 Gal. i. 8,9. For though we (the infpired ApoftlesJ or e- 
 ven an Angel from Heaven -preach any other Gofpel unto you , 
 than that ye have received, let him be accurfed; which is, 
 for the greater Energy, repeated in the following Verfe, 
 What I faid before, the fame I fay again: If any Man 
 preach, &c. So that if any one Man, or any Body of 
 Men, fliall affume to make any new Inftitution, as be- 
 fore faid, as of univerfal Obligation upon the Confci* 
 ence, for which there is not a plain Declaration in Ho- 
 ly Scripture as a Foundation, fuch Perfon will be lia- 
 ble to the Malediction here denounced by the Holy A- 
 poftle and Prophet; and this I defire particularly to 
 recommend to the ferious Consideration of fuch as en- 
 deavour to pervert the plain Declarations of the New 
 Teftament, with refpect to the Subjects treated on in 
 this Book; as they may, I think, properly and very 
 remarkably be laid to preach another Gofpel^ which we 
 have not received. Agreeable to this is what Hugo Gro- 
 
 O ; o 
 
 this delivers upon this Subject in his Book De Imperio 
 fumr/iarum Poteflatum circa Sacra : " Non eft hu manse 
 " poteftatis nova condere fidei Capita, neque novos 
 \* Dei cultus aut nova inftituere Sacramenta, csrV." i. e. 
 It is not lawful for human Authorities to make new Articles 
 of Faith, or to injlitute a new Worfhip of GOD 7 or new 
 Sacraments, &c. Cap. 3. No. 11. 
 
 C But 
 
XV111 
 
 The PREFACE. 
 
 But although nothing efTential may be added to the 
 Chriftian Faith or Worfhip; yet, 
 
 Secondly, as befides thefe, jtt£ ttCCtffatp for an- 
 fwering the Ends of the Chriftian Inftitution that 
 Churches, as Societies for the public Worfhip of God, 
 and other Things of a public Nature relating to Reli- 
 gion, mould be under fome form of external Govern- 
 ment, Adminiftration, or Polity, and as there is no 
 Form given in the New Testament, of Divine 
 Authority and universal Obligation, asweihall 
 fee a little further on, it becomes abfolutely neceffary 
 in the Nature of Things, that the Modes of external 
 Adminiftration be of human Inftitution, fo far as the 
 Circumftances of human Nature, and the Reafon of 
 Things, will permit. 
 
 The univerfal Church, like the whole World, is 
 only under the immediate Direction of the Almighty; 
 who alone by his univerfal Superintendence adminifters, 
 and alone can adminifter, the Affairs of the whole 
 World, as one great civil Society, and the Affairs of 
 the Church univerfal, as one great religious Society •, 
 and it is plain from Speculation and Experience, that 
 fince the diffufion of the Gofpel over the various Em- 
 pires, States and Kingdoms of the World, there never 
 was, nor ever can be, amongft Mankind, any one 
 univerfal Head of the whole Church militant upon Earth, 
 (notwithstanding the vain Pretence of the Pope of 
 Rome to this exalted Character) any more than there e- 
 ver was or can be, fince the Difperfion of Mankind, 
 one univerfal fecular Soveraign over all the World, 
 coYifidered as one great civil Society. The Reafon 
 hereof is clear : Becaufe fuch an univerfal Government 
 Ecclefiaftical is abfolutely inconfiftent with that Diver- 
 fity of fecular Governments and other different Cir- 
 cumftances under which the different Parts of the 
 Chriftian Church is, and hath always been difpofed; yet 
 each of thefe Parts, whether confidered as National, 
 Provincial, Diocefan, or Parochial, or by what other 
 
 Names 
 
The PREFACE. xix 
 
 Names foever dignified or diftingui/hed, ought to be under 
 fuch external ^Detonomp, or political Adminiftration, 
 as is neceifary to anfwer the Ends of the Chriftian In- 
 stitution. But it is certain this ecclefiaftical Admini- 
 ftration cannot be Soveraign, and independent of the 
 civil Government of every Country, for this one plain 
 felf-evident Reafon, That it is inconfiflent with the 
 Being and Defign of human Societies, that is, with the 
 Nature of Things, that there floould be two or morefove- 
 raign Authorities in one and the fame Society ; or, if you 
 pleafe, in two Societies confifting of the fame Perfons: 
 Becaufe the Laws of the different Soveraignties might 
 eafily fo clafh and interfere as to render Obedience, Re- 
 wards and Puniihments impracticable 'Ouk dyxSov xo-o- 
 Auxoi^aw*) 17$ H.o*p*fW «"«• Horn. II. 2. And fo fays our 
 very learned Selden in the Preface to his Book De Syne-, 
 driis et prefecluris juridicis veterum Hebraorum\ where he 
 compares this to the Suppofition of two. Suns, in the 
 Heavens, or more Souls than one in the fame human 
 Body. And Hugo Grotius in his Treatife De Imperio, 
 &c. mentioned before, writes thus : " Effe&us Impe- 
 <c rij funt obligatio et coaftio, fi autem plures eflent 
 " fummi imperantes, poflent effe imperata, contraria 
 " aut contrarietatem implicantia, &V." i. e. The Ef- 
 fects of Government are Obligation and Coertion •, but if 
 there might be more than one Soveraign Government in the 
 farm Society-, there might be Laws contradictory and incon- 
 fiflent, &c. The Inconiiftency of two independent fo- 
 veraign Governments (as ecclefiaftical and civil) in one 
 and the fame Society is, beyond contradifton, proved 
 in an unexceptionable Diflertation, by Way of Preface 
 to a very obnoxious Book i I mean, The Rights of the 
 Chriftian Church, 
 
 To this it may be objected, that the Chriftian 
 Church did, for more than three Hundred Years, fup.- 
 port a Government within itfelf, independent of the Ci- 
 vil powers under which it was; which muft in fome 
 Meafure be allowed. But what Kind of Government 
 
 C 2 was 
 
xx The PREFACE. 
 
 was it ? Why, either under the Favour and Connivance 
 of moderate, good-natured Princes, and fo under 
 their Protection : Or elfe expofed to the fevere Ani- 
 madverfions of thofe of a different Character-, the 
 Confequence whereof was, that for their conftant Ad- 
 herence to their own Laws, the Chriftians fuffered 
 thofe cruelties, as is related by Ecclefiaftical Hiftori- 
 ans, which without the fmgular and extraordinary In- 
 terposition of the Almighty, in fupport of his own 
 Caufe ( whereby the Blood of the Martyrs became the Seed 
 of the Church) would have totally deftroyed them. And 
 this is itfelf a flrong Evidence of the Inconfiftency of 
 two diftincTk foveraign Governments in one and the fame 
 Society ; and confequently, that either the civil Affairs 
 of every Nation muft be under the foveraign Direction 
 of ecclefiaftical Prefidents, which fome contend for ; or 
 that the neceffary Admiftration and Direction of eccle- 
 fiaftical Affairs, fo far as they are not determined by 
 Divine Authority, muft be under the Influence of the ci- 
 vil Power. 
 
 Agreeable to this is what our Saviour advances as 
 an univerfal Proportion : That a Kingdom divided againft 
 itfelf cannot ftand, and that no Man canferve two Maflers. 
 Supreme or foveraign Power can be but one. To fup- 
 pofc- more is plainly deftroying the Notion of *S>otl£- 
 Iflitjtttp and introducing Cottfufton* 
 
 So that the Adminiftration and Direction of all 
 Things neceffary to the well being of Society, whether 
 of an ecclefiaftical or fecular Confideration *, are neceffa- 
 rily to be under the Direction and Control of one and 
 the fame foveraign Power. Nor it is an Objection 
 here that civil Governors cannot be fuppofed to under - 
 ftand the Concerns of Religion fo well as is neceffary 
 to enable, them rightly to Adminifter ecclefiaftical Af- 
 fairs; for neither are Princes generally fo well acquaint- 
 
 * Not fettled by divine Authority. 
 
 ed 
 
The PREFACE. xxi 
 
 ed with all the Particulars of the civil or municipal 
 Laws of every Community, as to be able rightly to 
 adminifter their public civil Interefts fingly, by their 
 own Skill and Judgment; but the Affairs, belonging 
 both to civil and facred Adminiftration, are to be de- 
 bated and fettled by Men of Learning and Skill in each 
 Profeffion, but all under the Authority of one and the 
 fame foveraign Power, as before faid. And fo faith 
 the learned H. Grotius, in the Book before cited, Ch. 
 i. § 3. c<; Et faneeximi quicquam ab imperio fumm^ 
 " poteftatis ratio nulla patitur." i. e. No Reafoncan 
 be given for exempting any "Thing from the Adminiftration 
 of the foveraign. And again, Ch. 3. § 5. " Nunc 
 " qui actus non funt jure imperabiles fummse inter 
 " Homines poteftati videamus. Et conftat eos dun- 
 " taxat extra imperij jus effe, qui naturali aut alteri 
 " cuivis divino juri repugnant." i. e. Let us now 
 fee what Actions come under the command of the fupreme 
 Magiftrate. And it is plain that thofe Actions only are not 
 under his Authority to command, which are inconfijtent with 
 the Laws cf Nature, or with fome otljtV liato of dDoih 
 And to the fame Purpofe I might tranferibe almoif. 
 that whole Book*, which is written purpofely in De- 
 fence of this Pofition, That the authoritative Admi- 
 niftration of ecclefiaftical Polity necefTarily appertains 
 to the fupreme Power in every State. So that the ci- 
 vil Authority has a Right to inftitute whatever the Lazvs of 
 GOD have not plainly forbidden -, or may forbid what the 
 fame Laws have not commanded, in purfuance of a fincere 
 Aim at the public Good. And fo faith the holy Scrip- 
 ture, Rom iv. 15. Where there is no Law there is no 
 'Tranfgrejfwn. 
 
 And here I have always taken it to be a certain Rule 
 of Conduct: to all Subjects, ■ That every Member of 
 ' a foveraign State or civil Society is in Duty bound 
 ' to Conform to every Institution of that State, which 
 
 * is not, or which (after a ftrict and difinterefted Exa- 
 
 * mination) does not appear to be contrary to fomedi- 
 
 1 vine 
 
XX11 
 
 The PREFACE. 
 
 ' vine Precept.' And under the Influence of the Truth 
 of this Pofition only, I have endeavoured to vindicate 
 my Conformity to the ecclefiaftical Eftablifhment of 
 this Nation, contrary to the Principles of my Educa- 
 tion ; declaring to the Gentlemen of the Prefbyterian 
 Perfuafion, and I now repeat the Challenge in this 
 public Manner (to borrow an Expreffion from the Gen- 
 tleman I am now treating with:) That if they, or any 
 of them, will lay their Finger upon any one Action 
 abfolutely required from me, as a Lay Communicant 
 with the eitablifhed Church, which is repugnant to any 
 Law of God.> I will be a .DiiTenter over again. 
 
 Hence what the Gentleman, with lb remarkable 
 Vehemence afferted, in his public Difcourfe, may pro- 
 bably appear not to be of fo much Truth or Impor- 
 tance as he feemed to repi efent it. For, as to Matter of 
 Doctrine, although nothing inconfiftent with any Divine 
 Law can bind the Confcience in Point of Belief or 
 Practice-, yet abftracts and Formularies taken from 
 the holy Scriptures, and from the approved Works of 
 ancient or later Writers of Chriflian Theology, as 
 Symbols of Faith, Catechifms, &c. neceffary for the In- 
 ftruction of the Young, and fuch are not well qualifi- 
 ed to learn the neceffary Rules of Faith and Practice, 
 by their own Study of the holy Scriptures, and other 
 Writings; thefe, I fay, drawn up by Men of npp?0- 
 fceU abilities, authorifed thereto, after neceffary Ex- 
 amination of their Agreement with true Doctrine, 
 may be enjoined by the Supreme Authority in e- 
 very Country, as a Means tending to promote true 
 Chriftianity, and confident with every Law of God, 
 And every fuch Injunction hath, from the preced- 
 ing Coniiderations, the Force of a Law, upon all 
 Subjects of every refpective State or Community, 
 under the Qualifications before mentioned, fo long 
 as it continues unrepealed. But this is not fuppoi- 
 ed to give fuch Compofitions any uifoinr, pcjpetiml 
 3ut!)0iiti)> but that they may be liable to Candid 
 
 Dis- 
 
The PREFA C E. xxii 
 
 Disquisition, Revifal, Alteration or Correction 
 whenfoever it fhall appear to the fupreme Power 
 conducive to the public Good. 
 
 And, for the fame Reafon, upon the Reformation 
 in England, when there was a Want of Perfons duly 
 qualified to compofe Difcourfes for public Inftruction, 
 it was very confident with the Laws of Heaven, that 
 the foveraign Authority Jhould appoint Homilies, or DifTer- 
 tations on religious Subjects, compofed and approved 
 by the Bifhops and learned Men of the Church, to be 
 publicly read for the Encreafe of Chriftian Knowledge. 
 And on this Occafion I beg Leave to add, that I 
 could wifh, (for Reafons I need not mention) there 
 were, at this Time, Collections made of fuch Dif- 
 courfes as might be of moil general Ule, as well as 
 of fuch as are adapted to particular Occafions, from 
 the Works of the many excellent Englijh Writers of 
 Theology, more agreeable to the prefent Conception 
 and Language, than the old Homilies are, and ap- 
 pointed to be read as Prudence mould direft, for the 
 fame laudable Purpofe. This, 1 believe, might fome- 
 times prevent the ill Effects of the injudicious Choice of 
 Sermons -, which, I apprehend, is fometimes made by 
 fuch as have not Efficient Leifure to compofe, or are 
 too modejl to ttufl to their own Compofitions; and this, 
 I doubt not, might be lawfully done by the Appoint- 
 ment of the fupreme Authority, without interfering 
 with the Laws of Heaven, natural or revealed. 
 
 And, for the like Reafon, Forms of public Prayer, 
 &V. may be, and are, very prudently and to very 
 valuable Purpofes appointed, by the fame Authority, 
 for the Worihip of God in all public religious Affem- 
 blies : For as public Prayers, Thankfgivings, &c. 
 cannot well, and certainly ought not to be compofed 
 fukable to the great Variety of particular Cafes and 
 Circum fiances of Individuals, but are to be fuited to 
 the Affairs of the People in General; fated Forms 
 appear beft adapted to anfwer all the Ends of public 
 
 Worfhip ; 
 
xxiv The PREFACE. 
 
 Worfhip ; as the People, in general, of all Orders 
 and Capacities may, by conftant Attention and fre- 
 quent Repetition, attain to a competent Understanding 
 of thole Forms, and fo be able to offer to the Al- 
 mighty a reafonable Service, much better than they 
 can do by endeavouring to join in new or extemporaneous 
 Compoiitions, which it is pofiible may not always be 
 quite correff, either as to Matter or Form, and too 
 often, by Reafon of the Length and Intricacy of Sen- 
 tences, or for Want of proper Connection, or by 
 Reafon of fcholaftic Terms and Notions, above the 
 Comprehenfion of vulgar Capacities, too often intro- 
 duced into fuch Compositions, are not eqfily intelligible 
 to the common People. And confidering the weak Ap- 
 prehenfions of the greatefl Part of Mankind, and 
 with how much Difficulty they are brought to under- 
 stand even common Subjects, when fpoke of in a Stile 
 a little elevated above the vulgar Dialed: ( which 
 thofe who are ordinarily converfant with People in 
 low Life are better acquainted with, than Men of 
 Learning generally are) I cannot but think it a vafl 
 Impropriety to expect that Children, Servants and 
 others of low Education, as the Majority of Congre- 
 gations, for the mofl Part, are, mould be able readily 
 to join in fuch unpremeditated Addreffes, as one may 
 fometimes have heard, if any, except a very few, be 
 qualified to do it. And indeed it is almoff. unavoid- 
 able but that Men of refined Erudition, to whom the 
 Ufe of learned Terms is very familiar and almoft 
 natural, mould be apt to deliver their Thoughts, 
 upon any Subject, in a Stile too refined for People of 
 common Education to underftand, except where they 
 can take Time, and will endeavour to confider and 
 think of Terms fuitable to lower Capacities, to exprels 
 them in; which cannot well be the Cafe in extemporary 
 Compofitions for the public Worfhip of GOD. I 
 remember to have heard a Dii'icnting Minifler of 
 remarkable Modelly, many Years ago, declare it was 
 
 at 
 
The PREFACE. xxv 
 
 at lead one Half of his Work to digeft his Concep- 
 tions for his public Difcourfes into fuch a Stile and 
 Manner of Expreflion, that they might be intelligible 
 and ufeful to his Audience. But as extemporary, 
 unpremeditated Prayers or other Compofitions, can- 
 not have that Advantage, it muft happen that, befices 
 other Difadvantages, they will frequently be uttered 
 in Terms, as before faid, not intelligible to the greateft 
 Part of ordinary Congregations, and fo be of little or 
 no Ufe to the Ends of public Worjhip. And here it 
 is worthy of Consideration, that neither the Minifter 
 himfelf, for the mod Part, nor any of his People, 
 can pofiibly have their Minds fo conjlantly and uniformly 
 engaged in this Method of public Addreis to the Al- 
 mighty, as they may in cuftomable Forms of Devo- 
 tion. For if I am to join in an unpremeditated 
 Prayer, or one I am not acquaint with, I muft necef- 
 farily attend to take in the Whole of every Sentence, 
 before I can underftand what every Petition is, which 
 the Minifter is putting up; and while the Mind is in 
 this Frame, though the Minifter, who has the whole 
 Petition ready formed in his Mind, may be fuppofed 
 to pray, I, who am attending to what he is pronoun- 
 cing, cannot with any Propriety, be faid to do fo, till 
 the Sentence is completed, and then indeed I may, by 
 a quick Turn of Mind, join in the Petition, if it ap- 
 pears proper ; but there muft always this difcriminating 
 AEl of the Mind, concerning the Propriety of the Pe- 
 tition, neceflarily precede my Concurrence in it. But 
 then I am immediately to intermit my Devotion, and 
 the Addrefs of my Mind to God, that I may attend 
 to take in the next Sentence, which is as yet to me 
 unknown, that when it mail be completed, underftood 
 and approved, I may by a Change of mental Action, 
 turn that Sentence alfo into an Expreflion of Devotion : 
 And I affirm that I have known where, from the 
 Length and Intricacy of the Sentences, and the Slow- 
 nefs of Pronunciation, I was not able, with my utmoft. 
 
 D Attention, 
 
xm The PREFACE. 
 
 Attention, to connect the Ideas, fo as to turn the Ex- 
 preffions into religious Addrefs. And this various 
 and defultory Action of the Mind, I think, is quite 
 unavoidable, if one would devoutly join in any extem- 
 porary Addrefi, uttered by another Perfon, to the Al- 
 mighty. And although fome Men perhaps may, 
 from fuperior Abilities and much Practice, have the 
 Matter of the feveral Parts of their religious Addrefs 
 flow with that Readinefs and Eafe into their Minds, 
 as not to need great lntenfenefs of 'Thought and Study, to 
 be able to fill up the Time deftined to that Part of 
 religious Service : I have great Reafon to believe thefe 
 to be very few ; and that the greateft Part of thofe 
 Gentlemen, who appear to pray in the public Affem- 
 blies ex tempore, either make ufe of Forms committed 
 to Memory, as I have known fome to do, or have 
 fuch a fettled Order of Petitions, &c. as comes very 
 near a Form; or elfe, that their Minds are fo much 
 diverted by a neceffary Attention to what they are to 
 utter in Succeflion, as very much intermits and di- 
 fturbs their Devotion ; fo that while their Minds 
 mould be actuated by the Fervour of Devotion in the 
 Pronunciation of one Petition, they are neceffarily 
 engaged and diverted by the Confideration and Com- 
 pofition of what is to follow. 
 
 But the Matter is vaftly otherwife, when public 
 Worfhip is performed by eltablifhed Forms : For, by 
 familiar Ufe, the feveral Parts flow into the Mind in 
 an eafy Succeflion, and our Devotions are carried on 
 with an uniform Attention, and not broken and inter- 
 rupted by fuch various Exercife of Thought, as is 
 unavoidable in the former Cafe. And I cannot but 
 wonder that our DirTenters in general have fo long 
 continued the Practice of extemporary public Devo- 
 tions, under fo manifeft Difadvantages ; especially after 
 the Publication of what I remember to have read a 
 great many Years ago, in their renowned Mr. Baxter's 
 Chriltian Directory, in favour of eltablifhed Forms, in 
 
 his 
 
The PREFACE. xxvii 
 
 his comparative Account of the two Methods of Di- 
 vine Service. 
 
 But befides the very great Advantage of eftablilhed 
 Forms of public Devotion before defcribed, they have 
 another very confiderable Ground of iiiperior Efteem, 
 viz. That as they are the Work of Men publicly ap- 
 proved, chojen and appointed thereto, and who have Abi- 
 lities, Leifure and other Advantages necefTary to make 
 the Work as complete as poflible, one may eafily be 
 perfuaded they will be more correct, as to Order, 
 Pertinence, Gratefulnefs and Propriety, both of Mat- 
 ter and Expreffion, than extemporary Performances 
 generally can be, and may be fuited to the Capacities 
 and Abilities of all Sorts of People \ fo that thofe of 
 the lower Attainments in Erudition, for whom, as 
 being generally the much greater Number, a particular 
 Regard ought to be had in all Things relating to the 
 public Offices of Religion, may be enabled to offer to 
 the Almighty a reasonable Service-, which they very 
 often, for Reafons above mentioned cannot do, by 
 attending on (for I cannot call it joining in) Modes 
 of Divine Service which they cannot ordinarily un- 
 derftand. 
 
 And here I think I may, without Scruple affirm, 
 that whoever will impartially and difintereftedly attend 
 to and examine the Forms of Worihip eftablilhed in 
 the Church of England, will find them compoied with 
 fo much Judgment, Caution and Propriety as to be, 
 with a very fmall Application, eafily intelligible to the 
 meanefl Capacities, and at the fame Time fo full, 
 proper and expreffive of the religious Worihip of 
 Confeffion, Humiliation, Petition, Praife and ^hank/giving, 
 that hardly any Thing better can be wifhed for. If 
 one could defire any Alterations, it mould, in my 
 Opinion, be principally in fome Forms of occafional. 
 Service-, which yet are fuch as that the Difikntzrs gene ■ 
 rally join in them without any Scruple. I cannot omit this 
 Occafion of expreffing my very great and fuperior E- 
 
 D 2 fteem. 
 
xxviii The PREFACE. 
 
 fteem of that Part of our Common Prayers called the 
 Litany, or general Supplication ; which is, I think, every 
 Way the fulleft and mod comprehenfive Form of 
 public Addrefs to the Almighty that ever was com- 
 pofed, if we except the Lord's Prayer, which is a 
 Part of it; and I believe if the Holy Spirit of the 
 moil High ever in latter Times exerted his peculiar 
 and extraordinary Influence, it was in direffwg and 
 ajfijling our pious Reformers in compofmg the Litur- 
 gy, and particularly this moil exalted Part of it. But 
 alter all, as we have no Jjjurance of this, if even this 
 whole Liturgy, or any Part of it, fhould in any fu- 
 ture Time appear to be improper, or unfuitable in 
 Sentiment or Exprefiion to the particular Circumftan- 
 ces ol the Church and Nation, it may, under the 
 fupreme Authority be reformed, confiftently with the 
 Rules of Chriftian Doctrine; that is, with the Laws 
 of the Almighty. 
 
 As to the external Oeconomy or Government of 
 the Church, by feveral Orders of Men, in proper 
 Subordination, as is eltablifhed in the Church of Eng- 
 land, I think it is very plain the fupreme Authority 
 hath an undoubted Right to interpofe, and to infti- 
 tute fuch Order, in this Regard, as fhall, upon juft 
 Deliberation, appear moji conducive to the public Good. 
 
 I have faid before, which I think will not be 
 difputed, that the Church, as a human Society, can- 
 not iubliil without focial Laws and Government, and 
 thefe Laws mult be under the Adminiftration of fome 
 Perfon or Perfons appointed for that Purpofe : But 
 there is no Form of external Adminiftration tan bt 
 faid to be of gDifcine Jnfruutton, or to be of nmuerfal, 
 permanent anti perpetual Ufe and Obligation in the 
 Church of CHRIST in all Ages and Nations-, but N 
 the fame hath been from the Beginning of the Gofpel 
 liable to, and hath actually undergone a great many 
 Changes, from the different Situation and Circum- 
 stances of the Church, in different Periods of Time. 
 
 As 
 
The PREFACE. xxix 
 
 As an Inftance hereof, I defire it may here be noted, 
 that the Order of Deacons (who, from the particular 
 Occafion and Reafon of their Inftitution, feem to be 
 fucceeded in our Times by the Overfeers of the Poor, 
 rather tnan by that Order of the Clergy who now bear 
 that Name AxWoi Miniftrantes) was not from the 
 Beginning, but was occasionally appointed to ferve a 
 particular Exigence the Church was then under •, and 
 was not made univerfal or perpetual by any recorded 
 Order at its Inftitution or afterwards. And it may be 
 noted, that the Apoftle St. Peter, who feems to have 
 had a principal Hand in that Appointment, does not 
 affume to himfelf to inftitute the Order, in conie- 
 quence of any infallible Judgment or fupreme Autho- 
 rity refident or veiled in him ; nor as being the Will 
 of God, made known to him by any particular Re- 
 velation for that Purpofe; but fpeaks of it only as 
 a prudential Appointment, fuitable and convenient to 
 the then prefent Circumftances of the Church, «c 
 agsrov tV»i/, &c. It is not proper, not convenient that W E 
 foould leave the Word of GO D and ferve ( SJgxovltv ) at 
 fables, therefore, &c. And for the fame Reafon di- 
 vers other Ufages were afterwards appointed in the 
 Church, according to the different Genius of Times 
 and Places, and in Confequence of different Circum- 
 ftances, which in latter Times were difufed and new ones 
 ordained. And it is fcarce to be imagined that any 
 one Form of Adminiftration could be made, which 
 might ferve the Church in all the different Circum- 
 ftances it was to be in, in different Times and different 
 Nations. And this feems to be the moil probable 
 Reafon why we find nothing of this Nature inflituted 
 in the Beginning of the Chriftian Church ; whereas, 
 in the Eftablifhment of the Jewiflj Religion, which 
 was to be confined to one Nation, almoft every Cere- 
 mony of Worfhip was particularly appointed, even to 
 the Place where they were to throw the Afhes of the 
 Altar, and yet fome Things, relating to the Places, 
 
 Times 
 
xxx The PREFACE. 
 
 Times and Perfons, &c. belonging to Religion, after- 
 wards underwent fome Alteration, from the Variety 
 of the Circumftances of that Nation. And it is cer- 
 tain, that the Practice of the firft and pureft Times of 
 the Chriftian Church, as recorded in Scripture, and 
 in general Scripture Precedents, as fuch, have 
 not the Force of Laws : For, if fo, all fuch Practices 
 and Precedents would be equally and perpetually 
 binding j which no confiderate Perfon will aflert. 
 The early Inftances of this Kind prove no more than 
 that fuch Ufages were then lawful and convenient, 
 and might be fo again (but not that they neceffarily 
 mull be made ufe of) when the Church mould be in 
 the fame Circumftances, which can only be determi- 
 ned by human Judgment and Difcretion. 
 
 I beg Leave, in further Confirmation of what I am 
 now upon, to mention, and a little to remark upon, 
 a very material and important Apoftolical Inftitution. 
 In, or about the eighteenth Year after our Lord's 
 Afcenfion, the famous Controverfy, betwen the Jewifh 
 and Gentile Converts, concerning the Neceflity of 
 Circumcifion, and a general Conformity to the Law 
 of Mofes, which was then agitated, particularly in the 
 Church at Antioch, was, by mutual Confent, referred 
 to the final Decifion of the Apostles and Elders 
 at Jerufalem j whofe Determination was given in a very 
 folemn and extraordinary Manner: Ads xv. 28. // 
 feemed good to the Holy Ghoft and to us to lay upon you 
 no greater Burthen than thefe necejfary Things ', &c. This 
 now, if ever any Thing of the Kind, ieems to have 
 had all the neceffary Qualifications of a Divine, au- 
 thoritative, univerfal and perpetual Inftitution. It 
 was the EdicT: of the Council of the Apoftles and 
 Elders alfembled at Jerufalem, which then was, if any 
 ever was, the Mother and Miftrefs of all Churches ; 
 (her pretended Daughter and Succefibr at Rome not 
 being then exiftent). It was by them declared to be 
 made by the particular Appointment and Direction 
 
 of 
 
The PREFACE. xxxi 
 
 of the Holy Ghofi and them/elves-, and yet fure it is, 
 that fuch of the Things, enjoined by this folemn 
 Decree, as were not of natural and eternal Obligation, 
 were in following Times, when the particular Reafon 
 of their Inftitution no longer exifted, generally dif- 
 ufed : This fhews that thefe Things were (with all 
 this Solemnity) inftituted only pro tempore, and to 
 anfwer the Exigence of the Circumftances the Church 
 was then in. And if this fo folemn an Edict is not, 
 by any remarkable Part of the Chriftian Church at 
 this Day, looked upon to be obligatory, as to thefe 
 Particulars, how can we fix the Character of an uni- 
 verfal and perpetual Law upon any other occafional 
 or prudential Practice or Inftitution, even of the ear- 
 lieft and pureft Times of the Primitive Church ? 
 
 This Confideration, I think, makes it undeniably 
 evident, that, in all Ages, the Church in different 
 Nations and different GenhuTes of Government and 
 Policy may (or rather mull) be differently adtni- 
 nifiredy confidently with the perpetual Prefervation of 
 the Unity of the Chriftian Faith; that no one Form 
 of Church Government or Policy is of divine Inftitution ; 
 but that this, as well as other Things of a public 
 Nature appertaining to the Good of the whole Com- 
 munity, is to be determined by the Advice and Con- 
 fultation of Men properly qualified and appointed, 
 but under the fole Authority of the fupreme civil 
 Power, In Confirmation of this Hugo Grotius, in the 
 Book before quoted, writes thus; <c Summae Pote- 
 " ftatis Imperium dicimus non ad profana tantum 
 " fed ad facra quoque extendi. " i. e. We [ay that the 
 Authority of the Soveraign Power extends not only to pro- 
 fane (common or civil) Affairs, but to facredalfo. This 
 he ► roves by many v.n anfwer able Arguments, and 
 adds what I recited before: " Et fane eximi quic- 
 " quam ab Imperio fummse Poteftatis Ratio nulla 
 " patitur." i. e. No reafon can be given for exempting 
 any Thing from the Authority of the fupreme Power. This 
 
 He 
 
xxxii The PREFACE. 
 
 He afterwards elucidates thus : " Duo flint genera ac- 
 " tuum Imperij quag ad jus Imperantis non pertinent, 
 " viz. Deo vetita jubere, & Dei juffa vetare." i. e. 
 There are two Kinds of imperial Ails, which do not apper- 
 tain to the governing Power, viz. to command what GOD 
 hath forbidden; and to forbid what GOD hath commanded. 
 And a little further on he adds : " Obligant humana 
 " Imperia ad omnia que injufta non funt." i. e. Hu- 
 man Soveraignties oblige to all Things which are not unjufi. 
 Which is the fame we have before afferted ; To that it 
 is hence clear, as before laid down, that all Things 
 which belong to the external Adminiftration of the 
 Church of CHRIST, that is, the Direction of fetch 
 Things as necejfarily belong to Affairs of Religion, 
 and are not eftablifhed by Divine Authority, are properly 
 to be under the Order and Control of the foveraign Power, 
 in every Country, where the true Religion is efta- 
 blifhed, 
 
 The fame Thing is alfo plainly afferted and proved, 
 by the celebrated Writer and renowned Statefman, 
 Chancellor Pujfendorjf; and particularly in his Intro- 
 duction to the Hiftory of Europe, ch. 12. where he 
 afks this Queftion : " Whether, according to the 
 " Doctrine of the Chriflian Religion, it be abfolutely 
 " requifite that the outward Direction or Government 
 " of the fame be committed to others, befides Him 
 " who hath the fupreme, civil Power in a State? Or, 
 " which is much the fame, Whether, according to 
 " the Chriftian Doctrine, it be neceffary that the 
 " outward Government of it be lodged with the whole 
 " Body of the Clergy, or one in particular, indepen- 
 " dent of the fupreme Magiftrate ?" And in anfwer, 
 he fays, that " This Queftion may be confidered in 
 " three feveral Lights, (1.) Whether this Necclty 
 " arife from the Nature of Religion in General, or 
 " (1.) whether from the Genius of the Chriftian Re- 
 " ligion in particular: Or (3.) Whether it be re- 
 " quired by divine Inftitution? That it flioukl be in 
 
 " the 
 
The PREFACE. xxxiii 
 
 " the firft Way, I am," faith he, " no Ways able 
 " to find out. For Reafon doth not telJ me, that if 
 " I intend to ferve God I mull of Neceflity make a 
 " Divifion in the State, and thereby introduce two 
 " different Powers, independent of one another. On 
 " the other Hand, it is no Ways contrary to Reafon 
 " to ferve God, and at the fame Time to leave the 
 " fupreme Direction of the outward Matters, belong- 
 " ing to divine Service, to thofe who have the fupreme 
 " Power in the State." And a little further on he 
 adds: " It cannot be denied, that as every one is 
 " bound by Nature to serve God-, fo alfo is it at 
 ** the fame Time in his Power to perform the outward 
 " Ceremonies of Religion in fuch a Manner as he 
 " believes mojl pleafing to GOD." This natural Right 
 of every one to judge of and choofe the Manner of 
 his paying his Homage to the moft High, is what I 
 have often heard alledged by the Diifenters as the 
 mod indubitable and unalterable Right of every 
 Man. Whereas, as I have before proved, this is one 
 of thofe Things which is not determined by any natu- 
 ral or revealed Law, which the Almighty hath given 
 to Mankind; and confequently, whenever it comes to 
 have, or to appear to have a neceffary Ingrediency 
 in the public Advantages of Societies, it necefTarily 
 (like other Things originally indifferent) comes under 
 the Determination of the fupreme Power. Every 
 Man has, by Nature, a Right to build his Houfe or 
 enclofe his Ground in fuch a Manner as he thinks fit 
 (not injuring others-,) yet no one queftions but, for 
 public Utility or Convenience, he may be obliged, by 
 the civil Government, to build in a particular Form, 
 and to cut his Hedges to a determinate Height, &c. 
 And fo proceeds the lafr mention'd great Writer, 
 thus : " After that civil Societies were inftituted, 
 " that fame Power (of determining what Ceremonies 
 " of Religious Service fhall be deemed moft pleafing 
 " to God ) is thereby devolved upon thofe who have the 
 
 E " fupreme 
 
xxxiv The PREFACE. 
 
 " fupreme Adminiftration of Affairs in a Society." And 
 again: " The moft ancient Fathers, who did not live 
 under any regular Government, exercifed this 
 Power in their Families : But, when civil Societies 
 were inftituted, the fame Power was transferred to 
 the Heads of thofe Societies; and that for the Rea- 
 fon alledged before, 'viz. For avoiding the fetting 
 up two independent Soveraignties in the fame 
 State." And 
 
 (2.) He fays, '* neither can any Reafon be alleged 
 why the Chriftian Religion in particular fhould im- 
 ply a Neceffity, that the above mentioned Directi- 
 on fhould be committed to any other than the fu- 
 preme Magiftrate." And, 
 
 (3,) " Whether there be fuch a Command in the 
 holy Scriptures, which forbids Soveraigns to inter- 
 meddle with this Direction, and afligns the fame to 
 others, in the higheft Degree of Soveraignty, 
 thofe are obliged to prove, who endeavour to main- 
 tain this Afiertion." And I add, they will find it 
 a very difficult, or rather impoflible Undertaking. 
 
 This great Writer, for further Elucidation faith, 
 that " Becaufe the fecular Soveraigns, at the firfl 
 " Eftablifhment of the Chriftian Religion, did not 
 <c concern themfelves for its Welfare, the Chriftians 
 " did, without their Direction, contrive for theSup- 
 " port of their Religion as well as they could -, But, 
 he fays, " it is a Miitake to infer from thence, that 
 " in Chriftian Countries the outward Government of 
 " Religion does not fas other Things of common 
 " Concern) belong to the Adminifiration of the fupremc 
 " civil Power" 
 
 And, as a Conclufion of this Argument, which he 
 handles pretty fully, he fays : " From what hath been 
 " faid, this Conclufion may be made" (agreeable to 
 what I laid down before,) " That the Practice of the 
 " primitive Church, as to this Point of outward 
 " Church Government, is not to be made a perpetu- 
 
 " al 
 
The PREFACE. xxxv 
 
 " al and univerfal Rule in a State, which is under the 
 " Jurifdiction of an orthodox Chriftian Magiftrafe." 
 And I add, if the Magiftrate be accufed of not being 
 orthodox in his Adminiftration, it belongs to thole 
 who alledge this as a Reafon for their Non-compliance 
 with his Regulations, to fhew their Inconfiftence with 
 fome divine Law. That is, as Grotius writes as before 
 cited; that he doth either " JufTa Dei vetare, or Deo 
 " vetita jubere:" i. e. Either forbid fomething which 
 GOD hath commanded, or command fomething which He 
 hath forbidden. 
 
 This learned Author, it muft be owned, main- 
 tains this Argument particularly in Oppofition to the 
 popifh tyrannical Ufurpation ; but the Proofs clearly 
 arife from, and are built upon tmt&ejfal pgituipUg* 
 and mould be of the greater Weight, efpecially with 
 Proteftants, as the fame Author fhews that popifh Ty- 
 ranny is entirely eftabliihed upon the abfurd Suppofiti- 
 on of the Ecclefiaftical Adminiftration being Soveraign, and 
 independent on the civil Government. What he fays is 
 vifibly true, and mould therefore be allowed its full 
 Weight with all who profefs to Proteft againft the Im- 
 position and Tyranny of the Church of Rome. 
 
 The very great and learned Calvin maintains the 
 fame Thing; whofe Arguments I have not room here 
 to tranfcribe, Whoever hath a Mind may find them 
 in the three or four firft Chapters of his fourth Book 
 of Inftitutions : where he largely infills, that no Pre- 
 tence of greater Purity of Adminiftration, fuperior 
 Edification, or any other of the Arguments ufually 
 alledged in Vindication of Non- conformity are fufficient to 
 juftify a DifTent or Separation from the Church efta- 
 bliihed, " where the Word of God is truly preached, 
 " and the Sacraments duly adminiftred." 
 
 Our learned Hooker, in his Ecclefiaftical Polity, fays 
 much the fame Thing; declaring againft the Suppo- 
 sition of the particular Divine« Authority of any one 
 Scheme of Ecclefiaftical Polity or Adminiftration; 
 
 E 2 and 
 
xxxvi The PREFACE. 
 
 and afTerting that all of that Kind arifes only from 
 the general Obligation we are under, from Nature 
 and Revelation, to be obedient to the Laws of thofe 
 Societies to which we belong. 
 
 Hence we may, with Sorrow, reflect upon the 
 Impropriety, Unreaibnablenefs and Folly of thofe 
 many Debates which diftracted this Church and Na- 
 tion fince the Reformation, and more particularly 
 lince the Restoration, to the Diverfion of that reli- 
 gious Zeal, whofe fole Object mould have been the 
 Cultivation and Eftabliihnient of true Chriftianity in 
 Faith and Practice, after Times of fo much Wicked- 
 nefs and Confujion, to furious and fruitlefs Quarrels a- 
 bout a meer Chimera, an Ens Rationis, a Nullity — 
 the Divine Authority of this or that Mode of 
 Ecclefiaftical Order and Adminiftration. It is very 
 plain, from what we have here noted, that both 
 Sides were very zealoufly arguing themfelves into 
 the Poffemon of what neither had the leaft Shadow 
 of original Claim to, and what had really no Exiftence. 
 
 As the Chriftian Religion was to be the Religion 
 of Mankind, and confequently was to be eftablifhed 
 in Ages and Nations very different in Exiftence and 
 Circumitances, the external Form of the Adminiftra- 
 tion of Churches ('which hath apparently not a great 
 deal to do with true Chriftianity) was left by the great 
 Redeemer undetermined. And fure it is, that where-ever 
 a due Regard is had to the Effentials and Vitals of 
 Chriftianity, a pure and unfeigned Faith, with univer- 
 fal Holinefs of Life, in Humility, Sincerity, Piety 
 and Charity, it could be no difficult Matter to initi- 
 tute a Form of external Oeconomy, confident with 
 and promotive of the general Ends of Chriftianity, 
 and fuited to the particular Circumftances of every 
 Age and Nation. 
 
 I freely own, that although / believe the Efta- 
 blifhment of our Church to be the Bejl that ever was 
 in any Nation, fince our Saviour's Time, for obtaining 
 
 the 
 
The PREFACE. 
 
 XXXVll 
 
 the Ends of Chriftianity, which the Paflions and 
 Vices of Men are apt to deprave, yet I don't fee but 
 that other Forms of Oeconomy, particularly the Pres- 
 byterianifm of Scotland, might, amongff. a People ge- 
 nerally under the Influence of the Virtues before 
 mentioned, pretty well anfwer the fame Ends. 
 
 It is very plain, that the Chriftian Religion, added 
 to the Light of natural Reafon, appoints the Almigh- 
 ty to be worfhipped in Spirit and in Truth; but has no 
 •where appointed the particular Modes and Ceremonies 
 of that Worfhip. The Inftitution of Churches, as 
 fuch, is chiefly to regulate thefe; and the different 
 Apprehenfions of Men, too much under the Influence 
 of Ignorance, Pride and Avarice, have been the Oc- 
 cafion of great and mifchievous Quarrels. and Difputes 
 upon this Subject, which, by a difinterefted Atten- 
 tion to public Utility, might have been, without 
 much Difficulty, avoided or remedied. For Inftance : 
 Of what great Moment is it, whether thole, who by 
 Office prefide in Religious AfTemblies, appear in their 
 Office clad in white, or black, or red, or any other 
 Colour, or whether their Veftments be of this or that 
 Cut or Shape? And as there is no original Excellence 
 or Virtue in any one of thefe Differences, what can 
 hinder but that the fupreme civil Magiitrate or Ma- 
 giftracy, whofe Office it is to regulate Things of an, 
 indifferent Nature, for the Peace and Convenience of 
 the Public, may, by his Authority, ordain that 
 which, on Consideration and Advice, mail be judged 
 bell, to be of general Ufe? And, in particular may 
 appoint that he who reads the public Service ffiou'd 
 be vejied in white, and he who Hands to inftrucl: the 
 People appear in Mack, without afcribing any Sanctity 
 ok Divine Authority to either, and without believing 
 that the Prayers or Inftructions receive any Efficacy 
 from the different Habit of the Minifter. But, as 
 the Weaknefs of many People is prone to imagine 
 Excellencies in mere Diftinftions, it is necefiary to 
 
 prevent 
 
xxxviii The PREFACE. 
 
 prevent the ill Confequence which might fpring from 
 fuch Weaknefs, by fixing all fuch Ceremonies. 
 
 Supposing the People in General acquainted with 
 the proper Import of all, or the greateft Part of the 
 Words in any vulgar Language ; tho' on fome Ac- 
 counts, before mentioned, fet Forms for public Pray- 
 ers would ftill be much more eligible •, yet Prayers 
 compofed with a perpetual Variation of Expreffion 
 might, perhaps, pretty well anfwer the Ends of Li- 
 turgy ( as fome Ministers of the Eftablifhment choofe 
 to clofe their Sermon with a fuitable Prayer of their 
 own Compofition, ) efpecially if one could any how 
 obtain a previous A durance there fhou'd not, from 
 Ignorance or Pride, Whim or Obflinacy, be any Mixture 
 of Things improper to be offered in Devotion to the 
 Moft High. But, as Experience proves, that on this 
 Account People are apt to divide into Factions, I 
 think, for the Ends of Unity and Order, as well as 
 for other Reafons before hinted, eftablifhed Forms of 
 Devotion are very prudently appointed for public Wor- 
 ihip. 
 
 If all in holy Orders were as well fecured from 
 Error, and as much of one Heart and one Mind as 
 the Apoftles and Prefbyters in the primitive Church 
 were, there would be no great Hazard from a Parity 
 of Influence and Authority amongft Minifters. But, as 
 Ignorance, Error and finifter Views are ingredient in 
 too many particular Characters, it feems quite necef- 
 fary the Church fhou'd be, as much as pomble, fe- 
 cured from the ill Effects of fuch Depravity, by the 
 Eftablifhment of a proper Subordination, that the 
 Conduct and particular Actions of all may be ultimate- 
 ly liable to the Review, Cenfure and Animadverfions of a 
 Few of diftinguifhed Excellence in the Church. And 
 I cannot but think that the more it fhall pleafe the 
 Almighty, who hath the Spirits of all under his Rule 
 and Governance, to difpofe and turn the Hearts of the 
 great Men, in Church and State, fo to fettle the 
 
 Difpen- 
 
The PREFACE. xxxix 
 
 Difpenfation of the public Favours, Rewards and 
 Emoluments, for the Encouragement of diftinguijhed 
 Learning, Virtue and Piety, as may beft promote a 
 general Emulation with RefpecT: to thofe Qualifica- 
 tions, which are of the greateft Importance, and molt 
 effentially neceffary for the Edification of the Church 
 in Faith and every Chriftian Grace, the eafier and 
 more obvious will the Settlement of the external 
 Oeconomy of the Church always be. And, I am 
 perfuaded, that upon the general Prevalence of fuch 
 a Difpofition, our prefent Eftablifhment would be 
 troubled with very few Diffenters : And though there 
 will always be Room, and mould always be Encou- 
 ragement for Candid Disquisitions and Improve- 
 ments, to which all human Compofitions always were, 
 and always will be liable; yet a very few, with Re- 
 fpecl to our Liturgy and ecclefiaftical Eftablifhment, 
 would, I am convinced, be found neceffary. And I 
 cannot imagine what Objection, in Reafon or Reli- 
 gion, can be made againft fuch prudential Alterations 
 as may at any Time appear neceffary or advantageous, 
 being confirmed and made public by the Authority 
 of the fupreme Power in every State. 
 
 And here I cannot but think, that although a 
 Toleration, that is, an Exemption from Punifhment 
 (for fuch as may poffibly think an Obedience to any 
 public Inftitution inconfiftent with their Duty to the 
 moft High, from any Law or Interpretation of any 
 Law they are, or may apprehend themfelves to be 
 under) be quite agreeable to the Genius and Spirit of 
 Chriftianity ; yet that this Toleration can by no 
 Means excufe or leffen the Obligation of any to Con- 
 formity with all public Inftitutions, where no reafon-* 
 able Ground for Scruple can be 'Jhewn. And that every 
 one who hath a Scruple ought, with a Calmnefs and 
 Humility fuitable to the Spirit of the Gofpel, to de- 
 clare fuch Scruple, and endeavour to obtain Satisfaction. 
 For as the Chriftian Religion enjoins every one of its 
 
 Votaries 
 
xl The PREFACE. 
 
 Votaries to be always ready to give a Reafon (iroipoi 
 ttrAos dnoXoylacv ) of the Hope that is in him, with 
 Meeknefs and Fear; fo if Perfons, with the fame 
 Meeknefs and Fear would propofe their Scruples, with 
 a real Deftre of Satisfaction, we mould, I verily believe, 
 have very few reafoning Diffenters. And I am firmly 
 perfuaded, that where one Diffents from a real invin- 
 cible Scruple, touching the Lawfulnefs of any enjoined 
 Terms of Communication, Hundreds do it from Rea- 
 fons (orCaufes) not near fo juftifiable : Perhaps fome may 
 cio it from an obftinate undebated Prejudice, or from 
 Intereft, or from a Defire of becoming of more Importance, 
 by being Members of a fmaller Society,than their Cha- 
 racters or Circumftances will allow them to be of a- 
 mongft the Body of Citizens, or even from a Spirit of 
 Oppofition, or of Cenforioufhefs. — As this laft, I 
 have Reafon to apprehend, has too much Influence, 
 even with fome who are not fufficiently aware of the 
 Motive, I beg leave to fay a little more upon it, and 
 to mew how bad a Reafon it is for making a Breach, 
 Divifion or Herefy (ol^va-tv) in the Church. 
 
 The Duties of religious Worfhip, whether of the 
 Clofet, Family, or Church, as they have a more im- 
 mediate Relation to God as their principal Object and 
 End, have in all Ages been confidered by a great 
 Part of Mankind as being of a higher Value, Impor- 
 tance and Merit than the Duties of Morality, notwith- 
 standing the Almighty hath, both from the Nature 
 of Things and the Light of Revelation, made the 
 Contrary evident, and that the pofitive Inftitutions 
 of Religion are only fo far ferviceable and to be e- 
 fleemed, as they procure a greater Regard to be paid 
 to the eternal Obligations ot Morality. Unto the Wic- 
 ked G O I) faith, What haft thou to do to declare my Sta- 
 tutes, or that thou (Jjou/deft take my Covenant in thy Mouth, 
 
 Pfal. 1. 1 6. And If. i. n, 25. To ivhat Purpefe 
 
 is the Multitude of your Sacrifices unto me, faith the Lord. 
 I delight not in the Blood of Bullocks, &c. Tour new 
 
 Moons 
 
The PREFACE. xli 
 
 Moons and your appointed Feafts my Soul hateth, &c. 
 And at the 16 Verfe he tells what it is he requireth. 
 Wajh you, make you clean ; put away the Evil of your 
 Doings from before mine Eyes: Ceafe to do Evil, learn to 
 do well, &c. And the fame is mod elegantly ex- 
 plained by the Prophet Micah, ch. vi. 6, 7, 8. Yet, 
 I fay, tho* this is fo plain, it has been a prevalent 
 Error, amongft the greater Part of Mankind, to put 
 a fuperior Value upon the Punctual ity of religious 
 Performances, to the mod confcientious Regard to 
 Righteoufnefs, Truth and Charity: Andthefe gloomp 
 0aintJj have affected, in many Times and Places, 
 to feparate themlelves from the Reft of Mankind 
 into exclufive Societies, as thofe mentioned in the 
 Beginning of the 65th Chapter of Ifaiah; who at- 
 tending upon many fuperftitious Rites, under the 
 Notion of religious Improvements, did, for that Reafon, 
 treat others, who were content to be found in the 
 plain Paths of Righteoufnefs and the eflablifljed Religion, 
 with a Stand by thyfelf, come not near me, I am holier 
 than thou. And our Saviour reprefents the Scribes 
 and Pharifees as under the Influence of the fame Sen- 
 timents. A confcientious Regard to the Offices of 
 Religion, as appointed by God, is certainly a very 
 erTential Part of human Duty and Obligation, as the 
 fame arifes from the Laws of Nature, and is one, and 
 a very principal Part of the eternal Obligations of Mo- 
 rality, and as it hath a natural Tendency to enforce 
 the Confideration of the Divine Authority for the 
 Practice of univerfal Virtue •, which is the higheft 
 Improvement of human Nature : But wherever the 
 Duties of Religion are feparated from this Confidera- 
 tion, and looked upon as original Excellencies and Qua- 
 lifications for the divine Favour, fuperior to moral 
 Purity, fubftituting the Means for the End, they 
 then become odious to God and good Men; and fuch 
 Diftinctions are a very poor Pretence of Reafon for 
 Separation from the eflablilhed Church. 
 
 F This 
 
xlii The P R E F A C E. 
 
 This is what not many, even of the Saints, care 
 publicly to deny, but yet, the fuperior Regard paid 
 to a fcrupulous Obfervance and Performance of Re- 
 ligious Duties, and the great Account generally 
 made of particular ^e?fon0 toljo a?c famous? tbi$ 
 ^lap, without any Pretenfions to a diftinguilhed 
 Excellence in Regard of Truth and Righteoumefs, 
 Humility and Charity, gives one a ftrong Reafon to 
 believe there is a falfe and fuperftitious Regard pard 
 to fuch Obfervances. And I think it very plain that 
 fome, who diftinguifh themfelves this Way, are ha- 
 bitually under a Perfuafion that thefe religious Per- 
 formances are efoen futftcient to atone foj jaatong 
 not quite confident with moral Righteoumefs, which 
 they vijibly indulge, {training and wire- drawing the 
 Laws of Juftice and Equity to patl'0lli3e palpable 
 Bfrtquttp > ar »d that a fcrupulous tithing of Mint, 
 Anife and Cummin will atone for the Neglect of Judg- 
 ment, Mercy and Fidelity. But this is a Subject not 
 to be profecuted too particularly, efpectallp ill tj)ig 
 place* 
 
 There are, I know, fome Reafons urged in Vin- 
 dication of Non-conformity, grounded on what affects 
 only the Minifters of that Intereft and Communion, 
 which might perhaps appear worthy of fome Confi- 
 deration, upon Suppofition that any Thing of general 
 Concern in the eftablifhed Church had been, or could 
 be, proved to be inconftftent with the Will of GOD, 
 made known to Mankind, either by the Light of 
 Nature, or by pofitive Revelation or Institution: But 
 as we have before fhewn that there is nothing in the 
 Chriftian Religion to be pleaded in barr of the Right 
 of the fupreme civil Power's appointing, for the ex- 
 ternal Government of the Chriftian Church in every 
 Nation, what fhall, upon mature Deliberation, ap- 
 pear moft conducive to the general Ends of public 
 religious Worfhip, or to the particular Defign of the 
 Chriftian Conftitution j and as we have, I hope, un- 
 
 excep- 
 
The PREFACE. xliii 
 
 exceptional y, proved, that in the Condi tution and 
 Government of the Church of England there is no fuch 
 Inconfiftency, but that all her Inftitutions have fo 
 direct a tendency to promote and preferve Peace and 
 Unity, Order and Decency, Holinefs and Piety, 
 agreeable to the Spirit and Precepts of the Gofpel -, 
 that hardly any Alteration can reafonably be wifhed 
 for ; nothing being required from the People in ge- 
 neral, which can be charged with the leaft Appearance 
 of Inconfiftency with any Law of God * and as we 
 have hull further made it manifeft, that the eccle- 
 fiaftical Inftitutions of this Nation are much better 
 adapted to anfwer the Ends of public Religious 
 Worfhip, than the loofe, undetermined Methods ufed 
 in the religious AfTemblies of the Diffentersj it ne- 
 cefiarily follows that there is no Neceffity of thole 
 fepa^Ste Cfiujtijeg, and confequently, any perfonal 
 Difficulties thole Gentlemen, who are Minifters of 
 fuch feparate Communions, may apprehend them-, 
 felves to be under, cannot reafonably appear worthy 
 of much diftinfi Confideration in this Place, it being 
 clear from the Premifes, that it can be but of very 
 final! Importance to the public Utility, that there 
 fhould he a DiJJenting Minifter at all. — ^Minifters, under 
 the Character here fpoken of, are merely for the 
 Service of Churches, to prefide in their public Of- 
 fices of Religion : But if there be no folid Reafon 
 for any Neceffity of fuch feparate Diffenting Church- 
 es, as we have I think clearly evinced, their Minifters 
 become equally unnecejfary, and confequently their Com- 
 plaints, of very little Importance, 
 
 It is certainly quite agreeable to human Prudence, 
 that no one be admitted a Member of any Society, 
 without a previous AfTurance of the Agreeablenefs of his 
 Principles and Apprehenfions with the eftablifloed Lazvs 
 of the Society : And efpecially it is neceflary that fuch 
 as are to bear a principal Part in the Adminiftration of 
 the public Affairs thereof, fhould give fuch AfTurance 
 
 F 2 oi 
 
xliv The PREFACE. 
 
 of the Agreeablenefs of their Apprehenfions, as well as 
 of their Fidelity in Difcharge of fuch public Offices as 
 they lhall be admitted to. And if any thing in the 
 Affurance required be complained of as difagreeable to 
 the Apprehenfions of the Perfon defiring to be fo ad- 
 mitted, he hath any eafy Remedy at Hand; and there is 
 no Need the Society mould recede from her eftablifh- 
 ed Rules, in Complaifance to fuch Complaints, while 
 there is no Want of Perfons fufficiently Qualified to fill and 
 difcharge fuch Offices, without any troublefome Re- 
 monftrances about the Terms of Admittance. 
 
 But, as we have before obferved, that all human 
 Inftitutions are liable to Incorrectnefs, and may require 
 Alteration and Improvement; if ic mail at any Time 
 be publicly made appear, that there is any Thing re- 
 quired in fuch Admifhons which is inconfiftent with 
 the Laws of Truth and Righteousness, as theDiJ- 
 fenters complain, I hope fuch Regulation will be made as 
 may convince the World that thofe who are in tru fled 
 with the Adminiftration of ecclefiaffical Affairs, are 
 under the firongeft Influences of Truth and die general 
 Rights of Mankind, and will ufe their honefl Endea- 
 vour that ever)' Thing, in the Collation of both Offices 
 and Rewards, ifiall be adminiftred fo as to promote, as 
 much as poflible, the Interefts of true Religion, Piety 
 and Learning; that is, fo as the moll effectually to 
 cultivate and eftablifh the Rights and Privileges 
 of a free People, and particularly the flourifhing E- 
 ftate of true Chriftianity, in this Nation : As hardly any 
 thing can be jujlly efteemed a greater Bletnijh to any public ec- 
 clefiajlical Eftabhfhment, than to require any Thing as a 
 Condition of Admittance, of Perfons duly qualified, into fa- 
 cred Offices, which is evidently inconfiftent with thofe original 
 and fundamental Principles. 
 
 Thus I have written a brief Apology to the Diffen- 
 ters for my leaving their Communion; whereof I gave 
 my Father an Abftradt, at his Command, at the Time 
 
 of 
 
The PREFACE. xlv 
 
 of my Conformity, and would then have made the 
 fame public, had it been required. But as that was 
 not then done, I thought fit to embrace this Opportu- 
 nity fo fairly offered me of publiffiing this fhort (but 
 I hope clear) Explication of the Reaibns which influ- 
 enced my Conduct. 
 
 I have fhewn that every Member of a public, fo- 
 veraign Society is obliged to conform to the authori- 
 tative Inftitutions of that Society, and that nothing can 
 excule that Conformity but a real or apprehended In- 
 conjijlency of thofe Inftitutions with the Laws of God. And 
 I hope it will appear that the ecclefiaftical Conftituti- 
 ons of this Realm enjoin nothing to me, a Lay- com- 
 municant, which can be charged as being inconfiltent 
 with any Law of God, natural or revealed. 
 
 But I remember to have had very often inculcated 
 upon me, during my younger Years, this Proportion, 
 as of undeniable Truth, and of very great Importance : 
 'That nothing ought to be admitted into the Worfhip of GOD ', 
 hut toJjat fiati) u3t ^awtitm of a pofmot fciuine Bin* 
 ffttutiom And I was often put in Mind of the dread- 
 ful Declaration of the Almighty's Difpleafure againft 
 Nadab and Abihu for offering Jirange Fire before the Lord 
 ('not which he had forbidden, but) toijici) fje Jjao not 
 rommattdeiu And was made hence to apprehend, that 
 as the Ceremonies of our public Worfhip have no Pre- 
 tence to iutmie BfnKtttltlon, they ought to be confi- 
 dered as Depravations, and even Profanations of that 
 pure, fpiritual Worfhip, which we, as Chriftians, are 
 to pay to the moft High. And that confequentiy it was 
 an indifpenfible Duty ratJjtJ to ftitttt ^etftuitton for 
 jffromconfojmitp (as many had then lately done, and 
 in particular my feerp faithful ano piot!0 iipimtoj) 
 than conform to thofe Injunctions •, efpecially as it was 
 then, as now, almoft univerfally believed amongft the 
 Diffcnters, that the civil Power hath no Right to inter- 
 meddle with affairs of Religion. This is placing the 
 Grounds of Non-Conformity in the ftrongeft Light; 
 
 and 
 
lxvi The PREFACE. 
 
 and I doubt not this Confideration hath had a great 
 Influence upon many others, as it had upon me for 
 many Years. But I apprehend every difpaflionate and 
 confiderate Reader will find all this awful Reprefenta- 
 tion, with Refpecl to the Ceremonies and Government 
 of the Church of England, quite fet afide by the pre- 
 ceding- Reafoning. 
 
 I before obferved, that the Religion of Mojes was 
 to be the peculiar Religion of the Ifraelitifh Nation, 
 and for that Reafon every individual Ceremony was 
 peculiarly enjoined fuitably to the Circumftances of a 
 peculiar People : And as there was not a wide Diffe- 
 rence betwixt the Externals of this Scheme, and thofe 
 
 of a gjteat tnanp of tfyz pagan tiling •, had the Peo- 
 ple of Ifrael been allowed to make the leaft Alterations, 
 at their Pleafure, in thefe Inftitutions, they might by 
 Degrees have eafily fliden into a Conformity with the 
 Religions of the Nations round about them-, to which 
 they had a furprifing Pronenefs ; and from which it was. 
 the declared Intention of the Almighty, for wife Ends 
 of his Council and Providence to reftrain them. 
 
 But this Reafon is quite of no Importance in the 
 Chriftian Religion, which was from the Beginning de- 
 figned to be the Religion of all Mankind, and there- 
 fore not Ihniteo to any one fet of ^ooe or external 
 Adminiftration, which might have been unfuitable to 
 fome Circumftances, the Church, in various Ages and 
 different Nations might very probably be under: But 
 merely the eflentials of the Religion were laid down, 
 as the general unalterable Bafis for every neceffary ec- 
 clefiaftical Regulation to. be built upon, fuitably to the 
 different eventual Circumftances of different Ages and 
 Nations. And confequently the Terror of the Almigh- 
 ty's Judgment upon Nadab and Abihu for offering fir ange 
 Fire before the Lord, hath "nothing to do with the Chriftian 
 Scheme, except with Refpect to thofe who go about 
 to make Alterations in the Effentials of Chriftian Dotlrine, 
 inftituted by CHRIST and his Apoillcsj and with 
 
 Re- 
 
The PREFACE. xlvii 
 
 Regard to fuch I think that PaiTage of facred Hiftory 
 ought to be confidered as of very great Moment and 
 Importance. 
 
 There were in the early and in the latter Ages of 
 Chriftianity fundry Obfervations, fuitable to the diffe- 
 rent Circumftances of the Church, univerfalJy pradif- 
 ed, without the leaft Scruple, for which none could pre- 
 tend the Authority of a divine Inftitution. 
 
 The Chriftian Sabbath is fuch a one, which hath in 
 all Ages of Chriftianity been obferved as facred to the 
 public Worfhip of God ; yet is no where appointed in 
 the New Teftament, nor is ejlablifloed upon any Authority ', 
 but primitive Practice, which we have fhewn not to 
 have the Force of a Law. 
 
 Even the building of Churches for the ufe of religi- 
 ous AfTemblies had no divine Authority under the Gof- 
 fpel, the Difciples being wont in the molt primitive 
 Times to affemble in private Houfes-, nor are there 
 many Inftances recorded of building Churches, before 
 the Days diConftantine the Great. Yet we find that re- 
 ligious Emperor made no Scruple of erecting pompous 
 Edifices, nor the Chriftians of ufing them for that Pur- 
 pofe. 
 
 The Baptifm of Infants, though no where appointed 
 in the New Teftament, yet has been generally practif- 
 ed, from the early Ages, without Scruple, as being a- 
 greeable to the Reafon of the Inftitution of that Rite ; and 
 thofe few who in latter Times have made a Scruple 
 an*} ^tfttfoi on that Account, allege principally in 
 their Vindication the Want of fuch Inftitution, and yet, 
 in other Particulars make fhift without it; and they 
 cannot deny but that Chriftian Infants are as capable of 
 becoming Parties in the Chriftian Covenant? and receiving 
 the Benefits thereof, as thofe of Ifrael were, with refpect 
 to their religious National Covenant, into which they 
 were exprefly admitted. SzzDeut. xxix. n, 12. 
 
 It only remains that I add in this Place a few 
 
 Words, 
 
xlviii The PREFACE. 
 
 Words, in refpect to the Book herewith published, and 
 that principally in excufe of fuch Blemifhes s.nd Imper- 
 fections as may appear in the Performance. 
 
 I have, in this Preface ihewn the Occafion of the 
 Work, which I hope will appear, to all candid and 
 difmterefted Readers, to have been jufl, and that the 
 Book is honeftly defign'd as a Vindication of the fun- 
 damental Doctrines of the Gofpel of CHRIST, from 
 the perverfe Interptetations of fuch as choofe to con- 
 fine their Belief to fuch Things only, in Religion as 
 eafily come, or can be clearly brought quite within the 
 Comprehenfion of Human Reason. I thought the I- 
 dea which hath in all Ages of Chriftianity generally- 
 obtained, concerning the Doctrines of Redemption, A- 
 tonement, &c. by the Death of CHRIST, though not 
 quite obvious to human Reafon, might be fairly aflert- 
 ed and vindicated from the original and natural Meaning 
 of thofe Terms in the Hebrew of the Old Teflament 
 (wherewith I had endeavoured to obtain as extenfive an 
 Acquaintance as I could) compared with their Tranjlation 
 in the Greek (called) the Verfion of the Septuagint, and 
 applied to the Doctrine of Chriftianity in the New 
 Teflament. 
 
 * I hope the Work will appear, in the Main, pretty 
 well executed, to anfwer the Defign it was honeftly 
 intended for ; but I am aware, upon Revifal, that there 
 are fome Imperfections, Improprieties of Expreflion, 
 Repetitions, &c. which the Attentive will eafily dis- 
 cover, and for which I think it my Duty to make as 
 good an Apology as the Cafe will truly bear. I beg 
 leave therefore to inform the Reader, that not having 
 the Opportunity of a Printing-Office furnifhed with 
 
 * I fliould, in this Edition, have changed or thrown out this 
 Paragraph, having now an Opportunity to avoid the Deficiencies 
 complain'd of : But, as the Preface hath been made an Occafion of 
 Controverfy, I am advifed to alter nothing at all, to avoid giving 
 my Opponent", an Opportunity of alleging fuch Alteration to the Dil- 
 advantage of my Argument, have therefore here added this Note 
 in the Margin. 
 
The PREFACE. xlix 
 
 Hebrew and Greek Types, and Workmen fcient of their 
 Management, fo that I might have it printed under 
 my own Correction j and not choofing to have it 
 done at a Diftance, for fear ot a Want of proper 
 Care in the Printing and Correction of the many 
 Hebrew and Greek Quotations it contains, I was for- 
 ced, as well as I could, to print it at my own Prefs, 
 and compofe it with my own Hand-, not being able 
 in this Place to get a Journeyman capable of doing 
 it. And having writ the Copy only in Short-hand, 
 in the Compofition for the Prefs many Things oc- 
 curred, which appeared proper to be added, altered, 
 enlarged, contracted or differently difpofed or expref- 
 fed. By which Means it will eafily be conceived a 
 good many IncorrectneiTes and Improprieties, as be- 
 fore faid, might proceed, and have proceeded ; whereof 
 I beg the Reader will allow as favourable a Cenfure as 
 poflible. 
 
 The many Blemifhes and Imperfections in the 
 Printing muft be imputed to the Necefiity 1 was un- 
 der of printing the firit and fecond Sections with my 
 own Hand (a Practice I was very much a Stranger 
 to) and to my Want of a better Furniture of Types, 
 for Elegance, Propriety and Ornament of the Work. 
 
 These Hints, I hope, will by the candid Reader 
 be accepted, and for thofe of another Character, I 
 muft bear their Cenfure. 
 
 I wish my Attempt at this Method of Vindication 
 of the Chriftian Doctrine may incite fome of greater 
 Ability and Leifure, and whofe Character in Life 
 better comports with fuch Undertakings, than my 
 Occupation and Engagements allow mine to do, to 
 perform it in a better Manner. 
 
 If this mall happily be the Cafe, I fhall rejoice to 
 fee my own Attempt rendred ufelefs by the fuperior 
 Excellence of fuch other Performance ; being only de- 
 jfirous that the Truth of God may prevail againft the 
 Ignorance, Perverfenefs, Pride and Obitinacy of Men. 
 
 G THE 
 
'><s<><><X>0<>£<;<.^*> i -> X;- ■■•• ■ ; >&<>»XX> OOOOOOOCOOO* 
 
 [Price Two Shillings, in Oclavo"] 
 
 And fold by R. Williamson, Stationer and Bookfelk'fy 
 At the Printing-Office, near the Exchange, in Liverpool. 
 
 AN Hiftorical Account of EARTHQUAKES, extrafled from 
 the moft Authentic Hiftorians. Containing, a minute and very in- 
 ftru&ive Relation of thofe dreadful Ones that happened at Port-Royal, 
 in Jamaica, and at Catania, in Sicily, in 1692, and at Lima and 
 Calao, in 1746. — A particular Defcription of the late fatal one at 
 Lisbon, from the Relation of Captain Richard Overton, of Liverpool, 
 (who was actually in the City when it happened, and very providentially 
 
 efcaped being buried in the Ruins) and others, Mr. Archibald 
 
 Bonvy&r'S Account of trying, condemning, and punifhing twoPrifoners 
 in the Court of Inquifition, and a faithful Narrative of his Efcape from 
 thence ; written by himfclf, is occafionally inferted. With a De- 
 fcription of the Auto de Fe, the Court which the Portuguefe were to 
 have held at the Time the Earthquake happened. And a Prefatory 
 DirTertation on the Caufes of Earthquakes, with the Method of making 
 an artificial One. And many other Particulars. To which is added, 
 A SERMON preached at lVeverha?n, in CheJJpire, on Friday the 
 6th of February lad. By the Rev. Mr. Thomas Hunter, Vicar of 
 IVeverham. Author of Obfervations on TACITUS. In which his 
 Character, as a Writer and an Hiftorian, is impartially confidered, 
 and compared with that of L IVY. 
 
 >$C*$OQQC&< ... . ; .«cocc<^occooooooc< 
 

 
 THE 
 
 CHRISTIANITY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 J^eto Ceftammt, &e. 
 
 HERE is hardly any Thing in the 
 World fo good and ufeful, but may 
 be perverted to bad Purpofes. This, 
 I apprehend, hath been remarkably 
 verified, in a very ufeful Branch of 
 human Learning, I mean the Appli- 
 cation of the Mathematics to philofophic Reafonings 
 upon the Phenomena of Nature. 
 
 The very great Improvements which have by this 
 Means been made, in difcovering the Connection of 
 Caufes and Effects, from Principles of certain Truth; 
 and agreeable to known and unalterable Laws, with 
 fo much Clearnefs and Satisfaction, as the Ancients 
 were, in a great Meafure, Strangers to, bath, as I 
 apprehend, Ted fome of our Moderns to extend their 
 Reafonings, upon Principles of intuitive Truth and 
 Demonftration, beyond their natural Limits, and ap- 
 ply that to religious Speculations and the Myfteries 
 of Divinity, which is by Nature limited to the Ef- 
 
 G 2 feels 
 
52 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 feets of Matter and Motion; undertaking to mea- 
 fure, by the ihort Line of their own Reafon, thofe 
 Depths of divine Wifdom, in the Doctrines of re- 
 vealed Religion, which are, by the Spirit of the 
 moll High, declared to furpafs all human Under- 
 standing. Thefe illuminated Gentlemen are for 
 transforming the Chriftian Religion, which for more 
 than feventeen Hundred Years, hath been confidered 
 by its ProfefTors, as an Object of Faith, to be af- 
 fented to upon the Foot of its divine Authority, 
 into a phyfical Science : And are for teaching their 
 Difciples to reject out of the Chriftian, and even 
 out of the Jewifh Creed, all thofe Articles, which 
 they cannot as clearly refer to Principles of demon- 
 strative Certainty^, as they may the Flux and Reflux 
 of the Sea, to the Attraction, and different Situation 
 of the Sun and Moon, upon the Newtonian Scheme. 
 Not confidering that Faith is the AfTent of the 
 Mind, not to Propofitions phyfically demonftrable, 
 and which are the Objects of Science, but to fuch, 
 whofe Truth depends only upon the Authority of their 
 Relator, or other probable Evidence ; and in religious 
 Propofitions, as Articles of Faith, the Authority ol God 
 alone is the Ground of our AfTent. And for this Reafon 
 the Chriftian Religion is fo often, in Scripture called 
 Faith ; asy&?. vi^.&xiii. 8. fcfxvi. 5-Cifxxiv. 24. Rom. 
 1.5. &iii.HJ.&c. cfJV. and in many Places befides, the 
 'Word Faith is manifeftly put for the whole Chriftian 
 Religion. Yet thefe new Editors of Chriftianity are for 
 rejecting,as impertinent, a great many particular Objects 
 of Faith out of the whole Syftem of revealed Religion. 
 To this new St£t of Philofophers the Hiftory of 
 *Adam\ Creation and paradifaical State; the Tree of 
 Life, and the forbidden Fruit ; the Dialogue between 
 the Serpent and Eve; the Fall and Expulfion of our 
 firft Patents, with other Particulars relating to the 
 firft Scence of the World, are treated as Fiction and 
 Romance, and turned to Drollery and Ridicule : As 
 
 are 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 53 
 
 are alfo the Length of the Lives of the antediluvian 
 Fathers; the univerfal Deluge-, the Burning of Sodom 
 and Gomorrah, &c. To the fame Account they place 
 the Miracles wrought by Moles, in Egypt ; his 
 bringing out the Israelites from their long Bondage 
 there ; and their Pafling the red Sea miracuioufiy di- 
 vided. Thefe are treated as Fables only fit for the 
 Amufement of the weak and credulous •, efpecially the 
 lafl mentioned ; which thefe Gentlemen make merry 
 with. What occafion, lay they, to divide the Red- 
 fea ? might they not have paffed round the Head of 
 the Sea, over the Ifthmus of Suez, or could they not 
 have paffed over the Beach, at the Recefs of the Tide 
 which it feems might have been done not very far 
 from the Place, where it ' is fuppofed thsy did pals ? 
 Some great Men have, I know, appeared in favour 
 of this laft Scheme, not having, as I apprehend, 
 enough confidered, that befides other Reafons, we 
 fhall fee by and by, this Proceeding would have 
 been quite inconfiflent with the Almighty's Purpofe 
 of bringing that moft memorable Deftruction upon 
 the Egyptians in the red Sea. The famous Le-Ckrc 
 hath written a very learned DifTertation upon this 
 Subject to prove that the Ifraelites marched over the 
 Beach, during the Ebb-tide, without taking the leaft 
 Notice of the Objection jufl mentioned, or any of 
 thofe, which follow, whereby I mall endeavour, by 
 way of Digreflion, to vindicate the miraculous Inter- 
 position of the mod High, in this moft aftoniihing 
 Event,' againft the Endeavours of this great Man to 
 reprefent it as having been traniacted almoft wholly 
 within the Compafs of natural Caufes. 
 
 1. At the Time when it was exhibited, it was 
 declared to be the fingular and magnificent Work 
 of the Almighty. Exod. xiv. 13. Stand fill, and fee 
 the Salvation of GOD. And v. 16. GO D faith unto 
 Mofes : Lift- thou up ' thy Rod, and (tretch out thine Hand 
 over the Sea y and divide it. With the fame foveraign 
 
 Autho- 
 
54 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Authority wherewith he had control'd the Powers 
 of Nature in all the Wonders he had wrought in 
 JEgypt before their Eyes. And in v. 21. Mofes ftretched 
 out his Hand over the Sea, and the Lord caufed the Sea 
 to go back ( ifi% ) hy a jtrong Raft Wind, all that Night. 
 It doth not appear how the Eait-wind contributed to 
 divide the Waters. Le Clerc, to favour his Scheme, 
 hath changed the Eait-wind, into the North, to drive 
 out the Tide the quicker, that the People might 
 have the more Time for their March; but the Text 
 gives not the leaft Ground for that Change; it 
 is plain they paiTed before the Morning; when the 
 Lord ordered Mofes to ftretch his Hand over the 
 Sea, that the Waters might return to cover the AS- 
 gypiians; v/hen it is faid, in v. 31. And Ifrael jam 
 that great Work, which the Lord did: And in ch. 15. 
 the fame is reprefented, in the Song, which Mofes 
 compofed on this Occafion as a great and very won- 
 derful Work. But had it been no more than the 
 recefs of the Tide, though fomething extraordinary 
 as Le-Clerc would have it; it could not, with any 
 Propriety, have been fo reprefented. 
 
 2 The literal Senfe of the Text is very clear for 
 the real Divifion of the Waters into two Parts. Exod. 
 xiv. 2 1 • And he made the Sea dry Land, and the Wa- 
 ters were divided. O!$0 1^1^ the Word V\>^ when- 
 ever ufed, denoteth the dividing, or feparating of a 
 Thing into two Parts : But the Ebbing of the Tide, 
 every one knows, maketh no fuch Divifion. In the 
 next Verfe it is faid : The Children of Ifrael went into 
 the midft of the Sea, upon the dry Ground ; and the Wa- 
 ters were a WALL unto them, on their right Hand and 
 on their Left. This puts it out of Queilion, that the 
 Waters were really divided, contrary to what Le-Clerc 
 is willing to aliow. The fame is repeated in v. 29. 
 But the Children of Ifrael walked upon dry Land, in the 
 midfi of the Sea, and the Waters were a WALL unlo 
 them, on the right Hand and on the left. 
 
 One 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. sS 
 
 One would think, here were not the lead room 
 left for Cavil, efpecially as the learned Writer is fo 
 plainly gravelled in this Place ; having no Way to 
 difengage himfelf, from this Difficulty but by alleg- 
 ing: That there might be fome Lakes of Water in 
 fmall Hollows in the Beach, on the left Hand, while 
 they marched forward with the Ebb-tide on their 
 right. This muft appear to all a miferable Shift, 
 having nothing fuitable to the grand Idea, the facred 
 Text gives of this moil magnificent Tranfaclion. 
 How doth this comport with the Waters being a 
 Wall, on the right Hand and on the left ? The 
 Works of the Almighty are not wont to fall lb much 
 below the grand Defcription. How does this agree 
 with the Waters rifing on an Heap, as reprefented ch. 
 xv. 8. l^m^D^n-. the Waters were heaped 
 up, (not gathered together, as we have it ) the Floods 
 flood upright as an Heap. Two Words of the fame 
 Importance, for the greater Emphafis. The Verb is 
 nor elfewhere ufed; but the Noun npn# whence the 
 Verb is formed, occurs, in this Senfe, pretty often ; 
 particularly Jer. 1. 26. And four Times, very near 
 together, in 2 Chron. xxxi. 6, 7, 8, 9. The fame 
 Thing is recited, Pf. lxxviii. 13. He divided the Sea, 
 and caufed them to pafs through, and caufed the Waters to 
 ft and on an Heap. This Paffage is expreffed, by the 
 Chaldee Paraphraft more particularly, and more agree- 
 ably to the preceeding Patfage and to that which fol- 
 lows : ov'w fWiWHS Aran rwiT] *nair?n n£:j?t:i 
 *p?\ IV mZVfi 'He divided the Waters by the Rod 
 of Mofes their Ruler, and caufed them to pafs over, 
 making the Waters to rife being bound together, as in a 
 Veffel. There is in this Paraphrafe no Hint of an 
 Ebb-tide, but quite the contrary. In an Ebb tide 
 we know the Waters fink ; here they are affirmed to 
 rife and ftand on an Heap. And what further con- 
 firms the Thing, is that after the Ifraelites were paf- 
 fed over, and Mofes, at the Almighty's Command, 
 
 turned 
 
S6 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 turned and ftretched out his Hand over the Sea, that 
 it might return to its Strength ; the Waters immediately 
 iimk down to their natural level, and overwhelmed 
 Pharaoh and his Hoft in the depth of the Sea. This 
 furprifing Idea is abfolutely inconfiftent with Le-Clerc's 
 Scheme. Pharaoh's Chariots and his Horfes might 
 certainly, in the Way of Nature, have efcaped from 
 the gradual Accefs of the flowing Tide. Thefe 
 Confiderations all concur to eftablifh the Truth of 
 this mighty Work of dividing the red Sea, for the 
 Salvation of the Ranfomed of the Lord, and the tre- 
 mendous Deftruction of his obflinate Enemies. The 
 fame Thing is further confirmed, 
 
 3. From the following Recitals of this mod won- 
 derful Event made by the Infpired Writers and others. 
 Deut. xi. 3, 4. Mofes in recounting, a little before his 
 Death, the wonderful Appearances of the Almighty, 
 in Favour of his People lfrael, makes particular 
 mention of the Wonders he had wrought for them, in 
 sEg)pt, ant} at tfte ftgfc'fea, the Fame of which had 
 filled all Lands. Jojh. ii. 10. Rahab mentions this, 
 as what had (truck the Terror of the Ifraelites upon 
 all the Inhabitants of the Countrey. We have heard, 
 fays fhe, how the Lord dried up the Waters of the Red-fea, 
 for you, when you came out of ./Egypt. This Appre- 
 henfion could not have arifen from their taking the 
 Advantage of an Ebb-tide, to pafs over the Sands ; 
 which, by the Way, Jofephus reprefents to have been 
 as impoffible, as it would have been for them to have 
 flown through the Air. The fame Thing is men- 
 tioned again in Jojh. iv. 23. The Lord your God dried up 
 the Waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were paffed 
 over •, as the Lord your God did to the Red-fea, which 
 he dried up from before us, until we were gone over. 
 Thefe two wonderful Events are reprefented as being 
 alike; but it is plain from Jojh. iii. 16. that in divid- 
 ing the Waters of Jordan, thofe which came down from 
 above, flood, and rofe up on an Heap, &c. while thofe, 
 
 which 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. S7 
 
 which came down toward the Sea of the plain failed and 
 were cut off, leaving the Channel dry, till the Camp 
 of Ifrael was pafled over: fo at the Red-fea the Al- 
 mighty caufed the Waters to divide, leaving a way 
 for the people to pafs over in the Midft of the Sea-, to 
 which their paffage of Jordan is compared. 
 
 The fame Thing is frequently, in other Parts of 
 Scripture mentioned as a mighty Work of GOD, Pf. 
 Ixxviii. 13. Thou didft divide the Sea, by thy Strength^ 
 and Pfal. cvi. 9. and in Pfal. cxiv. 3, 5. this moft 
 memorable Event is recorded as the effect of the im- 
 mediate Power of GOD; but no where more plain- 
 ly than in Pfal. cxxxvi. 13, 14. To him that divided the 
 Red-fea into Parts, Dnj^p epD DtlTto^ and made Ifrael to 
 pafs through the Midft of it. The Word *W3 here ufed 
 fignifies to cut off, or divide in two; where-ever it 
 occurs in the Hebrew Scriptures, except Job xxii. 28. 
 where it fignifies to determine or decree; in which 
 Senfe it is ufed by the Chaldaic and Rabbinical Writers ; 
 this is the Word ufed, 1 Ki. iii. 25. when the King 
 order'd them to divide the living Child in two. 
 V^irW ^P. Le Clerc is puzzled with the Text laft 
 before mentioned, but he makes fome Shift to get over 
 it, by thofe Lakes, he was fo happy to difcover; for 
 thus he writes : aqua qu<e in meridiem defluxit avulfa eft ab 
 ea, qua in feptentrionalibus lacunis manfit, qua aqua lacu- 
 narum did pot eft 7J3. i e. the Water which ran away to the 
 South was parted from that which remained in the Lakes 
 to the North, which Water of the Lakes may be called "^ 
 a Part cut off. But, with all due Regard for fo great 
 a Man ; I cannot think thefe, in fo grand a Defcripti- 
 on, can, with any Propriety, be accounted for a Part 
 of the Sea. Suppofing this were all, where would be 
 the Miracle fo much celebrated ? Thefe Lakes would 
 be there at every Ebb-tide ; Pfal. Ixxviii. 13. The in- 
 fpired Writer having mentioned the Wonders of AL~ 
 gypt, in general, which he particularizes afterwards, at 
 Ver. 43. &c He here mentions this as the firft, and 
 
 H moft 
 
58 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 moll remarkable of the Wonders, which the Almigh- 
 ty wrought for them after their leaving ASgypt: He di- 
 vided the Sea and caufed them to pafs through, and he made 
 the Waters tofiand as an Heap. This Place was not to 
 be got over •, the Lakes of Water would be of no Ser- 
 vice here : This PaiTage is therefore, prudently enough 
 palled without Notice by the learned Author, though 
 He endeavours to fet afide the plain Senfe of another 
 Place of like Importance. Exod. xv. 8. where the fame 
 Thing is defcribed in a more figurative Manner ; that 
 the Waters were congealed in the Heart of the Sea. Phi- 
 lo Judaus wrote upon this Place, with fome fmall Addi- 
 tion to the Idea, Thus : There happened, on that, Qccafion, 
 very ftrange and incredible 'Things : fifyg 3-<xXa<xr*K ivayu^n 
 
 ixtLTzpx TjU.r'jU.aT^, 7n;£i? xotrtx to pxytv [tifto?— ivcc avn 
 
 TtiyZv v xpxTxioTclTuiv. A Divijion of the Sea y arecefs »f 
 both Parts -, a congealing of the Waters at both the Paris 
 of the Divifion, that they became as the ftrongefi Walls. This 
 he Clerc is much difpleafed with: Such Additions, he 
 lays, turn the trucft Hiftory into Fable-, indeed, he fays, 
 Mofes in his Song, Exod. xv. hath given a very poetical 
 Defcription of this Matter-, but it is the Part of an Hi- 
 florian to diftinguifh between the Literal, and the Fi- 
 gurative Parts of a Defcription, &V. which is certainly 
 very juft. The congealing mention'd, in Mofes's Song 
 is not to be underftood literally, any more than this 
 of Philo, as if the Waters had been really frozen; but 
 it is certainly defigned to reprefent the nuvnculoiiO CO* 
 JjeftOH or confidence of tlje vffiHateitf, in their accumu- 
 lated State, during the Paflage, which nothing elfe, 
 in the Way of Nature, could have effected -, but this 
 not only hath no refemblance of-, but is quite contrary 
 to the Appearance of the Ebb-tide, in which inftead 
 of an Elevation, there is a continual Dcpjcffton of the 
 Waters. — In If li. 10. The Prophet mentions this, as a 
 moft remarkable Inftance of the 3limcj!)tp PotDW of 
 d0OO» Art not thou it, (/peaking of the Arm of...the 
 Almighty) which haft dried the Sea, even the Waters of 'the 
 
 great 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. S9 
 
 greet Deep-, that haft made the Depths of the Sea a Way % 
 for the Ranfomed to pafs over, and Ch. lxi. 12. di- 
 viding the Waters before them, to make himfelf an tverlafi- 
 ing Name. Thefe and fuch like Declarations, fjom ttt s 
 fpucD 3j)tn, are not at all fuitable to a Tranfaction, 
 fo much within the ordinary Courfe of Nature, as Monf. 
 Le Clerc hath endeavoured to reprefent this to be. Eu- 
 febius, in his Prap. Evang. gives Quotations from ma- 
 ny ancient Writers, which confirm the miraculous Di- 
 vifion ; but as the learned Writer, whom I am confi* 
 dering, hath not taken any Notice of them, I mail al- 
 fo pais them over. But I mall a little confider what 
 Jofephus faith upon this Subject, in his Hiftory, as Le 
 Clerc, I think, does not reprefent his Meaning quite 
 right. — It is certain the Paffage of Alexander through 
 the Sea of Pamphylia, and that of Scipio Africanus, for 
 the taking of Carthage though fomething extraordina- 
 ry, may be truly affirmed to have nothing Miraculous 
 in them: And that although Jofephus remark fome- 
 thing of likenefs between them and the PafTage of the 
 Red-fea, yet he mentions the latter with fuch Circum- 
 ftances as {how he believed the Divifion of the Waters 
 before the Ifraelites to have been fuch as we have feen 
 the facred Text reprefents it. . 
 
 He introduces. Mofes as praying earneftly at the Sea- 
 fhore, reprefenting their Cafe as moft forlorn ; that 
 there was no poflibility of efcaping for them, but from 
 the powerful Arm of the moft High ; fupplicating for 
 his fpeedy and effectual interpofition, &c. 
 
 Having ended his Prayer, he ftruck the- Sea with 
 his Rod, which was immediately divided: *»Vr*i tJJ 
 
 fixxT'/ipitt, tw QdXacsxv 'j? utto tJk nKnyr,; avtx.QTtri, and 
 
 though what he next adds-, x»i Ik Imtw Ctto^u^wx: 
 receding into itfelf: be not clearly intelligible, what fol- 
 lows is fufficiently plain: yv^vriv «p»V» rn'v yw o£o» 
 sftf>xioi$ uvxi vt) (puyw : heaving the Ground bare to be a 
 Way of efcape for the Hebrews. This is not a Defcrip- 
 tion of the Ebb-tide, any more than what follows : 
 
 H 2 fAv'u<nk 
 
60 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 fxwv<rri<; S' ogocy rriv Itti^oivsixv t5 S^b : when Mofes faw the 
 Appearance of GOD, &c. This could not, in thofe Cir- 
 cumnances, have been faid of any ordinary Event; 
 it is agreeable to what Mofes is before reprefented as 
 faying in his Prayer : That there was no Pojfibility of 
 their efcaping, in the Way of Nature. — Afterwards He 
 commands the People to follow him into the Depth, 
 whence the Waters had receded. — When the Egyptians 
 faw the People go forward, into the Sea, the Hiftori- 
 an faith, they thought them mad ; till feeing them 
 far advanced, without any Misfortune, py$\v a'urW Ipro- 
 tW [xt$\ $v%i(\q avotrrnvaf they follow after with a deal 
 of Refolution, not fearing to pafs the fame Way. 
 But when their whole Army was got into the Chan- 
 nel i-rrfxjtiTcu 7T»A»k t\ SaAaosa x^ 7rfpjxaTaAa//.6am powJVij 
 V3TO irvtvpccloov xa-naVa t«V Aiyu-nmaj : The Sea is pour d 
 down upon them, and the Floods defcending, by the Force 
 of the Winds, on every Side of the ^Egyptians, over- 
 whelmed them. The Terms here ufed plainly denote, 
 that the Waters were heaped up higher than their 
 Heads, on both Sides : Had it been the flowing Tide 
 which drowned the ^Egyptians, he would not have 
 faid xas-mo-a, defending \ but a\aS<ra, rifing up ; but the 
 whole Defcription is quite difagreeable to every Phce- 
 nomenon of the Tide. 
 
 I have dwelt the longer upon this Article of Cavil, 
 as it hath been defended by fo great a Man, ( and by 
 others from him, who think it an Honour to diflent 
 from common Opinions, ) though againft the clearefV 
 Evidence of Divine Authority, in Confirmation of the 
 truth of our Tranflation. But the Sceptics are not 
 willing to allow the Almighty, fo far to intereft him- 
 felf in the Deliverance of his People •, tho' one declared 
 end of this miraculous Event Was to confirm their 
 Faith and Truft, in his Almighty Power in future 
 Cafes of diftrefs-, for which it would have been of little 
 Effect, had the whole Affair, or its greateft Part, been, 
 asLc-Ckrc inSfts, within the Power of Natural Caufes; 
 
 Tke 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 61 
 
 The Pillar of Cloud and of Fire, by which the 
 Ifraelites were conducted in the Wildernefs, I have 
 heard accounted for, by fome of thefe Gentlemen, of 
 Wit and Penetration, thus: " Some of the people, lay 
 ** they, in confederacy with Mofes, went fome fmall 
 " Diftance before the Camp, and burned Straw or 
 " other combuftible Matter, which in the day time 
 " would emit Smoke rifing up as a pillar of Cloud, 
 " and in the Night the Flames would appear," 
 which they are willing to fubftitute for the miraculous 
 Pillar of cceleftial Fire. With fo poor a trick they 
 think, two Millions of people might have been impo- 
 fed on, for forty Years together. But it would be 
 an Affront to Reafon, to give a ferious Anfwer to 
 fuch impious Abfurdity. 
 
 I have not, that I remember, met with any At- 
 tempt to aflign a natural Caufe, for the raining down 
 of Manna, forty Years together, for the Support of 
 that vaft Congregation, till they came to the Borders 
 of Canaan, and eat of the Fruit of that Land, and 
 then wholly ceafing ; Nor how it came to pafs, that 
 the daily Supply was intermitted every feventh Day, 
 and that Defect made up by a double Portion on the 
 Jfixth Day; nor yet how the Portion referved to the 
 feventh Day continued found, which on any other 
 Day would have corrupted ; in thefe and many other 
 Inftances our Sceptics cannot deny the miraculous 
 Appearances of the Hand of the Almighty, but by 
 denying the whole Account, and rejecting the Autho- 
 rity of the Records of thefe Things. 
 
 And confidering how convenient and even necef- 
 fary the fame Thing appears to be, to our new Mo- 
 dellers of Chriftianity ; one cannot much wonder at 
 the Eafinefs, fome of the Gentlemen of that Way 
 have, of late, fhewn as to the 0utFjoritp of tf)t gjolp 
 §8>t ?!ptliJE0 ; they certainly cannot be of much Im- 
 portance for the Eftablifhment of their Opinion. For 
 which Reafon, as they don't yet feem to think it con- 
 venient 
 
6z the CHRISTIANITY 
 
 venient to declare openly agatntf c£e atotfjojitp 0? 
 &$liptmc t they endeavour to fix fiich ftrain'd and fi- 
 gurative Interpretations to many Terms which have, 
 in tijt Cnnfttamtp of t$t jfreto Ctffaingnt, been, 
 for more than feventeen Hundred Years, ufed in a 
 Senfe quite analogous to that in which I fhall fhew 
 they were ufed in the Old Teftament, whence they 
 were taken, as are inconfiftent with their plain Mean- 
 ing and Intenfion. 
 
 These Gentlemen arepleafed to think, the Doctrine of 
 the captation of £>m> and the IRefcemption oin3&an= 
 king, by the Sacrifice of the Death of Chrift, as the 
 great ^opitiatiott ; that of ^uftifccation by Faith 
 and the Reconciliation of $>an to dBofc* in the Me- 
 rit of that Propitiation. Thefe, I fay, and perhaps 
 ibme other Particulars plainly taught in the New Te- 
 ftament, they think ought to be rejected out of the 
 Scheme of Chriftianity, as quite inconfiftent with thofe 
 Ideas of Propriety and Expediency, which they think 
 naturally arife from the Confideration of God and 
 Man. 
 
 Plow, fay they, can the Son of God, with any 
 Propriety be faid to redeem finful Men out of the 
 Hands of the Jufticeof CDotl tf)t jfatijet, with whom 
 he is £)m in (Offence ? and how can Satisfaction, in 
 Propriety, be made, by the Death of one Perfon, for 
 the Tranfgreftion of another, and efpecially as the 
 Perfon making Satisfaction, and the Perfon to whom 
 Satisfaction is.fuppofed to be made, are both One in 
 the Eternal Unity of the divine Nature ? or how can 
 Satisfaction be maoe to dDoo at all ? Nor is it con- 
 ceivable how the Obedience and Righteoufnefs of one 
 can, by Imputation, or any how, avail to make ano- 
 ther Perfon righteous, who is of himfelf unrighteous. 
 
 It muft be acknowledged, that there is fome Dif- 
 ficulty in our Conception of thefe Things, arifing 
 principally from the Imperfection of our Idea con- 
 cerning the Difference of the fcituite -J9trfoil$ in the 
 
 Trinity, 
 
 i 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 63 
 
 Trinity, and confequently of their relative Actions, 
 confiftentJy with their neceflary eternal tSitUtp, in the 
 Godhead. 
 
 Because thefe Doctrines are thus beyond the Reach 
 of our Faculties fully to comprehend, they have, in 
 all Ages of the Chriftian Church been treated as 
 &\t\t\t# of j^attJ), to be affented to, upon the Foot 
 of divine Authority, not as Propofitions to be exami- 
 ned by, and adjufted to the Standard of Dumait 
 JUafom 
 
 In order therefore to vindicate our Aftent to thefe 
 Articles, I fhall, (taking for granted the divine Autho- 
 rity of Scripture ',) (1.) Lay down fome^Truths, pre- 
 paratory to the Evangelical Difpenfat.ion. (2.) Shew 
 the Propriety of the Terms, which are taken from 
 the Mofak) into the Chriftian Eftablifhment, from 
 their known Signification in the Old Teftament. 
 
 (3.) Explain the Neceffity of ^oltnef& to com- 
 plete the Scheme. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 Containing Propofitions of Truth, preparatory to the Evan- 
 gelical Scheme. 
 
 Proposition i. 
 
 WE plainly fee that Mankind in general have an 
 univerfal Propenfity to Vice-, that is, to act 
 contrary to the Rules of eternal Reafon and Good- 
 nefs; or, in other Words, to act inconfiftently with 
 the eternal and unalterable FitnefTes of Things, by 
 tittwlgntg Cije ^oUcttatiottS of their inferior Paffions 
 and Appetites, contrary to the Conviction of their 
 
 Reafon 
 
64 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Reafon and Underftanding. But we cannot con* 
 ceive, that the Almighty Creator, a Being infinitely 
 wife and powerful, pure and holy, fhould originally 
 form a Species of Creatures with Difpofitions per- 
 fectly oppofite to his own neceflary and eternal Pu- 
 rity and Rectitude, and difpofed to act contrary to 
 his Pleafure and Approbation. The Righteous Lord 
 loveth Righteoufnefs. Pf xi. 7. I am the Lord which 
 do loving kindnefs and Judgement and Righteoufnefs in the 
 Earth; for in thefe Things I delight ; faith the LORD. 
 Jer. ix. 24. Hence it is vifible, that Mankind are 
 fallen from the original State, in which they were 
 created •, and I think the Aflferrers of the Sufficiency 
 of Reafon to direct univerfally, as to Faith and 
 Practice cannot deny this. The Scripture declares 
 this original Defection very exprefly, Pfal. li. 5. 
 / was Jhapen in Iniquity, and in Sin did my Mother 
 conceive me.- — If we fay that we have no Sin, we de- 
 ceive ourfelves, and the Truth is -not in us, 1 John i. 8. 
 There is no Man that finneth not, 1 Kings viii. 46. 
 There is not a jufi Man upon Earth that doeth good, and 
 finneth not, Eccl. vii. 28. And Prov. xx. 9. Who 
 can fay, 1 have made my Heart clean, I am pure from my 
 Sin. Job xv. 14. What is Man, that he fhould be clean, 
 and he which is born of a Woman, that he fhould be righ- 
 teous? Rom. iii. 9. Both Jews and Gentiles — are all 
 under Sin, &c. Sec. This is too evident in Fact to 
 need Demonftration, and too plainly afferted in Scrip- 
 ture to be difputed. 
 
 Prop. 2. As God was pleafed to make Mankind 
 intelligent moral Agents, it feems efientially neceflary, 
 he mould make them with Freedom of Will, and 
 Minds naturally changeable, and not of a neceflary 
 fixed indefectible Purity : For in that Cafe their Obe- 
 dience would have been the involuntary Refult of na- 
 tural Neceflity, and fo void of all moral Excellence, 
 and incapable of Reward ; as are the natural Actions 
 of the brutal and vegetable World, however phyfi- 
 
 cally 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 65 
 
 cally good. If Man was to be the Subject of moral 
 Government, he mud have Faculties furficient to e- 
 nable him to render perfect Obedience to the Laws, 
 he was made under, but fuch as might alfo be liable 
 to contrary Imprefllons, that fo his Obedience might 
 be the deliberate Refult of his own Choice, and if he 
 chofe he might tranfgrefs* 
 
 And as Adam and Eve were the only two of the 
 human Race, they could not be under any Tempta- 
 tion to fuch Sins, as arife from Society ; as Ambition, 
 Pride, Avarice, Envy, Fraud, Cruelty, and the like : 
 Therefore, to try their Regard to their Maker's Au- 
 thority, and prove their Obedience, it feems necef- 
 fary, the Almighty mould inftitute fome pofitive 
 Law, by the Obfervance whereof, their Regard for 
 his foucramn W&Hl might be evidenced, and their 
 Obedience exemplified. This he did in the Inftance 
 of the forbidden Fruit. The Obfervance of which 
 Command we cannot apprehend could be attended 
 with any very great Difficulty •, fince a fmall Reftraint 
 upon the Defire of gratifying a vain and dangerous 
 Curiofity might have preferved their Innocence, and 
 their Intereft in the divine Favour •, and this they had 
 the greater Reafon to attend to, as they found them- 
 felves in Circumftances completely happy, the Conti- 
 nuance whereof was to be the Reward of their Perfe- 
 verance in Duty and Obedience ; and as they had had 
 the Threatning of SDcatft, a terrible unknown Evil, 
 to deter them from Difobedience. 
 
 Prop. 3. As Man voluntarily tranfgrefled this only 
 Reflraint, his foveraign Creator laid him under, God 
 might juftly have immediately executed upon him 
 the Threatning annexed, as a Sanction of the Law, 
 (for it cannot tonflft toitft t\jt ^tttt&iom of tf<£ 
 SDeitp to threaten what it would be unjuft to execute 
 upon Difobedience.) Therefore, He might have put" 
 an immediate dfcnfc to t§e Being of the human 
 Pair, or whatever elfe was included in the Threat- 
 
 I nine;: 
 
66 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 ning: 1W&& r^O dying thou Jhalt die, or, thou fhalt fur (* 
 ly die ; that is, the Almighty might juftly have 
 inflicted upon them any Evil not exceeding the 
 Threatning. 
 
 A s there is a neceffary and eternal Difference be- 
 tween moral Good and Evil, Virtue and Vice, Obe- 
 dience and Difobedience; and as abfoiute Obedience 
 to every, even pofitive, Law of the Almighty is 
 immedtattfp a ttatnral SDutp of thofe, to whom 
 
 the Law is given, it is inconfiftent with Rectoral 
 Juftice to treat the obedient and difobedient alike ; 
 to put no Difference between him who, refilling all 
 Temptations, perfeveres in his Duty, and him who, 
 flighting the Authority of the Soveraign Law-giver, 
 and difregarding the Sanction of the Laws, volun- 
 tarily tranfgrefles ; expofing himfelf to the Difpleafure 
 of his Soveraign, and to the Punifhment threatned 
 
 for Difobedience. That be far from thee, that the 
 
 Righteous foould be as the Wicked, fhall not the Judge of 
 all the Earth do right ? faith the Patriarch, Gen. xviii. 
 25. Agreeable to which is what Plutarch faith, in his 
 Book, Be exilio, as cited by Grotius. t« StZ tWeu h™ 
 
 ruv atTroXizxoy.il/oov Ta 6ax voya rifxo^og. The Punifhment of 
 
 Tranjgrejfors of the Law of God is neceffarily confeauent, 
 upon the Being of a God. And that of Plato : Ulm 
 
 xSiiq HTi Slav xt otvSgunruw toA//.« Xtytiv, ooq s Tu>ys ctdixxi/Ti 
 
 Soriov oUw : i. e. Neither God nor Man will prefume to 
 fay, that Punifhment is not due for TranfgreJ/ion. 
 
 The natural End of Laws is the Reftraint and Re- 
 gulation of the Actions of thofe, to whom they are 
 given ; But without the proper Sanctions of Rewards 
 and Punifhments, Laws have no Force, and the End 
 of the Almighty, in making Laws, would in that 
 Cafe be defeated , and his Government chargeable 
 with Weaknefs and Imperfection, which is impoiiible. 
 So that Reafon cannot deny but that Man by Trani- 
 greflion became liable to the Punifhment threatned. 
 
 Prop. 4. 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 6f 
 
 Prop. 4. Yet a perfect Governor may, confidently 
 with rectoral Juftice, out of foveraign Grace, remit 
 of the Strictnefs of the Penalty enacted upon Tranf- 
 greflion. But it can no Way be proved He is under 
 any Obligation from eternal Reafon to do fo. But 
 the Almighty was gracioufly pleafed fo to deal with 
 offending Man ; not immediately executing upon 
 him all the Sentence denounced upon his Origi- 
 nal Sin ; but Part only,, in fome Evils, which, 
 either in natural or judicial Confequence of his Of- 
 fence, he fuffered or caufed to fall upon- him-. And 
 as it plainly appears, by univerfal Experience, that 
 there is not, in Mankind, that regular Subordination 
 of the Affections and Paffions to the fuperior Facul- 
 ties, which, we have the greater!: Reafon to believe, 
 our firft Parents were poffefled of in their primitive 
 State, and wherein, very probably, their Perfection 
 did, in a very great Meafure conftft, {Prop. 1.) May 
 it not feem probable, that the Over-ballance of the 
 Influence of the bodily Affections and Paffions above 
 that of Reafon and Virtue, fince the Fall, whereby 
 we are fo. much enflav'd to Sin, and made uncapable 
 of performing an entire Obedience to the Law, Man 
 was formed under, is one Part of that Death,, which 
 was the original Doom of Tranfgreffion ? And as 
 this was confequent upon the Fall, whether by natu- 
 ral Caufality, from fome malignant Influence, the 
 forbidden Fruit had upon the natural Powers of our 
 firft Parents, as we find fome Inftances of the Crea- 
 tion are (till endued with fuch noxious Qualities, as 
 are capable of having a pernicious Influence upon our in- 
 tellectual Powers,, to teach us Prudence and Temperance ; 
 or whether by judicially with-holding fome divine 
 Affiflance granted them, while they retained their. 
 Integrity ; whether, I fay, by either, or both thefe, 
 or perhaps fome other Way, Mans intellectual and 
 moral Powers were plainly depraved, and thus fpiri- 
 
 I, 2 tua! 
 
68 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 tual Death brought upon the Soul : And fo the in- 
 genious Dr. Byrom hath defcribed it. 
 
 The Life that Adam was created in 
 Was loft the Day the Inftant of his Sin. 
 Juft as the Rebel Angels, when they fell, 
 Were dead to Heaven, altho' alive to Hell. 
 So Man, no longer breathing heavenly Breath, 
 Fell to this Life, and died the Scripture-Death. 
 
 It doth not appear, that in this Difpofitiorij ifr 
 could be inconfiftent with the Almighty's Good- 
 nefs, or with perfect Reafon and moral Govern- 
 ment, that He fhould leave Mankind in this ruin'd, 
 helplefs Condition, they had brought themfelves into, 
 by a chofen deliberate AR-, Nor doth it appear necef- 
 fary, from any of the divine Perfections, that he 
 ihould reftore thofe Powers Man had thus volun- 
 tarily loft, or reinftate him into that Felicity which 
 he had, againft the faireft Warning, wilfully re- 
 jected ; and whereof He was now become naturally 
 uncapable ; but might juftly have fuffered him to 
 remain under the ruinous Confequ^nces of his Delibe- 
 rate Tranfgreflion, and that his natural Immortality 
 Ihould only ferve as a Foundation for endlefs Mifery, 
 the natural Effect of his Depravity, as a Punifhment, 
 not to gratify any Difpofition to Refentment in the. 
 Almighty j but to anfwer fuch Ends of his univerfal 
 Government, as are to us unknown, and whereof the 
 Punifhment of the finning Angels, is an Inftance. 
 
 It hath, I know, been repreiented by many in our 
 Days, and by fome amongft the Antients, a0 not 
 confident *oit§ ftrafan an& tjFie infinite (HSootmerg 
 of d5p0 to make a Creature, he knew would be liable 
 to fall into Sin and confequent Mifery to himfelf and 
 his Pofterity ; and not either provide againft the &apfe 
 or determine a JJUtforattom 
 
 To 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 69 
 
 To which, waving for the prefent, the Confederation 
 of the gracious purpofes in Favour of fallen Man, it 
 may readily be anfwered, as noted before •, that it 
 is a neceffary Refult of fteafon mi& moral (DotiC^* 
 merit, that voluntary Difobedience be liable to Punish- 
 ment, as it is that Obedience be rewarded. Agreeable 
 to which is that of Lactantius as quoted by Grotius : 
 Non exiguo falluntur errore, qui Cenfuraw, five humanam, 
 five divinam acerbitatis & malitia ncmine infamant\ 
 putantes nocentem did oportere, qui nocentes officii poena, 
 i. e. 'They are very much mi/taken, who reproachfully call 
 the Punijhment of Wickednefs by the Name of Severity ; and 
 efleem him unjufl, who pumffoeth Iniquity. This the 
 incomparable Dr. Clark hath inconteftably evinced in 
 two Sermons from Gal. v. 7. Be not deceived GOD is 
 not mocked : Whatfoever a Man foweth that JJoall he alfo 
 reap. This is fully aflerted by the Apoftle to the 
 Romans, ch. ii. 1. to the 12. And in Rev. xix. 1. 2. 
 The triumphant Saints are reprefented as finging 
 Hallelujahs to the Almighty, for the righteous Judg- 
 ments, he had executed upon the Enemies of his 
 Church. 
 
 Mercy and Companion do indeed afford a moft 
 agreeable Profpect, when directed and moderated by 
 Wifdom and Goodnefs ; but Companion exercifed 
 indifcriminately would defeat the Ends of rectoral Ju- 
 ftice ; and is therefore inconfiftent with Government, 
 and efpecially with the moft Perfect ; that of the molt 
 High. 
 
 The eternal Unhappinefs of fallen rebellious Man, 
 in Confequence of a Principle of Immortality inherent 
 in his Conftitution, how fevere foever it may appear, 
 in a fingle and unconnected View, is, I apprehend, 
 much more than ballanced, by the Confideration of 
 that exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory, which was to 
 have been, upon the Bafis of the fame natural Im- 
 mortality, the everlafting Reward of his Perfeverance 
 in his original Innocence, which he might, with Plea- 
 
 fure 
 
7 o The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 fure and without any Difficulty, have obtained ; and 
 which is infinitely fuperior to all pofllble Merit of his 
 Obedience : So that it may be readily anfwered to all 
 Complaints, on this Head ; that Man, deliberately 
 tljofe 13x0 ofcm SDeffjurtioiu 
 
 Suppose, now that the higheft Angel in Heaven 
 mould, upon whatsoever Temptation, wilfully tranf- 
 greis the Laws of his Soveraign ; would it not be juft 
 in the Almighty, for the Honour of his Soveraignty 
 and reftoral Juftice, to ftrip the rebellious Seraph of 
 his Angelick Glory, and fink him, for Inftance, but 
 to the prefent State of humane Nature, only with the 
 Addition of a confcious Remembrance of his former 
 Felicity ; and fentence him for ever to remain in that 
 Eftate. Would not this Proceeding be followed with 
 the Applaufes of the whole intellectual World, as is 
 defcribed Rev. xix. 2. as cited above. 
 
 Let it then be confidered whether even this Reduc- 
 tion would not be as great a Punifhment to the finning 
 Angel, as is that, to which Man was by Tranfgreffion 
 liable. But the Condition, to which the Angels, who 
 before the Creation of this World, had by Tranfgref- 
 fion loft their firft Eftate, are doomed, is in Scripture 
 reprefented as vaftly more unhappy, than the Reduc- 
 tion I have here fuppofed ; yet no Imputation thence 
 upon either the gjutfue ov tf)e dDootmefg of the meft 
 High. 
 
 If it mould be urged, that this is (till reprefenting 
 the Almighty as delighting in the Unhappinefs oi his 
 Creatures, and fo acting inconfrftently with his own 
 elfential Goodnefs : The Anfwer is given to this, by 
 God himfelf to the Jews, to obviate fuch a Complaint, 
 on Account of thofe Judgments, he was then laying 
 upon them, for their manifold Provocations. Ezek. 
 33. 11. As I live, faith the LORD I have no Pleafure 
 in the Death of the Mocked ; but that the Wicked turn from 
 his Way and live. Turn, ye, Turn ye from your evil Ways ; 
 for why tpill pt hit, Houfe of lfrael— The Deitruc- 
 
 tion 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 71 
 
 tion of the Wicked is here plainly defcribed as the 
 Mia&Ot&able Ccmfequeitce of their obftinate Impe- 
 nitence, and fo perfectly confiftent with the high eft 
 Reafon. 
 
 But for ever to flop the Mouth of all Gavil, on this 
 Head : Let it be confidered, That this Reduction of 
 the Condition of moral Agents, as a judicial Confe- 
 quence of their Tranfgrefhon, is no more inconfiftent 
 with the Divine Perfections, than it is not to have 
 made all Creatures of an equal, and that the higheft 
 poffible Degree of created Felicity. 
 
 Man may as well allege, in Diminution of the Di- 
 vine Goodnefs, that he is not made as happy as the 
 higheft Angel in Heaven, as that he is reduced from 
 his primitive State of Felicity, as a juft Punifhment 
 for his Difobedience. And the fame may be faid of 
 the inferiour Degrees of Happinefs of every lower 
 Rank of Beings, or at leaft fuch as have any Appre- 
 henfion of Pleafure and Pain, viz. that the Almighty 
 did not act agreeably to infinite Goodnefs, in allowing 
 them Capacities for fo fmall Degrees of Felicity, fo 
 almoft infinitely fhort of fome Orders of created Be- 
 ings ; fince it had been equally eafy to Omnipotence 
 to make a Seraph or a Worm. But this Reafoning 
 is manifeftly inconfiftent with the Fulnefs, the Order, 
 Harmony and Wifdom of the Creation. But it is 
 manifeftly equally confiftent with infinite Goodnefs, 
 to reduce finning Creatures to a Condition of lefs Hap- 
 pinefs than would have been their<->JLot, upon Perfeve- 
 rance in Obedience; as to make fuch avail Dispropor- 
 tion of the original Capacities of Enjoyment, as are 
 in the World. 
 
 Having thus endeavoured to clear the Divine 
 Goodnefs from all reafonable Imputation, upon the 
 Punifhment of Difobedience it remains here to be con- 
 fidered ; that as die firft Parents of the human Race 
 
 thus 
 
ji the CHRISTIANITY 
 
 thus loft the original ^crfation of their natural 
 Powers, before any Propagation of their Species ; All 
 thofe who fhould eventually proceed from a Stock fo 
 corrupted, could not, in the Way of Nature, but 
 partake of tijc SDepraiiitp •, and fo the Leprofy would, 
 ex traduce, naturally be derived to all Generations •, for 
 Who can bring a clean Thing out of an unclean ? Not One, 
 Job xiv. 4. And thus fuppofe Death not to be inflicted 
 upon all Men, in Demerit of Adam's Original Sin, 
 yet it follows, as a natural Confequence of that Offence, 
 and paffeth upon all Men, for that all have finned Rom. 
 5. 12. And hence it follows. 
 
 Prop. 5. That if ( according to the human Way 
 of fpeaking ) The Almighty fhould in this Situation 
 of Things be fuppofed to entertain Thoughts of Peace 
 and Good-will to the apoftate miferable Race of Man- 
 kind ; it would furely be their higheft Duty and 
 Intereft, with the utmoft Gratitude and Refignation 
 to embrace whatever Method of Reconciliation He 
 fhould think fit to propofe, not queflioning the propriety 
 of the Terms, upon which fo ineftimable a Favour was 
 to be obtained, as they were quite unable to do any Thing 
 by Way of Atonement or otherwife to obtain it. 
 
 And as under this Head it will fall in my Way to 
 advocate for myfelf, with a confiderable Part of Man- 
 kind, who have, for near fix Thoufand Years, given 
 our AfTent to many religious Truths, not becaufe we 
 could perfectly apprehend their Agreement with the 
 Principles of human Reafon ; but as they have come 
 to us under the Authority of the Almighty, as 
 their Author; I defire the candid Reader to take a 
 brief Survey with me of the Methods of the Al- 
 mighty's Dealing with the Children of Men, from 
 the Beginning of the World, in different Periods 
 of Time, and under the different Difcoveries, he 
 was pleafed to make of his Will •, and we fhall 
 find. He always made it the Duty of Mankind to 
 
 refign 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 73 
 
 refign their Underftandings and Wills to the Au- 
 thority of his foveraign Declarations, for Faith and 
 Practice. 
 
 In the firft Place : Immediately after his Creation 
 of our firft Parents and placing them in Paradife, 
 the Creator gave them a pofitive Law, for the Ex- 
 ercife of their Faith and Obedience : viz. That they 
 mould religioufiy abfta'n from the Fruit of a cer- 
 tain Tree, in the Garden called : The Tree of the 
 Knowledge of Good and Evil ; as noted before. 
 
 This Precept, I fay, was for the Exercife and 
 Tryal of their Faith , as well as ol their Obedience, 
 for as there was no vifible Reafon, why they mould 
 be denied the Ufe of that, more than of the other 
 Trees of the Garden, of which they were allowed 
 freely to eat; their Obedience muft be grounded up- 
 on the Refignation of their Underftandings to the Crea- 
 tor's Authority and foveraign Will ; believing He 
 had good Reafon for laying them under that fmall 
 Reftraint, though they were not yet able to fee it. 
 
 Such implicit lilefitjnatitm to the foveraign 
 Authority of divine Inftitutions, is not only an A6t 
 of Faith, but we fhall fee fuch Acts celebrated in 
 Scripture, as the moft cvalteti Blnffanceg of t))tg 
 Jicaimtip pittite, Implicite Faith is, then only, cri. 
 minal, when it is exercifed upon Objects not properly 
 evidenced to be of Divine Authority. Let this but 
 be clear, and tlic more implicit tlje iietteu 
 
 This Commandment proved the unhappy Occafion 
 of the Original Sin and confequent Mifery of our 
 firft Parents and their Progeny. The Devil, the 
 grand Enemy of God and Man taking Advantage 
 of this Circumftance, tempted the Woman to (light 
 the Authority of God, and to indulge her Defire to 
 eat of the forbidden Fruit; urging that there was no 
 Visible Reason for the Reftraint. The Tree 
 feemed to be good for Food, and it was of a moft 
 delightful Appearance OT^> T Wn/mn the Defire of 
 
 K the 
 
74 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 the Eyes, ( in the Abftract ) and above all it was efpe- 
 cially defirable for the increafe of Wifdom and Un- 
 derflanding, the higheft of human Improvements. 
 Why mould the Almighty lay this reftraint upon 
 you ? why debar'd from this more than all the other 
 Trees of the Garden, whereof, by a general indulgence, 
 ye may freely eat ? why hath the Tree a Place in Para-' 
 dife, if the Soveraign of this whole World be obliged 
 to abftain from its charming Fruit ? Is he Jealous of 
 your Improvement in Science, and envies you the 
 Happineis, of that increafe in Wifdom, which wou'd 
 be the happy Confequence of your eating of this moft 
 reviving Fruit ? For God doth know that in the Day ye 
 
 eat thereof, yefhall be as GODS knowing 
 
 Good and Evil. Gen. iii. 5. The Temptation 
 
 fucceeded ; the Woman enter'd into the Devil's 
 Philofophy; She could fee no Reafon for the Prohibition; 
 She threw off the Influence of her Faith and Refigna- 
 tion to the divine . Authority •, She took of the Fruit of the 
 'Tree and did eat, and gave alfo to her Hufband with her 
 and he did eat. Thus by indulging herfelf, at the 
 Devils Suggeftion, to determine upon the divine In- 
 flitution by the Rule of human Reafon : She foon chan- 
 ged her Relignation and Obedience, for Infidelity and 
 Rebellion, fetting a mifchievous Example, which, 
 under the fame Influences, hath been too well copied 
 by Numbers of her unhappy Pofterity, and thus She 
 
 Brought Death into the World and all our Woe, 
 
 With Lofs 0/Eden, till one greater Man 
 
 Refiore us, and regain the blifsful Seat. Milton. 
 
 After the Hiftory of the Tranfgreflion of our firft 
 Parents, and their Expulfion out of Paradife, we 
 have the Account of Cain and Abel's Sacrifice ; from 
 which Beginning the Rite of Sacrificing became uni- 
 verlal amongfl all Mankind, under various Modes 
 and Ceremonies, in all Nations of the World. But 
 
 this 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 75 
 
 this Practice could not pofiibly have fo foon and 
 fo univerfally prevailed, had not the Almighty himfelf 
 given the original IntfitUttan* How could it have 
 entred into the Heart of Man to imagine that fried- 
 ding the Blood of an innocent Sheep or Goat, in it- 
 felf of fmall Value, and of no pojfible Benefit to the 
 Almighty, as a Victim, could be any how prevalent to 
 EJfpiate iu% &hl> and reflore the Offender to the Favour 
 of God ? But the early, univerfal and perpetual Ufe 
 of Sacrifices for this Purpofe, before our Saviour's 
 Time, and fince his Advent, in the Nations, where 
 the Gofpel hath not come, (as was the Cafe of the 
 Americans, in particular, at the firft Difcovery of that 
 Country ; ) this is, I fay, a clear Evidence of the 
 divine Inftitution of this Way of Pntercourfe between 
 God and Man; and a fecond Inftance of the Almigh- 
 ty's requiring human Homage to be paid him in 
 Ways of his own foveraign Inftitution, and not to be 
 accounted for upon Principles of human Reafon. And 
 that Faith whereby Abel's Offering is, in Heb. xi. faid 
 to have had the Preference of his Brothers, in the 
 divine Acceptance, mull probably have been referr'd 
 to the divine Authority in the Inftitution, as well as 
 have had fome other differencing Superiority. 
 
 As the Ufe of Sacrifice could not have had its In- 
 ftitution from human Reafon, the Advocates for the 
 Soveraignty of Reafon ; to avoid the divine Authority 
 of the Inftitution, choofe to afcribe it to the interested 
 Fraud of the Priefts, who, they fay, made a Benefit 
 to themfelves by this Delufion of the People. But I 
 would afk thefe 3fleit0£$ of ftxafon, by what Art or 
 Trick of the Priefts was it that the fupernatural Fire, 
 without the Hands of Man, came out from before the 
 Lord and confumed the Sacrifice, as recorded, Lev. 
 ix. 24. as well as the vindictive Flame which con- 
 fumed the Profaners of the divine Inftitution, Lev. x. 
 2. and Numb. xvi. 35.? The Jewijh as well as 
 Chriftian Writers believe this miraculous Fire to have 
 
 K 3 been 
 
?6 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 been the original Evidence of the divine Acceptance 
 of the Sacrifice, and of the Different Regard of the 
 molt High to the Oblations of Abel and of Cain. — . 
 By what Trick of the Prieits was the Fire kindled 
 at the Prophet's Prayer, as related, i Kin. xviii. 38. 
 without the Hand of Man, with that Violence, as to 
 confume not only the Sacrifice, but the Wood, and 
 the Stones, and the Dull, and to lick up the Water 
 that was in the Trenches ; fo that the great AiTem- 
 bly then preient cried out, under Aftonifhment at 
 fuch an Appearance of the immediate Power of the 
 Almighty, The Lord he is the God, the Lord he is tha 
 God! 
 
 This the Heathens feemed to have had a tradi- 
 tionary Apprehenfion of, as originally neceffary to 
 render the Sacrifices pure and acceptable to the Deity ; 
 and as they were not able to qualify their Oblations 
 with this celeftial Accenfion, they contrived, with 
 the higheft Art, to procure a fuccedaneous Fire, as 
 near equivalent to the Original as poiTible, by op- 
 pofing directly to the Sun a concave polifh'd Cone, 
 iormed by a rectangle equilateral and rectangular 
 Plane, from the Sides whereof the Rays of the Sun 
 being reflected, were collected and united into the 
 Axis of the Cone, and there formed fo great a Heat 
 as to inflame light and dry Combuftibles ; and the 
 Fire thus obtained was committed to the Care of the 
 • Veltal Virgins, to be kept perpetually burning, for 
 facred Ufe; and if by any Accident it happened to go 
 out, it was to be renewed only by the fame Procefs, 
 for at that Time they were ignorant of the Method 
 of raifing Fire by the Rays of the Sun united by the 
 Lens. This Account is given by Plutarch, in his 
 
 Life of Jyuma. i£zir]is<ri at ftxXirot, -retV (TX«<p£jO»5 a v.xroc- 
 <rx£iiix£2Tai f/.iv atto 7rA£up«f KrocrxzAxq oovuyovtz TPiyoi/z — olav av 
 Vidv ivxi/Ttocv A«(3n 7rpos t v\\io» tcc<; dvyxq ttmtx^oQiv 
 <xvci7nO[xivoi; d^oi^ic^J y^ <rJ t u.7rXix.[£jJ x) t* y.a<porxrx x) £*]^ 
 
 CQT4TO, 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 77 
 
 tirxrx twi/ 7rpos"i0£jw-£i/wv olvxirretv, cupx xj nX^y/iv tzvjsuM t* 
 
 The miraculous Accenfion of the Sacrifices of di- 
 vine Inftitution, we may be lure, gave Birth to this 
 Contrivance, as well as Authority to the Inftitution 
 and univerlal Practice of this religious Rite, amongft 
 the wifeft and beft of Men 5 for we may be allured, 
 that Perfons of that Character would not make any 
 Thing a ftated and principal Part of their religious 
 Worfhip, but what they had the utmoft Affurance, 
 was agreeable to the foveraign Will of the' Almighty. 
 
 I think we have no Mention of Sacrifice, before 
 the Flood, belides thofe already fpoken of j th& Bre- 
 vity of the antediluvian Hiftory not allowing Room 
 for that, and a thoufand other Particulars, we mould 
 now be very much pleafed to know. Who knows 
 but the Neglect of that Ordinance (perhaps becaufe 
 thofe long-liv'd Philofophers were not quite fatisfied 
 of the Agreeablenefs of the Inftitution to the ^rtltci* 
 plcg of natural 3Rcafott) might be one of thole Enor- 
 mities, for which, with the univerlal Immorality, 
 which then prevailed, the Almighty brought, upon 
 the World of the Ungodly, that molt amazing Deilruc- 
 tion, by the Waters of the univerfal Deluge ; from 
 which were faved only Noah with his Family, who 
 had been a juft Man, and perfect in his Generation, and 
 had walked with God, Gen. vi. 9. And, in the Con- 
 duct of this Patriarch, we have another Inftance of 
 fuch an implicit Kefignation as God requires, and as 
 is fuitable to every Perfon of Noah's Character. Noah 
 is commanded to prepare an Ark to fave himfelf and 
 his Houfe, &c. from a Deluge of Waters, which, 
 he was told, mould come to deltroy the Earth, after 
 an hundred and twenty Years. The Patriarch fets 
 chearfully about the Work, in Obedience to the divine 
 Command, and in a firm Perfuafion of the Truth of 
 the divine Prediction, notwithitanding all the Scorn 
 of the infidel Generation, who, like our modern Re- 
 jectors 
 
7 S the CHRISTIANITY 
 
 jectors of the Chriftian Doctrine, were too wife to be 
 influenced by Declarations, though even of the Al- 
 mighty himfelf, fo inconfiftent with the Sentiments of 
 human Reafon, and contrary to the Laws of Nature : 
 They went on in their own Way, indulging their 
 vicious Pleafures, and mocking at the Preacher of 
 Righteoufnefs ; till the Flood came and took them all away : 
 While righteous Noah, refsstunrj Jn0 Giu&eiffan&mg 
 to the facred Authority of Divine Revelation, and 
 profecuting the Work, the Almighty affign'd him, 
 obtained the promifed Deliverance in the Day of 
 Deftruction. 
 
 As foon as this dreadful Difpenfation was brought 
 to a Period, and the Face of the Earth rcftored, 
 this righteous Man and his Family devoutly joined 
 in performing a religious Service fuitable to that Oc- 
 cafion ; offering, of every clean Bird and every clean 
 Beaft, a great and folemn Sacrifice to the Almighty 
 Avenger of a wicked World, and their Almighty 
 Deliverer, Gen. viii. 20. And it is faid, the Lord 
 was pleafed with the Service, v. 21. and the Lord 
 fmelled a fweet Savour nn^rr nn # n Odour of Acqui- 
 efcence. And this is another Proof of the divine In- 
 ftitution of Sacrifice from the Beginning. It is alfo 
 oblervable here, that the Difcrimination of the clean 
 from the unclean, both in the Quadrupeds and in 
 the volatile Species, was before the Flood, and, moft 
 probably, from the Beginning, by divine Inftitution. 
 
 Another Evidence of the general Practice of 
 Mankind being agreeable to this original Inftitution 
 we have recorded in Gen. xxii. y. When Abraham, 
 by a moft lingular and exemplary Refignation to the 
 Authority of a divine Command, was going upon the 
 Difcharge of the fevereft Service, ever required by 
 God from Man, viz. the offering up his only Son 
 for a Sacrifice. As they were in the Way, after the 
 Servants had been order'd to tarry behind, Ifaac puts 
 this Queftion to his Father j Behold, fays he, the Fire 
 
 and. 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 79 
 
 and the Wood, but where is the Lamb for a Burnt -Offer- 
 ing? This plainly fhews the Youth had been accu- 
 ftomed to attend on this Kind of Service, and knew 
 well what was its ufual Apparatus. 
 
 This extraordinary Piece of Hiftory furnifheth us 
 with a moll lingular Inftance of the Refignation of A- 
 braham to the foveraign Authority of the moft High, in 
 a Command where, not only no Reafon, from Prin- 
 ciples of human Nature, abftracted from his Duty to 
 God, appeared to enforce the Command; but every 
 natural Region againft it: Yet the fot?e:atgn Mill of 
 the moft High determined him, and produced fuch an 
 Inftance of implicite Obedience, as is not to be equalled in 
 the Hiftory of Mankind, fince the Creation, grounded 
 upon fuch an Act of heroic Faith, as hath gained him 
 a Character, will be mentioned with renown, while 
 Time endures. 
 
 A wide Difference there is between this Conduct of 
 the renowned Patriarch, the great Father of the 
 Faithful, and what might reafonably be expected 
 from our modern Sceptics, in the like Cafe. Yet, 
 from fome PafTages in the Account Jofephus gives of 
 him, it may feem, his Proncience in human Litera- 
 ture was not much inferior to that of many in our 
 Days, and more than fufflcient to guard him from the 
 Imputation of Superftirion and Credulity. How many 
 Reafons could our i$>en of IReafotl have given to 
 defeat the Obligation of fo difagreeable a Command ? It 
 would be reprelented as inconfifient with the Goodnefs of 
 God, and as if he could take Pleafure in afflicting his 
 Creatures, to put Abraham's, Faith and Obedience to 
 fo fevere and fhocking a Trial. They would fay it 
 could not confift with the Juftice of the Almighty, to 
 order an innocent Youth to die, by his Father's Hands; 
 nor -with his Veracity, to order Ifaac to be flain, from 
 whom the promifed Seed was declared to come; and 
 with a Purpofe to defeat the Execution, &c. &c. But 
 the Father of the Faithful wanted not thus to elude the 
 
 Precept 
 
8o The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Precept of the mod High. He left it to the Almighty 
 to vindicate tf>e 2Reafan of Jug oftm Injunaions a- 
 
 gainft impious Cavilers ; Himfelf went upon the chear- 
 iul Performance of his Duty : But to return. 
 
 In the whole Account of Sacrifice, before the Law ; 
 and the very great Number and Variety of additional 
 Ceremonies, inftituted by Mofes, we are not, that I re- 
 member, informed of any Exceptions made againft the 
 Service; but an univerfal Compliance of all Mankind, 
 with the original Inftitution in general, and of all the 
 People of Ifrael, with the Mofaic Appointments ; al- 
 though there was vaftly more Room for Objections a- 
 gainft the declared Intention and Efficacy of that Ser- 
 vice, than can pofiibly be againft the great Chriftian Sa- 
 crifice, which yet is now-a-days too much flighted, and 
 even rejected ?&inconfiftcnt with eternal Reafon^ and the ef- 
 fential Perfections of the Deity. 
 
 But although Mankind adher'd to the Law of Sa- 
 crifices in general ; they very early became vain in their 
 Imaginations , with Refpect to the Object of their Wor- 
 fhip ; making their Oblations to Idols, nay to Devils and 
 not to God. 
 
 This Depravation doth not indeed feem to have a- 
 rifen from their interesting human Reafon too much in 
 the Cafe. But not very long after the prevailing of I- 
 dolatry in the World, a great Part of Mankind tell in- 
 to the Practice of a monftrous Abomination, by a molt 
 vain and wicked Attempt to reform and improve the 
 divine Inftitution upon the Principles of Reafon and 
 Philofophy. For from the Meannefs of brutal Sacri- 
 fices and their apparent inequality to the Expiation of 
 Tranfgrefiion, and fuppofing the Gods to value Things 
 by the Standard of human Ejiimation-, they introduced 
 the Practice of human Sacrifices, as of fuperior Ex- 
 cellence, and more equivalent and Efficacious to the 
 Ends of this Service. 
 
 Hence proceeded, firfb of all, that diabolical Cru- 
 elty, of offering in Sacrifice the Captives taken in 
 
 War i 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 81 
 
 War-, afterwards, and efpecially in Cafes of great Di- 
 ftrefs, or when the other were not at Hand, they of- 
 fered of their own People ; and laftly, to raife the 
 Service to the highest poffible Merit, they proceeded 
 to offer their own Children, making them to pafs through 
 the Fire to Molock, and other Idols. 
 
 This horrid Confequence of explaining and im- 
 proving the Inflitutions of Heaven by the unequal Aids 
 of human Reafon paffed from the Tyrians and Phoenici- 
 ans to God's peculiar People the Ifraelites, who, under 
 the Reigns of feveral of their idolatrous Princes, left 
 not even this Abomination unpractifed •, as the facred 
 Hiftory informs us. And in later Times this fhock- 
 ing Service was carried from the Tyrians to the Cartha- 
 ginians, who raifed it to the moft tremendous Height ; 
 fo that, about three hundred Years before Chrift, 
 when Agathocles the Tyrant of Sicily laid Siege to the 
 City y the Inhabitants, imputing the very great Diftrefs, 
 they were reduced to, to the Anger of their God Sa- 
 turn, for their having offered the Children of Slaves 
 and others of mean Condition, in Sacrifice, inflead of 
 thofe of fuperior Order ; in Reparation of this Wrong 
 they offered two hundred Children, of the beft Fa- 
 milies, as a grand Expiation for fo heinous an Offence. 
 And fo high went the Influence of this diabolical De- 
 lufion, that, at the fame Time, more than three hun- 
 dred Citizens, who had been guilty of this enormous 
 Crime, voluntarily offered themfelves as Victims, to 
 atone by their Blood for their heinous Tranfgrejfwn. 
 
 Such are the dreadful Confequences of meafurino-, 
 and determining the Propriety of divine Inflitutions, 
 by the unequal Line of human Under/landing, fufficient 
 to make One tremble at the Thought. 
 
 But notwithstanding all thefe Depravations, the 
 whole World, Jew and Gentile, before and after the 
 giving of the Law, did by their conflant Practice 
 give the ftrongeft -Evidence that this Part of religi- 
 
 L ous 
 
Si The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 ous Service was by all received, as of divine Inftitu- 
 tion, and of univerfal Obligation; till the coming of 
 Chrift, the great Antitype, at which all the preced- 
 ing typical Sacrifices pointed; Who did, by his Death 
 upon the Crofs, which they prefigured, as the great 
 Atonement for the Sins of all Mankind, caufe all thefe 
 Sacrifices to be fuperfeded, in all thofe Places, where 
 the Chriftian Religion was received. Till which Peri- 
 od the Impreffion, which the original Inftitution had 
 made, could not be effaced by all the Ignorance and 
 Delufion of the Pagan World, nor by all the Learn- 
 ing and Philoibphy of sEgypt, Greece and Rome. And 
 as there was not the leaft Trace of human Reafon to 
 recommend the Practice to fo early, fo univerfal and 
 perpetual an Obfervance; their Conftancy in this Ser- 
 vice fhew'd, they were fatisfied, the Almighty, for 
 Reafons only known to himfelf, was pleafed, in thefe 
 Sacrifices, to accept the Life of the Victim, as an Ex- 
 piation^ Atonement and Satisfaction, for the Life of the 
 Offender forfeited by Tranfgreffion. An Inftance of 
 the univerfal Prevalence of the full Perfuafion of the 
 divine Inftitution of Sacrifices, we have in the Lyaconi* 
 
 ans, Aflsxw. u 13. who, upon the Manifefta- 
 
 tion of the Power of God, in the Miracles wrought 
 by Paul and Barnabas, immediately went about to of- 
 fer Sacrifices to them, believing them to be Gods come 
 
 down in the Likenefs of Men. Was this the Effect 
 
 of facerdotal Delufion, or was it not rather an indubi- 
 table Evidence of the univerfal Conviction of the di- 
 vine Inftitution of this Method of paying Homage to 
 the moft High. 
 
 And why fhould we, in thefe Latter-ages of the 
 Gofpel-difpenfation, after fo long and almoft univer- 
 fal a Refignation to the plain Declaration of Heaven, 
 difpute the Propriety of that Inftitution, whereby the 
 Almighty hath been pleafed to grant the greateft Blei- 
 lings to Mankind ? God hath been pleafed to declare 
 
 that 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 83 
 
 that he hath appointed his own Son our Lord Jefus 
 Chrift to put away Sin by the Sacrifice of himfelf. Heb. ix. 
 26. and, by his Death upon the Crofs to be a Propitia- 
 tion through Faith in his Blood. Rom. iii. 25. to be the 
 only Perfect all-lufficient Sacrifice for the Sins of the 
 World \ and the only adequate Price of the Redempti- 
 on of loft Mankind from the Guilt, Punilhment and 
 Dominion of Sin. Why mould we now queftion the 
 Propriety, and reject the Benefit of this lb gracious a 
 Declaration; efpecially as it is moreover declared, that 
 the Virtue and Efficacy of all the Sacrifices before and 
 under the Law, was derived from this great Sacrifice 
 which the Son of God was to offer, and which, in the 
 Fulnefs. of Time, he did offer, for the Sins of the 
 World : Who is therefore called The Lamb jlain from 
 the Foundation of the World., 
 
 The Chriftian Difpenfation is called 'The Gofpel, Ev- 
 ayyiXiovy good News' to a loft World, in contradiftincti- 
 on to all other Revelations, God was pleafed to make 
 of his Will to apoftate Man : Which can only be, as it 
 hath brought to light that Scheme, by which alone Sin- 
 ners could be reconciled to God, in all Ages of the 
 World ; even the My fiery, which hath been hid from Ages 
 and from Generations, but now is made manifeft to his Saints ; 
 the glorious Riches of this Mystery among the Gen- 
 tiles, which is Chrift in us the Hope of Glory. Col. i. 27, 
 The Chriftian Religion was from the firft, and ftill is 
 reprefented as having, in its Conftitution, fomething 
 Myfterious, fomething above, and not to be poifed 
 and examined by the Balance of human Rcafon, Rom, 
 xvi. 25. Col. iv. 3. 
 
 And certainly on account of this furprifmg and my- 
 fterious Method of reconciling Man to God, the Chrif- 
 tian Difpenfation may be emphatically called Good 
 News. Mankind knew before the Rules of a virtuous 
 Life, neceflary to recommend them, in the Way ot 
 Faith and Religion, to the divine Acceptance. They 
 
 L 2 (at; 
 
84 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 (at leaft the Jews) knew the everlafting Rewards and 
 Punifhments of the World to come, as the great Mo- 
 tives to.Holinefs and Obedience; and the Gentiles had 
 a general Tradition of the fame : But they had not, ei- 
 ther the one or the other, a diftinct Knov/ledge of the 
 Way, in which a righteous Judge would be pleafed to 
 accept of their imperfect Virtue, to Juftifrcation-, and 
 . pardon thofe Sins every Man was always confcious 
 he was unavoidably guilty of 3 nor how their Sacri- 
 fices could be effectual for the taking away of Sin •, 
 which the Gofpel hath fince declared, they could noway 
 do; but as they were referred to, and derived their- 
 Value and Efficacy from the Sacrifice and Death of 
 Chrifl, as is faid before. // is not poffible that the Blood 
 of Bulls and of Goats , fhould take away Sin*, Heb. x. 4. 
 
 These important Points the Gofpel hath given the 
 fulleft Satisfaction in ; by declaring that the Almigh- 
 ty had appointed the Lord Jefus to be the Sacrifice 
 which he would accept, in full Satisfaction for the Sins of 
 all, who comply with the Gofpel Eftabhfhment. • 
 
 By this Means we have, not only the abfolute Good- 
 nefs of God to be the Ground of our Hope, which 
 could yield the Penitent, at beft, but a dubious pro- 
 fpect •, fince the confideration of that Difference, which 
 the effential Juftice of the great Governor of the Uni- 
 verfe muft make, in his Retribution of the Obedient 
 and of the Difobedient, could not but produce diftref- 
 fing Fears •, efpecially as the Apoftate Angels, not- 
 withstanding this effential Goodnefs of the moft High, 
 have no Hope of Reftoration, but are referved in ever- 
 lafting Chains under Darknefs^ unto the Judgment of the- 
 great Day. Jude ver. 6. But we have the ftrongeft Affu- 
 rance, that the Juftice of God is now no lefs engaged, 
 than his Goodnefs is inclined to receive penitent Sin- 
 ners to Pardon, fince it is declared by the Gofpel, 
 that He hath accepted the Death of Chrift, as a 
 
 FULL, PERFECT AND SUFFICIENT SACRIFICE-, OBLA- 
 
 TION 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 8j0 
 
 tion and Satisfaction for the Sins of the 
 whole World : So that now GOD not only hatb, 
 of his abundant Mercy, begotten us again unto a lively 
 Hope, &c. i Pet. i. 3. but is alio FAITHFUL and, 
 JUST to forgive us our Sins, and to cleanfe us from 
 all Unrighteoufnefs. 1 Jo. i. q. That is, This was 
 done, to declare his RIGHTEOUSNESS, for % the 
 Remiffwn of Sins, Rom. iii. 25. <W t\w vclceitw (propter 
 remijjionem, Vulg.) becaufe of Remifiion of Sins : 
 That Sin might be pardonable : For the Particle <W, 
 put with an accufaiive Caufe, denotes the Caufe : That 
 is, as in the Verle fucceeding, viz. Rom. iii. 26. 
 That He might be Juft, and the Jujiifier of him that 
 believeth in Jefus ; plainly intimating, that it could 
 not confift with the Righteoufnels of God, to juftity 
 a Sinner, without Regard had to the Propitiation 
 mentioned in the Verfe preceding, whereof we fhall 
 treat more fully in the following Section. 
 
 From this Account it will be very evident, what 
 a Difference there muft be, in the Mind of a guilty 
 trembling Penitent, under Apprehenfion of the righ- 
 teous Judgment of the great Soveraign of the Uni- 
 verfe, whole Laws he is confcious of having broken, 
 between thofe Conceptions, which would naturally 
 proceed from fuch a Confideration of the Almighty, 
 as arifes from the Light of Nature, and fuch as 
 arife from the Golpel Scheme. 
 
 By the former fuch an One would be apt to con- 
 ceive of God as of a Being infinitely good, and in- 
 finitely happy ; and confequently that He could not 
 poifibly delight to make his Creatures miferable, on 
 account of any Thing they might happen to commit 
 contrary to perfect Reafon ; fmce fuch Tranfgrefllons 
 could not poffibly be any Obftruction to, or Dimi- 
 nution of his own immutable Felicity. This is furely 
 a comfortable Profpect. And were the Deity to be 
 confidered only in this View, this Conclusion would 
 
 be 
 
S6 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 be as natural as pleafing: But when there mould to 
 this be added the Confideration, That the Almighty 
 is Sovereign Ruler of the Univerfe ; that impartial 
 Juftice, in his Government of the moral World, is 
 no lefs an effential Perfection of the Deity, than 
 infinite Goodnefs : that this infinite Goodnefs itfelf hath 
 always neceiTarily a Regard to the whole Complex of 
 the Univerfe ; and comprehends, in its Idea, that of 
 perfect Juftice alfo ; lince whatibever is not perfect- 
 ly juft cannot be perfectly good, in the Whole, 
 however it might appear delirable to Particulars: 
 That it is effential to the Perfection of moral Govern- 
 ment, that there mould be a Difference of Retribu- 
 tion to intelligent free Agents, proportionable to the 
 original and unchangeable Difference between moral 
 Good aud Evil ; that no Conclufion can be drawn 
 from the effential Goodnels of the Deity, for ex- 
 empting from Punifhment, the wilful Tranfgreffions 
 of any Species of moral Agents, which will not con- 
 clude as ftrongly in Favour of any other : That 
 therefore the Condition of the fallen Angels, who 
 feem excluded all Hopes of Restoration, is a Demon- 
 itration, that the Punifhment of linful Men, may conjifi 
 with the Goodnefs of God. 
 
 This Confideration muff give the awakened Sin- 
 ner, under the Circumftances before defcribed, juft 
 Ground of anxious Terror, of falling under the In- 
 dignation of the LORD, becaufe he hath finned againfi 
 him, Mic. vii. 9. efpecially confideiing, that how a-, 
 greeable foever Repentance may appear to be, to the 
 moft High, yet the Light of Nature could give no 
 Affurance, that it would be effectual of itfelf, either 
 to obliterate the Guilt of former Tranfgreffions, or 
 atone for the Imperfections of later Obedience •, for 
 the Law of Innocence required nothing lefs than 
 perfect Obedience, in order to Jujlification : And it 
 can fcarcely be fuppofed, but that, at leaft, fome of 
 
 the 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 87 
 
 the apoftate Angels mull have, in fome Manner, re- 
 pented of their Revolt-, yet remain tremendous In* 
 fiances of the juft Judgment of the moft High upon 
 deliberate Tranfgreffors •, as is faid before. So that 
 fuch an One may be fuppofed to cry out, with the 
 convicted Jaylor, Atl. xvi. 30. What muft I do to be 
 faved ? 
 
 To which moft interefting Enquiry the Gofpel alone 
 gives this Anfwer, full of Grace and Confolation, v. 
 3 1 . Believe in the Lord Jefus Chrift, and thou Jhalt be faved, 
 Actsxvi. 31. Of the believing Penitent, in this Difpenfa- 
 tion, the Almighty faith, Deliver him from going down to 
 the Pit ; / have found a Ranfom : ( *1SD an Expiation) Job 
 
 xxxiii. 24. Even the Son of Man, who came to 
 
 give his Life a Ranfom for many. Matt. xx. 26. called 
 1 Tim, ii. 6. The Man Chrifi Jefus, who gave himfelf a 
 Ranfom for All, otVnXuTpow uVtp ts-ocvtm' In whom we have 
 Redemption, through his Blood, the Forgivenefs of Sins. 
 ' Eph. i. 7. For, by the Grace of GOD, he tafled Death 
 for every Man. Heb. ii. 9. Having, by himfelf, purged 
 our Sins. Heb. i. 9. x«9«^a-jtAov iroiyyrx ptv&, having by 
 himfelf made Atonement for our Sins, as we fhall after- 
 wards fee, the Paffage properly imports; as doth that 
 other, Heb. ii. 17. To make Reconciliation for the Sins of 
 the People ; Us to l\u<rKicdj raV a'jtAo^Tia-, &c. For He 
 appeared in the End of the World to put away Sin by the 
 Sacrifice of himfelf. Heb. ix. 26. having obtained eternal 
 Redemption for us, v. 12. And by Virtue of this 
 expiatory Sacrifice, all who believe are jufiified 
 from all Things, from which they could not be jufiified by 
 the Law of Mofes. AcJs xiii. 39. And being thus 
 jufiified by his Blood, we fhall be faved from Wrath 
 through him. Rom. v. 9. in whom alone there is Salva- 
 tion. Atl. iv. 12. there being none other Name under 
 Heaven, given among Men, whereby we mufi be faved. 
 So that now the Almighty doth not forgive Sins, 
 merely out of soveraign Goodness-, But is /. 
 
 ful 
 
88 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 ful and Jufi to forgive us our Sim, and to ckanfe us from 
 all Unrighteoufnef, as noted before, i Jo. i. 9. xaGaoiVw, 
 acquit by Virtue of Atonement, as noted above, on He'b. 
 i. 9. He is jufl, and the Jufiifier of him that believeth 
 in Jefus, whom he hath fet forth to be a Propitiation, 
 &c. Rom. iii. 25, 26 Who hath fuffered for our Sins, 
 the Juft for the Unjuft, that He might bring us to GOD. 
 1 Pet. iii. 18. This is plainly The Chriflianity of the 
 New Teframent •, The Way of Salvation laid down by 
 the Apofties and Evangelifts of our Lord, who were, 
 by him, immediately commiffioned, under the infal- 
 lible Direction of the Spirit of the moft High, to 
 teach the Way of Truth, for the Salvation of Man- 
 kind. And it is not likely fuch Perfons, in an Af- 
 fair of fo great and general Importance, mould deli- 
 ver their Doctrine in Terms fo familiarly ufed, both 
 by Jews and Gentiles, in their obvious natural Meaning 
 and Signification, if it had been the Defign of the 
 Holy Spirit that they mould be underftood in a Stnfe 
 fo foreign and figurate, as is that, which the Difciples 
 of Socinus, and the Advocates for natural IReligt* 
 Oil, are forced to ufe them in, to give any Manner 
 of Probability and Connexion, to the Syjlem, they 
 have contrived to fubftitute inftead of the plain Chri- 
 ftian Doctrine, which they reject, {neglefting fo great 
 Salvation, Heb. ii. 3.) merely becaufe they cannot fee 
 that the Ckriftianity of the New Teftament is quite con- 
 fident with their Ideas of Fitnefs and Propriety, or 
 with the primary natural Signification of the Terms 
 under which it is couched ; though, in this latter 
 Regard, the Scripture Doctrine muft, I think, be 
 allowed to have greatly the Advantage of the other. 
 
 But, I believe, hardly any intelligent and confide- 
 rate.Perfon will affirm, that, in the itrict and literal 
 Propriety of human Language and Conception, the 
 Death of one Perfon, much lefs of a Brute, or the 
 Oblation of a Cake or a Sheaf of Corn, can be a 
 
 Satis- 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 8 9 
 
 Satisfaction, Atonement, Propitiation, or Price of 
 Redemption, for another Perfon ; or that any Satis- 
 faction can, in full Propriety, be made to the Al- 
 mighty, for the Sins of the World: But human Lan- 
 guage and Conceptions are not commenfurate to the 
 divine Counfels and Decrees • their Force finks under 
 the great Ideas. But fo far as the moil High is 
 pleafed to communicate his Purpofes or Determina- 
 tions to the Children of Men, in fuch Terms as are, 
 to them, of a known and determinate Signification - y 
 although they are not always to believe, they can 
 thence comprehend the full Propriety, Reafon and 
 Extent of the divine Counfel; yet according to the 
 Meafure of human Underftanding, they are furely to 
 conceive of the Revelation, fuitably to the plaineft 
 and moft familiar Import of the Terms applied •, and 
 Men are not, from a Fondnefs for any Opinions of 
 their own, inconfiftent with the divine Oracle, to affign 
 ftrained, figurative, and unnatural Interpretations to 
 the Terms ; to bring them to an Agreement with 
 their own favourite Conceptions : Of which we mall 
 treat more exprefly and fully, in the following Sec- 
 tion. 
 
 Not only in this, but in other Theological Que- 
 ftions, Terms are ufed differently from their natu- 
 ral Import and Etymology, for Want of a greater 
 Scope and Variety of Language: Particularly in the 
 following Inftance, where yet there is no Danger of 
 Miftake or Mifapprehenfion. 
 
 It hath been ufual to afcribe that Acceptance, 
 Adam would have found with God, had he continued 
 in the State of Innocence, to the Merit of his 
 perfect Obedience. But it is certain, that he 
 could nos, nor can the higheft Angel o Heaven, in 
 ftridt Propriety, merit any Thing at the Hands of 
 the Almighty : As proper Merit is the voluntary 
 doing of ibmething, by one rational Agent, for the 
 Service, Convenience, or Advantage of another, 
 
 M whereby 
 
90 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 whereby that other becomes obliged, by the Rights 
 of commutative Juftice, to make an equal Return. 
 And thus the Labourer merits his Hire. But the 
 infinite Self-iufriciency of the Almighty makes fuch 
 Merit impoffible with refpect to him ; as he cannot 
 any Way be benefited by the highefl Services of the 
 mod exalted Cieatures : And every Creature, having 
 received its Being and all its Faculties and PofTefiions 
 freely from the Almighty, can render no Service, but 
 what is antecedently due for thofe Bounties. So 
 that Merit, as applied to the higheft Creature, 
 with Refpect to the Creator, can properly mean no 
 more, than that the Creature, having performed the 
 Conditions upon which the Creator was pleafed to 
 promife and fufpend certain Privileges, becomes qua- 
 lified, according to the divine Pleafure and Appoint- 
 ment, to receive the fame. Thus the holy Angels 
 merit their Eftablifhment in Happinefs, by their Per- 
 feverance in Holinefs ; and Adam, in Paradife, would 
 have done the fame, had he continued in his Obe- 
 dience: And I don't fee, why thofe, who, by the 
 Grace of God, comport with the Terms of Salvation 
 eftablifhed by the Gofpel, may not, in the fame Way, 
 and with equal Propriety be faid to merit the Blef- 
 fings promifed in the Gofpel •, but this is a great 
 Way fnort of pro$)C2 ^>rrtt. And fo it is in the other 
 Cafe. 
 
 Redemption is properly the extricating of Per- 
 fons or Things out of Bondage or violent Detention, 
 into a State of Liberty or rightful Poifeffion •, and 
 this is effected either by Power ( which is lefs agree- 
 able to the natural Import of the Word) or by Price, 
 or equivalent Satisfaction 5 and fo the Term more 
 
 properlyfignf.es. Ctpifltion, Atonement, or 
 
 propitiation is the making Satisfaction to a Perfon or 
 Party offended, equal to the Guilt, Damage or De- 
 merit of the Offence: Neither of which can perhaps, 
 in itiict Propriety, be faid even of the Satisfaction 
 
 made 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 91 
 
 made by Jefus Chrift to the everlafting Father, for 
 the Sins of Mankind, and their Redemption from 
 the Guilt and Punilhment of Tranfgreflion ; taking 
 thofe Terms and the Circum fiances of the grand 
 Tranfaction in the full Extent of their natural and 
 proper Import : And much lefs can thofe Terms be 
 fo taken, with refpect to the ceremonial and typical 
 Sacrifices ordained by God, before and under the 
 Law ; to which neverthelefs the Almighty was pleaf- 
 ed, in Condefcenfion to the Weaknefs of human 
 Underflanding, and for the greater Confirmation of 
 their Faith and Dependance, on his Mercy and even 
 Righteoufnefs, for the Forgivenefs of Sins, to give 
 thofe Characters and Denominations ; to the literal 
 Meaning whereof He graciouily allowed, and even 
 enjoined, penitent Sinners to believe their Efficacy 
 equal. 
 
 Thus I have endeavoured, in five confequent Pro- 
 politions, to lay down fome Truths preparatory to> 
 and explanatory of, the Gofpel Scheme ; having 
 Ihewed, That Man having been originally formed a 
 free Agent proper, to be the Subject of moral Govern- 
 ment, and having Faculties fufficient to enable him 
 to perform a perfect Obedience to the Laws his fove- 
 raign Creator thought fit to lay him under ; upon 
 the Profpect of the Continuance of that State of Fe- 
 licity in which he was formed, and under the Threat- 
 ning of Death, for Difobedience, did neverthelefs, 
 a.t the Inltigation of the Devil, voluntarily tranfgrefs 
 the Laws enjoin'd him, and fq became, lip tfyt eUctts 
 ttal Ktuess of moral Government, liable to the Pu- 
 nifhment threatned for Difobedience; which yet the 
 Almighty, out of his Soveraign Goodnefs, was plea- 
 fed graciouily to moderate and delay ; and to give 
 Hopes of a Reftoration to his Favour^ on Condition 
 of Man's conforming to a Scheme of Inftitutions 
 fluted to his fallen Eftate, with that abCQitlte and 
 
 M 2 ftnjpife 
 
92 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 implicit IRefignation and Subjection of Mind and 
 Will to his foveraign Authority in thefe new Injunc- 
 tions, as was required, with refpect to the Command- 
 ment originally given him in Paradife-, his Failure 
 in refpect whereof was the unhappy Caufe of his A- 
 poftacy and Ruin. One principal Article of the new 
 Inititutions, we have fhewn, was the Law of Sacri- 
 fices, which the Almighty was pleafed to eftablifh, 
 as a Means of cultivating a kind Intercourfe with the 
 apoftate Children of Men; declaring he would gra- 
 .cioufly accept thofe Services, for the Time preient, 
 as a propitiation anO ^tenement for the Tranf- 
 gn.'flions of the Penitent, who mould, in the general 
 Courfe of their Lives, carefully obferve the Laws of 
 Virtue and Holinefs. And this Courfe of religious 
 Service continued, under fome Variation, till the 
 Fulnefs of Time was come, when the mod High 
 brought in the Firft-begotten into the Worlds to ■put away 
 Sin by the Sacrifice of himfelf, Heb. i. 6. — and ix. 26. 
 and thereby compleat the Reconciliation of the Al- 
 mighty Father to the finful Race of Mankind, even 
 to all fuch as, upon the publifhing of this Scheme, 
 fhould, with the mceffatp Jlufignatioti of spinU 
 required in, and eflential to, all human Obedience, 
 and in this Difpenfation called the Go/pel, peculiarly 
 diftinguifhed by the Name of j^aitf), receive this 
 Redeemer, this Prince and Saviour, whom God hath, 
 exalted with this right Hand to give Repentance to Ifrael, 
 and Forgivenefs of Sins, Act. v. 31. Which Condition 
 of Salvation I fhall endeavour to. explain and prove, 
 in the following Section. 
 
 SECT, 
 
fc^ 
 
 mmwsM 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 Shewing the Propriety of the Terms, which are taken out 
 of the Mofaic into the Chriftian Ejlabltjhnent, from 
 their known Signification in the Old Tefranient. 
 
 IHave, in the preceding Section fhewed, that the 
 Almighty hath, from the Beginning of the World, 
 required from Mankind an implicit Affent to Propo- 
 rtions of Truth to be believed, and to Rules of Duty 
 to be practifed, the 3fUa{oit£ toiicrtof could not ap- 
 pear to the human Mind. I inftanced in the original 
 Precept in Paradife, concerning the forbidden Fruit ; 
 in the Inftitution of Sacrifices after the Fall, a Com- 
 mand, tho* not difcoverable by human Realbn, yet 
 univerfally obligatory upon all Mankind, in the early 
 Ages of the World; in the Command to Noah to 
 build an Ark, to fave himfelf and his Family from 
 the Flood, which was not to come till after an hun- 
 dred and twenty Years ; and in that to Abraham to 
 offer up his only Son in Sacrifice, from whom he 
 was, by the divine Promife, to expect a Pofterity 
 numerous as the Stars of Heaven. Thefe Precepts not 
 only had nothing ag?ccaule to [iitman Ktafon, to 
 recommend them to the Approbation and Compliance 
 of thofe, to whom they were given ; but they were 
 apparently contrary to the plain Dictates of natural 
 Reafon and the common Sentiments of Mankind ; 
 Yet an AfTurance of their being enjoined ftp tf)t 0u» 
 tl)0£ltp of t§e moft ^ig|) procured a molt chearful 
 and ready Compliance, with Refpecl to thofe which 
 were after the Fall t and the Want of proper Regard to 
 
 the 
 
94 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 the primary Command, given in Paradife, was the rui- 
 nous Caufe of the Apoftacy and Mifery of Mankind. 
 
 I might have mentioned other Instances, in which 
 the divine Authority alone was fufficient to command 
 human Obedience, implicitly, and upon Principles 
 of Faith, without the Concurrence of jjuman 3Rea= 
 fon to enforce the Command in latter Times : Such 
 as the Paffing of the IJraelites through the red Sea and 
 Jordan-, their entring upon and purfuing a long and 
 perillous Journey through a wajle howling JViidernefs j 
 their fetting up an Image of a fiery flying Serpent, 
 to cure, by Infpection, fuch of the People as happen- 
 ed to be bitten by thofe venomous Creatures ; and, 
 to mention no more, their befieging the City of Jeri- 
 choy only by marching round it, in Order of Battle, 
 the Prieffc with the Ark of the Lord following the 
 Van-guard, and founding with Ram's Horns : A 
 Proceeding, which, without the foveraign Order of 
 the Lord of Hosts, might be efteemed foolifh and 
 ridiculous •, but the aftonifhing Succefs of the A&ion 
 abundantly justified their Conduct. 
 
 I might alfo recite a great many PafTages, relating 
 the Anger and Difpleafure of the Lord for the Un- 
 belief and Diftruft of the People after their Experien- 
 ces of his Power and Faithfulnefs ; and for their 
 meafuring Profpecls and Events, too much bp t|)C 
 &calc of buman JReafon : But thefe Things are fa 
 obvious to all, who are at all acquainted with the 
 facred Writings, that it feems needlefs to dwell upon 
 them. 
 
 These all confirm what I laid down for Truth, 
 That the Almighty always required from Mankind 
 an implicit iRefignation of *pmti to \}i& fotocragin 
 ^Declarations And I know no Reafon which can 
 be alleged to leffen the Obligation of this Duty under 
 the Golpel, more than under former Difpenfations. 
 And in particular I think we are obliged ftedfaftly to 
 believe, as the Scripture declares, that Jefus Chrift is 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 95- 
 
 the Author of eternal Salvation unto all them that obey 
 him, Heb. V. 9. in Virtue of his dying upon the Crofs 
 as a &aqtfics of Sttonemntt, expiation o& propi* 
 nation, {Rom. v. 11. and iii. 25. 1 Jo. ii. 2. and 
 iv. 10. ) and as the Price of our Redemption. 1 Pet, 
 i. 18, 19, &V. &c. becaufe the Gofpel treats of the 
 Death or Chrift, under thefe Terms, as plainly and 
 fully as the Law of Mofes did of the Sacrifices and 
 Oblations thereby enjoin'd : And it is not probable 
 or confiftent, that the God of Truth mould, in his 
 Dealings with Mankind, ufe the fame Terms in dif- 
 ferent Senfes ; and by that Means render his Decla- 
 rations of an uncertain, equivocal Interpretation, and 
 of no Ufe, for the Regulation of human Conceptions 
 and Actions : It is therefore necefTary, that the Terms 
 before mentioned, and others of like Importance, 
 when applied to the Death of Chrift, mould be un- 
 derftood to mean the fame Thing, which they were 
 known to fignify, when applied to the Sacrifices 
 under the Law, and in other Paflages of the Old 
 Teftament. 
 
 And becaufe Socinus and his Followers (although 
 not all in the fame Way J deny the Propriety of the 
 Redemption, Reconciliation and Justification 
 of Sinners; of the Propitiation, Atonement and 
 Remission of Sins, by the Death of Chrift, as fully 
 declared in the NEW TESTAMENT-, and ex- 
 pound thole Terms, as was faid before, fo as to 
 change their Senfe, from what they have been under- 
 ftood to mean by all true Chriitians, from the firft 
 Eftabliihment of the Religion. I fhall now proceed 
 to fhew what is the real and genuine Meaning of 
 thofe Terms, in the New Teftament, from that 
 which they are univerfally known to have in the 
 Old. 
 
 And firft of the Term REDEMPTION; which 
 I find firft applied to the Salvation wrought for 
 Mankind, by Jefus Chrift, in Luke i. 68. Blejjed be 
 
 , the 
 
95 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 the Lord GOD of Ifrael, for He hath vifited and re- 
 deemed ( hsoimi XuTPootrtv tu XaZ dura hath performed a 
 Redemption for) his People. This is plainly i'poken of 
 the Redemption to be accomplifhed by our Lord 
 Jefus Chrijl, who is, in the next Verfe, called an Horn 
 of Salvation ; a Term never given to a ^jtoopfjtt or 
 Ccacijct-, (which is all, the Difciples of Socinus would 
 have our Lord to be) as fuch ; but is very often ufed 
 to denote Power and Dominion. 
 
 The Word, which is here rendred Redemption, 
 properly fignifies the Redemption of a Captive or 
 Slave, out or Prifon or Bondage. The Word Au't^ov, 
 from which the other is derived, is by the Lexicogra- 
 phers declared to fignify the Price of Redemption. 
 
 Confi offline, by Way of Glofs, writes thus ; Xvr^a, 
 roi Itt\ ixvjSspiot. ruv at^jUaAwTwv Moy.w<& : Thofe Things, 
 which are given for the Liberty of Captives. And that 
 by this Term is meant, not merely a Deliverance 
 from the 315otttiage of 3gttovante an& Cwot, by the 
 Inftruclions and moral Precepts of the Gofpel, as the 
 Socinians tell us; which, by the Way, is a Manner of 
 fpeaking not ufed in Scripture; but a Redemption 
 from the Guilt, Punifhment and Dominion of Sin, 
 the Tyranny of the Devil and the Curfe of the Law, 
 as hath been the prevalent Senfe of the Chriftiart 
 Church, in all Ages, is evident from the Ufe which 
 the Greek Tranflators have made of the fame Word, 
 in their Verfion of the Old Teltament. — In Exod. vi. 
 6. the Redemption, or Deliverance of Ifrael from the 
 Bondage of Aigypt is, by the Septitagint thus expreffed, 
 XvTswfopxi utj^g tv fip^xtovi tysXy : I will redeem you with 
 ajiretched out Arm The Hebrew Word here ufed is 
 ^72*3 and fignifies Redemption, either by Power, as in 
 in this Place, or by Money or other equivalent Satis^ 
 faction (according to the Meaning of the Latin, from 
 whence we have the Englifh Word. So Levit, xxv. 25, 
 26. The Redemption of the mortgaged Land is thus 
 expreffed ")3QQ"^^ ^W : andflmll redeem that which was 
 " ' fold. 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 97 
 
 fold. This the Septuagint have expreffed by the fame 
 Word : AuTpaWa* tw wf*c-»*. The fame occurs in 
 many Places more, as Exod. xv. 13. £?NJ -V Dy PITO 
 —Thou leddeft forth the People which thou haft re- 
 deemed. The Greek is, %v ixvrgutru, the fame as before. 
 So Pf. cvii. 2. ■^15? a)^-\m : whom He hath re- 
 deemed from the Hand of the Enemy. The Greek hath 
 it: a? i\vT£u<rxTu : The fame Word ftill. And when- 
 ever the Word is ufed, by the Greek Interpreters, in 
 their Tranflation, it will, I verily believe, be found 
 to fignify Redemption or Deliverance out of fome 
 Evil or Calamity ; but never, that I remember, to 
 exprefs any Benefit or Advantage received from Doc- 
 trine or Inftruction. 
 
 The Hebrews had another Word •"HE) fignifying to 
 redeem, particularly by Price or by Subftitution. Thus 
 the Firft born of Man and the Firftlings of unclean 
 Beaft'3 were, under the Law, to be redeemed, the former 
 by a Sum of Money, the latter by Subftitution, Numb, 
 xviii. 15. and Ch. iii. 47. In the former Place it is: 
 rnsn rmDtsn nQn^rrTO^J-iN'! oian -fo^i /iKrripjnrr© 
 The Firft-born of Man floalt thou furely redeem, and the 
 Firjlling of unclean Beafls Jhalt thou redeem. The Greek 
 
 Tranflation hath it : Xvrpoig AvrfwOwrrrat rx TTguTOTOXK tuv 
 ct&puTTUV, xai rx TvpuTOToxx t«i> xllwuw tuv otxxSxpTuv Au- 
 
 T/j«'<n7 : The fame Word as before is ufed in both Pla- 
 ces to anfwer the Hebrew ^71- The Price of the 
 human Redemption is fet down in the latter Place: 
 
 rfrty) o^$tf nwqn nvnn nnpb »h| r\$\ : And 
 
 for thofe that are to be redeemed thou jhalt even 
 
 take five Shekels by the Poll. Here again the Septuagint 
 have rx Xvrpx for the Price of Redemption. The Re- 
 demption of the unclean Beaft by Subftitution is ap- 
 pointed Exod. xiii. 13. and Ch. xxxiv. 20. Every 
 Fir filing of an Afs jhalt thou redeem with a Lamb. In the 
 Hebrew it is tW% n^BJl and in the Greek AurpwVj? st^q- 
 paTw, as in the other Paflages. And as the Word 
 ufed by Zacharias, in the PafTage cited above, under 
 
 N the 
 
98 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 the immediate Direction and Influence of the Holy 
 Ghost, (as is expreQy declared Luke i. 67.) with 
 Refpect to the Redemption of ljrael, and of ail Man- 
 kind, which was to be effected by the Child, wnich 
 was then fhortly to be born, whereof his own Son 
 was the Forerunner, Luke i. 76. is the very fame 
 with that whereby the Greek Trauflators of the 
 Old Teftament had expreffed the Redemption of Ifrael 
 out of JEgsp, by the immediate Power of the moft 
 Highi the Redemption of a mortgaged Eftate by pay- 
 ment of the Money, it was mortgaged for •, the Re- 
 demption of the Firftling of an unclean Beaft by Sub- 
 flitution of a clean one in its Stead, and the Redemption 
 of the Firft-born of Man, from being offered in Sa- 
 crifice, by paying an appointed Sum of Money to 
 the Priefts : This Word, I fay, in this oracular De- 
 claration, was certainly defigned to convey unto Man- 
 kind the fame Idea, or one quite analagous to vhat, 
 which the fame Word in the Greek Verfion of the Old 
 Teftament, and the correfpondent Word, in the ori- 
 ginal Hebrew, had, for about fifteen hundred Years, 
 from the giving of the Law, communicated to the 
 People of Ifrael, and, probably, for more than four 
 Thoufand Years, from the firft Inftitution of Sacri- 
 fices, to all Mankind. 
 
 And the Authors and Abettors of the new-fafhion- 
 ed Chriftianity will, I believe, be hard fet to find one 
 PafTage, in all the Old Teftament, which can be fair- 
 ly interpreted, fo as to vindicate or even favour that 
 ftrained, figurative and unnatural Conftruction, which 
 they are forced to make of thefe Terms, which the 
 New Teftament hath borrowed from the Old, to 
 accommodate them, any how, to their own Scheme. 
 
 In many of the PafTages where this Word oc- 
 curs perhaps the Idea is not quite adequate to the 
 natural Import and ftrict Propriety of the Term : 
 Particularly it is fure, the five Shekels of Silver, 
 Numb. iii. 47. were not a proper Equivalent for the 
 
 Firft- 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 99 
 
 Firft-born : But being what the Almighty was plea- 
 fed to appoint, it was univerfally received under the 
 Idea of the price of ItUfccmptiotl. And have we 
 not equal Reafon, under the Gofpel, to believe that 
 the Almighty hath appointed and accepted the Death 
 and Sacrifice of our Lord Jems, upon the Crofs, as 
 the pjice of IReocmption for all Mankind, though 
 perhaps not perfectly adequate to the ftridt and origi- 
 nal Idea of Redemption, nor quice free from all Diffi- 
 culty of Conception ? Since He hath been plealed fa 
 often and fo exprefly to declare it, in the Scriptures of 
 the New Teftament; under the very fame Terms 
 which were ufed in the Old, to give the fame Ideas, 
 with refpect to the Sacrifices and Oblations under the 
 Law ; and iince he hath, in all his Dealings with the 
 Children of Men from the Beginning of the World, as 
 we have pretty largely fhewn, required a molt impli- 
 cite Affent to fuch Declarations. 
 
 This Idea is repeated, befides the Places cited a- 
 bove, in 'Tit. ii. 14. Who gave himfelf for us, that he 
 might redeem us from all Iniquity ( 'lv» Xvrpua-Yiroci ypolq ) 
 and purify unto himfelf a peculiar People, &c. The 
 Word here rendred purify, I fhall afterwards mew, 
 fometimes fignifies to atone for. 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. Te 
 were not redeemed («'* eAut^w'Odte) with corruptible Things 
 
 ; but with the precious Blood of Chrift, as of a 
 
 Lamb without Blemifh and without Spot ; (plainly refer- 
 ring to the Sacrifices under the Law.) Rom. in. 24. 
 Being jujlified freely by his Grace, through the Redemption 
 that is in Chrijl Jefus : %fe ^ ^tbAut^ wo-£w? £ iv XpifZ IwZ. 
 1 Cor. i. 30. Chrijl Jefus is, of GOD, made unto us 
 Wifdom, and Right eoufnefs, and Sanffifi cation, and Re- 
 demption : kxi &rcAjTp«<n?. Ephef. i. 7. He hath 
 made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have Re- 
 demption THROUGH HIS BlOOD (rlw tTwXvrpunv ) 
 
 even the Forgivenefs of Sins. The Forgivenefs of Sins 
 through Jefus Chrift is here filled Redemption through 
 his Blood: By Which there is furely more meant than 
 
 M 2 Isx* 
 
ioo The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Improvement in moral Virtue, and natural Religi- 
 on, which is quite a different Idea. And the infpired 
 Writer plainly makes a Diftin&ion between Sanftifi- 
 fication and Redemption, though both are reckoned 
 as Benefits received by Chrift Jefus. — Heb. ix. 12. 
 By his own Blood he entred once into the holy Place, having 
 obtained eternal Redemption for us. (dimixv ^7icXvT^artv ) 
 and in v. 15. we are told, that the Death of Chrift 
 was for the Redemption of the Tranfgrejfions, that were 
 under thefirji Teftament (the Law of Innocence.) Socvd- 
 
 t« yivopiva e*5 ociroXurpwriv ruv T&ap&fidtreoM, &C. In thefe 
 
 and more Places of the New Teftament the fame 
 Word REDEiMPTioN is ufed to denote the Efficacy of 
 the Death of Chrift, for the refcuing of Mankind 
 from the judicial Effects of their Difobedience and 
 Apoftacy, which we have feen ufed in fo many In- 
 ftances, in the Old Teftament, to fignify Redemption, 
 in the fulleft, the molt natural and proper Senfe of 
 the Word. 
 
 It is well known to Men of Learning, that almoft 
 three hundred Years before the coming of Chrift, 
 the Scriptures of the Old Teftament were tranflated 
 into the Greek Tongue, for the Ufe of Ptolemy II. 
 King of Mgypt, by fome Jews learned in both the 
 Hebrew Language and the Greek, appointed there- 
 unto by the Jewijh High- Prieft, at the King's Requeft, 
 Thefe Tranflators are, by the Jews, faid to have been 
 Seventy-two Men, viz. fix out of every Tribe : 
 Which though it be certainly falfe, as the greater 
 Part of the Tribes of Ifrael had then been long in 
 Captivity, and fo could not poffibly furnifh any to 
 aftift in this Work; yet this Story hath given "Name 
 to the Performance, which is from hence called the 
 Tranflation of the feventy-two Interpreters, or for 
 Brevity, The Verfion of the Septuagint. 
 
 Copies of this Tranflation, or more probably new 
 Verfions, in Imitation of this, were from that Time 
 in Ufe amongft the Jews difperfed in the Provinces of 
 
 the 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 101 
 
 the Roman, /Egyptian and Perfian Dominions; and To 
 continued till the coming of the Saviour of the 
 World : And from thefe the firfb Converts to the 
 Chriftian Religion, from amongft the Gentiles, were 
 inftructed in the Jewifh Learning and Religion, to 
 prepare them lor the Chriftian Doctrine. Thefe 
 Books, though far from being true and exact Ver- 
 fions of the Old Teftament, were almoft the only 
 Copy of the Jewijh Scriptures, which was in Ufe at 
 the Beginning of Chriftianity -, which is evident par- 
 ticularly from hence : That the Quotations, which 
 are made from the Old Teftament, by our bleifed 
 Lord, and his Apofties and Evangelifts , in their 
 Difcourfes or Writings, and by the moft antient Chri- 
 ftian Writers, are lor the moft Part from thefe Greek 
 Tranflations, which, with Latin Verfions of the fame, 
 continued to be of principal Ufe, in the Chriftian 
 Churches, for more than tour hundred Years, till the 
 gradual Prevalence of St. Jeromes Latin Verfion, from 
 the Hebrew, cauled the other to grow into Difufe, in 
 the Latin Church. 
 
 I have made this fhort DigrefTion, that it might 
 the more fully be evident, how improbable it muft 
 be, that the facred Penmen of the New Teftament 
 mould ufe Words neceffary to explain the evangelical 
 Doctrine, in a Senfe different from, and foreign to, 
 that in which they had been fo long and fo familiarly 
 ufed, in that very Copy of thofe old Scriptures which 
 they were, at the fame Time, applying to elucidate 
 their Subject. 
 
 But this will further appear not only highly im- 
 probable, but abfolutely impoflible, if we confider 
 that they were, in this Affair, not left to the Direc- 
 tion of their own private Judgment ; but were under 
 the immediate Influence of the Holy Spirit of the 
 moft High : So that whether the Senfe only, of what 
 they were to write, were given them from above, and 
 they left to exprefs it in Words of their own Choice, 
 
 as 
 
102 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 as fome have thought ; or whether the Senfe and the 
 Words be equally of divine Infpiration, as others be- 
 lieve; if we mould fuppofe this Word 3ft exemption, 
 for Inftance, when by them applied to denote the 
 Efficacy of the Death of Chrift, to mean fomething 
 different from, and of no Analogy with the Senfe we 
 fee it bears in the Old Teftament; we mult neceflarily 
 think, that, in the former Cafe, the Writers defigned 
 to miflead their Readers and give them falfe Icieas ; 
 which would be abfurd and impious, or in the latter 
 Cafe, we muft charge the fame Thing upon the Holy 
 Ghoft, which would be tremendous Blafphemy. 
 
 The Word Redemption is tranflated from other Greek 
 Words in the New Teftament, which give pretty 
 much the fame Idea. 
 
 In Ail. xx. 28. we read, To feed (ttoiixx'iviiv, to do 
 the Duty of Pallors to) the Church of GOD, which he 
 hath purchased with his own Blood. The Greek 
 Word here ufed is Anro\ha.-ro, which properly figni- 
 ries to obtain a Right in. that which before belonged 
 to another. So Conjlantine glones the Word : IgiA- 
 o7roiS/-c,at, mihi affero, I make it my own. to fxn vrpoirwov 
 -vipirrowxcfy, alienam rem fibi afferere, to make that 
 one's own Property, which before belonged to ano- 
 ther. — Mankind were fold under Sin, Rom. vii. 14. 
 The Lord Jefus pur chafed them to himfelf ; which is here 
 exprefsly faid to be done with the Price of bis own Blcod, 
 And the Reafon of the immenfe Value thus afcribed 
 to the Blood of Chrift is here given. It was the 
 Blood of Gcd. The Church of GOD was redeemed* 
 with his own Blood. Which proves to Demonstration, 
 that the infpired Author was convinced of the inti- 
 mate Union of the divine and human Nature, in the 
 Perfon of Chrift. The Blood of a mere Man could 
 not, with any Propriety of Figure, have been aftign'd 
 as a Price for the Purchafe or Redemption of more 
 than One, or a fmall Number of Men : But this in- 
 comprehenfible Union made the Blood of Chrift to 
 
 be, 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 103 
 
 be, in the divine Eftimation, an Equivalent for tFlC 1&t- 
 tomptioit of all ^anftiltD* And this Confideration is 
 of Weight, to eftablifh the Authority of this Reading, 
 notwithltanding that fome of the ancient Manufcripts 
 have, t\w ixxXwiuv t» Kup»a ; The Church of the Lord : 
 
 And ra Kvpin x, 0fa ; of the Lord and God ; 
 
 which Beza and other learned Expofitors look upon 
 to be Depravations of the Text, for more Reafons 
 than one, particularly becaufe neither of thofe Ex- 
 preffions is found in the whole New Teftament, but 
 the other occurs often. 
 
 We fee that the Idea which this Place gives of the 
 Efficacy of the Death of Chrift for the Salvation of 
 Mankind, concurs with that which we have from 
 others, where the word Redemption is mentioned, whe- 
 ther tranflated from the Old Teftament, into the 
 New, or thofe which occur only, or principally in 
 the New, fuch as follow. Gal. 4. 4, 5, God fent 
 forth his Son, made of a Woman made under the Law, 
 that he might redeem them that were under the Law: 
 Ivx rag \zzi> vopov Ijrxyogxw. The Word fignifiej prima- 
 rily to purchafe Things in the Market : And the Price 
 of the Purchafe which is here declared to have been 
 made of Mankind, from under the Law, is elfwhere 
 faid not to have been corruptible Things as Silver and 
 Gold; but t&e pjeciottS M00O Of Cljrtff, as of a Lamb 
 without Blemifh and without Spot. 1 Pet. i. 19, The 
 Idea, which in the old Teftament, is given of the 
 Lamb of Expiation, for the doing away of Sin, is here 
 transfer'd to the Blood of Chrift, as the Price of the 
 Purchafe or Redemption, of Mankind from under 
 the Law, which is a very proper Comparifon and 
 agreeable to other Reprefentations of the fame Thing, 
 in holy Scripture-, but hath not the leaft Relation or 
 Similitude to the Notion of Chrift's dying to feal tije 
 Crutlj of j)i0 3ortnne. Gal. Hi. 13. Chrift hath 
 redeemed us from the Curfe of the Law, being made a 
 Curfe for us. Here alfo the Greek Word for redeemed 
 
 is 
 
io 4 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 is Ignyogxa-w, as before, hath purchafed us. This is 
 plainly a Purchafe or Redemption, by Substitution. 
 Mankind was obnoxious to the Curfe of the Law, 
 becaufe they were not able to continue in all 'Things 
 written in the Book of the Law, to do them. Gal. iii. 10. 
 Chrift fubmitted to be made a Curfe, in the Room 
 of finful Man, {for it is written Curfed is every One 
 that hangeth on a Tree. Gal. iii, 13.) that he might by 
 this Subititution, redeem us according to the Almigh- 
 ty's Appointment, from the Curfe due by the Law 
 for Tranfgreffion. This is much of the fame 
 Sentiment and Expreflion ; with that famous Paflage 
 in If. liii. 7. The Lord hath laid on him the Iniquity 
 of us all. ( ^jl^n hath made it to fall upon him.) 
 The Septuagint have paraphrafed this Paffage thus, 
 x) Kvptos ■ura.pihxw dvTov rou? xfjucpTixu; yijawv. The Lord 
 delivered him for our Sins, (to the Punifhment of, and 
 as a Satisfaction for our Sins.) The Chaldee Para- 
 phrafi hath it more emphatically, thus : PSNPP?* 
 FityiZ **3^D *3flCT: And to pardon the Sins of us all for 
 bis Sake: exactly agreeable to the Idea, the New 
 Teftament gives of the fame Thing, particularly 
 in the Paffage now under Consideration. And a little 
 further viz. If liii. 10. When thou fhalt make his 
 Soul an Offering for Sin, &c. W$ A Trefpafs -offering, 
 as the fame Word is tranflated, Levit. v. 19. and vi. 
 5, 6. and often elfewhere. This is almoft exactly re- 
 cited by St. Paul, Eph. v. 2. Chrift hath given 
 
 himfelf for us an Offering and a Sacrifice, &c. it is by 
 no Means probable the infpired Apoftle fhould have 
 applied fuch a Paflage ol the Old Teftament, where 
 the Word could bear no Construction, but that of 
 an Offering or Sacrifice, had he notdefigned to repre- 
 fent the Death of Chrift under that Idea. Another 
 Place of the fame Imporance is 2 Cor. v. 21. He hath 
 wade him to be Sin for us, who know no Sin ; that we 
 might be made the Righteoujnefs of God in him. This 
 Kxprefiion would be very ftrange and almoft unintel- 
 ligible 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. iojt 
 
 ligible, that the Son of God > who knew no Sin,Jhould yet 
 be made Sin, if it were not capable of receiving an Ex- 
 plication from the Old Teftament, from whence it 
 was taken, and where both the Greek Word a/Aa^/a, 
 ufed in this Place, and the correfpondent Hebrew .n**®rT 
 though in general, they fignify only Sin; yet are fre- 
 quently ufcd to denote an Offering or Sacrifice for Sin. 
 Thus Exod. xxix, 14. The Senfe and Connection 
 necefTarily require the PafTage mould be tranflated, It 
 is a Sin-offering : Yet the Hebrew is only *ttn JlNZpn and 
 the Septuagint Greek, no more than a^a^-na yag im. 
 It is a Sin. And the Chaldee Paraphrafe hath the fame. 
 And the fame occurs in very many Places in the Old 
 Teftament, in the moll Part of which, the Conftruc- 
 tion of the Text necefTarily requires the Word to be 
 rend red Sin-offering: Particularly Levit. iv. 33. This 
 is the Law of the Sin- offering : (in the Hebrew it is 
 D^ianrT ) i n the Place where the Burnt -offering is killed, 
 Jhall the Sin-offering be killed. JlKBnrj BfltEto, in the 
 Hebrew, So Numb. viii. 8. Another young Bullock fhalt 
 thou take for a Sin-offering. {Hebrew ^Njpn?) for a 
 Sin, &c. 
 
 The PafTage before quoted, from 1 Cor. v. 21. 
 compared with thefe, maketh it further evident that the 
 Sentiments relating to the Sacrifices under the Law ? 
 were defigned, bp tlje ^olp dDSott to be applied to 
 the Death of Chrift as the great evangelical Sacrifice ; 
 that Chriftians might thence be led to form Concep- 
 tions concerning the Efficacy of the great anti-typical 
 Sacrifice, in Analogy to the declared Efficacy of the 
 Mofaic Types : And confidering how plain a Relation 
 thefe ExDreffions, in the Old and in the New Tefta- 
 ment have to each other ; I think the" TranQators of 
 the latter might have thought themfelves fufficiently 
 authorifed to have added the Word {Offering} in 
 Italic Characters after [Sin] in this Place of the New 
 Teftament, as it is done in very many Places in the 
 Old, particularly thofe juft now cited, to make it 
 
 O plain 
 
ic6 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 plain that the Place is to be understood in this Senfe j 
 as it is norcapable of any other; and it is, as noted 
 before, a Demonstration, the facred Penman meant 
 to reprefent the Lord Jefus, as having been fubjtituted 
 to bear the Punifhment due for human Tranigreffions, 
 
 and to redeem ^anUititi f^om t\jt €ftza# of t$m 
 #polfatp* The Blood of Chrift is further fpoke of 
 as the adequate Price of our Redemption; parti- 
 cularly, in Rev. v. 9. the glorified Saints are repre- 
 fented as finging a new Song of Triumph and Praife, 
 unto the Lamb, which fioed as it had been Jlain, V. 6. 
 (pointing plainly at the crucified Redeemer) Thou art 
 
 worthy, for thou waft flam, and haft ^etJCCVUCti 
 
 ll£ unto CDoU, tip tftp 2I5100&, out of every Tribe and 
 'Tongue and People and Nation, &c. I know not how 
 this can, with any Shew of Propriety, be made to 
 comport with the modern Scheme of Chriflianity, 
 from which the Doctrine of Redemption is excluded. 
 How can we conceive the moft High mould infpire 
 this evangelical Prophet to write fuch a Defcription 
 or the Church triumphant in Heaven finging Praifes 
 to the glorified Redeemer, in Prefence of him that 
 fits upon the Throne, and of the whole cceleftial 
 Affembly, as having, by the Price of his Blood, made 
 the glorious Purchafe of their KeOemptiott from 
 Sife?p ano 3Rtrin into a State of tranfcendent Fe- 
 licity, if that Blood was no otherwife inftrumental to 
 the Acquirement of that Happinefs, than as being 
 fried in Confirmation of the Truth and Excellence of 
 a &pffem of mojal 2D0£t?tne> of the Conformity to 
 the Precepts whereof that Happinefs is the Reward? 
 The Defcription would, in this View, be unnatural 
 and inconfiitent, not like the Method of the Almigh- 
 ty's Communications with the Children of Men. Had 
 the Holy Spirit defigned that we fhould appre- 
 hend our Salvation by Jefus Chrift, to arife from the' 
 Regulation of our Lives according to the Rules, 
 his Precepts of refined Morality prefcribe, as the 
 
 prin- 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 107 
 
 principal, efficient or meritorious Caufe, He would 
 not have reprefented the glorified Saints afcribing 
 theirs to the Pur chafe of the Redeemer's Blood : Irtpxyw, 
 xj yyotixvxq tw ©£w w'jwa? iv rw oI^oltI <r« : Thou waft fain, 
 and hafi bought us by thy Blood, &c. I can't 
 help thinking, that nothing but determined Obftinacy 
 can hinder any, who believe thefe Scriptures to be of 
 divine Infpiration and Authority, from readily and 
 joyfully afienting to a Doctrine fo full of divine Con- 
 ization as is this, of Redemption through the 
 Blood of Christ. And nothing but a fooliih 
 Pride and Self-fufficiency can influence any to build 
 their Hopes, of Salvation upon the fandy Foundation 
 of their own Attainments in moral Righteoulhefs and 
 natural Religion, inftead of refting upon the 
 Lord Jefus who is our Hope, (1 Tim. i. 1.) the Hope of 
 Ifrael, and the Rock of Ages. If Righteoufnefs come by 
 the Law, then Chrijl 10 fceatl M Haiti* Gal. ii. 21. 
 • The laft Text, I fhall confider, for eftablifhing 
 the genuine Import of this Term of Redemption, is that 
 prophecic Denunciation, in 2 Pet. ii. 1 . Which feems 
 as if it were to be accomplifhed in our Days : There 
 fhall be falfe Teachers among you, who fhall privily bring 
 in damnable Herefies.. even denying the LORD, that 
 bought them, t dyogxircivloc, and bring upon themfehes 
 fwift Dejlruclion ; The Word is of the fame Significa- 
 tion with that ufed Gal. iv. 5. &c. before- cited, and 
 it might as well have been tranflated, that redeemed 
 them ; and it cannot, without the greateft Perverfion, 
 be accommodated to the Socinian Scheie. What more 
 is contained in this tremendous ParTage, I defire to 
 leave to the ferious Confideration of thofe of whom it 
 is fpoken, even thofe who are privily bringing in (x4$ 
 cc^y<ru<; t»k ivrc\iia.<; ; Herefies of Perdition, as the Vulgar 
 Latin hath it, exactly to the Greek) damnable Herefies, 
 as the Englijh TranQators chofe to render it. 
 
 I hope, from an impartial Confideration of the 
 Pafifages alleged, it will appear, to every unpreju,- 
 
 Q 2 diced 
 
jo8 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 diced Reader, that the Redemption performed for 
 Mankind, by Jeius Chrift, is to be conceived of as 
 here reprefented : And confequently that our Lord 
 Jeius is not only a Prophet, to teach us the Laws of 
 moral Righteoufnefs ; but a Prieft, by the Sacrifice of 
 himfelf upon the Crofs, to make Propitiation for our 
 Sins, and thereby reconcile us to the Father •, pur chafing 
 us to himfelf for a peculiar People, as a fpiritual 
 Kingdom, to be governed and protected by him, till 
 the End of the World : When, having compleated 
 the glorious Scheme of the Redemption of Mankind, 
 from the Ruin of their original Apoftacy, for which 
 he fubmitted to all the Confequences of his Incarna- 
 tion, and having put all Enemies under his Feet, 
 triumphing then over Death, the lad Enemy which was 
 to be fubdued, by the Refurrection and Glorification of 
 all his faithful Servants, He (hall deliver up the King- 
 dom to God, even the FATHER, when the Son himfelf 
 pall be fubjebl to him, that put all Things under him, that 
 COD ?nay be All in all. i Cor. xv. 24, 25, 26, 28. 
 
 What I have faid under the preceding Head of Re- 
 Pemption confidered as the Purchafe of the Sacrifice 
 and Death of Chrift may feem to have prevented all 
 Neceffity of enlarging upon what follows; the Confi- 
 deration of that Sacrifice having necefTarily included 
 the fubfequent Ideas : Yet I fhall endeavour, from the 
 Confideration of the Terms Propitiation, Atonement, Ex- 
 piation, &c, as they are applied to Jefus Chrift, further 
 to elucidate the Subject, and yet further confirm what 
 I truft is already pretty well eftablifhed -, that it was the 
 Defign of the Holy Ghoft, in the New Teftament, that 
 all the Followers of Chrift fhouid believe him to have 
 been the Lamb flain from the Foundation of the World, as 
 a iDropination or 3tqncment foj iJjc &in$ of f)an- 
 fUtttl; fo he is. ftiled, 1 John ii. 2. He is the Propitia- 
 tion for our Sins. And Ch. iv. 10. He loved us andfent 
 kis Son to be the Propitiation for our Sins. In both Places 
 
 the: 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 109 
 
 the Margin hath Atonement. As it is in the Text, Rom. 
 v. 1 1. In the two former Places the GreekWord is 'Ixar- 
 pos, which is derived from the Verb Ixxopxi or lAaVxe^ou, 
 which fignifies to reconcile or make friendly -, propitium red- 
 den. Conjlant. And is fo ufed plainly with Relation to 
 the Sacrifices under the Law, and it is fometimes fo u- 
 led by the Greek Interpreters. Num. v. 8. rrxhu ra x/»a tk 
 lAao-pc, &c. befides the Ram of Atonement, whereby Atone- 
 ment fhall be made for him. Which PafTage is meant of 
 a Trefspafs, the offerer is fuppofed to have been guilty 
 of, againft fome of his Brethren, for which he was ob- 
 liged to make an equivalent Recompence, with the Ad- 
 dition of a fifth Part, befides this Ram of Atonement, 
 to make Atonement, or Propitiation for his Guiit be- 
 fore the Lord •, fo Levit. xxv. 9. tJ? n'^'po. rZ l\oca-f*s, in 
 the Day of Atonement, &c- But thole Interpreters have 
 mcftly made ufe of the compounded Words, l^eco^oa 
 or fyxdvxopxi and ifyxxo-pog, exactly in the fame Senie. 
 So it is Lev. xvii. 1 1 . The Life ( Hebr. #3| the Soul) of the 
 Flejh is in the Blood, and I have given it you upon the Altar 
 to make Atonement for your Souls, for it is tfie Blooo 
 toJjiclj mafeetg atonement fo? tge &oni : The Greek 
 
 is tAaVxto^ 7rf£ 1 ruv $>v)(vv vfAuv, to y% «»/*« <xvr\ ij/uyij? £?»- 
 Xuc-stou. The Hebrew Word, which, with its Deriva- 
 tives anfwers to thefe Greek Words, is "1?? the natural 
 and primary Signification whereof, as it is feparatefrom 
 all Relation to Sacrifice, we fhall therefore endeavour 
 to eftablifh. 
 
 The Place of holy Writ, in which it firft appears, 
 is Gen. vi. 14. T3>3y5n£» fl?3?JHg3} and thou Jhalt 
 pitch it within and without with Pitch. This Significa- 
 tion is very foreign to our Purpofe, and very different 
 from the Senfe it is moftly ufed in. Whether there be 
 any diftant Relation between this and that in the next 
 Inftance, I fhall not prefume to determine. Mercer^ 
 in his Additions to Pagninus, endeavours to eftablilh a 
 figurative Relation, adding to bituminare or pice obdu- 
 cere, which Pagninus hath given as the Tranflation, the 
 
no The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 general Signification Tegere, operire, &c. to cover; to au-* 
 thorife which, there are not, that I find, Examples in 
 the Hebrew Text : The Metaphor of covering Sin, Pfal. 
 xxxii. i. and Ixxxv. 2. which may perhaps have given 
 Rife to the Notion of covering, as the Signification of 
 the Verb 13? is not fufficient to vindicate this Tranfla-i 
 tion. For befides that, in thofe Places the Wore ufed 
 is not 1?? but ifi?? which properly fignifies to cover ; it 
 is further to be confidered, that the Signification of 
 ^5? in the following Inftances is not to reprefent Of- 
 fences as hidden or covered; but to reprefent the Per- 
 fon offended as appeafed and fatisfied. So that the dif- 
 ferent Meaning of this Word in Gen. vi. 14. and in the 
 Places after cited make it plain, that a late great Critic 
 was miftaken, in afferting, that no Hebrew Word hath 
 more than one principal Signification, from which all 
 its other are derived; which might alfo be fhewn in 
 many other Words, did it belong to our Argument. 
 
 The next Place in which the Word occurs, and 
 which will be more for our Purpofe, is Gen. xxxii. 20* 
 Jacob apprehending his Brother EJau was coming a- 
 gainft him, with an hoftile Difpofition, to revenge the 
 Offences he had formerly given him, fends him a Pre- 
 fent by the Hands of his Servants; giving this as the 
 Reafon : nnpp2L V39 i"Ti9Dl$ / will appeaje him with a 
 Prefent. Which the Septuagint tranjlate by the Jams 
 
 Word: i£i\%croiJ.cit to Trpcxrurrov cevrx iv to»j cJc^oif. / Will, 
 
 by the Prefent, caufe him to receive me with a reconciled 
 Countenance ; with a Look of Kindnefs, Peace, and Good- 
 will. So Exod. xxxii. 30. After Mofes had reprefent- 
 ed to the People the heinous Tranfgrefilon they had 
 been guilty of, in the Affair of the Golden Calf, he 
 fays to them : Te have finned a great Sin; and new I 
 will go up unto the Lord, porhaps, I JhaU mafcP an &s 
 toncment for your Sin : Which he endeavours to do, 
 v. 32. by confefling that the People had finned a great 
 Sin, and intreating the Almighty gracioudy to forgive 
 them; to be reconciled to them : The Hebrew is n 7'p^ ^$ 
 
 and 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT, in 
 
 and the Greek \'va. fyx*™^ ; as in the former Place. 
 Another Paiiage, where the fame Word occurs in the 
 fame Senie is Numb. xxv. 13. The Almighty efta- 
 blifheth the Priefthood to Phinehas and his Pofterity, 
 becaufe he was zealous for his GOD, and maBe an &« 
 tenement for the Children of Ifrael: Which is other- 
 wife expreifed in the nth Verfe foregoing •, He hath 
 turned away my Wrath from the Children of Ifrael. This 
 was making the Atonement. The Hebrew Word is ~W?. 
 and the Septuag have sgiAaVaTo, as before. Again, 
 2 Sam. xxi. 3. David faith to the Gibeonites, for Saul's 
 Breach of Covenant with whom, a long Famine had 
 affli&ed the Land : Wherewith pall I make the Atone- 
 ment, that Ye may blefs the Inheritance of the Lord? 
 That is : How mall I make you amends ? What &a* 
 tigifartiott mall I make you for the Injury done you 
 by Saul, that Ye may be reconciled to the People, and 
 forgive the Wrong ? The Hebrew is here as in the 
 preceding Places, ">??3$ nan, and the Greek Tranfla- 
 tion, lv tiw £^AaVo|uat. Prov. 16. 6. By Mercy and 
 Truth Iniquity is purged: In the Hebrew it is "123;. 
 This Verfe the Greek hath not, but in V. 14. The 
 Wrath of the King is as Meffengers of Death ; but a wife 
 Mar. will pacify it, the Greek hath ^AaWai oIvtov ; for 
 the Hebrew TO??. 
 
 It would be eafy to cite more Places, to the fame 
 Purpofe, in all which the fame Hebrew Word hath, 
 without any Relation to Sacrifice, the Signification of 
 reltoring Peace and procuring Reconciliation, and the 
 Pardon of Offences ; and the Greek Tranflators have, 
 in all the Places v now cited, rendred it by the fame 
 Word, which w r e have already feen, and mail afterwards 
 further fee applied, in the New Teftament, to denote 
 the Effii acy or the Blood of Chrifu, to procure a Re- 
 conciliation between GOD and Man. But it will be ne- 
 ceflary, in the firft Place, in fome Inftances, to fhew 
 how this Senfe of the Word is ufed to denote the Effi- 
 cacy of the legal Sacrifices, of the Mofaic Inftitution \ 
 
 whence. 
 
ii2 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 whence we mall fee the Signification which we are 
 contending for, is no lefs eftablifhed, than it is frorri 
 the Account already given. 
 
 In Chap. xvi. of Leviticus, we have a particular 
 Account of the Solemnities of the great Day of A- 
 tonement, in which, by the Oblation of a Bullock 
 and of the Goat, upon which the Lot fell to be facri- 
 ficed, with many other Ceremonies there recited, the 
 High-prieft made Atonement, firft for himfelf and his 
 Houfe, V. n. then he made Atonement for the holy 
 Place, becaufe of the Unclednneffes of the Children of lfrael, 
 and becaufe of all their Tranfgrejfions , in all their Sins ; 
 and fo for the Tabernacle of the Congregation, that re- 
 maineth among them, in the midji of their Uncleannejfes; 
 V. 1 6. then he made 0tOttttttent for the Altar that 
 
 was before the Lord, to cleanfe and to hallow it, 
 
 from the Uncleanneffes of the Children of lfrael, V. 18, 19. 
 And when he had made an End of Reconciling, that 
 is of mailing Atonement (for it is the fame Word 
 in the Hebrew, "l?3P, and likewife in the Greek, 
 ify\a.<rx6[A.zvo$, ) for the holy Place, and for the Tabernacle 
 of the Congregation, and for the Altar ; He brought the 
 hive-goat (upon which the Lot fell to be the 7WJX 
 that which was to be fent into the Wildernefs, laden 
 with the Sins of the Congregation : Which the Greek 
 Interpreters have, for that Reafon, called ^7ro</.7ra»o?, 
 and the Vulgate Latin, from them, emifforius ; the 
 Englifh have called it the Scape-goat •, the Chaldee Para- 
 phraft hath kept the Hebrew Word ; and the Jewifh 
 Commentators have fhewn plainly, they did not un- 
 derftand it's Meaning.) Upon the Head of this the 
 High-prieft laying both his Hands, confefled over him 
 all the Iniquities of the Children of lfrael, aud all their 
 Tranfgreffions, in all their Sins, putting tl)em upon the 
 Head of the Goat, and fent him away, by the Hand of a 
 fit Meffenger, into the Wildernefs, &c. 
 
 These, and a good Deal more fuch like pompous 
 Ceremonies made up the religious Solemnities of this 
 
 grand 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 113 
 
 grand Anniverfary. And what now was the great End ? 
 what the advantageous Confequence of this awful Ap- 
 paratus? Why, great and fuitable to the Grandeur of 
 the Service. The great Law- giver and holy Prophet 
 acquaints us fully with the Defign, at the End of the 
 Account, v. 30. On that Day fhall He (the Prieft) make 
 an Atonement for you, (that is, for all the People of the 
 Congregation, v. 33.) that you may be clean from all your 
 Sins before the Lord. In all this Account, the fame 
 Hebrew Word is ufed to fignify Atonement, and is e- 
 very where tranflated by the fomeGreek Word, which we 
 have before fhewn primarily to fignify, in either Lan- 
 guage, to appeafe, to reconcile, to obtain Pardon^ rejlore to 
 friend/hip, &c. which proves fully this to be the Mean- 
 ing of the Word, and that thefe facrifical Services were 
 inftituted for the doing away of Sin, and reflronng t§e 
 penitent to t§e tstuine jfafconr, and were univerfally 
 underftood to have that happy Effect. 
 
 Now after a ferious Confideration of this whole 
 Tranfaction, and particularly, that it had been a fo- 
 lemn anniverfary Service, every tenth Day of the fe- 
 venth Month, for a Matter of fifteen hundred Years; 
 can any one fuppofe, that the infpired Penmen of the 
 New Teftament mould reprefent the Death of Chrift, as 
 being an Atonement or propitiation for the Sins of 
 all penitent Believers ; and that in the fame Terms, 
 which had been applied to give the fame Idea, with Re- 
 fpect to thefe Sacrifices under the Lawj and make this 
 Reprefentation to thofe very People, among whom 
 that Verfion of the old Scriptures, in which thofe 
 Terms are fo applied, had been familiarly ufed, for 
 near three Hundred Years-, and yet that after all we 
 are to believe, they did not defign their Readers mould 
 underftand any fuch Thing-, this is incredible^ abfoufc, 
 impoffible. 
 
 One might think this Argument alone, if there were 
 no other, would be fufflcient to eftablifh the Scripture 
 Doctrine of Salvation by Chrift Jefus, as being, by his 
 
 P Death, 
 
ii4 Tl> e CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Death, the Propitiation for tfje &in$ of tSc SiEHojliu 
 In the Greek Tranflation of thofe many Places in 
 Ch. xvi. of Lev. where Atonement is faid to be made 
 for Sin, as v. 6. 10, n. 16, 17, 18. 24. 27. 30. 32, 33, 
 34. and in very many other Places, the Greek Verb 
 t'£*Xa<ntoaa», or fome of its forms or Derivatives, is uf- 
 
 ed. So v. 16. He Jh all make an Atonement, becaufe 
 
 of all their Tranjgrejfions, in all their Sins, Sec. In the 
 
 Greek it is l£»A«o-£Ta» t&i zzras-wv twv upupriuv cevrwv, So V. 
 
 30. Hejhall make Atonement for you (igjAaVrrat isfe J/awk) 
 /<? cleanfe you from all your Sins: And v. 34. To make A- 
 tonement for the Children of Ifrael (Ihcta-Mcdj <x&a tw vtuv 
 urpxfa) for all their Sins In all thele Places and very 
 many more, we fee the Hebrew Verb *">??? and the 
 Greek Verb »ActVxo|u.c«, with their Derivatives, as above 
 faid, have the fame Signification, when applied to fhew 
 the Efficacy of Sacrifices, as they have with Refpedf. to 
 other Affairs in general. And we have not the lead 
 Reafon to think the Penmen of the New Teftament 
 would change their Meaning-, but that St. John, for 
 Inftance, in the Place before cited, 1 John ii. 2. aWj 
 iAao-juo? ffi t&i ru\> a^ap-nwi/ ^Zv. He is the Propitiation, 
 (tije Atonement, lor thefe two Words are of quite the 
 the fame Meaning") for our Sins : I fay, we have not the 
 lead Reafon to doubt, but that the holy A pottle de- 
 figned the Word here ufed to be underftood, as it was 
 by all underftood in the Greek Verfion ol the Old Tefta- 
 ment which they had in their Hands And the fame 
 is equally true of that other Paifage in the fame Epiftle, 
 
 Ch. iv. IO. tx.-&irii\s T mov «ut5 \\a.<rp.ov tst* twv upxpuuv 
 
 fl'/Awv : He fen t his Son to be the Propitiation (the Atonement) 
 for our Sins. This was exprefly the principal Defign of 
 his coming into the World. And thisManner of Expref- 
 fion is fo fuitable to the Stile ufed in the Old Teftament 
 concerning sacrifices, that it is impoflible to miftake 
 the Meaning. The Scripture makes mention of the 
 cleanfing and purging away of Sin, as a natural Confe- 
 quence of Atonement. Lev. xvi. 30. The Fricft Jhall 
 
 make 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. njr 
 
 make an Atonement for you, to cleanfe you from all your Sins 
 before the Lord. Num. viii. 21. Aaron made an Atone- 
 ment for them to cleanfe them. 1 Sam iii. 14. The ini- 
 quity ofElks's Houfe Jbatt not be pmrjC?) with Sacrifice^ 
 nor offering for ever. And fo natural an Attendant was 
 this of the other, that the Septuagint have fometimes 
 put cleanfing for Atonement, as particularly, Exod. xxix. 
 36. Thou fhalt offer, every Day, a Bullock for a Sin-of 
 fering for Atonement : and thou fhalt cleanfe the Altar when 
 haft made Atonement for it VtyT®^ C^fiPOrtK flHBffj 
 and thou /halt offer a Sin-offering upon the Altar, when, thou 
 makefi Atonement for it. So the Hebrew fignifies, £ov 
 the Verb N?0 which, in the Conjugation Kal, fignifies 
 to Sin; in the Conjugation Pihel, NE>n fignifies to purge a- 
 way Sin by Sacrifice. The Word JIN^n as we have before 
 feen (P. 105.) being frequently put for a Sin-offering, and 
 by Metaphor the fame Verb is ufed to denote any way 
 of removing or expiating for Guilt or Blame, as was 
 fhewn before of the Verb "15? So Gen. xxxi, 39. I bora 
 the f Blame or Guilt : Heb. npNLpng I expiated, I made 
 amends for it, / bore) the Lofs of it. And fo the Word 
 is ufed to denote Atonement for Sin by Sacrifice, as in 
 the Place before cited ; and Lev. viii. 15. And Mofes 
 
 purified the Altar XQU), andfantlified it. And fo Lev* 
 
 ix. 1 5 . He took the Goat — and offered it for Sin ^HNEn*!. 
 
 The fame occurs in many Places belide. And it is by 
 the Greek Interpreters tranflated by the Verb xa3-«p/^a^, 
 to purge or cleanfe. And fo they have made the Place 
 above cited, Exod. xxix %6. To [/.o<%<xpiov 7roin'o-£»? t*J vip^a 
 
 ts xaSupiarpz, k} xctSxpiug ~f $v<TKx,rygiov, &C. Thou fhalt of- 
 fer a Bullock for a cleanfing, or Purgation, &c. And v. 
 37. Seven Bays fhalt thou make an Atonement for the Altar. 
 Heb"^?^. This in the Greek is 'E^la ftpipxt xx$»gi'Us to 
 S-uorjar/'jHoi/ : Seven Days fhalt thou cleanfe the Altar. Some- 
 times they have rendered the Words in a different Man- 
 ner. Ezek. xliii. 22. They ff all cleanfe the Altar, as they 
 did cleanfe it with the Bullock. Here the Hebrew is : 
 ^^s^ni^n^n-jri^W^m They fhall offer a Sin-, 
 P 2 ' offering 
 
n6 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 offering for the Altar, as they did offer a Sin-offering, &c. 
 For which the Greek hath, i^Kxa-ovrou v N 3-wnarj?p»oi> xa- 
 S-otj ifyxoicxvTo iv rZ y.o<%u. They Jh all at one, &c. as they 
 did atone, &c. And in the fame Manner, in v. 23. and 
 v 26. and Ch. xlv. 18. and 2 Chron. xxix. 24. and 
 elfewhere. So that it is plain from thefe varied Verli- 
 ons, that thefe Tranflators who furely well underftood 
 the Hebrew Text, took thefe Words, which are render- 
 ed by the Terms, Reconciliation, Atonement, Cleanfing, 
 Offering for Sin, &c. to be all nearly of the fame Im- 
 port. And the Word xa&af»£«v, to purge or cleanfe, is 
 from them taken into the New Teftament, in the fame 
 Signification. So 1 John i. 9* If we confefs our Sins, 
 he is faithful and juft to forgive us our Sins-, and to 
 Cleanse us from all unrighteoufnefs, xoS-a^Vw ^a?, &c. 
 This hath a manifeft Relation to cleanfing by the Sa- 
 crifices of Atonement, as it is particularly expreffed, 
 Lev. xvi. 30. the Place before cited ; the Priejl Jhall 
 make an Atonement for you, to cleanfe you from all your 
 Sins before the Lord, and ye pall be clean. So it is in the 
 Hebrew, and the Greek Verfion is the fame : i£*AaV«Ta* 
 
 tsti vpuv xaSapVow J/Aa? x) xc&xpiSwt&t. And in the 
 
 feventh Verfe preceding, the Blood of Jefus Chrift his Son 
 cleanfeth us from all Sin-, xo&xpCju n^xq ^m sra<r»? «/*«/}- 
 ti«?, quite fimilar to the foregoing Expreflion ot the 
 Septuagint Greek, and can mean nothing, but that the 
 Blood of Chrift is the Atonement to purge away Sin. 
 The fame meaning is neceffary for the Explication of 
 of that Text, Heb, ix. 14. How much more fhall the Blood 
 of Chrift- — —cleanfe your Confciences from dead Works-, xa- 
 S-o^ta : This hath an evident Relation to the expiatory 
 Sacrifices, under the Law, whereby the Guilt of Sin was 
 removed, was cleanfed or purged away, and fo the Worfhip- 
 pers had no more Confcience of Sin. Heb. x. 2. For which 
 Purpofe the Blood of Chrift is, in the Place before ci- 
 ted, fhewn, upon the Comparifon, to be much more ef- 
 fectual. For it is not poffibe that the Blood of Bulls and 
 of Goats Jhouldy of itfelf, take away Sins. Heb. x. 
 
 4. But 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 117 
 
 4. But Jefus Chrift did, by himfelf purge our Sins. Heb. 
 i. 3. where the Greek is : v-x^xpivph vo'uvroi.psv(& : hav- 
 ing made a cleanfiing \ that is, an Atonement tor them. 
 Of the fame Import is that in Heb. ix 26. Owe in the 
 End of the World hath He appeared to put away Sin, by the 
 Sacrifice ofhimfelf. The Efficacy of the Death of Chrift 
 is here plainly compared with that of the legal Sacri- 
 fices, and it is declared how much more effectual it is, 
 for the putting away of Sin : !«? a&Wiv xy-aprixs : Which 
 is exactly of the fame meaning with the preceding xa3-«- 
 e nTjtxpv iroir\<rx [w® i tuv x(j.xpTwv. For xa3"«pt?/^.oj, cleanf- 
 ing, is no other than $ xnx^xptrtag a&'-nxn?, the putting 
 away of Uncleannefs, and it can, with propriety, be no o- 
 therwife understood. And particularly, how muft the 
 Senfe and Connection of this Paffage, which in this 
 View is eafy and natural, be ftrain'd and perplexed, to 
 make it any how to comport with the Idea of our Sa- 
 viour's Dying, only in Confirmation of the Truth of 
 his Doctrine? Had this been the only, or the principal 
 End of the Death of Chrift, the great Apoftle of the 
 Gentiles would not have writ concerning it, to his 
 Countrymen, the Hebrews, in Terms fo foreign, and 
 which had never been once ufed with that meaning, 
 in all their Scriptures, but had, on the Contrary, been 
 familiarly ufed, for many Generations, in the moft fo- 
 lemn Services of their national Religion, in their 
 natural and proper Signification, to denote the Effi- 
 cacy of their Sacrifices for the Atonement ano piijg* 
 ing atoap of &irt ; efpecially as the Apoftle had 
 feveral Times, in this Epiftle, made an exprefs Com- 
 parifon betwixt the Effect of the Death of Chrift and 
 that of the expiatory Sacrifices under the Law : And 
 indeed, confidering the Thing in this Light, it muft 
 appear abfurd to fuppofe, the Apoftie fhould oelign 
 the Words not to be understood in their natural 
 Senfe. To all which may be added, tor further 
 Confirmation : That if the only or principal End of 
 the Death of Chrift had been to be a Teilinx- f 
 
 the 
 
n8 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 the Truth of his Doctrine, He would not always, not 
 only in this, but in all his other Epiftles, have ipoke 
 of" it in fo perplext and unintelligible a Manner •, but 
 would, at leaft fome.times, have mentioned in its full 
 Proprietv : But I do not remember one Paffage, in all 
 St. Paul's Writings, or in all the New Teltament, 
 to that Purpofe ; Though there be a good many 
 which fpeak of it, as the Accomplishment of the 
 Prcphefies which went before of him, in the Writings of 
 the Old Teltament ; which fpake of his Death, which 
 he Jhould accomplifh at Jei'ufalem, as the grand Atone- 
 ment and Expiation for the cleanfing, the purging 
 away of the Sins of the World. 
 
 Nor was the facrifical Service under the Law ef-. 
 fectual for the general Expiation of Sin, only at the 
 appointed Seafons of folemn ftated Obfervation ; but 
 it was ufed for the fame falikary Purpofe upon parti-, 
 cular Occafions of public, or of private Tranfgref- 
 fion. For both Occafions there are Directions given, 
 in Levit. iv. And a very remarkable Inftance of the 
 former is recorded in Numb. xvi. 46, 47. When the 
 Almighty had, by a terrible Judgment, manifefted 
 his Difpleafure againft Ifrael, for their Tranfgreflion, 
 in the Affair of Korah, &c. and the Plague was alfo 
 begun ; Mofes faith unto Aaron: Take a Cenfer, and put 
 Fire therein from off the Altar, and put Incenfe thereon, 
 and go quickly unto the Congregation, atttJ make an J2U 
 tenement for them ( Orp^ ~\BD) ) for there is Wrath 
 gone out from the Lord: The Plague is begun. And Aa- 
 ron took as Mofes had commanded, and made an 
 
 Atonement, and the Plague was flayed. In this 
 
 Inftance, in particular, the Almighty was pleafed to 
 honour his own Inftitutions in a mod remarkable 
 Manner. Another Inftance, not unlike this, is in 
 2 Sam. xxiv. 25. When the Lord had fent the Pe- 
 ftilence upon Ifrael, for David's Sin in numbring the 
 People; although, as it is exprefled, the Lord repen- 
 ted him of the Evil ; yet before he would withdraw 
 
 his 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 119 
 
 his Commifiion from the deftroying Angel, the Pro- 
 phet was fent to admonifh the King to offer Burnt -of- 
 ferings and Peace-offerings-, And fo the Lord was in- 
 treated for the Land. The Almighty could, if he had 
 thought fit, have pardoned the Crime, and remitted 
 the Judgment, upon David's earneft Supplication, 1 
 Chron. xxi. 17. As our modern Reformers of Chrifti- 
 anity think he muft now ( and for the fame Reafon 
 always) do, from the Neceffity of his own eternal 
 Goodnefs : But we fee He did not choofe, in either 
 of thefe or in a great many other recorded lnftances 
 of his Difpenfations, to adjuft his Conduct to the 
 Meafures of human Prudence : but fo as to make it 
 appear, that the Lord feeth not as Manfeetb: And that 
 oftencimes that, which is highly ejleemed amongjl Men, 
 is an Abomination in the Sight of GOD. Luke xvi. 15. 
 Vain Man would be wife, and meafure the Counfels of 
 the moft High, by the fhort Line of his own Under- 
 ftanding, in which Attempt, no Wonder Men fhew 
 themfelves to be vain in their Imaginations, and that 
 their foolifh Hearts are darkned. They think, in the 
 greatnefs of their Folly, that effential Goodnefs cannot 
 but treat penitent Sinners on the fame Foot, with thofe, 
 who have never tranfgreffed •, and accept of their im- 
 perfect Obedience to Juftification, as of the perfect. 
 Virtue of fuch as never fell. Whereas, on the con- 
 trary, the Almighty hath, in all Ages, chofe fo to 
 manifeft his Goodnefs, in the Pardon of human 
 TranfgrefTion, as at the fame Time to tlCClave f)i& 
 3Rig^teoufltef0, and his Abhorrence of Sin, by not 
 difpenfing this Grace of Pardon, without fomething 
 performed on the Part of the Sons of Men, by di- 
 vine Appointment, in the Way of Satisfaction for 
 Tranfgreffwn and Atonement of Guilt. Anc accordingly, 
 for near four Thoufand Years, certain fachfical Rites 
 were, by his own Inftitution, obferved for this Pur- 
 pofe ; which were of old underftood, by many of the 
 Jewifo Nation, as well as fmce by the whole Chriftian 
 
 Church, 
 
120 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Church, to prefigure the Meffiah, who was to come, 
 to be the Saviour of Mankind ; on which Account a- 
 Ione thofe Sacrifices were effectual for Expiation ; till 
 the Time appointed, when the Son of God came in- 
 to the World, and died upon the Crofs ; which 
 Death is, in Acls ii. v. 23. declared to have happened 
 according to the determinate Counfel and Foreknowledge 
 of GOD-, and to have been by him ordained to be 
 tfie true Atonement for the Sins of the World : And 
 that not only in general, but, as was fhewed above, 
 with Refpeft to the legal Sacrifices, for the particular 
 Sins of every Individual, who is duly qualified to 
 receive the Benefit, i John ii. i, 2. Thefe Things I 
 write unto you, that ye fin not ; and if any Man (any 
 one in particular) Jin, we have an Advocate with the 
 Father, Jefus Chrijl the Righteous : And He is the Pro- 
 pitiation for our Sins. So that, in all Refpects, the 
 Death of Chrift is, in the New Teftament, declared 
 to be that, in Subftance and Reality, which the legal 
 Sacrifices were in Type and Prefiguration only. 
 
 The intelligent Part of Mankind, Jew and Gentile* 
 as hath been already noted, always knew the Efficacy 
 of Sacrifice, for the Expiation of Sin, did not, could 
 not arife from any natural 3iUafon of Fitnefs or 
 Propriety : Will I, faith the Almighty, eat the Flefh 
 of Bulls cr drink the Blood of Goats? Pfal. 1 13. but 
 merely from the divine Authority of its Inltitution, 
 which they always believed it their indifpenfable Du- 
 ty to pay the mod abfolute and implicire Regard to, 
 and never prefumed to bring the Reafon of the In- 
 ltitution to the Ted of their own Judgment and 
 Underftanding, which, as we have before ieen, is no 
 lefs a Duty to us, under the Gofpel, than the fame 
 was to our firft Parents in Paradife, or to Mankind 
 under any other Difpenfation : But rather are we un- 
 der much ftronger Obligation to render a moft ready 
 and implicite Aflent to the Doctrines of divine Reve- 
 lation, in the Gofpel; and particularly this of the 
 
 Exp- 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT r^r 
 
 Expiation of Sin by the Blood of Cbrijl ; and that as well 
 lipon the unquefticnable Authority of fo many exprefs 
 Declarations, as becaufe of the infinite Superiority of 
 the Value of the Blood of Chrift, confidered as an 
 CjrpiatOVp -sacrifice, and its confeqilent greater Fit* 
 nefs, even in the Judgment of human Reafon, to an- 
 fwer the gracious Purpofe. With the utmoit Refig- 
 nation therefore ought we to receive this heavenly 
 Doctrine : arid with the higheft Gratitude, take Him 
 for our t^eat Atonement, our Saviour, our Redeem- 
 er, whom GOD hath fet forth to be a Propitiation' 
 through Faith in his Blood; to declare his Right eovfne ft 
 
 for (or by) the Remiffion of Sins that he might be 
 
 jujl and the Jufiifier of him which believeth in Jefus^ 
 Rom. iii. 25, 26. The Almighty is here reprefented 
 as under a Necefllty, in Point of Juftice, after Atone- 
 ment made, to pardon the believing Penitent. 
 
 The Word Ikarrigiov, which Is here tranflated Pro- 
 pitiation, is of the fame Original and Import with that 
 in 1 John ii. 2. and Ch. iv. 10. before quoted, but 
 not quite the fame Word : The former is by the Greek 
 Tranflators, put for Atonement^ Propitiation, "&*. this 
 is that by which They have tranflated the Word, 
 which the Englijh Tranflators have chofen to render 
 by the Word Mercy-seat, The Vidg. Latin hath 
 it Propitiatorium. The Hebrew is n~)22 from *i?P to make 
 Atonement, as before. This was the Covering of the 
 Ark, which flood within the Vail, in the Holy of 
 Holies ; whither the High-prieft alone entred only 
 Once a Year, not without Blood, Heb. ix. 7. zvhicb he 
 offered for himfelf, and for the Errors of the People. In 
 Exod. xxx. 10. whence this is cited, it is : 
 
 tihpsn riNEjrr DlfQ f\-)r)X ~)Z2) j and Aaron 
 
 fhall make Atonement with the Blood of the Sin-offering 
 
 cf Atonements : which the Greek hath. &ro r» 
 
 airj.KT@> T» x«-&aM<r/*3 : with the Blood of Clean/ing, 
 agreeable to what was noted a little before : And this 
 th- Apoftle declares to have been done, by Way of 
 
 Q_ Prefigu- 
 
122 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Prefiguration of the Entrance of our bleffed Lord, 
 Once (i$<x7rx£ once for all) by his own Bloody into Hea- 
 ven -, having obtained eternal Redemption for us. The 
 Ceremonies of this great Anniversary were the moil: 
 folemn of any Thing in all the Jewifh Religion : And 
 the Apoftle made Ufe of this Word in this Place, 
 probably to denote, that as the Mofaic High-prieit 
 did, one Day in every Year, (which is all the Apoftle 
 can mean when he fays once every Tear, for the High- 
 prieft entred within the Vail feveral Times, that Day) 
 make Atonement upon this Propitiatory, this Mercy- 
 seat, for all the People of Ifrael, to cleanfe them f rem 
 all their Tranfgreffwns, in all their Sins, Levit. xvi. 30. 
 So all Mankind mould, by Jefus Chrift, as the great 
 Propitiatory, be once for all, by his Oblation of him- 
 felf upon the Crofs, freed from the Guilt of all their 
 Tranfgreflions, upon their performing the Conditions 
 of Faith and Repentance, upon which that Benefit is 
 fufpended. It is moreover obfervable, that it was 
 upon this Mercy-seat, the Almighty was faid to 
 dwell between (or rather, I think, in or with ) the 
 golden Cherubims, which overihadowed it. 1 Sam. iv. 
 4. The People fent to Shiloh, to fetch thence the 
 Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Holts, which 
 dwelleth between the Cherubims. And the fame 2 Sam. 
 
 vi. 2. whofe Name is called, 'The LORD of Hojls, 
 
 which dwelleth between the Cherubims. Pf. lxxx. 1. 
 Thou that dwellefi between the Cherubims. In thefe 
 Places, and wherever elle this Expreffion occurs, the 
 
 Hebrew is the fame : DVJ^O 2Ufi and the Particle 
 
 V4 between is not in any of them : So that the trueft 
 and mod literal Tranflation would be, who awellefi 
 (or who dwelleth) in the Cherubims: As Gen. iv. 20. 
 t>n'N yfr f uc h as dwell \\\ Tents. And the fame Gen. 
 xxv. 27. And PJal. ix. 11. ftat-aj^ The Lord which 
 dwelleth lit Zion. Ifa. ix. 9. lViprntfvl and who in- 
 habited (the Inhabitant of) Samaria. The Septuaguit 
 have tranjlated it to the fame Senft, x*3W:<y fc £ /wfy* ar| d 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 123 
 
 Itr) t«» Xf£8j3]v, fitting upon the Cherubims -, and the 
 Vulgate Latin hath, fuper Cherubim. So that it may 
 feem, that it pleafed the Almighty, to vouchfafe to 
 accompany thofe golden Reprefentatives of Cherubs, 
 in that mod holy Place with his gracious Prefence, 
 in a peculiar Manner ; that they might ferve to typify 
 and prefigure tf)t great fteffiaf), in whom dwelleth all 
 the Fullnefs of the Godhead bodily, Col. ii. 9. And this 
 was very probably one Reafon, why the infpired 
 Writer made Ufe of the Word 'ixawoiov, in the Paf- 
 fage now under Confideration, efpecially as it is fur- 
 ther faid of the Mercy -feat, Exod. xxv. 22. There will 
 I meet with thee, and I will commune with thee, from 
 above the Mercy-feat, from between the two Cherubims, 
 of all Things, which I will give thee- in Command- 
 ment, unto the Children of Ifrael. 
 
 And on this Account, no lefs than the former, the 
 Word is applied to Jefus Chrift, as the $)ctiiator- 
 tscttomt dDotl and #att, to communicate to us what 
 the Father gave him in Commandment, Jobnvm. 28, 
 
 38. xii. 50. xiv. 10, 31. xv. 15. Off. 
 
 and to exhibit our Requefts and Wants to the Father. 
 
 Rom. viii. 34. 1 Tim. ii. 5. Heb.v'ii. 25. ix. 15. 
 
 &c. So that if we will allow the holy Scriptures to 
 fpeak their own Senfe, and take that to be the Mean- 
 ing of thefe PafFages, which the Holy Spirit plainly 
 points out I we mult believe, the Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 by his Death upon the Crois, was a Propitiation for 
 the Sins of Mankind : To make it confident with 
 the Juftice of the Divine Government to- pardon a 
 guilty W^orld : And likewife a Propitiatory, or Me- 
 dium of Intercourfei a Mediator between GOD and 
 Man. 
 
 Thus, Dr. Hammond fays, the Word txecrnow, la 
 this Place, mould not have been tranflated by the 
 Word Propitiation, but Propitiatory -, " Chrift being 
 ** now the Antitype prefigured by that Covering of the 
 " Ark, becaufe God exhibited,, and revealed himielf 
 
 O 2 & 
 
i2 4 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 " in Chrift, as the Propitiatory was the Place where Qon 
 " was wont to exhibit himfelf peculiarly." And Dr. 
 Whitby fpeaks of it to the fame Senfe. " In the Old 
 " Teftament, faith he y we find the Mercy -feat ftill 
 " ftiled l\urr,^cv, becaufe it was the Place where God 
 " promiied to be propitious to them, and where the 
 " High-prieit made an Atonement for himfelf, and 
 V all the Congregation, by fprinkling the Blood of 
 ii the Sin-offering before the Mercy-feat : When there- 
 " fore the Apollle faith, that God hath fet forth 
 " Jefus Chrift to be a Mercy-feat to us, through 
 W Faith in his Blood, we have Reafon to believe the 
 " Blood of Chrift, as our Sin-offering, doth make 
 " Atonement for us." Arid hence he argues, as J 
 am endeavouring to do, againft the Socinians, for the 
 Efficacy of the Death of Chrift, for the RemifTion 
 of Sins. 
 
 Dr. Hammond faith the Word $Uai(& r which is, in 
 Rem. iii. 26. tranflated jufl, mould rather have been 
 merciful; though he allows that the other Verfion 
 may be juftified, " as the Satisfaction made and the 
 Price paid for our Sins by Chrift, were the V\t\U 
 to?tou0 Caufe of Remiflion and Juftiflcation. But 
 Dr. PVhithy^ on the other Hand, afferts, W That 
 " the Word #xai©s is ufed about eighty Times in the 
 *' New Teftament, and not once in that Senfe of 
 
 " Clemency and Mercy : And that when it 
 
 " relates to God, as here, it always fignifies, either 
 " the Equity and Congruity of his Dealings, as 
 " 2 T'hejf. i. 5, 6. or his Faithfullnefs to his Word, 
 " 1 Jo. i. 9. Rev. xv. 3. or his vindictive juftice, as 
 
 *-.'. Re&. xvi. 5, 6, 7. and xix. 2. 2 c Tim. iv. 8." If 
 
 our Socman Gentlemen will but allow the Word to. 
 have the fame Meaning in this, which it hath in 
 other Places, or to have a Meaning in any Manner 
 fuitable to its original, < fomjus, juftitta, fas* Scap.) the. 
 Senfe of the Place rnuft plainly be, as is before repre- 
 sented, that the Almigpty, under the Gofpd Difpen- 
 
 fation, 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 125 
 
 fation, pardoneth the Sins of believing Penitents, not 
 merely in Confequence of his effentia] Goodnefs, 
 though that be the original Foundation of the whole 
 (Economy ; but in Confequence of his fcederal Righ» 
 teoufnefs, in Performance of the Conditions of the 
 Covenant of Redemption, that by two immutable 
 Things, in which it was impoffible for GOD to lie, we 
 might have a Jlrong Confolation ; who have fled for Refuge, 
 to lay hold upon the Hope, which is fet before us. Heb. 
 vi. 18, But the Word, in this Paflage, cannot, with 
 any Propriety, be underftood upon the Socinian 
 Scheme. 
 
 From what I have faid upon this Subject, I hope 
 it will plainly appear, that it was the fovereign Will 
 and Pleafure of the Almighty to appoint the Death 
 of our Lord Jefus Chrift, to be a Propitiation, A- 
 tonement and Expiation for the Sins of all Mankind, 
 and that, as was before fhewn, it is the Duty of 
 every Christian to believe what the Gofpel hath fo 
 plainly declared y although it may not be in our Power 
 fully to adjuft the Propriety of {he Doctrine to the 
 Apprehenfions of human Reafon, 
 
 Before I proceed to what remains upon this Sub- 
 ject, I think it neceffary here to make a Digreffion, 
 in order to vindicate what I have writ in P. 109, no, of 
 this Work, upon the Word ^B?, which I now ap- 
 prehend will be liable to confiderable Exception, as I 
 rind that befides what I there noted, of Mercer's Ad- 
 ditions to Pagninus, other very great Men have afTert- 
 ed, that the Verb fignifieth to cover in general : 
 Particularly the very learned Dr. Hammond, in his 
 Notes on Rom. iii. 26. (the Place juft now difcufs'd) 
 faith, the Word ">?? fignifieth two Things, to cover, 
 and to expiate. And in his Notes on Heb. ix. 5. to 
 which he refers, in the other Place, for further Ex- 
 plication, he writes the lame Thing, with this Addi- 
 tion : " That it humifies, either fimply to cover, or to 
 
 '*■ cover 
 
126 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 cc cover with Pilch." The learned Father CalaJio y 
 afTigns to this Word feven Significations, die firir. 
 whereof he reckons texit, pice obduxit, &c. to cover, to 
 -pitch, &c. I find another very learned Writer, Dr. Pa- 
 trick, faith the fame Thing. I have, in the Place before- 
 mentioned, noted, that the Word doth afTuredly fig- 
 nify to cover or daub over with Pitch : But that is very 
 tar from giving it the Signification of covering in 
 general, (as Mercer and other learned Men, perhaps 
 from him, afTer<t : ) In which Senfe, I am humbly of 
 Opinion, upon a diligent Inquiry, it will be found 
 not to occur in all the Scripture. Nor doth it ap- 
 pear, from Father Gala/id's, Comparifon of the Lan- 
 guages, that it hath that Signification, in any of the 
 other oriental Tongues, or in the Dialect of the Rab- 
 bins. And I defire to oblerve, in my own Vindica- 
 tion, that the two Buxtorfs, Father and Son, to whom 
 the later Ages have produced few equal in Hebreiv 
 Learning, have not, that I have been able to oblerve, 
 any where afilgned this Signification to this Word. 
 But to make out what I have afTerted, let us examine 
 the Places produced by Dr. Hammond and Father 
 Calajio, as Inftances of what they aflert, which will,. 
 I think, moftly be in my Favour. The Doctor in 
 the firil Place faith, that the Mercy-feat was a Cover- 
 ing for the Ark, and as the Hebrew Name for that is 
 -JTp2 from ">?? he would conclude from thence that 
 the Verb muft fignify to cover. To confirm this, he 
 
 quotes Exrd.xxv. it. nty#P ^T^ jrr FW / ¥ £*?? 
 
 mid thou /halt put the Mercy -feat above upon the Ark. 
 We are here told, the Mercy-feat was put above, 
 and upon the Ark-, but it is no where faid, that 
 it covered the Ark: And yet it afTuredly did fo-, 
 but that was not its principal Ufe, and tKat from 
 which this Part of the facred Furniture received its 
 Denomination ; which was vaflly fuperior, even to be 
 an Habitation for the mofl High, and the Place of 
 his peculiar Refklence aniongft the Children of Men-. 
 
 Where 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 127 
 
 Where he was pleafed to appoint certain religions 
 Rites,- of peculiar Solemnity, to be performed once 
 every Year, for Atonement of the Sins of the whole 
 Congregation of the People of Ifrael ; to tlcattfe t£cm 
 from t\)t <$lllit of all their Tranfgreffions before the 
 Lord. Which important Tranfaction gave Name to 
 that Day, on which, and to that Part of the facred 
 Furniture, by which it was performed : For which 
 Reafon it was, I think, never called rtMQ as £ X cd. 
 xx vi. 14. nor ,? !B-?as Num. iv. 14. But was always 
 fpoken of by the Name rQ%2 The Propitiatory or 
 Mercy-feat. The Doctor writes as if he apprehended 
 that the Propitiatory was, in the Greek Veriion ufually 
 called KxTccTTireca-^a : But this, I humbly conceive, 
 was a Miftake of that very learned Writer ; than 
 Name having been, by the Greek Tranflators, given 
 to the Vail of the Covering, which in the Hebrew is 
 called ^3^3, which divided betwixt the holy Place 
 and the moft Holy: Exod. xxvi. 31. But never to 
 the Mercy -feat, which is in the Hebrew always called 
 ■H^EO, and in the Greek Ixurr.^ov, except in Exod. xxx. 
 6. and in Ch. xxvi. 34. In the former Place there is 
 an Undiftinctnefs of Senfe and Connection : But 
 whoever will confider, that the Altar of Incenle, 
 which is there fpoken of, flood without the Vail, and 
 that the Greek of that Verfe is defective, as may be 
 feen by comparing it with the Hebrew, or with the 
 other Verfions, will find that the Particle <AL in the 
 Hebrew, and the correfpondent lm in the Greek, only 
 figniry that the Vail hung before the Ark, fo as to 
 hide it from the Sight of thofe which were in the 
 Sanctuary : And fo they fignify Exod. xl, 3. But they 
 do not there fignify that any Covering was laid upon 
 the Ark, as the Mercy-feat was, as it is exprefied in 
 the latter Part of the Verfe, which is omitted in the 
 Greek Veriion, the Word tw xaT«7r£T*VjuaT» being put 
 for tw tAas-jj/Mw, as it ought to be from the Hebrew 
 Word, which is the famt here, as it is wherever it is 
 fo rend red. But 
 
128 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 But fuppofe the Word -THE)? W ere allowed to be 
 truly rendred, by the Word xaiWrafr/Aos, which cart 
 never be proved, yet, from thence it would not fol- 
 low that fi"3&3 mould fignify a Covering, or IS? to cover^ 
 becaufe the Greek Word hath not that Signification, 
 but that of fimething expanded or fir etched out, and fo is 
 very properly put to fignify the Vail, or Curtain, which 
 was hung up to divide betwixt the Holy Place, and the 
 Holy of Holies. And fo it is ufed Exod. xl. 3. before 
 cited, and in V. 2 1 . He brought the Ark into the Taber- 
 nacle, and fit up ( CD^l and put up) the Vail of the Co- 
 vering and covered the Ark of the Teftimony: Where it is 
 very plain, the Covering here meant mull be as above 
 defcribedj and to make out this Signification, there 
 is added, in the Hebrew, the Word "Ipp, as <H^p 
 would not alone fuffice to exprefs that Meaning. 
 This the Greeks have, with their ufual Uncorrectnefs of 
 Tranflation, by a Tranfpofition of the Words, made 
 
 ^wraxaAu/x^a xxrxTTtrda-^ar^ 3 , inftead of xxTX7rirxs-[xx 
 
 xa.TOiyiK\v l u[j.ix.T@>, as it is in the Hebrew: But they ufe 
 not this Word to fignify the Propitiatory or Mercy- 
 feat, which they properly tranflate only by the Word 
 Ixampiov. Nor is the Verb "^3, or its Derivatives ever 
 ufed to lignify Covering, in all the Old Teftament ; 
 except what is faid of covering the Ark with Pitchy 
 Gen. vi. 14. Of this we may be convinced by exa- 
 mining fome Places, where one might moft probably 
 exped to find it. In Gen. viii. 13. the Covering of 
 Noah's Ark is not called JttSd,. but HDiptf, from npD 
 to cover. In the Defer iption of the Cherubims, where 
 it is faid, Exod. xxv. 20. and xxxvii. 9. that the Che- 
 rubims fir etched out their Wings on high, and covered with 
 their Wings over the Mercy- feat : In neither Place have 
 we the Word Cin?iD or D*195P to fignify covering : but 
 D?p3D in the former Place, and &%& in the latter. 
 The fame Idea is exprefTed, 1 Rings viii. 7. and 2 Chro. 
 v. 8. with refpect to the Cherubims in Solomon's 
 Temple. The Cherubims fpread forth their Wings over 
 
 the 
 
fythe NEW TESTAMENT. 129 
 
 Place of the Ark, and the Cherubim's covered the Ark. 
 In neither of thefe Places is the Verb 193 ufed, but in 
 the former it is ^D^, from "pD, and in the latter ^% 
 from HDD, each fignifying to cover. So, in Num. xvi, 
 39. where the Cenlers of Corah and his impious Afib- 
 ciates are ordered to be made into broad Plates, for a 
 Covering of the Altar, the Word for Covering is ^^ 
 from HE^, which is ufed to denote the overlaying 
 the facred Utenfils with Gold or Silver, fcfa as 
 Exod. xxv„ 11. &c. So that this learned Writer 
 hath riot at all made it appear that the Verb "133 
 fignifieth /imply to cover, as he afferted. And that the 
 contrary is the Cafe will be more fully evident* from 
 an impartial Examination of the Inftances, by which 
 Father Cnlajio hath endeavoured to evince the fame 
 Thing. That very great Matter of Oriental Learning 
 hath ranged the Word J"HSD under the firfl Clafs of 
 Words from "©3, to which he hath affigned the 
 Signification of Covering ;' I fuppofe for the fame Rea- 
 fon as Dr. Hammond and fome others have done., 
 merely becaufe, in the Difpofition of the holy Fur- 
 niture, the Mercy-feat was appointed to be laid upon 
 the Ark. For although he hath put the Words texit, 
 'operuit, linivii, oblinivit, bituminavit, as the primary 
 Signification of the Verb ; he hath not given one 
 Inftance of its being applied in the Senfe of any one 
 of thofe Verbs, in the whole Scripture, except the laft 
 and that only once, with refpec! to the Ark of Noah. 
 And by Examination of his Concordance, as well as 
 that of Buxtorf, it doth not appear, that it occurs at 
 all elfewhere with the Meaning of any one of thofe 
 Verbs. And in all thofe Places where he hath 
 translated iVlED, by any of the Words opertorium^ 
 operculum, tentorium, &c. The Senfe, every where, 
 requires it to be rendred by the Word Propitiatorium, 
 as much as in the other Places, where he hath fo 
 trandated it; and fo it is rendred, both by the Septu- 
 agitti Greek and bv the Vulgate Latin, as is noted in 
 . R ths 
 
i 3 o The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 the Margin of Father Calafio\ Book. Thus in the 
 firft Example, Exod.xxv. 17. 3rTJ/VJ93£N83£», which 
 he hath tranflated : et fades opertorium auro r The 
 Vulgate Latin hath it : Fades et Propitiatorium de auro : 
 And the Septuagint Greek is: x) irowtit 'IAAZTH'PION 
 Xpvrla : Both as the Englijh and the other modern Ver- 
 
 fions : And thou Jhalt make a Mercy feat of Gold. 
 
 So Lev. xvi. 15. ri^n^nD^Jin'sarT, which he 
 tranflates thus : Teclorii ad Orientem et ad fades teclorii: 
 i. e. of the Covering, to the Eajl, and before the Covering. 
 For which the Greek TranQation hath , iir) v *A«pif »ov 
 xxr uv<zto\&s' xxtx zT^ofuvov T8 tA*$"Wg, upon the Mercy- 
 feat Eaftward, and before the Mercy-feat : as it is in the 
 Englijh Verfion. The fame is equally true of every 
 other Example, alleged by any one, to vindicate this 
 Signification of covering. Now if thefe two learned 
 Authors of Hebrew Concordances, in the Compofition 
 whereof they were obliged critically to examine and: 
 remark upon every Sentence, Word and Letter, in 
 the Bible, have not found one fingle Example to vin- 
 dicate the Signification of covering, which thefe, and 
 perhaps other learned Men, have afiigned to the Verb 
 ">33 and to the NounJ - n i >33, except as before, which 
 is nothing to the Cafe ; one may fafely pronounce 
 that that Signification doth not belong to them : And 
 that therefore fo great Men as Dr. Hammond, Father 
 Calafio, Mercer, &fr. were in this miftaken ; which I 
 fhou'd not have taken this Pains to prove, had not 
 the Sheet wherein I had alferted, as before noted, been 
 printed off, before I was aware, I had contradicted 
 Writers of fuch Charader. And this I hope the candid 
 Reader will take as a fufficient Excufe, if he think, I 
 ought to make one. 
 
 From the preceding Obfervations, I think, it will 
 be evident, that the fame Idea is, in the New Tefta- 
 ment, applied to denote the Efficacy of the Blood of 
 Chrift, as the ty\\tt of tf)t ftetomptiQlt of the apo- 
 
 itate 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 131 
 
 ftatc Race of fallen Man, from Sin, Death and Hell, 
 which was applied to denote Redemption, in any Way, 
 under the Old Teftament; and particularly fuch as 
 appertained to the ceremonial Inftitutions of the Law 
 of Mofes, wherever that Idea occurs j as in the Inftan- 
 ces before mentioned. It is alfo evident, that the 
 Idea of Atonement or Propitiation, which was per- 
 formed by various Rituals, under the Law, for the 
 Pardon of Sin, is in the New Teftament, applied to 
 the Blood of Chrift, as fhed, by the Appointment of 
 the Almighty Father, to be an fttotltmettt far t|)C 
 &tttg of t&e ^lojlti : And that this was prefigured 
 by the typical Sacrifices of Atonement under the Law. 
 The near Arfinity of thefe two Ideas, and with how 
 much Propriety they are applied to Jefus Chrift, will 
 pretty well appear from what hath been obferved upon 
 each of them feparately : And it will more fully be 
 evident from the Union of the two Ideas in one and 
 the fame Subject, and that in the general and original 
 Import of the Words, and without all Relation to 
 Sacrifice -, as it is in Exod. xxi. 30. It is in this 
 Paflage inftituted, that if any one's Ox, which had 
 been known to pufh with his Horn, fhould happen 
 to kill a free Perfon, befides that the Ox mult be 
 ftoned, the Owner fhould be alfo put to Death: But 
 this capital Punifhment might { perhaps in fome 
 Cafes) be changed into a pecuniary Mulct, And fa 
 it is faid : And if there be laid on him a Sum of Money , 
 then he fhall give for the Ranfom of his Life, whatfoever 
 is laid upon him. The Mulct, called, in our Tranfla- 
 tion, A Sum of Money, is, in the Hebrew, "'P 3 * an 
 Atonement or Expiation j and the fame is termed af- 
 terwards ty^rj? The Ranfom of his Life (Heb. of his 
 Soul.) The Greek of the Septuagint hath expreffed 
 both the Hebrew Words by the Greek aut?«. *E*v h\ 
 
 AurPa tZTtZXri^n oJutw, iuxrti Aur^a T vJ/up^K »vts '. If CI 
 
 Price for the Ranfom of his Soul be laid upon him, he 
 
 fhall give the Price of his Soul's Ranfom. A like Con- 
 
 R 2 nection 
 
i 3 2 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 nectic n of thefe two Ideas occurs in Pfal. xlix. 9. 
 )yg nn^b ]n:~ib &$ figs* iTi3 ikb nx : None of them, 
 can by any Means redeem his Brother, nor give to God 
 a Ran/cm for him. The Hebrew is an Atonement for 
 him : And what is in the former Part of the Verfe 
 called Redemption, is in the latter Part mentioned un- 
 der the Notion of making Atonement: And the Greek 
 Interpreters have tranflated, or rather paraphrafed it 
 by the fame Words, we have obferved- often before •, 
 though not in the fame Senfe with the Hebrew Text : 
 
 A$t\<poq a AuTpg-at, ^VT^coarerai av-S'pwTr^ ; s Sura tZ ®£a> 
 
 1£iXx<t[aol lauTa. A Brother doth not redeem (or is not 
 redeemed -, ) will a Man ranfom him ? He will not give 
 unto God an Atonement for himfelf The Senfe is con- 
 fufed and different from the Hebrew, but the Union 
 of thefe two Ideas, of Redemption and Atonement in 
 both thefe Places is very plain, and is, as was faid a 
 little above, an Evidence of the Confiftence and Pro- 
 priety of the Application of both to our Lord Jefus 
 Chriil, the iiUtentfC^ cf *pan&Uti>, and the ^ropu 
 ti&tian for the Sins of the World. And however 
 inconfiftent with the natural Fitnefs of Things this 
 Doctrine may appear to the new Editors and Trans- 
 formers of Chriftianity •, it mufl: appear to all who 
 believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God, to be 
 confident with the mod pcifert and eternal fttafon, 
 and the unerring Counfel of the moil High. One 
 need not wonder, that if Men will afiume to fathom 
 the Depths of the divine Counfels, and particularly in 
 this wondrous CEccnomy, their Reafon fhouid fail 
 them and prove unequal to the vaft Attempt, when 
 even the holy Angels themfelves, thofe Sons of Light, 
 are, in Scripture, reprefented as not readily compre- 
 hending this amazing Myftery. 1 Pet. i. 12. Which 
 ^Things the Angels defire to look into. The Greek Word 
 wotgotxtyw, which is here tranflated to look into, Agni- 
 zes to fioop down or lean forward to view fomeihing 
 "'•.? Intenfenefs and Accuracy, Which Idea is applied 
 
 with 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 133 
 
 with the greaterf. Elegance and Propriety, to this 
 myfterious and ( to human Minds ) incomprehenfiblc. 
 Difpenfation : But fuppofing the Lord Jefus Chrift 
 to have been only a Prophet, or Teacher lent from 
 God, to give Mankind a more perfeft Syftem of 
 moral Precepts, for the Conduct or Life, there would 
 be nothing in the Scheme fuitablc to the magnificent 
 Defcription. 
 
 A third Manner of exprefrins; the Benefit, which 
 
 A ^ . O 7 
 
 we receive by the Death of Chrift, in the New Te-r 
 {lament, is by defcribing it as the Means of cur 
 ^Reconciliation j&itlj vDoDt As in Heb. ii, 17. Thai 
 He [Chrift] might be a merciful and faithful High-priefo 
 
 I to make REONCILIATIQN, for the Sins of the 
 
 People. The Word here tranflated to make Reconcili- 
 ation, is iAaVxecSf, the Word which we have feen, the- 
 Greek Tranflators moftly uied to render: the making 
 Atonement or Propitiation by. And this Synonymy, will 
 appear very proper, by confidering that Ittecoiitilifte 
 tton is a natural Confequence of propitiation: 
 When Satisfaction is made, Anger ceafeth. Thus in 
 the Inflance of Jacob mentioned before : If his Bro- 
 ther accept his Prefent, he depends upon a kind Re- 
 ception : Perhaps he will accept me : tc-oor tz^t$'$ito>a <£ 
 zrgo<ru7r6v fjLs : Perhaps he will accept my Face : The Vul- 
 gate Latin hath it, forfan propiiiabitur mihi : nearer the 
 Empbafis of the Hebrew ; ^p ft&? , /1& • which is an Idiom 
 in the Hebrew fignifying to regard a Perfon with fupe- 
 rior Favour. So Lev. xix. 1 5. "n >3? K'8JT?l&> : <j'hcu 
 fhalt'not accept the Face of a poor Man : Thou malt not 
 mew hirn fuperior or partial Favour in Judgment.) 
 So i Sam. xxv. 35. David faith unto Abigail, 
 •F4|a*i£^. / have accepted {thy Face) thy Perfon: that 
 is, I have a very great Regard and Favour'for thee. 
 
 Again, 2 Kin. v. 1. Naaman was a great Man 
 
 witb his Mafler, and honourable, &c. In the Hebrew it 
 IS DJ^fctttt^ whofe Face was acceptable, who was in 
 
 great 
 
134 rlje CHRISTIANITY 
 
 great Favour, Efteem and Friendfhip with the King ; 
 and the like where-ever it occurs. And for this 
 Keafon the Englijh Tranflators have, in many Places 
 rendre4 the Words, which fignify Atonement by the 
 Word Reconciliation: So Levit. viii. 15. To make Re- 
 conciliation upon it : The Hebrew is Vjy "IB?? : to which 
 the Greek hath given the ufual Tranflation : t» j^- 
 ^aVao^, to make Atonement. The fame occurs Ezek. 
 
 xlv. 15. 2 Chron. xxix. 24. The Priejls made 
 
 Reconciliation with their Blood upon the Altar to make an 
 Atonement for all Ifrael. nn -Lran DD^-r,^ WI?n: D^ulbrt 
 ^•y^a^-lSOj: Here the Words »P7 and ">?P 
 are both ufed concerning one and the fame Sub-' 
 ject : And the Greek Interpreters have tranflated them 
 both by one and the fame Word : It Upliq i£i\u<ruvT» 
 
 TO ZlU.Ot, cl'JTM 7rp0$ TO 3'U<7taf*ljSI0l' Hj ffclXa.O'XVTO fStA ZFaVTO? 
 
 Io-^anV The Priefts made Atonement with their Blood 
 
 upon the Altar , and made an Atonement for all Ifrael. 
 In Ezek. xvi. 63. When I am pacified toward thee for 
 all that thou haft done, &c. This Place plainly im- 
 ports Reconciliation, yet it is exprefled by the fame 
 Word li"*lt>33 and the Greek is the fame as before. 
 The Vulgate Latin hath quum placatus tibi fuero ; quite 
 in the Senfe of Reconciliation : And although the fame 
 W T ord, in the New Teftament, doth not arife im- 
 mediately from any of thefe Paffages in the Old, 
 which, it may therefore rather feem, ought to be 
 referred to the former Head; yet as the Senfe and 
 Connection, in them all, carries the Idea of Recon- 
 ciliation •, and as the New Teftament plainly refers the 
 Reconciliation of God to Man, to the Death of 
 Chrift, which is, in other Places, called by the Name 
 by which the Greek Interpreters have tranflated the 
 Word Atonement in the Old Teftament, almoft every 
 where, whereof Reconciliation is fo natural an Effect 
 and Confequence; we may, without any Impropriety, 
 fay that this Description of the Efficacy of the Death 
 Of Chrift is taken from, and eftablifhe4 upon, the 
 
 Autho- 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. i%s 
 
 Authority of the Old Teftament as well as the for- 
 mer : And that this Benefit ct the Death of Chrift 
 was as well typified and prefigured by the Sacrifices 
 of Atonement, Peace-offerings, &c. as the fame being 
 a Propitiation for the Sins of the World, was typified 
 by the fame Sacrifices. But I have met with one 
 Place, in the Old Teftament, where the Word occurs, 
 which is moftly ufed in the New, to exprefs this Idea: 
 viz. i Sam. xxix. 4. Where we are told, that David 
 having offered to afiift AchifJj King of Gath, in the 
 War, which he was engaged in againft Saul and the 
 People of Ifrael, and the King having accepted the 
 Propofal, the Lords of the Philijlines were difpleafed, 
 and remonftrated againft it, giving this as a Reafon, 
 that David being obnoxious to Saul, as a Rebel and 
 Traitor, might probably take this Opportunity of 
 making his Peace, by deferting them in the Engage- 
 ment ; or perhaps turning againft them to" deliver 
 them into the Hand of Saul, &c. *Wfi$ ^ njPJJ! n £? 
 wherewith ffjould he reconcile him/elf to his Mafter, Jhould 
 it not be with the Heads of thefe Men? The Greek Verfion 
 
 is tv Tin '^cpa^a.yY&trcu st©^ to) xvpup «ut» j And this 
 
 Word is for the moft Part ufed, in the New Tefta- 
 ment, to exprefs this Idea. Thus 2 Cor. v. 18, 19, 20. 
 And all Things are of GOD, who hath reconciled us 
 (tk xxra.ysb.cc^otvTi^ ipciq) to himfelf by Jesus Christ, 
 and hath given to us the Minijtry of Reconciliation, 
 .( -£ xotTxy&ocyris ) to wit, that GOD was in Chrift, re- 
 conciling ()t«T«^«Mu») the World unto himfelf, 
 
 and hath committed unto us the Word of Reconciliation. 
 (-£ KaTa^ayvK.) Therefore we are Ambaffadors for Chrifl ; 
 
 • we pray you, in Chrift' s Stead, be ye reconciled 
 
 (xuTaT^xynrs) to GOD. And the fame in very many 
 Places befide. The two Compounds x«ra)&«©jw and 
 Ztyfik(kQ3u are equally ufed in the Senfe of Reconcili- 
 ation. And although the Word be ufed figurative- 
 ly to fignify JiUrotuiltation effe&ed, by what Way 
 foever ; yet literally, and moft agreeably to its Ety- 
 mology, it. denotes Reconciliation by Atonement, 
 
 Com- 
 

 t 3 6 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 'Commutation, or other Satisfaction : As David's be- 
 traying the Army of the Philifiines into the Hands of 
 Saul, appeared, to the Philiftine Commanders a proper 
 Recompence for his Offence, and that in Consideration 
 thereof, Saul might reafonably be reconciled to him, 
 and receive him into Favour. Under which Idea the 
 Almighty was pleafed to reprefent himfelf as accep- 
 ting the Sacrifices and Oblations, under the Law : 
 And thus alfo it is very often declared in the New 
 Teftament, that Reconciliation hath been made between 
 God and Man, not by our Conformity to the moral 
 lnftitutions of Chriftianity ; though that is alfo a Con- 
 dition abfolutely neceffary to compleat the Reconcilia- 
 tion ; as will be more fully explained in the following 
 Section : But it is declared to be effectuated by tJ)C 
 SDPeltlj of CtH'ifty as our Sacrifice of Atonement. So 
 Heb. ii. 1 y. That he might be a ?nerciful and faithful High- 
 
 priejl -to make Reconciliation for the Sins of the People, 
 
 Where although the Context fairly juftifies the Tran- 
 flation ; yet the Original is Ik ™ iAaVx^ : to make A- 
 tonemcnt for the Sim, &c. This Doctrine of Reconci- 
 liation as the Effect of the Death of Chrift is fully 
 declared in many Places of the New Teftament. Rom. 
 v. 10. If when we were Enemies we were reconciled (y.acTyx- 
 \xyny.s») to GOD, by the Death of his Son, &f . Eph. 
 ii. 16. That he might rconcile (diro^xray^a.^) both (Jew 
 and GentileJ unto GOD, in one Body by the Crofs, 
 having flain the Enmity tlltt'?bp, iv etuTw ( T <f raJ^w) by 
 the Crofs. Col. i. 20. having made Peace through the 
 Blood of His Crofs, by him to reconcile d-rrsKXTa^d^ou, 
 all Things to himfelf And V. 21, 22. You whotwre 
 
 Enemies yet now hath he reconciled, aVoxa- 
 
 T)foa££!/, in the Body of his Flefio through Death. Thefe 
 and a great Deal more to the fame Effect, are very 
 clear Teftimonies, that the Almighty hath appointed 
 the Death of Chrifb to be the Mcdiim of ReconcJ- 
 t.iation betwixt himfelf and a guilty World: And 
 thefe and fuch like Paffiiges are, in their plain and 
 obvious Meaning, and ftiil more as they are corrobo- 
 rated 
 
Of tfc NEW TESTAMENT. 137 
 
 rated by the Concurrence and Authority of the Doc- 
 trine of the Old Teftament, very clear Indications of 
 the Mind and Will of God, concerning this great 
 and fundamental Article of the Chriftian Faith, of 
 the Atonement anO &ati$fa(tiaii maDe for Sun, and 
 the confequent Reconciliation of Sinners to God, 
 by the Death of Chrift upon the Crofs, and are not 
 capable of being, with any Appearance of Senfe and 
 Connection, ufed to fupport, nor are confident with, 
 the Doctrine of Socinus. 
 
 Reconciliation neceflarily fuppofeth a preceding 
 Quarrel •, the Quarrel between God and Man arofe 
 from Tranfgreilion. Upon the Pardon of Sin the 
 Ground of the Quarrel is removed, and KetOitCtit* 
 atiott enfues: But the Pardon of Sin is, in the New 
 Teftament afcribed to the 315looti of C|)?ilf, as the 
 procuring Caufe, Eph. i. 7. In whom we have 5Rc? 
 iJCmptiou, tf'tousb Xji$ i5Iootl, even the Forgivenefs 
 (twi/ 7rxpx7rlu;ji.clridv ) of Tranjgrejjions. Col. i. 14. In 
 whom we have Redemption through his Bloody even the 
 forgivenefs (ruv a^aonuv) of Sins. 1 John i: 7. The 
 Blood of Jefus Chrift his Son cltattfstij tig from all 
 £>tn, xaSaoigti nfMct 9 maftetlj Atonement foj its, as 
 we have before feen the Word here fignifies.) Rev. i. 
 5. Unto him that loved us* and wafhed us from our Sins in 
 J)i0 Oftm HBlooD, &c. In thefe and many more Places the 
 Blood of Chrift is exprelsly declared to have obtained 
 the Pardon of Sins-, according to that, Heb. ix. 22. 
 without foedding of Blood there is no Remiffion; and Lev. 
 Xvii. 11. 7/ is the Blood which maketh Atonement. And 
 this we find was, by the Law of Mofes y necelTary in 
 order to pardon. So it is appointed, Lev. iv. 20. If 
 the whole Congregation fhould fin, the Prieft was, 
 by the Oblation of a Bullock, with fundry requifire 
 Ceremonies, (particularly he muft put fome of the Blood 
 upon the Horns of the Altar of Incenfe^ and the Remain- 
 der of the Blood he muft pour out at the Bottom of the 
 Altar of Burnt-offerings , &c.) to make an Atonement for 
 
 S tbw, 
 
138 the CHRISTIANITY 
 
 them, aud the SinJJoould be forgiven them. So if a par- 
 ticular Perfon had committed a Trefpafs againil his 
 Neighbour, in a Matter of Fraud, and were guilty ; 
 befides making Reftitution, &V. he was to bring his 
 Trefpafs-offering unto the Prieft a Ram, &c. Lev vi. 
 7. And the Prieft Jhall make an Atonement for him before 
 the Lord, and it Jhall be forgiven him. 
 
 It is certain the whole People of Ifrael, and indeed 
 all Mankind did, before the Time of Chrift, firmly 
 believe the Pardon of Sin to be obtained from the 
 Almighty, by Virtue and in Confequence of Sacri- 
 fices ; fingly upon the Authority of their divine In- 
 flitution, without the leaft Pretence of their having 
 any natural J^ititefg for fuch an End. And the 
 Declarations, that Pardon of Sins is granted only 
 through the Blood of Chrift, we have feen are as 
 plain, in the New Teftament, as Words can be. 
 There is none other Name under Heaven given among 
 Men, whereby we muft be faved, Ac"ls iv. 12. And as 
 we obferved of the Terms before noted, as ufed in 
 the New Teftament, that they are the fame by which 
 the fame Ideas in the Religion of Mofes were expreffed, 
 in the Greek Tranflation of the Old Teftament: So 
 this of Forgivenefs, as confequent upon the Death of 
 Chrift, is treated of under the fame Terms in which 
 the fame Greek Tranflation fpeaks of Pardon as con- 
 fequent upon the Sacrifices of Atonement under the 
 Law. 
 
 Thus, Lev. iv. 20. The Prieft pall make an Atone- 
 ment for them, and the Sin Jhall be forgiven them. The 
 Word ufed by the Septuagint is a,<pi%<moc\, ; the fame 
 which is, by the facred Penmen of the New Tefta- 
 ment, for the moft Part, ufed in the fame Senfe; fo 
 i John ii. 12. Tour Sins are forgiven you for his Name's 
 Sake. The Greek Word is a<piW«i ; the fame Verb 
 with the former. So Luke xxiv. 47. That Redemption 
 and Remission of Sins Jhould be preached in his Name. 
 The Greek Word for Remiffion is ofa&iv, of the lame 
 
 radical 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 139 
 
 radical Signification with the preceding: And the 
 fame in the two Places cited a little above ; Eph. i. 
 7. and Col. i. 14. And the fame might be fhewn in 
 very many Inftances, both in the Old and in the New 
 Teftament. Now if under the Law the Pardon of 
 Sin, and the confequent Reconciliation of the Sinner 
 to God, was declared to be granted in Confequence 
 of the Sacrifices of Atonement rightly offered, as it 
 plainly was, in a Multitude of Inftances : And if 
 Pardon and Reconciliation, expreffed by the fame 
 Terms, by which the fame Ideas are expreffed in the 
 Greek of the Old Teftament ; be declared, in the New 
 Teftament, to be granted in Confequence of the Death 
 of Chrift, as the great Sacrifice of Atonement, as is 
 molt fully expreffed in many Places •, is it not plainly 
 the Will of God, that we fhould fo underftand and 
 believe it ? I fhall afterwards confider the Notion of 
 the Life of the Sacrifice being originally confidered as 
 a Subftitute for the Life of the Offender, and endea- 
 vour to make it appear, that although that Idea bq 
 not effential to the Efficacy of Sacrifices, which de- 
 pended entirely upon the foveraign Will and Ap- 
 pointment of the Almighty, yet the Jewifh Rabbins 
 had fufficient Ground, in Scripture, to eftabliih that 
 Idea upon. 
 
 The Benefit, which Mankind receiveth from the 
 Sacrifice and Death of Chrift is further reprefented, 
 in the New Teftament under the Idea of Justifica- 
 tion : Which is a Forenfick or Juridical Term, figni- 
 fying to clear or acquit a Perfon from fomething 
 criminal, he was fuppofed to be charged or charge- 
 able with, in Law. So Dent. xxv. 1. If there be a 
 Controverfy y and Men come into Judgment •, then they (the 
 Judges) fhall Uifttfp the Righteous and condemn the JVic- 
 ked. All the World is guilty before GOD* Rom. iii. '19. 
 having broken the divine Law •, and, are therefore 
 liable to Condemnation: For the Sou! that Jimieth, it 
 
 S 2 fhJl. 
 
140 7fo CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Jhall die. Ezek. xviii. 4. and, Curfed is he that confirmeth 
 not ( D^HaIWI wno performeth not-, the Heb. is 
 the fame is in 1 Sam. xv. u.j all the Words of this 
 Law, to do them. And Jer. xi. 3. Curfed is the Man, 
 that obeyeth not the Words of this Covenant. I need not 
 excufe for my alleging thefe Texts in Proof of what 
 is before aiferted, fince the infpired Apollie hath done 
 the fame: Gal. iii. 10. As many as are of the Works of 
 the Law are under the Curfe ; for it is written, Curfed is 
 every one, thai contimieth not in all Things which are 
 'written in the Book of the Law, to do them. From this 
 Condemnation none can be acquitted in Law, but 
 either by offering forne Equivalent, by Way of A- 
 tonement, or by the Favour of the Soveraign. Sa- 
 crifices and Oblations can never, by their own Merit, 
 do away Sin. Even Thoufands of Rams, and ten Thou- 
 fands of Rivers of Oil; Nay, The firfi -born offered for 
 Tranfgreffion, the Fruit of the Body for the Sin of the 
 Soul ( T?2 j-)NW a Sin-offering for my Soul) Mic. vi. 
 7. muft be in themfelves of no Effect for Satisfaction 
 and Atonement. Nor is Repentance and Reforma- 
 tion more effectual : For as a perfect Conformity of 
 Heart and Life to the Law of God is (naturally, 
 tint* Ul tije Uitto of iUafott) due, for Juftification, 
 every Moment of our Lives, we can never have any 
 Merit of Supererogation, to be an 3tOilCmCllt foj 
 paff CcanfgrefftOH* So that there remains no 
 Ground of Hope even for penitent Sinners, but the 
 foveraign Goodnefs of the Almighty ; which he hath 
 been pleafed to exhibit, not at large and uncondi- 
 
 .!, but upon certain Terms and Limitations, as 
 declared in tlie Gofpel; tl)lj{cF> MZ f tilth in tlje 
 JlO^i) JefiiS Chxift, or a fready Affent to the Scheme 
 of Salvation as there declared ; and l\Cp£UtaiUC, 
 
 h is really included in the former, and is a true 
 Sorrow for Sin. ; and a determinate Purpofe, with a 
 fmcere and conftant Endeavour to yield a perfect 
 Obedience, for the future, to the Laws of Reafon, 
 
 and 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 141 
 
 and Religion ; with a renewed Penitence for our daily 
 Infirmities-, and a conftant Reliance on the Merits of 
 the Redeemer, for the Atonement of our unavoidable 
 Lapfes, and the BJmpcifcrt toii0 of t\u\ £Dbcomuc» 
 
 This is the Commiflion to the Apoftles, Mark xvi. 
 15, 16. Go ye into all the World* and preach the Gofpel 
 to every Creature. He that believeth and is baptized JhaU 
 be Javed* but he that believeth not Jhall be damned. John 
 iii. 16. GO D Jo loved the World* that he gave his only 
 begotten Son* that zvhojoever believeth in him* JJjould not 
 ptrijh; but have everlajiing Life. And, V. 18. He that 
 believeth is not condemned* He that believeth not is con- 
 demned already* becaufe he hath not believed in the Name 
 of the only begotten Son of God. John vi. 29. This is the 
 Work of God* that ye believe on him* whom he hath fent. 
 John iii. 14, 15. As Mofes lifted up the Serpent* in the 
 Wildernefs : Even fo mujl the Son of Man be lifted up : 
 That whojoever believeth in himfhould not perijlj* but have 
 everlajiing Life. Acts xx. 20, 21. / have f hewed you 
 and taught you publicly* and from Houfe to Houfe : Tefii- 
 Jying fath to the Jews and aljo to the Greeks, Repen- 
 tance towards GOD* and Faith towards cur Lord J ejus 
 Chriji. 
 
 In thefe and very many other Places, in the New 
 Teftament, Faith in our Lord Jefus Chrilt, that is a 
 firm Belief of the Doctrine of Salvation by him, as 
 taught in the Gofpel, is required as a Condition abfo- 
 lutely necelfary to the Obtainment of that Salvation •, 
 as well as Repentance from dead Works, and conie- 
 quent Holinefs of Life, which is included in the 
 Idea the Scripture gives of Faith, as it is a certain 
 Confequencc of a ileady Belief of the Doctrines of 
 the Gofpel; fo that wherever Obedience to the Laws 
 of Chriitian Holinefs is not found, there the Bclict 
 of the Gofpel is not real •, for the Conduct of moral 
 Agents will tip t\jt jfrcccfltt?* of 0dti;Vt be fuitable 
 to the full Conviction of the Undentanding ; whereof 
 1 liall treat more fully in the following lection. — . 
 
 Of 
 
i 4 2 The C H R I S T I A N I T Y 
 
 Of this Effect of Faith the Apoftles make frequent 
 Mention, in their Writings. Rom. v. i. Being jufti- 
 fied by Faith we have Peace with G D, through our 
 Lord Jefus Chrijl. Rom. iv. 22. Faith was imputed 
 (reckoned or accounted,) to Abraham, /<?r Righteouf- 
 nefs. And (V. 24.) to us alfo it (hall be imputed, if we 
 helieve on him that raifed up our Lord Jefus Chrijl from 
 the Dead ; who wa~ delivered for our Offences, and raifed 
 again for our Juftification. 2Jg rx TrxpxjrlufAXTx wy.uvy 
 and 2]g t\w hxKiuHriv Y\pw. The Particle tyf, we have 
 before obierved denotes the Cauie, as r,v 2^# pxvTovwbjj 
 Horn. 11. a. 72. Suam propter vaticinandi artem, Clarke. 
 So Mat. xvii. 20. <Ji« rw xttioxv vpuv -, becaufe of your Un- 
 belief, &c. And the Greeks very commonly ufe, 2sJ# rara 
 and Six to exactly in the lame Senfe with the Latin 
 Ideo, propterea, &c. and with the Hebrew Wl and Uft? 1 ?. 
 So 1 Kin. xi. 12. 1ty*"1fttt»? for David thy Father's. 
 Sake, in the Greek it is, Jiii AauU t irxri^x a-s : propter 
 David patr em tuum. Vulg. And Jofh. xiv. 14. "Hf&W* 
 HjT *!?DJ* H^P Becaufe He wholly followed the Lord, &V., 
 In the Greek it is : <J»a to auTw £7raxoA8^«<r«t, £fff. ^///tf 
 fecutus eft, &c. From thefe and other Texts of like 
 Import, and from the conftant Ufe of this Particle, 
 the Death of Chrift. is fully declared to have been for 
 the Expiation of the Sins of Mankind, and was ne- 
 cefTary, by the Almighty's Appointment, as the 
 Ground of out* 3!uftiftcation and Salvation. Rom. 
 v. 8, 9. GOD commended his Love to us, in that while 
 we were yet Sinners Chrift died for us : Much more then 
 being noiv justified by his Blood, we Jhall be faved 
 from Wrath through him. This Term of Juftification, 
 in the New Teitament is expreft by the fame Word, 
 and exactly in the fame Senfe, as it is in the Greek 
 Verfion of the Old Teftament, wherever the Idea 
 occurs, as will appear by comparing the Paffages now 
 quoted and other like, with fuch, in the Old Teita- 
 ment, as Deut. xxv. 1. Job xxxiii. 32. Ifa. xliii. 9, 
 and liii. 11. Pfal. li. 4. .fife* Now why mould the 
 
 infpirecf. 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 143 
 
 infpircd Writer give this Reprefentation of the Effect 
 of the Death of Chrift, in Terms fo plain and indif- 
 putable, if it had not been the Defign of the Holy 
 Spirit of God, by whofe immediate Influence he 
 wrote, that his Readers fhould underftand thefe 
 Words in the fame Senfe, they were by all under- 
 ftood, in the Greek Copy of the Writings of Mofes and 
 the Prophets, which they had in conftant Ufe : Par- 
 ticularly, if they had been defigned to be underflood, 
 00 (for I cannot fay tn the Senfe) Socinus and his 
 Difciples of our Time pretend to underftand them. 
 For this Reafon it is that our Saviour is faid to have 
 born our Sins, 1 Pet. ii. 24. Who his own Jelf bare 
 our Sins in his own Body on the Tree-, and Heb. ix. 
 28. Chrift was once offered, to bear the Sins of 
 many. 
 
 This Expreffion hath a plain Relation to feveral 
 Paffages in the liii. Chap, of Ifaiah, which the Chriftian 
 Writers moftly interpret of the Mcffiah : Ver. 4. Surely 
 he hath born our Griefs, and carried our Sorrows. V. 5. 
 He was wounded for our Tranfgreffions, He was bruifed 
 for our Iniquities : The Chafiifement of our Peace was upon 
 him, and by his Stripes we are healed. V. 6. The Lord 
 hath laid on him the Iniquities of us all. And V. 1 1 . 
 He JJjallfee of the Travel of his Soul ; He fhall be fatisfed 
 ( i^W14 ) in knowing it. (So, I think, it mould be 
 rendred, to make the Senfe of that Branch of the 
 Sentence more complete , which is imperfect, for 
 want of the 1 Copulative [and] which the Englifh hath 
 fupplied; and alfo, becaufe to jujiify by (his own) Know- 
 ledge is a very obfcure as well as unufual Expreffion, 
 hardly occuring in Scripture: And, lafhly, becaufe 
 the Accent Rhebia over V^jn^ f ee ms to make a Paufe 
 there, and to joyn that Word to the preceding Part, 
 and a new Senfe proceeds in the following Words) 
 My righteous Servant /hall jujiify many, for he fhall bmt 
 t3t)Cij Jmf|lUtfe0. Bearing their Iniquities, here, as in 
 the New Teftament, is reprefented as the Ground and 
 
 Reafon 
 
i 4 4 We CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Reafon of the Juftification. But upo: the Socinian 
 Scheme, what Relation would this Part of Propriety 
 have to the Death of Chrift ? And unlefs the Death 
 of Chrift be the Ground of 3liffificat!on, how is 
 this Propriety accompli fried ? And who elfe hath ju- 
 ftified many, by hearing their Iniquity f 
 
 Justification by Faith, or by Works, hath been 
 the Subject of pretty much ufelefs Controverty, in 
 which I mail not-intereft myfelf further, than to ob- 
 ferve that Chrilrian Faith neceffarily includes the 
 Works of Righteoufnefs, as already noted; for, James 
 ii. 17. Faith without Works is dead. And the Works 
 of Righteoufnefs include Faith -, for, John vi. 29. 
 This is the Work of GOD, that ye believe in him whom 
 he hath Jent. Neither mall I pretend to determine 
 concerning the Propriety of the Notion of our Sins 
 being imputed to Chrift, and of his Righteoufnefs to 
 us. I only defire to obferve, that as Chrift is faid 
 to have born our Sins in his own Body on the Crofs : And 
 the like ; it cannot be very much amifs to fay, our 
 Sins were imputed to him, the Punifhment whereof 
 he bore. As this hath been made an Occafion of 
 Cavil againft the Scripture-Scheme of Salvation, I 
 defire to afk our new-lighted Gentlemen, whether our 
 Sins may not, with at leaft as much Propriety, be 
 faid to be imputed to Chrift, and born by him on the 
 Crofs \ as the Scripture fpeaks ; as the Scape-goat 
 could be faid, Lev. xvi. 21, 22. to have the Tranf- 
 greflions and the Sins of all the People of Ifrael pit 
 upon him, and to bear them, NIW to carry them, even all 
 their Iniquities, into a Land not inhabited. No one can 
 fay this was literally true, but the Meaning is 
 as plain as if it had been fo, and was, by the di- 
 vine Appointment, to be fo underftood ; and was 
 fo received by the whole Nation, without Cavil or 
 Objection. And have not we as much Reafon to 
 acquiefce in the plain and obvious Meaning of the 
 Declarations, in the New Teftament, which relate to 
 
 this 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMEjNT. 145 
 
 this Subject ? Should any one of the ancient Jews 
 have objected to, or found Fault with, the Mofaic 
 Inftitutions of Religion, becaufe many of the Cere- 
 monies, and this in particular of the Scape-goat, were 
 not quite agreeable to the Principles of natural Rea- 
 fon and Philofophy, might he not have juftly dreaded 
 fome fuch Manifeitation of the Almighty's Difplea- 
 fure, as was fhewn to Nadab and Abihu -, or to Korah 
 and his Company ? And I know not why We fhould 
 be lefs cautious of provoking the Lord to Anger, by 
 flighting or cavilling with the Authority of his De- 
 clarations, than they were. 
 
 May not the Sins of Mankind be faid to have been 
 imputed to, anO born tip our bleffed Redeemer, in 
 his great Act of propitiation, with as much Pro- 
 priety, as Aaron, Exod. xxviii. 38. was appointed to 
 bear the Iniquity of the holy Things, which the Children 
 of Ifrael fljould hallow, in all their Gifts. And Numb. 
 
 xviii. 1. Aaron and his Sons Jhall btaj t$)Z %\\U 
 
 qtUtp of the Sanctuary, and of the Priejlhood. 
 
 Lev. x. 17. Mofes faith to the Sons of Aaron: The 
 Sin-offering is mojt holy, and it is given you to beat* tf)t 
 3?uiqustp of the Congregation, and to make Atonement 
 for them before the Lord. Who amongft all the wife 
 Men of Ifrael ever queflioned the Propriety of this 
 Expreffion, or blam'd it, a0 intanfsffent toitij 3R.ca* 
 Toil ? The Word here ufed for, to bear, is fWth 
 which a late learned Writer obferves, is of an ambi- 
 guous and uncertain Signification : But the Word 
 D^pP, which is ufed to cxprefs our bieued Saviour's 
 bearing our Griefs, &c. in the liii d of Ifaiah, is not liable 
 to that Exception, fignifying, as indeed the other 
 Word (/ think mofily and ■primarily) alio doth, to bear 
 or carry as a Burthen : And this fufficiently limiteth 
 the Meaning of the Word NitO, both in the preceding 
 Branch oftnefame Sentence, and in this Place, where 
 the Senfe and Connexion are fo very near alike. And 
 the fame Meaning is confirmed by the Ufe of ch» 
 
 T fame 
 
146 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 fame Word with refpect to' the Scape-goat, mentioned 
 before-, which was certainly understood, by the divine 
 Appointment and Eftimation, to bear, to tai^p atoap 
 all the Iniquities of the People into the Wildernefs. This 
 Idea can hardly be mifunderftood: And the Prieft's 
 bearing the Iniquities of the Congregation, by eating the 
 Sin-offering (how difficult foever it may appear to 
 our Apprehenfion) is reprefented, both in the Place 
 now cited, and in the 19th Verfe following, to have 
 been, by the divine Appointment, effectual for the 
 Atonement of T'ranfgreffwn, as is fufficiently clear from 
 the Connection of the whole Paffage, And Bearing, 
 in thefe and fuch like Paffages, may well be allowed 
 to have the fame Meaning as it hath where Perfons 
 are faid to bear tfylil otmt ^itt0 ; as Lev. xix. 8. and 
 xx. 17. Num. v. 31. &c. 
 
 From what hath been faid, I hope the unpreju- 
 diced Reader will be convinced, that the Intention 
 of the Holy Ghoft was, that thofe Texts, in the New 
 Teftament, which fpeak of the Propitiation for, 
 and the Pardon of Sin ; the Redemption, Recon- 
 ciliation, Justification, and final Salvation of 
 lapfed Mankind, as procured by the Sacrifice and 
 Death of Chrift, mould be underftood agreeably to 
 the Idea, which the Jewifh Church had conceived of 
 the fame Terms, as they were ufed in treating of the 
 legal Sacrifices, in the Greek Verfion of the Old Te- 
 flament, and agreeably to the natural and original 
 Meaning- of thofe Ilebrezv Words, whereof the other 
 are the true Tranflation : And that it is the Duty cr 
 all Chriilians not to reject thefe Ideas out of the 
 Scheme of Chriftianity, or to explain away their ge- 
 nuin Senfe, by afiigning to them foreign, figurative, 
 indeterminate and unintelligible Significations, diffe- 
 rent from what both Jews and Gentiles underitood by 
 them, and equally d ; fferent from what the Catholic 
 Church of Chrift, in the nrft and purefl Times of the 
 
 Goipt:, 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 147 
 
 Gofpel, as well as in the following Ages, conceived 
 of them, as might eafily be evinced from the ancient 
 Writings ; but what I have already alleged is, I think, 
 fully iufficient; and I might here put an End to this 
 Section. 
 
 But having, not till very lately, had a Treatife or 
 two fallen into my Hands, one directly and profel- 
 fedly, another by neceffary Confequence treating the 
 Doctrine, I am endeavouring to mpport, as hetero- 
 dox, erroneous and inconfiftent ; I think it neceffary 
 to let the learned Authors know, I have read their 
 Books, without attempting at a formal Anfwer, as 
 that would lead me a great Way beyond my Defign, 
 and alfo becaufe I apprehend from what I have al- 
 ready writ, a pretty furricient Anfwer may be had to 
 whatfoever may feem inconfiftent with the Doctrine, 
 I am attempting to vindicate, 
 
 The Author of Second Thoughts upon the Sufferings 
 and Death of CHRIST : tells us, in his Introduction, 
 that his Mind hath been grievoujly preffed with fome 
 Difficulties^ which attend the Christian Doctrine, &c. 
 I have before obferved, that it is no Wonder, the 
 Minds of mortal Men mould find themfelves fcerp 
 1UUC& emoa^aHctl, when they undertake to unravel 
 the myfterious and unlearchable Counfels of the molt 
 High. Rom. xi. 34. Who hath known the Mind (Heb. 
 If. xl. 13. nn"n» the Spirit) of the Lord. The Talk 
 is above human Strength, the PrefTure is too great 
 for a Creature to bear. The Almighty may juftly 
 challenge the wifeft of the Sons of Men, as he did 
 his Servant Job, Chap, xxxviii 2. Who is this thai 
 darkneth Counfel by Words without Knowledge ? If the 
 vaft and momentous Scheme of Man's Redemption 
 had been quite level and obvious to human Appre- 
 henfion, it had not been worthy of God, who giveth 
 not Account of any of his Matters, Job xxxiii. 13. f 
 have before remarked, more than once, that it hath 
 
 T 2 pleaied 
 
i 4 8 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 pleafed the Almighty, in all Ages of the World, to 
 manifeft his Soveraignty, by requiring from Mankind 
 
 an ABSOLUTE IMLICIT ASSENT OF M.IND, tO whatfo- 
 
 ever he mould authoritatively declare unto them. 
 And I have alio noted, that this is a0 mutij a SDlttP 
 Now, as it was in any former Period of Time. 
 Nor doth it by any Means follow, as I hinted in the 
 Beginning of this Work, that becaufe, by the Appli- 
 cation of mathematical Learning to phyfical Specu- 
 lations, the Caufes and Procefs of a great Number of 
 of Phenomena, in the Syftem of Nature, are render- 
 ed more intelligible and obvious to the modern The- 
 orifts, than they could poflibly be to the Ancients, who 
 were, in a great Meafure, Strangers to the Principles by 
 which they are now explained, that therefore we ought 
 to reduce the Myfteries of our holy Religion, which de- 
 mand our AiTent by Vertue of the Divine Authority, 
 upon which they {land, into a System level with 
 the narrow Apprehensions of mortal Man; and 
 reject out of the Inftitutions of infinite lovereign Wif- 
 dom, whatfoever the Son of a Worm and Corruption (Job 
 xviL 14.) cannot reconcile to his poor Conceptions of 
 Reafon and Propriety ; without coniidering that the 
 Thoughts of the-moft High are not as our 'Thoughts, nor are 
 our 14- ays his Ways : For as the Heavens are higher than the 
 Earth, fo are his Ways higher than our Ways, and his 
 Thoughts than ourThoughts. Say not, prefumptuous Mor- 
 tal, that becaufe human Judicatories make no transfer 
 of Punifhment, (Vid. Second Tho. P. 17.) therefore 
 neither can the great Soveraign Judge of all the Earth 
 juftiy do it: For who dare (ay the Sins ot Achan, of 
 Korah, Dathan and Abiram, of Saul, Jeroboam and A- 
 hab, and of the unjuft Accufers of Daniel, were un- 
 juflly vifired upon their Families and Pofterity? And 
 Grotius fays, " The Romans and Grecians believed the 
 " Sureties juftiy liable to even the capital Punifhment 
 " incur r'd by their Principals." And it was a pre- 
 vailing Opinion of old, that the Puniihment due to 
 
 an 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 149 
 
 an Offender might juftly be inflicted upon Him, who 
 mould voluntarily offer to bear it : This Idea St. 
 Chryfojlom ufeth to illuftrate the Doctrine of our blef- 
 fed Saviour's bearing the Punifhment due for the Sins 
 of Mankind, in his Remarks on Gal. iii. 13. xc&oLvtg 
 
 twos Honot.SiY.x&iVT©' cczroSrwuv, trip® 3 avivSwog sAo/x£i/© J 
 «to Sctvlw vtzIp 1x111/2 t^oi^nrx^n v Tty.oopioLf avtov, krug Xy o 
 'Xjpnoq J7re»jj<r«, &c. i. e. like as when one is condemned to 
 die, a guiltlefs Per/on voluntarily dietb in his Stead, He 
 delivereth the other from Punijloment -, Jo did Chrijt, £sfa. 
 And this is fully declared to have been done by 
 Jefus Chrift, in many Places of Scripture, as we have 
 before feen. But, Jurely GOD will not do wickedly, 
 neither will theAl mighty pervert Judgment, Job xxxiv. 12. 
 But unto fhort-fighted Mortals his Judgments are a 
 great Deep, PJal. xxxvi. 6. Indeed the Doctrine I 
 am contending for is fo clearly laid down in the facred 
 Writings, that the Gentleman whofe Work I have in 
 my Eye is forced to acknowledge it ; P. 24. So that 
 all the Queflion now is ; whether the new Scheme, 
 which this learned Gentleman hath drawn up, from 
 P. 6. to P. 35. as a Plan lor the Almighty's Direc- 
 tion, in his Adminiitration of the Kingdom of his 
 Grace, fhall fland, or elfe the plain Senfe of the di- 
 vine Oracles, which were pub limed, not to be the 
 Subject of the perverje Dijputings and Cavils of the 
 learned Men of this World, and of the wije Men after 
 the Flejh ; for the Wifdom of this World is Foolijhmfs with 
 GOD -, But to direct the plain Chriftian to the Belief 
 and Practice of what is, by divine Appointment, ne- 
 ceffary to Salvation ; even the Foclijh of this World, 
 whom GOD hath chofen to confound the Wife, of whom 
 the Prophet fpake, Ifa. xxxv. 8. An High-way fhall 
 be there, &c. the Way-faring Men though Fools (hall not 
 err therein. But did the Doctrines of Chriftianity re- 
 quire to be allegorifed fo laborioufly, as the Author 
 hath attempted, (I humbly conceive, not with the befi 
 Succejs) People of a Character fomething fuperior to 
 
 the 
 
ISO The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 the Description in the Text, would be very apt t$ 
 err ; or would it not rather be very difficult to be 
 eycr afiurcuiy right ? 
 
 In P. 20, 2,| > from the Suppofition of the Death 
 of - 'hrift being of fuch vaft Importance, the Author 
 infers thai; there! ore the Thing ought to be fo plain 
 level to every Capacity, that none might be at a 
 Lofe, in receiving it as a Truth. But here again GOD 
 feetb met as Man fceth. Doth this Conclufion arife 
 from the Nature and Reafon of manal tiDo&?£ttUt£Ut ? 
 or, which is the fame Thing, hath every intelligent 
 Subject a natural Right to have the Reafon of every 
 fever aign Injunction explained to him ? or hath not 
 ipveraign Authority a Claim to an abfolute and im- 
 plicit Obedience? Had Adam a natural Right to be 
 informed oi the Reafon why the Almighty lor bad him 
 the Fruit or one very particular Tree in Paradife f 
 Or was not this Command of yaft Importance? Di4 
 not the Life or Death, the Happinefs or Mifery of all 
 Mankind depend upon it ? And was it not naturally 
 v'uit tor die Almighty to require an implicit Refig- 
 nation to his Sovereign Authority, efpecialiy as he 
 :d the very interefting Confequences of his Be- 
 haviour r 
 
 The moff. High was pleafed to acquaint Noah with 
 tlie general Reafon of the furprihng Command he 
 gave him ; but did he fatisfy him of the Manner of 
 producing fo very lingular an Event ; whether by the 
 Condenfation of Vapours from the humid Train of a 
 Comet happening (that is, being fo difpofed in the pri- 
 mary Plan of the Creation as) to fall within the Sphere 
 of the Earth's Attraction, in its Accefs to the Peri- 
 helion ; of which Hypothecs the very learned Author 
 hath not, I believe, given any fatisfactory Account ot 
 the Difpofition of the Waters, for the Earth's Refto-t 
 ration, izc. Or whether hepurpofed, by afmall Rer 
 movai of the Earth's Centre of Gravity, t-Q fuperinduce 
 
 the 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT, i.^t 
 
 the weftern or the fouthern Ocean, to cover (efpecially 
 the eaftward Parts of ) the Globe : Or yet whether the 
 outward She'l of the Earth breaking mould tall into the 
 Abyfs, which is fuppofed to have been before contained 
 within it; and thence the Waters ruining out, drown 
 the World : Or whether, in the lail Place, as none 
 of thefe late-invented ingenious Contrivances to drown tbs 
 World, could poffibly have effected that vail Defign, 
 confidently with the Laws of Nature, and with the 
 Mofak Account, whether he would, by an Act oi" his 
 Omnipotence, to which it is equally eafy to make an 
 Ocean or a World j create or collect from diftant Re- 
 gions Water fufficient to effect the Purpofe : Did, I 
 lay, the Almighty condefcend to fatisfy Noah or thefe 
 and many other very interefting Particulars relating to 
 that Affair, which was of fuch vafi Importance, in 
 order to bring it to a Level with his Capacity and Ap- 
 prehenfion ? We have nothing mentioned of any fuch 
 Explication requested or given : But the good and 
 upright Patriarch firmly believed the plain Declara- 
 tion of the Almighty, and acted accordingly : So in 
 the great Trials, to which it p leafed the moil High 
 to put the Faith oi Abraham ; inilead of bringing the 
 Objects to the Level of his Capacity, that He might not 
 be at any Lofs, in receiving them as Truth, as this Author 
 fpeaks ; Fie feemeth rather to have defignedly loaded 
 them with accumulated Difficulties, for the greater 
 Ulurtration of that Faith, which was to be a Prece- 
 dent of fuch Renown, in all fucceedin.^ Ages of die 
 World. 
 
 It would be eafy to remark to the fame Purpofe 
 upon other Instances alleged in the former Section, 
 to Ihew that the moil High always required this Tri- 
 bute from the Sons of Men, in Acknowledgment of 
 his Soveraignty, even an f&foUlte awtl implicit Re- 
 iignation ot Understanding and Will to the £?ut£}0£it|i 
 fcf fjig 3D?rfaeatf&U$*? which was especially exem- 
 plified in the primaeval' Iriftitution of Sacrifice, and 
 
 ftifl 
 
i$z The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 ftill more in the numerous ceremonial Offices of Mofes's 
 Religion, which all had nothing to recommend them 
 to the Reafon of Mankind, except their SDifcitte Zp* 
 potllttttClit, (for which Reafon they are called, Ezek. 
 xx. 25. DUitD N7 D^n : Statutes which were not good:) 
 which yet were received, with the moll profound Re- 
 verence, by Princes, by Prophets, by the learned 
 Men and Mailers of Ifrael, amongft whom, I doubt 
 not, there were many as great Proficients in Reafon- 
 ing, as the Scioli and Adepts of our Days j but not 
 fuch Proficients in Impiety and Infidelity, as daringly 
 to cite the plain Declarations of the Word of God, 
 to be tried and examined, at the corrupt Tribunal of 
 human Reafon ; which when free from iniquitous Pre- 
 judices, is yet fatally unequal to the Difquifition. Is 
 it notgrofs Prefumption in Man, to queilion or deny 
 the plainly revealed Decrees of Heaven, to whom the 
 natural Reafon of the common Events, in the Courfe 
 of Nature is fo much unknown ? And ought not the 
 Veracity of God, togo cattttQt lie, to be, to every 
 rational Creature, as great an Evidence of Truth, in 
 Matters of Revelation, as his own repeated Experience 
 is, in the common Events of Nature. 
 
 For the Mortification of this Kind of fpirttual 
 13?!t!0, give me Leave to inftance in a Few of the 
 moll obvious and familiar of the Works of Nature, 
 whofe Reafon and Procefs, notwithstanding the very 
 great Improvements made of late in natural Know- 
 ledge, are, for the moll Part, flill unknown to the 
 Sons of Men. 
 
 What do the mod fcient of the human Race know 
 of the Syftem of the World, and who can, from the 
 Principles of Nature, account for the Phenomena of 
 the heavenly Bodies? Particularly, by what ino 
 prehenfible Power the Frame of Nature is continued, 
 and ail its Motions performed ? What carries the 
 Earth, with its attendant Moon, through a vafl 
 Journey of more than five hundred Millions df Mi 
 
 1 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 153 
 
 {upon the latefi Eflablifhment of the Sun's Dijlance) in the 
 Space of a few Minutes lefs than three Hundred and fix- 
 ty-fiveDays and fix Hours, which is near fourteen hun- 
 dred Thoufand Miles a Day, that is, about an hun- 
 dred and fixty-eight Miles in a Minute. A furprifing 
 Phenomenon this ! wherein the Velocity of the Earth's 
 progreflive Motion is more than an hundred and thir- 
 ty-eight Times as great as that of a Ball from the 
 Mouth of a Cannon, the Velocity whereof hath, by 
 Experiment, been found to be not quite feven Miles in 
 a Minute. Who, I fay, can conceive by what Means 
 fo vaft a Body as this mafly Globe of Earth, of near 
 eight thoufand Miles Diameter, with its Atmofphasre, 
 and a fphasrical Space of more than an hundred Thou- 
 fand Miles Diameter, including the Orbit of the Moon 
 and its Atmofphasre mould have revolved, from the 
 Creation, near fix Thoufand Years, with this incon- 
 ceivable Rapidity, and yet with that furprifing Ex- 
 actnefs and Regularity, that the Eclipfes can be cal- 
 culated to a few Minutes, for any Time paft or to 
 come. And (which is molt amazing) to the Inha- 
 bitants of the Earth it appears to be quite at Reft, 
 although, befides this progreflive annual Motion, it 
 hath another called the diurnal Motion, round its 
 own Axis, for making of Day and Night, which, at 
 the Latitude of fixty Degrees, hath a Velocity equal 
 to that of a Cannon-ball, and at the Equator, twice 
 as great. But if you will fuppofe the Earth to be, 
 as it appears, quiefcent, which is, by the learned, 
 faid to be inconfiftent with Principles of natural Cer- 
 tainty, the Confequence will be, that the Sun, a vaft 
 Body, more than eight hundred Thoufand Times as 
 big as the Earth , palleth in twenty-four Hours, 
 through a Space equal to that before affigned for the 
 Earth's annual Courfe, and therefore muft move with 
 a Velocity three Hundred and fixty-five Times as 
 great as that of the Earth, on the former Hypothe- 
 fis : That is, the Sun muft, in his diurnal Revolu- 
 
 U tion, 
 
154 ^ he CHRISTIANITY 
 
 tion, proceed with a Velocity more than fifty thou- 
 fand Times as great as that of a Cannon-ball: There- 
 fore the Sun, on this Scheme, muft move at the Rate 
 of more than three hundred and fifty Thoufand Miles 
 every Minute, befides his performing the fame annual 
 Journey through the vaft aethereal Spaces, which the 
 Earth, on the former Hypothefis, performs ; and 
 carrying along with him the Planets of Venus and 
 Mercury, moving round him in their refpective Or- 
 bits. Inconceivable this ! and yet, upon Suppofition 
 of the Earth's being the quiefcent Centre of the mun- 
 dane Syftem, [and the Diftances as fettled) fo it mud 
 be. And moreover the fixed Stars, by Reafon of 
 their immenfe Diftance beyond the Sphsere of the 
 Sun, muft, in the diurnal Rotation of the Heavens, 
 move almoll infinitely fwifter than the Sun : This 
 Confederation would alone be a flrong Argument in 
 Favour of the Copernkan Syftem. And either Hypo- 
 thefis fhews abundantly, how vaftly it furpaffes the 
 Wit of Man, to render a Reafon for the daily Occur- 
 rences in the Courfe of Nature. And mail we refufe 
 to fubmit our Apprehenfions to tXyt fttDDttt gftliftiam 
 of tfte tJtfcine Cotmfdg in the Myftery of Redemption -, 
 which 'Things the Angels defire to look into \ as noted 
 before. Shall vain Man, whofe Reafon is fo foon loft 
 in Matter and Motion, fet up himfelf arrogantly to 
 rate and value the Reafon and Propriety of the Deter- 
 minations of the molt High, which he hath thought 
 proper not to reveal ? 
 
 If we take a brief Survey of the Earth and its Pro- 
 ductions, we mall find ourfelves as much unable to 
 trace the Footfteps of the Almighty, ana" declare his 
 Works in theie, which we are nearlier acquainted with, 
 as in the mining Orbs of Heaven. 
 
 What inexplicable Myfteries occur in the Proceffes 
 of Vegetation. A frhall Seed caft into the Earth, by 
 its Humidity imbibed, expands jtfelf, and burfts into 
 two fm all Parts, a Plume and a Radicle, the former, 
 
 however 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 155 
 
 however the Seed be placed, will fpring up into the 
 Air, and is the Plant in its nafcent State; the Radicle, 
 which is the Beginning of the Root, fhoots down into 
 the Earth: This is all which appears upon the Evolu- 
 tion of the Seed, which is, by theSpcculatifts faid to con- 
 tain, involved in Miniature, the intire Plant, Root and 
 Branches, Leaves and Bloffoms, Fruit and Seed ; and, I 
 fuppofe, every fuccelhve annual Production of Fruit and 
 Seed, for itfclf, and all its poflible fuccefllve Offspring to 
 
 the End of Time, or even of poffible Duration. 
 
 This one Speculation alone may furnifh Difficulties in- 
 explicable to all the Sons of Men. By what unfclUrtmt 
 Potoer of ©lemon does the Root of every Plant take in 
 thofe Particles only of vegetable Matter which are ho- 
 mogeneous, or fuitable to its Nature : So that luppoie, 
 for lnftance, the Roots of die falutary Crocus and of the 
 deadly Solarium to mix their Fibres in the fame common 
 Earth; the one mail feparate Juices for a foveraign 
 Cordial, the other for deadly Poifon ? What natural 
 Caufe will thefe wife Adjufters of the Divine Counfels 
 affign, why that Juice, which is feparated from the 
 common Earth, by the Root of a wilding Plumb, tor 
 the Production of that defpicable Fruit, fhall by palling 
 through a very fmall Particle of Wood, in the Bud of 
 a Peachtree joyned to its Stock by Inoculation, produce 
 that delicious Fruit ? This is not to be accounted lor 
 by the higher! Attainments in human Literature ; yet 
 daily Experience renders the Fact indubitable. 
 
 Who of all the philofophic Tribe, after almoil 
 fix Thoufand Years Application and Experience, 
 hath yet given any tolerable Account of the won- 
 drous Procefs of animal Generation, or how the Bones 
 do grow in the Womb of her that is with Child ? Eccl. 
 xi. 5. Whoever Will be at the Pains to read the 
 many Writings of mod ingenious and learned Men, 
 will fee, from the many contradictory, inconiiftent 
 and unintelligible GueiTes, upon this inferutab'e Sub- 
 ject, that this moft intricate and curious Work ot 
 
 U 2 Nature's 
 
1S6 ^CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Nature's Hand is as much a Qppfittp at this Day, as 
 it was when the wife and learned King of Ifrael pro- 
 pofed it as an Inftance of the tEnfeajCljablenefe of: 
 tf)t ft5Uojl\0 of d3o0: And it fhews the very fmall 
 Extent of human Knowledge, and the vain Arrogance 
 of the wifeft of the Sons of Men, who mail alfume to 
 cenfure the Counfels and Determinations of the moil 
 High ; With whom is Wifdom and Strength ; he hath 
 Counfel and Underjianding. Job xii. 13. 
 
 I will mention but one Difficulty out of a Thou- 
 fand, under this Head. For animal Life it is necef- 
 fary the Heart fend out Blood to the Brain for the For- 
 mation or Preparation of animal Spirits, which are ab- 
 folutely neceflary for mufcular Motion and the Circu- 
 lation of the animal Fluid. But the Heart cannot emit 
 this Supply, till it receive Spirits elaborated from the 
 Brain, to contract its mufcular Fibres, in order to 
 imprefs the primary Motion on the living Stream. 
 Here are evidently two different and mutually depen- 
 dent Principles, which mull each be the firft Mover, 
 in the Production of animal Life, which is impoffible. 
 They who prefume fo peremptorily to challenge that 
 Scheme of human Redemption, which the Gentle- 
 man, I am now engaged with, owns is founded on the 
 plain Senfe of many PafTages of the New Teftament, 
 which He in Part recites, only becaufe they cannot 
 comprehend it, mould, I think, prudently, for their 
 own Sake, have firft tried their Hand with fome fuch 
 natural Difficulties as this-, and not have hazarded 
 their Reputation, by accufing of Impropriety and 
 Inconfiftency the Almighty's Inftitutions, in the King- 
 dom of Grace, till they fhould find themfelves able 
 to account for, and reconcile thole Difficulties, which 
 occur in the Works of Nature. 
 
 To avoid the Difficulty above mentioned, the 
 ingenious and learned Pitcaime affirms, Animal per- 
 fetlum ex Mare in Fceminam, in coitu deferri. But this 
 brings us never the nearer to an Elucidation j for 
 
 wherever 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 157 
 
 wherever and whenfoever this Animal perfeffum begins 
 to live, and a Beginning of Life it affuttalp mutt 
 fia&C, the fame Difficulty, I think unavoidably, re- 
 curs. 
 
 Equivocal or fpontaneous Generation is, in our 
 Days of Light, univerfally exploded, as utterly in- 
 confiftent with the eftablifhed Order of Nature : And 
 yet we fhall find ourfelves fomething embarraffed to 
 account for the pre-exiftent Parents of fome of the 
 more minute of the animated Species. To give an 
 Inftance or two ; Let a Cheefe be made ever fo clean, 
 fo that the beft Eyes, with the fined GlafTes, cannot 
 difcover the leaft Symptom of Life upon it, and laid 
 upon a new Shelf in a new Houfe, and Hand un- 
 mov'd, will it not in a little Time produce Mixes ? 
 Where were the pre-exiftent Parents of this new Colo- 
 ny ? Will you fay, in the Air, or in the Milk; were 
 ever any feen in either? and it is very ftrange they 
 mould not, if they were there, as this Species is vi- 
 fible to the naked Eye : And in every Species, whole 
 Genefis we know, the Parents are in Size, much 
 above their Infant Offspring: Have any of the Vir- 
 tuofi obferved the Parent Mites, volatile or reptile, 
 as other Parent Infects are obfervable, depofiting their 
 Ova or other prolific Secretions, for a fucceeding 
 Race ? 
 
 Whence come the Eels or Anguilliform Animal- 
 cules, which, in Millions, are produced in Pafte kept 
 a little Time, and fhew themfelves in the fmalleft 
 Particle put into a Drop of clear Water and view'd 
 through a Microfcope, as perfect in their Shape and 
 Motion, as the largeft taken out of the Water ? I 
 afked the Virtuofo, who firft fhewed me thefe, Where 
 were their pre-exiftent Parents? He laid, In the Air; 
 for if you exclude the Air out of the VerTel in which 
 the Pafte is kept, none will be produced. 
 
 Whence proceed, and where fhall we find, the 
 jnpsCriffent pamittf of thofe innumerable Multitudes 
 
 of 
 
15% The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 of Animalcules, which the Microfcope difcovers in 
 Semine mafculino ? Where were the Parents of thofe of 
 this Species, which appear firft in the maturelcent 
 Subject? Thefe too mull, I fuppofe, be derived from 
 the Air, (where no Art could ever find them) taken 
 into the Body, with the Aliment, and palling through 
 the Stomach, without being killed by its digeftive 
 Force, (whether the fame be by Comprefiion, Attri- 
 tion, DifTolution by Means of a Fluid feparated by 
 the Glands of the Ventricle, as a Menftruum or Fer- 
 ment, or whether by an Union of all thefe or what- 
 foever other Methods) they are carried into the In- 
 tettines, and thence pafs, with the Chyle, through the 
 Orifices of the Lafteals (too fmali for Notice by the 
 mod elaborate Obfervation, and for the Tranfmiftion 
 of Air and every injected Fluid) through the Mefentery 
 and the thoracic Dutl by the fubclavian Vein and the 
 Vena cava, into the right Ventricle of the Heart, and 
 thence through the infinite Windings and Ramifica- 
 tions of the pulmonkk Veffels, into the left Ventricle ; 
 from thence they are driven, with the circulating 
 Tide, and, which is ftrange, as they are the moil 
 vivid Particles of the Blood, forlaking the afcending 
 Branch of the great Artery, left pafTing to the Seat of 
 Imagination, they might there caufe fome Confufion, 
 they all go down the defcending Branch, and palling 
 the Orifices of the bronchial Artery, the inter cofial, 
 cceliac, phrenic, mefentcric, and emulgent Arteries, whofe 
 Orifices all open into the defcending Trunk of the 
 Aorta, they all enter into the Mouths of the fperma tic 
 Arteries, as if they knew that to be the only Way, 
 or were conducted by 'ran intelligent Principle that 
 only Way to the Tejies, where, as the Place of their 
 prefent Reft, they leave the Stream void of all this 
 atomic Race, making a (low Progrels to Maturity 
 through the conglobated Tube, and the Faraftat<£, to 
 the Veficulx feminahs, where they ftay waiting lor the 
 Opportunity of a Chance of Advancement into a lu- 
 
 perior 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 159 
 
 perior State of Exiftence, by becoming a Principle 
 of Life to an Ovum in a Female of a fuperior con- 
 genial Species. 
 
 I have endeavoured to give a fhort and very im- 
 perfect Defcription of the long and difficult Journey, 
 thefe living Atoms have neceffarily to go, from their 
 firft Admiffion into the Body of the Animal, till they 
 arrive at the Place of their Appointment ; except we 
 may fuppofe the Way a little fhortned, by their being 
 admitted with the Air into the Lungs, and getting 
 into the Blood, by pafiing through the Coats of the 
 Folliculi and the pulmonick Veffels, and fo into the left 
 Ventricle of the Heart, &V. as before defcribed ; in 
 which Defcription there immediately appear innume- 
 rable Difficulties beyond the Power of Man to folve : 
 Particularly, how and by what fecret Direction they 
 find the Way, they are to go ; as there are fo many 
 Chances of- Error, after their Entrance into the Bo- 
 dy ; how it happens that as they are fo very minute, 
 that feveral Thoufands are contained in a Globule, 
 whofe Diameter doth not exceed the Breadth of an 
 Hair, yet they fo univerfally pals to the proper 
 Place of their Refidence, that in the whole Body be- 
 fides, and all its other Secretions not one was ever 
 feen. 
 
 How are the different Species of thefe flotant Le- 
 gions diftinguifhed, and if the Air be replete with 
 fuch a Multitude of various Species, and fuch an In- 
 finity of Particulars, how is the Election made, and 
 by what Direction do the feveral Tribes find Places 
 for their Reception and Procefs into different Life and 
 Form : That is, how are the Males of every different 
 Species of Animals flipplied with the refpective ani- 
 mated Particles, which alone are neceffary for the 
 Continuance of their own Race? And where will you 
 fix the Refidence of the feveral Species of living Par- 
 ticles neceffary to give prolific Vigor to thofe, we 
 have been hitherto fpeaking of? For as they are A- 
 
 nimals, 
 
160 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 nimals, how fmall foever, they cannot, upon this 
 Hypothecs, come into Being without the Agency of 
 pre-exiftent Parents, any more than thofe of the more 
 confpicuous Kinds; and for thefe alfo we muft have, 
 for the fame Reafon, a proportionably fmaller Species 
 of animating Atoms, and fo on ad infinitum, till our 
 Reafon be quite confounded and our Imagination loft 
 in the infinite Progreffion. And yet the firft (if we 
 can in this Cafe imagine a firft) would be infinitely 
 fuperior to Nothing or Privation; and be as incapable 
 of Production by Chance or Spontaneity, as an Ele- 
 phant or a Whale. Thefe are a very fmall Specimen 
 of the numerous infolvable Difficulties, which attending 
 upon this Subject, would induce one to fufpect, this 
 innumerable Fry firft fpring into Life, within the 
 Body of every Male, by the perpetual Agency of 
 that Omnipotent Hand, which firft made the World, 
 for its continual Prefervation. But the Refinement of 
 our Age and Nation will, I fear, hardly allow us to 
 intereft Omnipotence fo immediately in the Adminifiration of 
 the World; though it be manifefty the only Way we 
 can take to folve the difficult Phenomena of Nature, 
 and particularly that, we are now upon; for although 
 we cannot trace ourfelves into Being, from animated 
 Atoms bred without us; and although equal Difficul- 
 ties embarrafs the Suppofition of their being propa- 
 gated within us : Although, after all, fome great Men 
 deny the Exiftence of thefe Animalcules, in Semine 
 mafculino; there, I am fully convinced, they are, and 
 that they are fome how concurrent to the Production 
 of a fucceeding Race, by the Co-operation the Moil 
 High ; in whom we live, and move, and have ou;< 
 Being. Well might the Prophet fay, I am fearfully 
 and wonderfully made, Pfal. exxxix. 14. ^79} /ft*^ 
 
 If thefe and innumerable fuch like Difficulties oc- 
 cur in fpeculating upon the moft obvious of the 
 W r orks of God in the natural World, to which we 
 make no Scruple to yield our plenary Affcnt, though 
 
 we 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 161 
 
 we are by no Means able to trace the Efficiency of 
 Caufes to their ultimate Effects, merely from our 
 Experience of the ftated and ordinary Courfe of Na- 
 ture •, why mould we not alfo, with the fame Aflu- 
 rance and Refignation of Mind, as was reafoned be- 
 fore, take for certain Truth, the plain Declarations 
 of the molt High, in his written Word, particularly 
 as to the Subjects here treated of, though we 
 cannot account for the one or the other, from Prin- 
 ciples which are quite level with our own Under/landing ? 
 Is it not equally our Duty to refign our Underdand- 
 ings to the fofcejaign autljojitp of t§t Dtimie |iu 
 fhtutionS in his Administration of the moral, as of 
 the natural World ? 
 
 Had the Author of Second Thoughts, &c. reflected 
 upon fuch infolvable Difficulties, which every where 
 occur, in the Works of Creation and Providence; and 
 at the fame Time confidered that the Almighty hath, 
 in all his Dealings with the Children of Men, as we 
 have before feen, required the abfolute and implicit 
 Submiffion of their Minds and Wills to the foveraign 
 Dictates of his Authority, for faith a$ totll &# 
 practice, in Teftimony of their Duty and Allegiance; 
 A Failure whereof hath, in many Inftances, been 
 attended with dreadful Effects of the divine Difplea- 
 fure; I think he would rather have acquiefced in the 
 plain Senft of thofe Declarations of divine Authori- 
 ty, which he hath fet down in P. 4, 5, &V. than 
 puzzled himfelf, and grievoufly prejfed bis own Mind 
 with Difficulties of his own raifing, in the Scripture 
 Scheme of Redemption, which to every genuine Child 
 of Abraham- who ft agger ed not at the Promt fes of GOD, 
 through Unbelief; but ivas ftrong in Faith giving Glory 
 to GOD. Rom. iv. 20. would have immediately va- 
 nished upon his reading thofe PafTages of the Word 
 of GOD, which he hath recited. And he would 
 neVer have endeavoured to fet afide the plain Senfe 
 «i the divine Oracle?, by affixing to the Words alle- 
 
 X gorical 
 
i6z The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 gorical and figurative Interpretations, which to the 
 Plain and Unlearned, for whofe Ufe the Scriptures 
 were written, could communicate no Ideas, could 
 not be underftood •, and this only to force them to 
 fpeak agreeably to his Conceptions, and give divine 
 Authority to a Scheme of Redemption of his own 
 compofing, to fquare with his Apprehenfions of Fit- 
 nefs and Propriety -, but quite inconfiftent with divine 
 Revelation. But, Let GOD be true, and every Man 
 a Liar. Rom. iii. 4. And Ifa. xl. 8. The Word of our 
 GOD fhallftand for ever. Pfal. xxxiii. 1 1 . The Counfels 
 of the Lord fiandeth for ever, aud the. Thoughts of His 
 Heart to all Generations. Therefore while thefe Trans- 
 formers of Chriftianity are arrogantly queftioning if not 
 rather denying the Truth and Propriety of the Me- 
 thod eftablifhed by the foveraign Grace and Favour 
 of the Almighty, for the Redemption and Salvation 
 of fallen Mankind ; founding their Hopes of eternal 
 Felicity upon the Merit of their own moral Character, 
 and efteeming their own moral Worth and Gcodnefs, as 
 thai which alone can make them the Objecls of the ylppro- 
 bation and Love of GOD; Accounting the Blood of the 
 Covenant an unholy Thing : May thy Lot, O my Soul, 
 for ever be amongft thofe happy Spirits, which, after 
 a Life of fincere though imperfect Obedience, ftrug- 
 ling againft innate Depravity and Corruption, under 
 a conltant, humble and penitent Senfe of the mani- 
 fold Defects of their Obedience, and rejecting all Pre- 
 tence of Merit from their belt Performances, receiv- 
 ing the Kingdom of God as little Children, Mark 
 x. 15. relied wholly on tl)e ^Xt0 of <£))£&, for the 
 Pardon of their Sins, and Acceptance with God ; and 
 making a continual Improvement in Virtue and Ho- 
 linefs, as a necefTary Condition of, and Qualification 
 for everlafting Felicity, are arrived fare at the World 
 of Glory - t And are there tuning their Golden Harps 
 to immortal Songs of Joy and Praife, or Victory and 
 Triumph, to the Lamb that was/lain, even to him that 
 
 loved 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 163 
 
 loved them, and wafhed them from their Sins, in ftf otott 
 HSlooti, and thereby rcliecmeti them, and made them 
 Kings and Priefls, unto GOD, and his Father: to him be 
 Glory and Dominion, for ever and ever* Amen. Rev. 
 v. 9. and i. 5, 6. 
 
 The Author of An Effay on the Nature, Defign and 
 Origin of Sacrifices, printed in MDCCXLVIil. hath, 
 towards the Glofe of his Book, profefled not to enter 
 for the prefent into the Confequences, which may 
 follow, or feem to follow, from his Argument. But 
 as one cannot imagine, he would with fo much Pains 
 have digged into the Mines of ancient Learning, in 
 order to give the Chriftian World a more correct Idea 
 of an Affair, with which they have had fo very little 
 Concern, for more than feventeen hundred Years, if he 
 had not apprehended, fuch a Work neceffary to elu- 
 cidate fome Part of Chriftian Doctrine-, And as the 
 Light, in which I have here endeavoured, from the 
 plain Word of God, to fet the Scheme of Salvation, 
 by Chrift Jefus, very much depends upon the genuine 
 Meaning of thofe Terms, and that Prafeology, which 
 the Old Teftament ufeth, in treating upon Sacrifices, 
 and which we have noted, are tranfplanted thence 
 into the New ; fuch as Atonement, Propitiation, Re- 
 demption, &c. And further, as this learned Author 
 feems to have endeavoured to eftablifh a Notion, of 
 the original Intention of Sacrifices fomething different* 
 as he acknowledges, from the Opinion commonly 
 received, and different from what I have here laid 
 down ; I think it incumbent upon me to endeavour 
 to guard what I have defcribed to be The Cbnjlianity 
 of the New Tejlament, from the rnifchievous Influences, 
 I apprehend it might be liable to, from the Preva- 
 lence of thofe Ideas which this Gentleman hath given 
 Birth to, and which feem calculated to force the 
 Chriftian Doctrine, and the Terms above mentioned, 
 with others of Hke Importance, borrowed from the 
 
 X \ CUd 
 
i*4 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Old Teftament, into a Confidence with the Tenets of 
 fuch modern Reformers of Chriftianity, as the Gen- 
 tleman, whofe Work I touched upon a little above. 
 
 I DO; not propofe to write a full and formal Anfwer 
 to this Book any more than the former •, as that 
 would lead me a great Way beyond my Defign. I mall 
 only make fome brief Remarks t upon a few of the 
 capital Articles, upon which the Merit of the Per-. 
 formance feems principally to depend, and which ap- 
 pear moft likely toinflence the Argument, I am upon; 
 Hoping fome One better qualified, and more at Lei-. 
 fure, will do it more fully. 
 
 First then, I obferve that this learned Author 
 thinks the Idea of atonement o: expiation ia% 
 &in, which feems to be pretty generally affixed to, 
 that of Sacrifice, throughout the Old Teftament* 
 elpecially Burnt-offerings, Sin-offerings, and Trefpafs- 
 offerings, is not proper, according to the common 
 Acceptation of the Word : Though, as I have endea- 
 voured to fhew in this Treatife, and hope I have done 
 it beyond Contradiction, that Idea arifeth from th§ 
 piimary and natural Signification of the Hebrew 
 Word, whereof the others are the Tranflation, and 
 alio of the Greek Words which the Septuagint have- 
 ufcd to exprefs the Hebrew by. And He would 
 have the main and principal Ufe and Defign of all 
 Sacrifices to be: To denote An entring into, and main- 
 taining, or, if intermit tedy renewing a State of Peace r 
 Friend/hip, and familiar Intercourfe with GOD, by eating 
 and drinking together, as at one common Table, Which he 
 would have to be denoted by the Altar or whatfoever 
 ferves for the Ufe of an Altar. To this Purpofe he 
 applies a great Part of his Book. P. 61. " To eat 
 <l of any Sacrifice offered to God, is the fame as to be 
 
 " in Friendjbip with God.- P. 78. Thus they did 
 
 <c all Eat at the fame Table. Eating then of a Sa-. 
 *' crifice implied a State of Friendjbip betwixt the 
 
 w Offerer and God. P< 95- Nothing was done 
 
 " that 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 16$ 
 
 that might interfere with the great End of all Sa- 
 crifices, which was to make Friends with God by 
 Eating bis Bread. Numb, xxviii. 2. P. 99. &c. 
 This is a ftrong Confirmation of what I faid about 
 the original Intention of Sacrifices, which was to 
 keep up a Friend/hip with God by Eating and 
 Drinking at his Table.-- — P. 108. Liquor being 
 always required as an Ingredient at all Enter- 
 tainments, this was the Reafon why it was uled 
 at all Sacrifices : and for the fame End in both 
 Cafes, viz. The keeping up a State of Friend- 
 
 Jhip by eating and drinking together.-- P. 114. 
 
 God « only retained what was neceffary to carry 
 
 ry on the great End defign'd by Sacrifice, viz. 
 the Furniture of an ordinary Table, &c. — — P. 
 120. The Nature and Intent of Sacrifices being 
 this, To eat and drink with God, as it were at his 
 Table, and in confequence of That to be in a 
 
 State of Friendship with him, &c. And P. 328. 
 
 The Author arguing, that Offerings in Cafes of Un- 
 clean.nefs, could not be by way of Mulct, becauie 
 there was no Crime committed •, fubjoins : " Where- 
 " as if Uncleannefs be confidered only as what may 
 " make a Perfon unfit to appear in the Preience of a 
 '•' Sovereign before Purification, then may fuch Per- 
 * c fons be commanded to purify themfemfelves before 
 * they approach the Table of their King. In thefe. 
 and very many other Places of this elaborate Treatiie, 
 and indeed through the whole Work this Idea is 
 very induilrioufiy enforced. 
 
 Now confidering how much this learned Writer 
 hath faid to vindicate this m\n jftotiatt of §>8tn= 
 ftceg, and how little in favour of Expiation, Pro- 
 pitiation, and Pardon of Sin ; or rather how ftrenu- 
 oufly he hath laboured to depreciate and reject thefe 
 as vulgar Miftakes, One might expect to find his 
 Doctrine inculcated almofl in every Page of the Old 
 Teftament, and efpecially of the Book of Leviticus, 
 
 where 
 
166 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 where the Inftitution and Intention of Sacrifice* is 
 efpecially treated of. But fo far from this ; that on 
 the Contrary we hardly find one Exprefiion, in the 
 whole Scripture which can be fairly alledged in fup- 
 port of this Notion : And efpecially with refped: to 
 Burnt-ofFerings, Sin -offerings, and Trefpafs-offerings, 
 whereof the Offerer never tailed, any more than he 
 did the Meat-offering and the Drink-offering, which 
 accompanied them. In their Peace-offerings indeed, 
 and their folemn Feafts, they were required to eat 
 before the Lord, particularly they were to eat of the 
 Tithes of the encreafe of their Seed, and the firft- 
 Imgs of their Flocks and of their Herds before the 
 Lord. Deul. xiv. 23. and xv. 19, 20. But never 
 that I remember, to eat and drink, or to Fealf. -with 
 God, as this Author expreffes it, at his Table. Of 
 this there needs no ftronger Evidence than this \ That 
 the Author of this new Idea of Sacrifices, which he 
 tndeavoureth to eftablifh by fuch a Multitude of Re- 
 petitions, hath not, in in his whole Book, given one 
 direct, or (any thing like a clear) con fequential Evi- 
 dence from Scripture, of the Truth of his Pofition. 
 And the Foundation, he goes upon, I think, is not 
 well laid, nor equal to the Building. 
 
 He tells us, P. 59. " That Sacrifices were at- 
 " tended with Repentance and Confejfwn, and Addrefs to 
 J( God by Prayer" (which by the Way, were no very 
 proper or ufual Concomitants of Feafting and Enter- 
 4< tainment) " But they were, he fays, Federal Rites, 
 " and implied Men's entering into Friendship with 
 " God, &c. And as this is fas fure enough it is) 
 " a Point, upon which much that follows intirely 
 " depends ; he fays, he mould prove it more at large. 
 This he attempts in this Manner, " When the Men 
 " of old contracted Leagues, or engaged in Friend/hips 
 " with one another, they did it by Eating and drink* 
 " ing together. This appears from the Instances of 
 « Ifaac and Abimiiech, Jacob and Laban, the Hebrews 
 
 " and 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 167 
 
 " and the Gibeonites, Gen. xxvi. 30, 31. xxxi. 
 
 <e 46. Jojh. ix. 14. P. 61. This was fo well un- 
 " derflood by the Antients, that whenever any One 
 " offered a Sacrifice to God or to any Idol what- 
 " foever, it was looked upon as an actual Engage- 
 *' ment either in Covenant or Friend/hip with him to, 
 
 " whom the Sacrifice was made. -It was this 
 
 " that made the Pfalmift fay, Gather my Saints toge- 
 " ther unto me, Thofe that have made a Covenant with 
 " me by Sacrifice. Pf. 1. 5. And when the Moabites 
 " are faid to call the People of Ifrael unto the Sacrifices 
 *' of their Gods, and the People did eat and bowed down 
 " to their Gods •, it immediately follows : And Ifrael 
 " joined himfelf unto Baal Peor, &c. This with a 
 good deal more, as forcible and cogent, is this learn- 
 ed Author's Proof at large. And had this capital 
 Argument, this corner Stone been capable of being 
 better adjufted, the Author, for the Support of his 
 favourite new Structure, would furely have done it. 
 Had the Author wanted to prove that in making, 
 continuing, and renewing of Friendfhip, it was ufual 
 amongft the Antients occafionally to eat and drink 
 together ; and that the fame was alio fometimes ufed 
 on Occafion of entring into Leagues and Covenants, 
 and that, on this latter Occafion, they fometimes of- 
 fered Sacrifices ; He might perhaps have been thought 
 to have gained his Point. But that was not fuffkient. 
 He wanted a great deal more, and a great deal more: 
 than all the Arguments, he hath drawn or ever 
 can draw from Scripture, though af lifted with all 
 the Reafonings and all the Elegancies of Pagan 
 Theology, can ever be made to prove ; That is, it 
 cannot, I think, be proved, that eating and drink- 
 ing together, and offering Sacrifice, either feparate 
 or in Conjunction, ever V»ete Cftential to OC nttttifc 
 nip conftitutive of Friendship, or of Leagues or Cove- 
 nants, either between God Jtfid Man, or between Man 
 and Man. 
 
i63 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 In the Inftances alledged P. 59. no Covenant of 
 Fricndjhip was made by eating and drinking together. 
 Ifaac made a Feaji for Ahimelecb upon his coming to 
 fee him, and to propofe a Covenant of Friend/hip with 
 him : But the Feaft had nothing to do with the Co* 
 venant, which was mentioned by the King, as the 
 occafion of his Vifit, but was not made till next 
 Morning, when they rofe betimes, and /ware one to 
 another. Gen. xxvi. 31. This was making the Cove- 
 nant \ So the Covenant between Jacob and Laban was 
 very formally propofed and made, as defcribed, 
 Genef. xxxi. 44. to the 54. by the Ceremonies of a 
 Pillar ere&ed, an Heap of Stones gathered, and by 
 Laban named Jegar Sahadutha, and by Jacob Galeed, 
 the two Names, in the Syriac and Hebrew Dialects, 
 refpeclively, fignifying the fame Thing, An Heap of 
 Witnefs. Where, in Token of Friend/hip renewed, 
 and a Covenant made, whofe import Laban particu- 
 larly recites, and in AfTent to, and Ratification of 
 which, Jacob fwears by the Fear (that is by God, the 
 Object of the Fear) of his Father Ifaac. They after- 
 ward offer Sacrifice, and eat Bread together, (proba- 
 bly Feaft upon the remainders of the Sacrifice J This 
 was after the Covenant was made, and ratified, and 
 was added by Jacob for the greater Solemnity, and 
 probably out of Complaifance to his Fathcr-in-Law, 
 as they' were fhortly to take a final Leave of each 
 other. Their eating together had nothing to do ef- 
 fentially with their making the Covenant. 
 
 As to the Affair of the Gibeoiiites, JoJJj.'ix. 14* 
 15. The Mens taking of their Vitluals, without a 
 Counfel.of GOD, is mentioned as a particular Affair, 
 and without the leaft refpefl to the Covenant, which. 
 Jo/hua made with them •, and feems rather to denote 
 that the People had been too forward to hearken to 
 the Strangers Propofal, and to enter into free and 
 friendly Converfation with them, unfuitably to 
 Circumftances of their important Expedition, and 
 
 their 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. i6 9 
 
 their then prefent Situation. The Expreflion. Pf. 1. 
 
 5. thofe that have made a Covenant with me by 
 
 Sacrifice: is, I apprehend, of no Force at all. The 
 Words nii)" 11 ?^ do not, that I find, elfewhere occur, 
 and are of an uncertain Signification ; the Particle w 
 or vy fignifying to or upon, I believe, never, by, to 
 denote an Inftrument or Means whereby any Thing 
 is done. In the Signification, upon, it might feem 
 confident enough to fay : 'Thofe that have made a Co- 
 venant with me upon Sacrifice ; were there any Thing 
 recorded in the Practice of facrificing to vindicate 
 fuch an Expreflion. But, further to mew the weak- 
 nefs of this Foundation, I mall now mew that Sa- 
 crifice was, by no Means, effenttal to tlje making 
 ,of: !Uague0 CJ €obemint$, and very feldom ufed in 
 that Way, either with refpect to Covenants, be- 
 tween God and Man, or between Man and Man. 
 
 I think the firft Occafion (and a very awful Oc- 
 cafion it was) of the Almighty vouchfafing to enter 
 into Covenant with Man, after the Fall, is recorded. 
 Gen. vi. 18. Where acquainting Noah with his Pur- 
 pofe of deftroying the World by a Flood of Waters ; 
 for his Support againft the Apprehenfion of his own 
 Concern in fo dreadful a Difpenfation, He faith unto 
 him : With thee will I eflabli/h my Covenant, &c. But 
 here is no mention of Sacrifice j although it be fure 
 that the Practice of facrificing was before the Flood. 
 
 The next Place where mention is made of the 
 Almighty making a Covenant with Man is Gen. ix. 
 from V.().toV. 1 7. After the Flood, God engages in 
 Covenant with Noah, That all Flefh jhould not any 
 more be cut off, by the Waters of a Flood: And he gave 
 him the Rainbow for a Token of the Covenant : But 
 
 nothing more t£ fate of ^aqifice on x\M , than on 
 
 the former Occafion. 
 
 The Almighty is reprefented, Gen. xv. 18. as enter- 
 ing, for the firft Time into Covenant with Jbram, for his 
 greater Aifurance of the Performance of the Promifes 
 
 Y made 
 
170 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 made him, of BleiTmgs to his Poflerity, many Ages 
 to come, Ch. xii. and xiii. and in the beginning of 
 Ch. xv. upon his afking : Whereby hejhoidd be afiured 
 of the Accomplifhment of thofe Promifes, V. 8. 
 And this Covenant was made in a very folemn Man- 
 ner ; but, I think, without any Sacrifice. I am 
 aware, many learned Men have thought otherwife •, 
 and apprehended that the Beafts which Abram was 
 ordered to fiay were as a Sacrifice. But this is 
 no where faid, nor is any Thing laid to be done in 
 this Affair, which had any relation to Sacrificing, be- 
 fides meerly killing the Beafts. But it was the Al- 
 mighty's good Pleafure to confirm this important 
 Covenant this Way, either to give Mankind this folemn 
 Manner of making Covenants, or by way of graci- 
 ous Condefcention, he conformed to this very ancient 
 Method of making Covenants uied among Men, of 
 thus cutting Beafts afunder, and walking betwixt the 
 Parts, and hence, very probably, it was, as this 
 Author and other learned Men have obferved, that 
 to make a Covenant is in the Hebrew exprefled, by 
 •nm/n:): cut a Covenant, and I obierve that before, 
 the Lord faid to Noah, T\&\)7\ I will eftablifh my Co- 
 venant, &c. nor is the other Word tiled before this 
 Place. Hence 'tis more than probable the Greeks had 
 the fame Idea : As Homer writes, opKix wira s-a^o'm?, 
 11. y. 73. And of this the learned Author of Sy- 
 nopjis Crititorum gives feveral Inftances in his Annota- 
 tions on this Place. In this Apprehenfion alfo the 
 Lamed Rabbi Solomon feemeth to concur, Writing 
 thus upon the Place r\*nv '*b "HOWS HTO tfT lOpDH ]W 
 *0>* iT~Q JWO i. e. : the 'Text is to be undet 'flood literally, 
 as he was making (Heb. cutting) a Covenant with him. 
 And he afterwards gives this reafon : vrnil WO T"m 
 nnmrniuy^irsnap/rf? i. e. The method of thofe 
 that made Covenants was to divide a Beafi in two Parts, 
 a;:J to pafs between them. And he cites, as an In- 
 ftance ©f this Pra&ice, Jer. xxxiv. 19. And i\dd* 
 
 that 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 171 
 
 that the fmoahng Furnace, and the burning Lamp were 
 to represent the Sechinah which is Fire. So that, I 
 believe, we may take it for Truth, That in this firft 
 and mod iolemn Inftance of the Almighty's entring 
 into Covenanc with Abram, there was no Application 
 of Sacrifice. But fuppofe it to be otherwise, it will 
 be of no fervice to the Author, fince, in fo many 
 other recorded Inftances of Covenants made, there is 
 no mention of Sacrifice. In the Covenant, which 
 God was pleafed to make with Abraham, Gen. xvii. 
 even the Covenant of Circumcifion, when he more ex- 
 predy gave him the Promife of his Son Ifaac, there 
 was nothing of Sacrifice. 
 
 Whln the Almighty gave the Law to Mofes, it is 
 noted in Exod. xxiv. that fome young Men offered 
 Sacrifices upon the Altar built at the Bottom of the 
 Mount. And here Mofes feemeth by thefe Sacrifices, 
 to confirm the Covenant between God and the 
 People, fprinkling one Half of the Blood upon the 
 Altar, which reprefented God, as one Party in the 
 Covenant, and the other Half he fprinkled on the 
 People, faying, Behold the Blood of the Covenant, 
 which the Lord hath made with you, &c. The Au- 
 thor of the Effay on Sacrifices had no doubt his Rea- 
 fon, why he paffed this moft exprefs Teftimony of 
 Sacrifices having been, of Old, tifetl til malting Co- 
 fccnatttgj But that they were not effential to that 
 Purpole, is further evident from Exod. xxxiv. 1 o, 
 &c. where after the Affair of the Golden Calf, and 
 that the Lord had again prcmifcd to go with them, 
 He fays : Behold I make a Covenant, &c. But no- 
 thing is faid of Sacrifice. This is mention'd, Deutr. 
 v. 2. and was renewed Deutr. xxix. 1. in a mofl 
 folemn Manner, but no Sacrifice. So when God 
 gave to Phinehas the Covenant of the everlafiiv.g 
 Priejihocd Num. xxv. 12. there was no Sacrifice. No 
 more was there Jop. xxiv. 25. when Jo/hua, a iittie 
 before his Death, made a folemn Covenant between 
 
 Y 2 God 
 
172 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 God and the People. The fame is obfervable in 
 many like Inftances, in the following Part of the 
 Fliftory. And it will equally appear that Sacrifices 
 were not neceffary to the making of Covenants and 
 Leagues between Man and Man. In the Covenant 
 between Abraham and Abimilech ; Genef. xxi. 23, &c. 
 There were feveral Particulars not ellewhere met with 
 hut nothing fain of »>amfuc* Jofh. ii, 12. There 
 was a very folemn Engagement between Rahab and 
 the Spies fent by Jofiua, without any mention of Sa- 
 crifice. 1 Sam. xviii. 3. Jonathan and David made a 
 folemn Covenant of perpetual Friendfhip ; and the 
 fame was renewed, Ch. xx. 1 6. between Jonathan and 
 the Houfe of David, without any Thing of Sacrifice, 
 upon either Occafion. And, to mention no more, 
 2 Sam. v. 3. When the Tribes of . Ifrael, after the 
 Death of Saul, came to Hebron to David to anoint 
 him King, IJJoboJheth the Son of Saul being alio dead ; 
 David made a League with them before the Lord. 
 We may be fure, upon fo grand, fo folemn, fo joy- 
 ful an Occafion, nothing would be omitted which 
 was efTential, or which might contribute to add 
 Force or Ornament to fo publick, and fo important 
 a Tranfaclion : But there is not the leaflf mention of 
 Sacrifice, on this momentous Occafion. 
 
 From thefe and many more Inftances, it would 
 be eafy to cite, it appears undeniably clear, that 
 Sacrifices were not neceffary to the making of Co- 
 venants or Friendfhips, in the Times of the Old Te- 
 itament Hiftory ; No more were eating and drinking 
 together, for in thefe and other Inftances recorded 
 in Scripture, there is no Mention of either. No 
 doubt then, as now, Friends had occafionally mu- 
 tual Entertainments, and they might have Feafts, on 
 occafion of making or confirming Contracts, as in 
 the Cafe of Ifaac and Abimelech, of Laban and Jacob, 
 &c. before mentioned, and the fame is common in 
 our Days: But it is not, for all that, neceffary to 
 
 the 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 173 
 
 the Validity or EfTence of the Affair. When the 
 Author of the new Idea of Sacrifices prefled into his 
 Service fuch Paifages as thofe in Pf. xli. 9. and Jer. 
 xli. 2. he feems to have been at great Want, and 
 that what he faith of Porphyry, P. 344. may be ap- 
 plied to himfelf, that He talks as People do who have 
 an Ihpothefis to ferve, without knowing (indeed without 
 having) the Fails, which foould fupport it. Nor is the 
 Quotation from Num. xxv. 2. of any more Service 
 to his Argument than the other: The Word "IDS 
 which is there ufed to fignify their being joyncd to 
 Baal-Peor, being not once ufed in all the Old Tefta- 
 ment to fignify an Union by Covenant or Contract. 
 So that for any Thing I fee in this new Idea of Sacri- 
 fices, we may ftill retain our old Appreherifiujn, thar 
 their original Defign was to prefigure t\\c QlTflt §&ft* 
 tlittit ant! SDeatlj of Cljuff, by being offered, du- 
 ring the Levitical Prieflhood, by way of Atonement or 
 Propitiation to the Almighty, for obtaining the Par- 
 don of Sin, and that not by Virtue of any inherent 
 Worth or natural Fitnefs or Equivalence, but merely 
 in Confequence of the fofcejatgU lufirituticn of tijt 
 ,0.lnugFltp, as is fully declared in the Old Teirament, 
 whereof we have had Proof fufficient already, fo that 
 nothing need to be added further. There is, I'con- 
 fefs, a Difficulty arifing from the Application of this 
 Idea to Cafes where there was no Sin or Guilt, as in 
 Cafes of Leprofy, and innocent Uncleannelies : Per- 
 haps Atonement was appointed in thefe Cafes to de- 
 note more fully the Averfion of the molt High to all 
 moral Turpitude and Impurity: Or as the Leprofy 
 v/as confidered as an Effect of the divine Difpleafure, 
 the Atonement might perhaps be referred to the Sin, 
 which might have merited that Stroke. In Cafes of 
 finlefs UncleannefTes, as morbid and involuntary If- 
 fues, &c. perhaps the Atonement might be for an 
 humbling Memorial of that original Tranfgreffion, 
 without which, in all Probability, the human Con- 
 
 ftitution 
 
174 rhe CHRISTIANITY 
 
 ftitution had not been liable to fuch Irregularities. 
 But I will not, in lb obfcure an Affair determine, 
 nor afTu me to be wife above what is written •, but ra- 
 ther refer all to the foveraign Pleafure and Counfel 
 of the infinitely wife Author of the whole Inftitution. 
 But that the Defign and Ufe of Sacrifices was for the 
 Expiation of Sin, as above-faid, is as plainly afferted 
 through the whole old Teftarnent as Words can exprefs 
 it. And the Heathens had, from perpetual Tradition, 
 the fame Idea, as appears from the genuine Senfe of 
 icveral Quotations, this learned Author hath given us, 
 as well as from many others, which might be produced j 
 wherein they fpeak of Sacrifice asrequifitebothto obtain 
 Pardon of Sin, and the Favour of the Gods, in the Blef- 
 ilngs of common Providence. Of the latter we have a 
 remarkable lnitance in Hefiod. '(p. ^, qpi: V. 333. 
 
 ccyvoos k, xccSocpoog £-srt $ a.yXcca, (Jwpic& xum'j 
 OihXott JV] <nrov'Jr,<ri Sveost ti i\zv;'.zo3j 
 n^iU ot £Uf»C,i7 Xj oral/ (pyJQr' ispov ia-jvi 
 us us toi 'iXccov xpaJw >^ 3"Ujw,oi/ c'/jjogl 
 
 which may be Engliflied almoft Verbatim thus : 
 
 To your befi Pow'r your /acred Offerings bring 
 To the immortal Gods fpotlefs and pure. 
 The fplendid Haunches in the Fire con fume. 
 With Offerings and Libations make the Gods 
 Propitious, bcth when rojy Morn afcends 
 And when the Evening guilds the wefiern Sky. 
 Thus their Goodwill and Favour you'll obtain. 
 
 An lnitance of the former Intenfion of Sacrifice wc 
 have in Homer's Iliad, a. v. 99. 
 
 lc yputTflV run xiv [mm i\ao<soy.woi 7TEir&oiy.EV. 
 
 then 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 175 
 
 -then bring the f acred Hecatomb 
 
 To Chryfes ; th' angry Gods we'll thus appeafe. 
 
 It is certain, as our Author ib often repeats and 
 no one, I believe, ever denied, Sacrifices were rec- 
 koned to be of no Eftecm with the Almighty with- 
 out Holinefs of Life ; and particularly in Cafes of 
 Wrong, Reparation mull be made. The Heathens 
 thought the fame. And particularly Hefiod writes 
 thus : after having mentioned many Kinds of Wic- 
 kednefs. 
 
 \oytcv govt ccdixuu xx\S7rluj %Tsi§v\Y.c)> ccpofiyv, 
 ocXk% cv run fj.lv iroipTXixii ispy cctTupgovx Svy.ov. 
 
 For wicked JVorks the Gods fend dire Revenge. 
 Wholly from thefe your foolifh Mind rejtrain. 
 
 And then follows the Precept for Sacrificing, recited 
 above. 
 
 Homer alfo expreffeth the Neceflity of Reparation 
 for Injuries, in Order to the Acceptance of the A- 
 tonement. 
 
 ad" oy£ 7rpiu Xoi[*o7o (3a^ia? % £ *P a? tx.'p^h 
 
 ■zsplv y oItzq uTocrpt ipiAw $o[a,ivsu l\ix<i07ri$x y.apriv. 
 
 Nor will the God remove the Plague until 
 The Father have his beauteous Girl reJlor\L 
 
 So that it will always {land for a certain Truth, 
 that the Blood of rhe Sacririce was for the Remifilon 
 of Sins, in Subjects rightly difpofed, from the Ac- 
 count given of the Affair, both in the facred Oracles 
 of divine Truth, and the Writings of the learned 
 Heathens : And that, without fjedding of Blood then 
 was no Remijfion, Heb. ix. 22. notwithstanding what 
 the Author alleges from Lev. v. 11. &V. of the poor 
 Man's Atonement being made without Blood : For 
 
 although 
 
i 7 6 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 although his private Offering, becaufe of his Poverty, 
 might be accepted without Blood ; yet the Intereft 
 which every Ifraelite had in the Offerings of tfje great 
 S)au of iUoriCulCitt-, and the Relation, which every 
 legal Offering had to the Blood of Chrift, may, I 
 think, be properly enough alleged in Support of the 
 Truth of the Apoftles Alfertion. And it will alfo 
 remain a 'Truth lor ever ejiabiijhed in the very Heavens; 
 that our blefTed Lord Jefus, as we have (ten it is ful- 
 ly declared in the New Teftament, was, by the Al- 
 mighty's Appointment, the real Sacrifice of Atone- 
 ment for the Sins of Mankind, that Lamb fiain from 
 the Foundation of the Worlds which was prefigured by 
 the Sacrifices of Atonement and others under the 
 Law; and that He fubmitted to all the Sorrows of 
 this mortal Life, and to the Sufferings of the Crofs, 
 
 as a Vicfim for, ants in tht &teno of tfyt human 
 
 KflCf, to make Satisfaction for the original Tranf- 
 greffioo of the divine Law, and for the confequent 
 Offences of penitent Sinners. And there is no Need 
 to dciciibe or imagine a Parallel between the feveral 
 Steps of our Saviour's Sufferings in his Acts of A- 
 tonement, and the Circumitances or Ceremonies ufed 
 about Sacrifices •, thefe are various according to the 
 foverargn Pteafbre of the molt High. 
 
 The lame Thing will be flill further evinced by a 
 brief Remark I (hall make upon another Particular, 
 the Author feems very Intent upon, viz. the Notion 
 of the Sacrifices having been confidered as fubftituted 
 ill t\)t 2>tUi:iCr3 Irea'O, who delerved to be deflroyed. 
 This he acknowledges to have been a prevailing O- 
 pinion, both among "Jews and Gentiles. He lays, it 
 was only in latter Times that this Opinion prevailed, 
 but of this he hath no: given any Proof: And it 
 hath, certainly been always the firm Perfwafion or the 
 Chriftian Church. This Opinion He however thinks 
 to be fomething apocryphal, and not to be retained 
 in the Chriftian Canon. I apprehend this Idea is 
 
 not 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT* 17? 
 
 not efTential to that of Atonement or Propitiation, &d 
 which, I think, abfolutely depends upon the fove- 
 raign Pleafure and Appointrnent of the mod High. 
 But yet it may, I believe, be eftablifhed upon the 
 Authority of the Holy Scriptures, and that by the 
 Acknowledgment of the Author of the Ljfay on Sa- 
 crifices, &c. He faith: " It may feem foniewhat ftrange, 
 " if the Life of an Animal was given in lieu of tlie 
 ** Life of the Offerer, that no where in the Books 
 " which particularly mention the Inftitution of Sa- 
 '• crifices, or fo largely treat of them, oi in the 
 " Verfwns of them, They mould ever be called aJt^ 
 " or dvTiXvTptx, or wrtyvxtk. P. 134. and P. 151, 
 * c Xvrpov, in the fame Senfe. 
 
 The Reader may pleafe to Review what is obferved 
 ofthefe Words, under the Head of Redemption, P. 95, 
 &c. And in Exod. Xxx. 10. It is faid : Aaron Jhall make 
 an Atonement upon the Horns of the golden Altar, once in 
 the2"ear, ivith the Blood of the Sin-Offering of Atonement s t 
 &c. In this Verfe the Word "ISD is three Times ap- 
 plied, to denote that Atonement which is made for the 
 Soul of the Offerer, by the Blood of the Sacrifice. 
 But we have before feen that this Word primarily 
 fignifieth making fatisfaclion for Offences committed 
 fo as to be exempt from thofe Effects of the Dif- 
 pleafure of the Party offended* which might o-.herwife 
 follow. This I have fully fhewed in P. no. & in. 
 And in the following Pages I have fliewn, that the 
 Word is uJed in the fame Senfe to denote the Efficacy 
 of Sacrifices, for obtaining the Favour of the Almigh- 
 ty, in the forgivenefs of Sins. And in P. 131. & 
 132, I have given fome Inilances where it is exprefly 
 ufed to fignify Redemption in the mod proper Senfe 
 of the Word: And the Greek VerHon arcordingly 
 hath ufed the Word Xbr^x, as is there noted. "So 
 Exod. xxx, 11, 12, The Lord faid unto Mofes •, When 
 thou takeft the Sum of the Children of ifrael — - — they 
 /hall give every Man a Ranfoto for his Soul unto the 
 
 X Lord% 
 
i 7 8 Tht CHRISTIANITY 
 
 l i0rc l : _ that there he no Plague amongft them, l$c. 
 
 This is, in the Hebrew, called ^2 "IBD The Atonement 
 of his Soul. And this is, in the Greek, Jacwu/ sxar®* 
 AT'TPA £ ^v%r\<; auTa-, as the Englijh. In the xv/& 
 Verfe it is exprelTed thus : b5\Dt#fB ty ")B^b to make an 
 Atonement for your Souls. This the Greeks tranflate, as 
 in V. 10. which hath a plain Relation to Sacrifice : 
 i%t\d<ru3f <de* tuv ^yZv vfAuv. Which is a Demonftra- 
 tion, the Authors of that Verfion, thought the Idea 
 of Atonement, and of Redemption to be very much 
 the fame, as is noted above. And the fame appears 
 in many Inftances. Thus Jacob's Prefent, P. no. 
 was fent as a Xurgw, a Redemption from the Effects of 
 his Brother's Reientment : So Mofes's Prayer, P. no. 
 might be faid to redeem, to deliver the People from 
 the Almighty's Indignation. And David's appealing 
 the Gibeonites was -the Redemption of Jfrael from the 
 Famine ; although they were not fo called. But Ifa. 
 xliii. 3. I gave Egypt for thy Ranfom, Ethiopia and 
 Seba for thee. The Hebrew is TISQ thy Expiation, 
 which can fignify no other than that, to fave them, 
 he had expofed the others to the Calamities of 
 War. Vid. Syn. Crit. in loc. And this is in the Greek 
 exprelTed by olxxayy.x an Exchange, for which the 
 Englijh hath Ranfom. Prov. xxi. 18. ^1^'^ 
 the Wicked fhall be a Ranfom for the Righteous. The 
 Hebrew is an Atonement : And the Greek -sT^wa'S-ap/Aa, 
 a CWmfing. See P. 115, &c. The Senfe of this Paf- 
 lage is differently exprelTed in Ch. xi. 8. for which 
 the Greek hath wit «ut5 ■nrapxSiSoron aVf|3*?? : The 
 Wt eked is given up tillfcat! of him. This is quite in 
 the Idea of Redemption, though the Greek have not 
 that Word. But Prov. xiii. 8. The Ranfom of a 
 Man's Life is his Riches : The Hebrew Word here for 
 Ranfom is IIS and the Greek is xir^ov. So Prov. vi. 
 35. He will not regard any Ranfom : Here alfo the 
 Hebrew is "33 and the Greek «T dvTxT^x^srai s&k \u- 
 tch. And he will not exchange for any Ranfom, The 
 
 fame 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 179 
 
 fame Word occurs twice in Num. xxxv. 31, 32. Te 
 
 (hall take no Satisfaction for the Life of a Murderer •> and 
 ye Jhall take no Satisfaction for him that is fled to the 
 City of his Refuge, &c. In both thefe Places the He- 
 brew Word is the fame as before, and the Greek, in 
 both, is Xvrpec. So that it is undeniable, that this 
 Hebrew Word fignifieth indifferently Expiation or Ran- 
 fom (the Price of Redemption :) and confequently that 
 thefe two Terms are of the fame Import, or very 
 nearly, which is flill the more evident, becaufe in the 
 Greek Tranflation of the Old Teftament, the Word 
 is fometimes rendred by Ixacr^oq or IxdwitSg, &c. and 
 fometimes by xurga. So that with refpect to the Au- 
 thor of An Effay on the Origin, &c. of Sacrifices ; the 
 Argument (lands thus : He acknowledges that if the 
 Sacrifices of Beafts under the Law had been called 
 AuT^a, &c. in thofe Books which treat of their Infti- 
 tution, or in Verfions of them : They might, in that 
 Cafe, be looked upon as having been fubftituted in 
 lieu of the Offerer, Life for Life, &rc. He muff, 
 with refpect to the Hebrew Books, and ail the Ver- 
 fions belides the Greek, mean A Word of the fame Sig- 
 nification with Xvtco., &c. But it is plain that the 
 Hebrew Word which is ufed to denote the Efficacy of 
 Sacrifices is, in many Places of the Greek Verfion of 
 the Old Teftament, rendered by the Greek Word 
 huTPx ; and in other Verfions by Words of like Sig- 
 nification, that is : Sacrifices were called, in the He- 
 brew "12D, which is rendered by the Greek Words 
 XuVpa or iAao-^o? (or sgiXaer^o?,) indifferently, and with 
 refpect to the fame Subject. So that whether the 
 Idea of Substitution was originally Appurtenant to the 
 other of Atonement or no, we fee the Ancients had 
 RfEcient Reafon, upon ti)i£ Cfrntlemeu'0 alfotorti 
 Principle, fo to conceive of it. And conlidering 
 thefe Sacrifices as Typical of the great Chriftian Sa- 
 crifice, have we not the ftrongeft Reafon to look upon 
 this Idea as proper and genuine, with Refpedb to 
 
 Z 2 that 
 
i8o The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 that alfo ? Since our bleffed Lord is fo plainly reprc- 
 fenced, both in the Prophetick and the Historical 
 
 Scriptures, as having been our fubflitute, and as 
 having born the Sorrows of his whole Life, and the 
 Agonies of the accurfed Tree ttl OUJ ffeafch And I 
 
 cannot help fufpecting, that in order to call a Shade 
 upon this reprefentation of the Redeemer's Sufferings, 
 the Abolition of the Idea of Subftitution with Re- 
 fpect to Sacrifice is fo induftrioufly profecuted. 
 
 But whether this Idea be eflential to the Sacrifices 
 of Atonement or no ; we have before feen, under 
 the Head of Redemption, Propitiation, &c. that the 
 Idea is throughout the whole New Teftament, as well 
 as in the Prophecies of the Old, applied to our blef- 
 fed Saviour's Sufferings, and that he is in Virtue 
 thereof filled our Redeemer Xut^wtw : our Propitiation 
 iXxa-pov, &c. Thus 2 Cor, v. 21, He made him to he 
 Sin, (2. Sin-Offering, Vid. P. 105.) for us, l-m^ i[wu 
 \h our Stead, for fo the Word very often fignifieth. 
 So Rom, v. 8, Chrift died for us, Xpiros wty ipw 
 dirtbatvc In our btead; As V. y. v-rnp <Wj«, for a righte- 
 ous Man : And Jarsg tL : dyxSv, for a good Man •, which the 
 Connection will not bear to be otherwise underitood. 
 So Ephef v. .2, Chrift hath loved us, and hath given 
 himfelf for us, an Offering and a Sacrifice, &c. J*?p 
 »/*«* : And fo in many other places Chriit is faid to 
 have fuffered for us, or in our Stead-, and to have 
 born the Puniihment of our Sins. This the Author 
 of Second Thoughts, &c. faith is impoffible ; But I 
 fay again : Let GOD be true and every Man a Lyar. God 
 hath faid it, And fooner fhail Heaven and Earth pafs 
 away, than one Tittle of his Word mall fail. But if any 
 fhouid object, that the Particle uV^ doth not always fig- 
 nify infiead or in the Place of another ; But that fometimes 
 it imports ; for the account of another, in any Manner ; and 
 fo may comport with the Doctrine of the Socinians ; tor 
 they fay, that Chriji died ^ our <£oofc s Which might 
 BCexpreiTcd in the Greek, perhaps properly enough, v«la 
 
 v 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 181 
 
 $ uQtXuett vpuv : Therefore, to eftablifh the true meaning 
 of the Texts before quoted, our Lord himfelt tells us, 
 Mat. xx. 26. and Mar. x. 45. that He came to give his 
 Life a Ranfom for many : Which is, in the Greek, *u- 
 rpov <xvt\ 7tq>^oov. And 1 Tim. ii. 6. St. Paul fays ot 
 Jefus Chrift : Who gave himfelf a Ranfom for all. The 
 Greek is «'t»'aut«ov iwb jraww. The Particle am which 
 in the former Texts is in Appofition, and in the lat- 
 ter being, in Compofition, joined with the former 
 enforceth its Signification, properly figmfieth : Being 
 vicarious, or inftead of another : And lb Conftantine 
 writes upon the Word: Proprie \fignificat vicem, cum 
 quis alter ius loco fact t aliquid. i. e. " It properly figni- 
 " fies inftead, as when any Perfon doth a Thing in- 
 " ftead of another. And St. Chryfofiomc, in the 
 Place cited a little above, and in many other Places, 
 ufeth the Particle wlp exactly in the fame Senie. 
 
 And I may, I prefume, here properly note, that 
 the learned Author of the Hebrew-Englijb Concordance 
 now in the Prefs, (a Work of prodigious Labour, 
 Ufe and Merit) to defeat the Arguments drawn from 
 the three Texts above-mentioned, in Vindication or 
 the Idea of Subflitution, with refpect to the Sacrifices 
 of Atonement under the Law, and more efpecially 
 with refpeft to the Death of Chrilt, in his Book, 
 upon the Subject of Atonement •, infifteth, that the 
 Particle aW doth not always figniiy in the Place or 
 Stead of another \ which I cannot deny. But, I think, 
 I may be allowed to affirm, that this is its molt na- 
 tural, primary and principal Signification, and that 
 confequently the three Texts above-mentioned are a 
 plain Declaration and Proof that our Lord Jeius may, 
 with the higheft Propriety, and under the iacrtd Au- 
 thority of the Holy Ghoft, be iaid to have fuffered 
 Death upon the Croft in t\)Z ]iMace atitj &ttzl}, as 
 well as for the Account and Benefit of iiniul P*kin~ 
 kind. — -This Signification is, as before-faid, aflerted 
 by Ccnjlantine to be the primary Import ol the Particle 
 
182 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 mm ; and the fame is allowed by Scapula, although, 
 it muft be owned, both thofe Authors allow that it 
 otherwife bears the general Senfe of the Latin pro : 
 But I think the Texts above-quoted, and efpecially 
 the two former, do not admit of a well-connecled Senfe 
 and Interpretation, if the Particle am be underftood 
 in any other Meaning than as I take it; that is, that 
 our blefied Lord cannot be called Xvrpov aVr» noy^Zv, 
 &c. a Ranfom for many, unlefs <Zvt\ be taken in the 
 Senfe as defcribed. And indeed the Idea of Xvtqov, 
 uttoivx, KvriXvTgov, and the like, feems to require fuch 
 Connection of Senfe ; the Idea of a Price or Ranfom 
 almofl neceffarily including that of fomething given 
 in (2;XCSange for, or in ^ttatl of, fome other Thing. 
 And further to eftablifh this Senfe I delire it may 
 be obferved, that, befides many other Inftances of 
 the Particle being ufed in this Senfe in the New 
 Teftament; as Mat. ii. 22. — v. 38. Luk. xi. 11. Rom. 
 xii. 17. 1 Cor. xi. 15. 1 Tbejf. v. 15. Heb. xii. 16. 
 Ja. iv« 15. 1 Pet. iii. 9. which are moft of the places 
 where it occurs, except where it is ufed adverbially, 
 as oVS-' uv, &c. which is pretty much of the fame 
 Senfe; I fay, befides thefe, it may be proper to note, 
 to this Purpofe, that it is for the molt Part put for 
 the Hebrew ^B whenever that Word occurs in the 
 Senfe of in/lead, or in the Plate or Room of another ; 
 whereof it may not be improper to give a few out 
 a vafl Multitude of Examples, in the Greek Tranfla- 
 tion of the Old Teftament. Gen. iv. 15. tuff tail of 
 Abel whom Cain flew. The Hebrew is ^rr J"irrn 
 and the Greek is aVri *A$i\. Gen. ii. 21. The Lord 
 
 took one of his Ribs and clofed up the Fle/h itlfftad 
 
 thereof In the Hebrew naJWHttp lap?! the Greek 
 
 is ytj averrXypooa-i <rccox.x a.w ooitt)? Ch. XXX. 2 0. 
 
 \M$ nrb$ t Jirrgn j m j in God's s>ttati* The Greek 
 
 hath pi am" 3-es lyu lifj-i. Gen. xxxvi. 33. 
 
 Jobab reigned in his £>ttafc» Heb. i^WJSipl^Pa 
 
 Gr. g i$a<ri\tvr& oivf dvrx *Iw{3*|3, and the fame where- 
 
 ever 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 183 
 
 ever the fame Senfe is expreffed in the Books of Kings 
 and Chronicles. In Gen. xliii. 33. Let thy Servant abide 
 itlffeat! of the Lad: Heb. Uftn JW) T7^ Krng and 
 in the Greek Trapx^ei/Z <ro» «■«»? «iwi ra ttou&z. — Num. 
 iii. 12. I have taken the Levites /raw among the Children 
 of Ifrael, Ulffeatl of all the Firfi-born fOatg/W} 
 
 in the -Greek dvr\ ttmto<; itputotoxs. y<?^ xvi. 4. 7f 
 
 ^oar &#/ were in my Soul's &>tcatl. In the Hebrew 
 it is : ^JTrfO^WSS-ft" and the Gra?£ is : I, 
 
 vttUsito yz r\ v|/u^ Jjiawi/ am -£ eprig. Upon which 
 Chryfqfiome, by Way of Illuftration, writes : treats tuv 
 
 tpfASVtVTuv xrw$ tx$s$ux£V. U vptiS roTg EjUOiV U7rixEt<&E 7ra0i- 
 
 <t*j/, &V. i. e. alius Interpresjic expofuit : $ vos dolores 
 meos fueritis paffi : If ye had felt my Sorrows, &c. which 
 mews that the Hebrew -Tinr) and the Greek dvr\ were. 
 by the Ancients underftood exactly as I have repre- 
 fented. And, to mention only one Example more 
 out of a vaft Number it would be eaiy to produce, 
 Gen. xxii. 13. Abraham took the Ram and offered him up 
 for a Burnt-offering, inffeao of gig &>Ott : In the He- 
 brew it is 12% J">D-D, and in the Greek «m t5 ijts 
 
 SLVTZ. 
 
 On this Place the learned Rabbi Solomon, in his 
 Expofition of this Part of facred Hiftory, writeth to 
 this Purpofe : 
 
 it nhj-w yen Tt 1 "tdiw *?f?3Jio rprro&o rwyw nroy Vd ^ 
 •ftio put 101 •ftjo roint^ ^2 ■• ■»•?»« \m fthafc* wn Ytjo 
 
 I^t TOi -lopj Kin V?*o owsno m 
 " In every Part of the Service performed by him, 
 
 " he [Abraham) prayed, faying, May God be pleafed 
 
 " to accept this as if it was done to my Son, as it 
 
 " my Son were (lain, as if his Blood were fhed, as 
 
 " if he were ftretched out," (or as if his Skin were 
 
 ftript off-, for the Chaldaic Word Ott'9 hath both thofe 
 
 Significations, the former whereof was performed upon 
 
 Ijaac, Gen. xxii. q.) " as if he were burned and re- 
 
 " duced ro Allies, &V." This is like many more of 
 
 the 
 
t8 4 f&* CHRISTIANITY 
 
 the trifling Accuracies of the learned Rabins ; but 
 it ferves however as a Demonftration, that the Hebrew 
 T\T\n and the Greek dvr\ were ufed to fignify the Sub- 
 ftitution of one Thing in the Room, Place or Stead of 
 another, and confequently that the Declaration of our 
 blelfed Saviour and of the holy Apoltle, cited above, 
 were meant to teach us that the Sacrifice and Death 
 of Chrift was, in the divine Eftimation, in the Place 
 and Stead of the finful Race of fallen Men, whereof 
 the Tranfaction here referred to was a Type. 
 
 So that, as was faid before, whether the vicarious 
 Subftitution of Sacrifices in lieu of the Offender, 
 belong to their original Inftitutiori or not-, it is, I 
 hope, undeniably plain from the Holy Scriptures* 
 that our Lord Jefus Chrift, by the Father's Ap- 
 pointment, died in the Place and Stead of the finful 
 Race of fallen Man, That he bore our Griefs and 
 carried our Sorrows : That the Punifhment due to a 
 guilty World was laid upon him : That He wai 
 wounded for our Tranfgreffions ; was bruifed our Iniqui- 
 ties, hx roU otpxpTias, fcfr. Sept. becaufe of our Tranf- 
 greffions, &c. 'The Chaflifement of our Peace was upon him, 
 and by his Stripes we are healed, Ifa. liii. Nothing can 
 be more full and exprefiive. See what is remarked 
 On this Pafi'age in P. 143. 
 
 Upon this the learned Author of the Syuop. Critic* 
 writes : Dicitur hie Chriflus languores noflros tulijfe. v. 4. 
 Propter feeler a noflra attritus, v. 5. abfcijfus effe, v. 8. 
 
 &c. eandemq; rem Propheta duodecies repetit. 
 
 Quorfum ? Non deleclatur Spiritus S. inani {3«*IoAoy»'<* 
 et ravToXoyiai.' Sid toties hac iter at, ut Jignificet fententiam 
 ham non effe bumami vanitate excogitatam, fed effe verijji- 
 mam et certijfimam, fisfjr. ejufque cognitionem nobis maximt 
 necejfariam. i. c " Chrift is here laid to have bom 
 *- our Griefs, v. 4. to have been wounded for our T'ranf- 
 tl - we/lions, v. 5. to have been cut off for our Sins, v. 
 
 cc g # ig Ct xhe Prophet repeats the fame Thing 
 
 " twelve: 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 185 
 
 '*' twelve Times for what Reafon ? The Holy 
 
 " Spirit is not pleafed with vain and uleleis Repeti- 
 " tion. But this is fo often aliened, to mew that 
 " this Sentiment is not die Contrivance of human Va- 
 " nity, bui is of the greateft Truth and Certainty ; "and 
 " that to k,.ow it is of the higheft Importance to us," 
 Thus I hope this great, this effential, this Capital 
 and Fundamental Doctrine or the New Teitament ; 
 this Doctrine which alone miniiurs lure Ground of 
 Confolation to the Saints militant on Earth, and 
 which fupplies Subject for Songs of immor.al Joy 
 to the Saints triumphant in Heaven ; this Doctrine of 
 Redemption and Salvation^ bp t*)t sjacutiCC saxtj 3Deatl) 
 of t|)e llojtl |efu£, is immoveably eftablifhed upon the 
 everlaftiug Foundation ot divine Truth ; in the Apple* 
 henfion of all, who take the holy Scriptures to be the 
 Word of God : And that the Minds of the intelligent 
 and unprejudiced will not be moved from the Hope of 
 the Gofpel by the Arguments, which are directly le- 
 velled againft the Faith of Chrijl the Redeemer, by the 
 Author of Second 'Thoughts concerning the Sufferings and 
 Death of Cbtift; Or the lefs open but not lefs perni- 
 cious Inferences from An Ejfay on the Nature, Defign 
 and Origin of Sacrifices ; nor any other productions in 
 Favour of Infidelity. 
 
 Had I not been flraitned in Time and Room, I 
 would have attempted fome brief Remarks on fome 
 other Particulars in the raft mentioned Book, which I 
 fufpect are not quite to the Shekel of the Sanftuary, 
 
 He more than hints, in^>. So. that the Taite and 
 Relim of Mankind were the original Criterion of 
 Meats Clean and Unclean, before the Flood ; whereas it 
 4s, 1 think, moft highly probable, this was always a 
 Matter of Religion, as it was alter it had a Place in 
 the Rituals which the Almighty gave by the Hand 
 of Mofisi and we (hall not ealily affign a Real- n 
 why, without a divine Command, Men ' ihould think 
 
 A a it 
 
186 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 it their Duty to abftain from eating of the Flefli 
 of a Rabbit, a Hare, or a Pig, more than of a 
 Sheep, a Hart, or a Calf. This is making the Rea- 
 fon. or the Will of Man to be the original Bafis of 
 Religion, and to have given the Plan "for the divine 
 Inftitutions. This is alfo, not very obfcurely, infi- 
 nuated in his treating upon Sacrifices, p. 312, 314. 
 where he fays, " The Cuftoms of the World had 
 " made Sacrifice the ordinary Way of addrefling 
 " God, &c. and, where a Cuftom was univerfal, as 
 " it was to offer Sacrifices, and a Law was given 
 " fuited to fuch a Cuftom, &c" Now confidering 
 how large and how very particular the InftituLions 
 of Sacrifice, by Mofes, were, as well as what I have 
 noted in P. 74. and confidering befides how jealous 
 the Almighty was of the Honour of his own religious 
 Inftitutions, we have, I think, lufficient Reafon to 
 believe that Sacrifice would never have been thought 
 of, by the Sons of Men, much lets have made fo 
 great a Part as it did of the Religion of all Mankind, 
 for the Space of four Thoufand Years, if it had not 
 originally had the Sanation of a divine Appointment. I 
 fhail mention no more, but only en paffant juft remark 
 that this Author, as well as many other learned Men, 
 hath annexed the Idea of covering, in general, to the 
 Hebrew Verb ~?? which I think I have, in P. 125. &>V. 
 fhewn not to be quite right. Many other Things 
 in this curious and learned Effay are very worthy of 
 Remark; JBut I fhall, at prefetit, proceed no further. 
 
 Had I not been thus diverted with what might 
 have been better performed in the Body of* the Work, 
 had I had the Books fooner, I defigned to have ad- 
 ded fomething, for the further eftabliihing of this 
 great :EyangelicarDo6tr'\ne, from the tranfeendent Cha- 
 ra£tt r given of the Perfbn of our blefled Redeemer, 
 and the extraordinary Things recorded of him, in thte 
 holy Scriptures ; fuch as was never given to, fuch as 
 
 were 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 187 
 
 were never recorded of any other Perfon ; to make it 
 more evident, that, agreeably to the general Reafon, 
 and Proportion of the Works of the moft High, his 
 Errand and Commiffion into the World muft be very 
 fingular, and fuch as none of the Prophets and righ- 
 teous Men, which with many illuftrious Evidences 
 of divine Legation, came before him, ever had. 
 
 He is called the only begotten Son of God. Nay, 
 Rom. ix. 5. he is called GOD over all Bleffed for ever- 
 more. And I fa. ix. 6. befiaes the Appellations Won- 
 derful, Counfeihr, He is alfo there called The mighty 
 GOD, the everlafiing Father, or rather, The Father of 
 Eternity, T3T?4fi|. He is called, The brightnefs of the 
 Father's glory, and the exprefs Image of his Perfon, 
 •£ \anr«*»* «ut2, " of his Effence, his Existence or 
 " eternal Subfiftence, as Conftantine gloffes the Word : 
 r? xaO' ixvro ISwjscitoos vqn$dLfjMM : l * That which iub- 
 " fifteth of itfeif, by its own peculiar Effence." And 
 to be thus the exprefs Image, ^apanr^, ot the eter- 
 nal Effence of the Deity could never be truly predi- 
 cated of any other in Heaven or Earth, befides the 
 Lord Jefus, in whofe Perfon the Divine and the 
 Human Nature are incompreheniibly united. It is 
 faid, that by him, the Father made the Worlds. Heb. 
 i. 2. And that He created all Things by Jefus, Cbrift, 
 Eph. iii. 9. He is called • The Image of the invifible 
 GOD, and the Firf-born of every Creature ; for by him 
 were all Things created, that are in Heaven and that are 
 in Earth, vifMe and invifible, &c. All Things were 
 created by him and for him, and he is before all Things, 
 and by him all Things conjifi. Col. i. 16. And he is 
 faid to uphold all Things by the Word of his Power. 
 Heb. i. 3, To him the Chrillian Expofitors apply 
 that Paffage in Ifa. li. 16. / have put my Words in thy 
 
 Mouth, that thou mayeft Plant the Heavens, end 
 
 hy the Foundations of the Earth, £stV. which is full as 
 agreeable to the Hebrew Text, as is our Englijh 
 Tranfution ^i^DWi^ Thus the vulgar 
 
 A a 2 Latin 
 
i88 ^CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Latin hath it, although the Septuagint Verjion be as the 
 Engliflj, But the Je-wijh Commentators take it ra- 
 ther to deiote the Restoration of the City and People 
 of the Jews after the Captivity. For thus writeth 
 R. S. Jarcbi ^Dl^03133V»^nprr^TD»lHD^»trpb 
 
 " to raife up the People of whom it was faid, 
 " that they mould be multiplied as the Stars of 
 1 Heaven." And R. D. Kimcbi upon the fame Paf- 
 fage writes thus: Itfin Q^y bvnw VfPtf TWbi V»2p )7W 
 " This is the gathering (the Reduction) of the Cap- 
 " tivity, when Ifrael mall be aj a new World." I 
 own this appeals to me full as agreeable to the con- 
 text as the othe • : But the Creation, and the Prefer- 
 vation of the World are plainly afcribed to our Lord 
 Redeemer, in the Places above cited and others. 
 So Heb. i. 10. Of him it is faid : Thou Lord, in the 
 Beginning, haft laid the Foundation of the Earth, and the 
 Heavens are the Work of thine Hands : They fa all Perifb, 
 but won remainefi ; and they all jhall wax Old as doth a 
 
 Garment, But thou art the fame, and thy 
 
 Tears pull net fail. Of him it is faid ; When be bring- 
 eth in the fitfi begotten into the Worlds hejaitb; and let 
 all the Angels of GOD wo?j/jip him. Unto him the 
 
 tal Father faith : Ihou art my Son, this Day have I 
 begotten thee. And unto the Son he faith : Thy Throne O 
 GOD is for ever and ever ; A Scepter of Righteoufnefs 
 is the Scepter of thy Kingdom : Thou hajt loved Right e- 
 
 fs end hated Iniquity, therefore GOD even thy 
 GOD hath anointed thee with the Oyl of Gladnefs above 
 thy Fellow*. He is called, Ifa. ix. 6, The Prince of 
 Peace. And it is prophefied of him, That the Go- 
 vernment Jhould be upon his Shoulder ; and that of the 
 encreafe of lis Government and Peace there (hould be no 
 End. In Rev. i. 5. lie is called Jefus Chriji (i. e. 
 The Anointed Saviour or Meffias the Saviour) the 
 .:/}, the Firft begotten (or rather the Firft* 
 be w UpwJoroxw) from the Dead, and the Prince of the 
 Kings of the EarJb. lie is called The Star which 
 
 Jdoitid 
 
0///;<?NEW TESTAMENT. i,S? 
 
 fhould arife cut of Jacob, Numb. xxiv. 17. which Paf- 
 fage the moft learned Expofitors, both Jews and 
 Chriftians underftand of the Mcjftas, though fomc ap- 
 ply it to David and the fucceeding Kings of judah. 
 But the learned A. B. Ezra treats this with rh+m rb'hn 
 Apage, Apage ; and calls thefe Authors r\yi '•"VDrT 
 Men wanting Knowledge, and that this Conilruc- 
 tion is rPttflSil JMV2 ttf!"OD faljly denying the coming of 
 the Mcfftas: He alio calleth himfelf (probably in Al- 
 lufion to this) 'The bright and Morning Star. Rev. xxii. 
 16. Where he alfo cails himfelf both the Root and 
 the Offspring of David : The former refpecting his 
 Divine, and the latter his Human Nature. He is 
 alfo called the Son of Man, and the Son of David, 
 He is moreover called the Lamb of GOD, and the 
 Lamb flain from the Foundation of the World. He is 
 called the High Prieft of our Profeffwn, A Prieft for 
 ever after the Order of Melchizedech. An High 
 Prieft, who can be touched with the Feeling of our 
 I: -fnnities, having been himfelf tempted in all Points like 
 as we are, yet without Sin. He is fa id to be a mer- 
 ciful and faithful High Prieft, in Things pertaining to 
 God, to make Reconciliation for the Sins of the People. 
 And to have an unchangeable Prufthood. He is a!fo laid 
 to hzfucb an High Prieft as became us (vfMv '(-ar^mtv, was 
 convenient for us J who is holy, harmlefs, undeftled, fe- 
 perate from Sinners, and made higher than the Hea- 
 vens, who needed not daily, as thofe High Prieft s (under 
 the Law) to offer up Sacrifice, ft' ft for his own Sins, and 
 then for the Peoples, &V. Who becaufe he continue th 
 ever, hath an unchangeable Prieft hood, &V. It is faid 
 of Chrifl, that he died, or rather is rifen again, who is 
 even at the Right Hand of God, who alfo maketh Inter- 
 ceftion for us : And Heb. vii. 25. He is able to fave 
 them to the uttermoft that come unto GOD by him, feeing 
 he ever liveih to make Interceffion for them. He is called 
 3 Tim ii. 5. The One Mediator between GOD and Men 
 the Man thrift Jefus. And Heb. v.ii. 6. He is faid 
 
 to 
 
roo Tlie CHRISTIANITY 
 
 to have obtained a more excellent Mini/try (than the 
 Prkits under the Law,) by how much he is the Media- 
 tor of a better Covenant, &c. AvA-Ch. ix. 15. He is 
 called 'The Mediator of the New Tejiament. And Ch. 
 xiii. 24. Jefus, the Mediator of the new Covenant. He 
 is called A Prophet > and That Prophet which fhould 
 come into the World, and he was declared to be grea- 
 ter than all the Prophets, which had gone before 
 him. For He teftified of John, that ot all that were 
 Born of Women, there bad not arifen a greater than 
 He, Mat. xi. 11. But John the Raptifi himfelf tefti- 
 fied of Chrift, that he was fo much his fup-rior, 
 that himfelf was not Worthy to loofe the hatchet of his 
 Shoes. Purfuant to this Office and Character he de- 
 clared the Will and Counfel of GOD to Mankind 
 authoritatively, and by his Preaching laid the Foun- 
 dation, and enacted the Laws by which his Kingdom 
 was to be eftahlifhed and adminiitred, to the End of 
 the World, and He foretold the mod remarkable 
 Events relating thereto. He foretold the Time and other 
 Circumftances of his own Death, molt readily and 
 chearfully yielding up himfelf to the molt painful, 
 fhameful, and accurfed Death of the Crofs, becaufe 
 he knew and declared, it was the Counfel and Pur- 
 pole of the molt High, that he mult, in that Way, 
 be a Ranfom, an Atonement for the Sins of the 
 World. In this Relation, He is called The Angel, or 
 Meffenger of the Covenant. Mai. iii. 1. And The 
 Word of GOD, which was in the Beginning, and was 
 with GOD, and was GOD. He was foretold and 
 promiied to Adam in Paradife, four Thoufand Years 
 before his coming, under the Character of trie £:cri) 
 of fiyt (BafrOttiatt, which fhould bndfe the Serpent's 
 Head : He was alfo foretold and promifed, to Abra- 
 ham, nineteen Hundred Years before his Advent, as 
 the Perfon, who was to be of his Seed, in whom ali 
 the Families of the Earth fhould be bleffed: He waspro- 
 phefied of by Jacob, almoit feventeen Hun 
 
 Year 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 191 
 
 Years before his Birth, by the Name of Shilob, who 
 was to come, not till the Scepter (hould depart from 
 Ju iah, and a Lawgiver from between His Feet. Which 
 was molt remarkably fulfilled, by the Appearing of 
 Chriil, at the Time when Judea was under the Sove- 
 raign Dominion of the Remans, and the particular 
 Aciminiftration of Herod, firnamtd Antipas, Son of 
 Herod the Great, an Idumean and foreigner. To him 
 alio, gave all the following Prophets Witnefs, and 
 efpecially the Prophet Daniel, whole Prophefy of the 
 feventy Weeks fo nearly marked out the precife Time 
 of the MeJ/lab's Appearance, that not only amongft 
 the Jews, but throughout all the Eaft, there Was, 
 at that Time a general Expectation of a great Prince 
 to arife from amongft the Jews. And this not im- 
 probably was the motive to the Eaftern Magi to di- 
 rect their Journey to Judea, to pay their Comple- 
 ments to the Infant Prince, of whole Birth they had 
 gained Intelligence, by the Rules of their Art, or 
 more probably, by the immediate Illumination of 
 the molt High, from a remarkable Star, which they 
 had obferved, while they were in the Earl, Matt. 
 ii. 2. 9. which had not before appeared. The 
 Birth of Jefus Chriil was molt extraordinary, fingu- 
 lar and unprecedented. He was Born ol a pure 
 Virgin, who conceived him out of the ordinary 
 Courfe of Nature, by the immediate Influence of 
 the Holy Ghofl, which came upon her, and the Tower of 
 the Higbeft which overfhadowed her, of which amazing 
 Difpenfation of divine Power and Favour She was 
 honoured with the ANNUNCIATION by the Holy 
 Angel Gabriel,, whole Name imports the Power of 
 GOD, or GOD is my Strength, with a Command that 
 his Name mould be called Jefus ( ffl&l Salvation, ) 
 becaufe he fhould fame his People from their Sins, de- 
 claring that He fhould be great, and be called the Son of 
 the Higbeft, and that the Lord GOD fhould give unto 
 him the Throne of his Father David j and that He 
 
 fhould 
 
192 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Jhculd Reign over the Honfe of Jacob for ever, and ever* 
 and that of his Kingdom there fhould be no End. As 
 was prophefved of him. Dan. vii. 14. and Ifa. ix. 7. 
 The Holy Virgin his Mother, although oi the Royal 
 Houfe of David, was in Circumftances of Life fo 
 low, that when, by the Difpofition of Divine Pro- 
 vidence, She was, in Confequence of an Imperial 
 Edict, come to Bethlehem, where the Mejjiah was to 
 be Born, according to the Prediction of him, Mich. 
 v. 2. and the Time was come that fhe mould be de- 
 livered of the Child, She was forced to take her 
 Lodging in a Stable, and lay the Babe in a Manger, 
 becauie flie could have no Room in the Inn. And 
 here his Birth was made illuftrious by a Light from 
 Heaven, called the Glory of the Lord (which many 
 learned Men take to have been what was ktn by the 
 Wife Men in the Eaft, under the Appearance of a 
 Star,) which fhone round about fome Shepherds, who 
 were watching over their Flocks by Night, to whom 
 alfo an Angel of the Lord appeared, declaring, as 
 Tidings of great Joy to all People, that that Day 
 there was Bern in the City of David, a Saviour, even 
 Chrifl the Lord: When fuddenly there appeared with the 
 Angel, a Multitude of the Heavenly Hoft praijing Gcd, 
 and faying : Glory be to GOD in the Higheji, and on 
 Earth, Peace, Good- will towards Men. 
 
 After the Completion of the Days of the Holy 
 Virgins Purification, when fhe took the Child to the 
 Temple of the Lord, to fulfil the Requirements of 
 the Law ; old Simeon an holy and religious Man, and 
 One who waited for the Coniolation of Ifrael, that is, 
 for the Appearance of the Meffiah, to whom it had 
 brcn revealed by the Holy Ghoft, that he fhould not Jee 
 Death before he had fcen the Lord's Chrifi, This holy 
 Man coming by the Spirit, into the Temple, at that 
 Time, took up the Holy Infant in his Arms, and, in 
 a Rapture of heavenly Joy, uttered his devout Thanks 
 to the moil High, in that well known Divine Hymn, 
 
 Luke 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 193 
 
 Luke ii. 29. Zori/ #0w letteft thou thy Servant depart 
 in Peace, according to thy Word f for mine Eyes have 
 feen thy Salvation, which thou hajl prepared before the 
 Face of all People ; A Light to lighten the Gentiles, and, 
 the Glory of thy People Ifrael. The Declaration of this 
 devout Stint was confirmed by the concurrent Tefci- 
 mony of one Anna a Prophetefs, 'who 'coming in at 
 the fame Time, gave thanks likewife unto the Lord, and 
 fpake of him to all them that looked for Redemption in Je- 
 rufalem, Lnk. ii. 38. 
 
 These and many other very remarkable Circurri- 
 ftances accompanying or confequent upon the Birth 
 of this extraordinary Child, were juft Matter of Won- 
 der and Aftoniiliment to all that knew or heard of it, 
 and have been considered by all Chriftians, as flrong 
 and undeniable Evidences of his having come into the 
 World, on a very lingular Defign. 
 
 Of the earlier Years of our bleffed Redeemer's Life 
 there is not much recorded, until he came to be abouc 
 Thirty Years of Age, Luk. iii. 23. One very remark- 
 able PaiTage indeed is mentioned, Luk. ii. 42. &c. 
 viz. That when he was twelve Years old, having 
 gone with his Parents {that is, with Mary his Mother 
 and Jofeph her Hufband his reputed Father,) to Je- 
 rufalem at the Paffover ; ns they returned the Child Jefus 
 tarried behind in Jerufalerri, and Jofeph and his Mother 
 knew not of it. Not finding him in the Company, 
 they turned back and found him in the 'Temple fitting 
 amidfl the Doclors, both hearing them and ajking them 
 Quejlions ; and all that heard him" were ajiomjhed at his 
 
 Underftanding and Anfwers. And all this fuperior 
 
 Knowledge and Elocution was without any Advan- 
 tage of learned Education. For we rind, Luke. ii. 
 51 . That he lived at home in fubje&ton to his Parents; 
 and very probably affifted jofeph in his Employment ; 
 for we find him, Mark vi. 3. called the Carpenter, 
 as he is elfewhere called the Carpenter's Son ; and Jo. 
 vii. 1 j. The Jews wondred how bejhould knoiv Let- 
 
 B b ters, 
 
194 Tbe CHRISTIANITY 
 
 ters, having never learned. So that his Ability to dif- 
 courfe with the JewiJ/j Doctors muft be more than 
 human. 
 
 When the Time drew near that he was to enter 
 upon his public Character and Office, we find him 
 prefenting himfelf to the Baptifm of" John, where, at 
 his coming up out of the Water, the Almighty gave 
 a double miraculous Teftimony of his peculiar Cha- 
 racter and his divine Million : For the Heavens vi- 
 fibly opening, the Holy Ghoft defcended upon him, 
 in a bodily Shape, as a Dove and rejied upon him : 
 Luk. hi. 22. Qoofs.uTixZ stJa ucei zrip^spav., and a Voice 
 came jrom Heaven which faid, This is my beloved Son in 
 whom I am well plea/ed. After this he was led by the 
 Spirit into the Defart to be tempted of the Devil : 
 Whom having baffled and overcome, in all his 
 A flanks ; He made thenceforward his public Ap- 
 pearance in the World ; preaching the Gofpel of the 
 Kingdom of Heaven ; declaring, the End of his own 
 Mifiion was to be a Teacher of Righteoufnefs, for the 
 Direction of Mens Lives according to the Laws of di- 
 vine Love and univerfal Virtue •, to qualify them for the 
 Favour of GOD and everlafting Felicity ; that he came 
 alfo to gtfcc j)i£ %ih a lHattfom for manp, anti an 8« 
 toutmcnt for cfjc §&in$ of cjjc (HfflloglD* He lived a Life 
 of moil exemplary Virtue, fuch as none befide him 
 ever did j free from Guilt and Blame. His Con- 
 verfation was pure and fpotlefs, ufeful and inftructive, 
 humble and modeft, meek and charitable, temperate 
 and patient. He fhewed the greateft Indifference to 
 all the Pleafurcs of Senfe, all the Glories of the World, 
 and all the PoffefTions neceffary to acquire the other. 
 He lived in a voluntary Poverty, not having where 
 to lay his Head. He went about doing Good; tak- 
 ing all Opportunities of evidencing his divine Power 
 and ConumiTiGU in miraculouily redrefling the Grie- 
 vances of Mankind ; healing the Sick, cleanfmg the 
 Lepers, raifing the Dead, feeding Multitudes miracu- 
 louily i 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. i 9 s 
 
 loufly ; bearing Witnefs, in the molt public Manner, 
 againft: the moll reigning and fafhionable Vices, and 
 all Depravations and Corruptions of the Laws of 
 Heaven, by pe'fons of ssiealtl), Reputation anti 
 PotDCJ : Shewing, in his whole Conduct, that he was 
 not under any Influence from fecular Motives, but 
 that he made the accomplishing the Will of his hea- 
 venly Father, the End of his Million-, and the ge- 
 neral Good of Mankind, the only View of his whole 
 Life. He foretold to the Jews the Destruction of 
 their City and Temple, the Abrogation of their Re- 
 ligion, the Abolition of the Laws and Initiations of 
 Mofes, the Rejection of the Jews from the peculiar 
 Favour of God, which they had been distinguished 
 by, for more than two thoufand Years, and the cal- 
 ling in of the Gentiles, to an equal, or perhaps lupe- 
 rior Share in the Privileges of the divine Covenant. 
 Thefe Declarations gave the Jews the greatest Provo- 
 cation againft him, lb that they were moved to con- 
 fpire to his Death, which they alfo effectuated, as he 
 had foretold they would : The Scheme of the divine 
 Counfel having taken in that Circumstance forefeen, 
 to accomplish the great End of the Redeemer's Mil- 
 lion. His Body was buried, and, at the Requeft of 
 the Jews, his Sepulchre guarded with a Band of Sol- 
 diers, to prevent the Attempts of his Followers to 
 Steal away his Body, and then report that he was 
 rifen from the Dead, as he had told them he mould do. 
 Which Caution, by the Direction of Heaven, ferved 
 to render the glorious Accomplilhment of that Pre- 
 diction more illuftrious and unquestionable : For on 
 the Morning of the third Day alter his Death, by his 
 own divine Power, He loafed the Pains of Death, 
 becaufe it was not poffible he fhould be balden of it. 
 All. ii. 24. An Earthquake happening, as a Prelude 
 to the Remrrection, and an Angel ot the Lord ue- 
 icending (not for any Want of Power in the Son of 
 B b 2 Got* 
 
x 9 6 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 God to raife himfelf, but for the Splendor of the 
 Tranfaction ) and rolling away the Stone from the 
 , Door of the Sepulchre, the Guards were under the 
 greateft Terror, and like to die for Fear, Mat. xxxviii. 
 2. "Luk. xxiv. 4, 5. Recovering their Spirits they 
 'came' into the City and related what had happened; 
 which firfr. Relation although they were by the Jews 
 afterwards hired to deny, the Impoflibility of flifling 
 the original and genuin Account of lb very extraordina- 
 ry an Event, and the Abfurdity of the Story, they were 
 corrupted to tell of the Difciples Healing away the Body 
 while they flept, both concurred to eftablifh the 'Cttttjil 
 nuts Kealitp nf tfit Kcfu^ecttcn : Which was ftili 
 further confirmed by the united Teftimony of a great 
 Number of his Difciples and others, 1 Cor. xv. 5. &c. 
 To whom be (hewed himfelf olive after his Paffon, by many 
 infallible Proofs being feen of them forty Days, and fpeaking 
 of the Things pertaining to the Kingdom of GOD. 
 
 Thefe are but a frnall Part of thofe Evidences, 
 which the Holy Scriptures give, of the fupereminent 
 Character of our blcifed Redeemer, the Holy Je- 
 fus -, to which might be added, the wonderful Ap- 
 pearances of Divine Providence, for the Accomplim- 
 ment of his Prophecies, in The firft and following 
 Times of the Gofpel: But what I have faid is abun- 
 dantly fuffrcient to put it beyond all Conti overly,, 
 that he was incomparably, I may with the utmoft 
 Propriety, fay mfmitftp fiipcjioj" to all ti\t £>cng 
 Q? i|i?Cit, which ever were before Him : So that the 
 Office of a Prophet alone, to teach the pureft and 
 molt exalted Syitem of refined Morality could 
 never fully Anfwer that moll tranfeendent Character 
 of incomprehenlible Dignity, which is afcribed to 
 the Son of God the Saviour of the World; nor be 
 agreeable to that beauteous Harmony and Proportion, 
 which are fo confpicuous throughout all the Al- 
 mighty's Works : But if we take into the Account, 
 his Sacerdotal and Regal Characters, we mail fea 
 
 {not 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 197 
 
 (not the Reafon, for that is infinitely above our Compre- 
 hension, but) how agreeable it is to the higher! notions, 
 which humane Reafon can form of the Propriety of 
 Things, that the Perfon who was to be the Re- 
 deemer of the World mould be conitituted agreeably 
 to the fublime Defcription, which we have in Pai> 
 feen given of our Lord Jefus. 
 
 And particularly, with refpect to his Sacerdotal 
 Office, as he was to offer fuch a Sacrifice as it might 
 be fuitable to the Honour of the Divine Nature and 
 Government, for the Almighty to accept, (10 mi "A* 
 tenement anfc Captation for the Sins of all the pe- 
 nitent Part of Mankind, from the rirft and original 
 Tranfgrefilon, to the End of the World ; which Sa- 
 crifice himlelf was alfo to be -, it cannot but appear 
 highly confonant to Reafon, that the Oblation mould 
 t>e, not only inconceivably fuperior to all the Sacrifices, 
 which had, for the fpace of four Thouland Years, 
 been offered, by all the Sons of Adam, in the Way 
 of Type and Prefiguration of this One great Sacri- 
 fice ; tili the fullnefs of Time fixed by the Almigh- 
 ty's Counfel, for this great Oblation, mould be ac- 
 complifhed ; but alfo to the aggregate value of all 
 Mankind, who were to be ranfotUetJ, atoned an& 
 etptatCfc for t^erefap : Hence it will in Part appear, 
 why he mure be made Partaker of Human Nature in 
 a finguiar Manner j even that he might be naturally 
 and constitutionally free from that Depravity,' where- 
 with, fame way, in Confequence of the firft Tranf- 
 gremon, Human Nature is univerfally tainted ; and 
 ib might be fuch an High Prieft, as became us, holy, 
 frarmfefs, undefikd, feparale from Sinners, Heb. vii. 26. 
 and have no Sin of his own to offer for, as the A- 
 poftle to the Hebrews argues, Chap. ix. and Chap, vii, 
 27. And to give fuch a tranfeendant Value to the 
 Perfon of him; who in this Scheme, in which infi- 
 gke Wiidom had chofen to fave the World, was to 
 
 be 
 
r<>8 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 be the Victim, it appears not lefs agreeable, that he 
 fhould alio Partake of the Divine Nature, that his 
 Oblation of himfelf might appear to the whole in- 
 tellectual World, futtablc anil proportionate to the 
 
 grand Defign. Nor is this incomprehenfible Union 
 oi the Divine and Human Nature in the Perfon of 
 the Redeemer, of lefs Importance to qualify him 
 rightly to fupport the Regal Character, according to 
 what was foretold of him, Dan. vii. 13, 14. which 
 PafTage, both Jemjh and Chriftian Writers underftand 
 cf the Mefiiah : And as was declared to the Holy 
 Virgin at the Annunciation, Luke i. 32, 33. Thefe 
 Characters plainly require, both in the Nature of 
 Things, and according to the Almighty's Declara- 
 tion, one who mould be infinitely fuperior to the 
 Human, and to all created Nature : That is, it was 
 neceiTary that the Divine and Human Nature mould 
 be united, to conflitute the Perfon, who, in this 
 Scheme of the Grace of God, was to be the Re- 
 deemer of the World. Man he muft be, that he 
 might die as a Victim for linful Men ; and he muft 
 be God, that his Death might be an equivalent Ran- 
 fom and Atonement for the Sins of all Mankind. 
 And in like manner, He muft be Man, that he might 
 rule over Men, and He muft be God, becaufe his 
 Dominion muft be an everlajiing Dominion, and his 
 Kingdom that which JJjall not be dejiroyed. Dan. vii. 
 14. And fuch a Perfon our Lord Jefus is, in Scrip- 
 ture, declared to be ; fuperior to Mofes and Aaron, to 
 Samuel and Elijah, to David and Solomon, and all the 
 Prophets, Priefts and Kings, that ever were before, 
 him ; made like unto the Son of GOD. Ihb. vii. 3. 
 
 So that, to the intelligent and unprejudiced Rea- 
 der, it will, I hope, appear that the Characters we 
 have before endeavoured to prove to belong to our 
 blefifed Lord as the Saviour of the World, are ac- 
 cording to the plain Senfe of the Scripture, even in 
 
 the 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 199 
 
 the Eye of Human Reafon, much more confonant to 
 the Defcription, the fame Scriptures give of his Per- 
 fon, and the Circumftances of his Hiilory, than the 
 Account, which Socintis and his modern Difciples 
 give, who allow him only to have been a Prophet to 
 Beach the Laws of pure Morality. 
 
 
 
 SECT. 
 

 SECT. III. 
 
 Of the Neceffiiy of Hcli?iefs, to complete the Scheme of 
 Redemption. 
 
 HE former Section having been occafionally 
 lengthened beyond my firfc Defign, I mail en- 
 deavour to make the Reader amends, by contra&ing 
 this as much as I well can •, Which I may the more 
 eafily do, as the Argument I am here to Support, is 
 by moft allowed to be true : And that notwiths- 
 tanding we are redeemed by a Price of infinite Va- 
 lue, which the Son of God paid for our Delive- 
 rance, from the ruinous Confequences of the original 
 lapfe of Human Nature, by his Death upon the 
 Crofs •, yet the End of our Redemption is not that, 
 being delivered from Guilt and Mifery, we might be 
 at Liberty to praclife all thofe Abominations, to which 
 our depraved Appetites and Paffions naturally difpoie 
 us-, as the Prophet Jeremiah, cb. vii. 10. complains the 
 People of his Time faid they were : But that being 
 purified from thofe Corruptions, we might in the hope 
 of eternal Life, which God who cannot hie, hath pro- 
 mifed, (Tit. i. 2.) ferve him without Fear, in Holinejs 
 and Righteoufnefs before him, all the Bays of our Lives, 
 Luke i. y$. which Zechariah by the Illumination of 
 the Holy Ghoft, declared to be the End of Re- 
 demption : The Truth whereof I lliall now endea- 
 vour methodically to prove; by confidering, 
 
 Firft, The Nature of that Happinefs which Man 
 enjoy 'd in his original State. 
 
 dhi 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 201 
 
 Secondly, The Nature of that Mifery into which 
 Man by Tranfgrefiion fell ; and thence, 
 
 thirdly, Shew how neceffary Holinefs is to qualify 
 human Nature, for the enjoyment of that Feli- 
 city, which He was originally formed to enjoy, and, 
 whereof the Gofpel brought the glad Tidings to the 
 Sons of Men. And, 
 
 Firft, Of the original Happinefs of Man, in the 
 State of his Creation. We are informed in the fa- 
 cred Writings, that Man was created in the Image of 
 God. For God faid {Gen. i. 26. j Let us make Man in 
 cur own Image, after our Likenefs. But God is a B.i ig 
 ot infinite Happinefs, which, according to human 
 Conception, is the Confequence or Refult ot the 
 other tranfcendent Perfections of the Deity •, fUch as 
 his Being (or neceffary Exiftence) Wisdom, Power, 
 Holiness, &c. And the more any Creature par- 
 takes of thofe Perfections, the more it partakes of 
 the Felicity thencerefuking, for fimilar Caufes 
 produce like Effects. 
 
 The Image of God in Man, feems to have con- 
 filtcd principally in the Perfection of his Faculties of 
 Understanding and Moral Rectitude ; being 
 capable of Contemplation, Reafoning and Reflection ; 
 and with a Difpofition to, and Delight in miibcrfal 
 •i^oUucfS, and confequently capable of partaking in 
 his Degree, of that Felicity, which arifes from thofe 
 Attributes infinite in the moit High. 
 
 ^itotolrtige is the Object of Delight to the Under- 
 ftanding, as Food or any other fenfitive Enjoyment, 
 is to the correfpondent Appetite of the Body. And 
 this Pleafure of the Understanding, is as all other De- 
 lights are, in the united Proportion of the Faculty 
 and the Object. The Almighty alone, hath an un- 
 derftanding Jtlfittitt, acting upon infinite Objects, 
 his own b ;undlefs Perfections, with the actual, future 
 and poffible Productions of his omnipotent Hand, 
 their Natures, Orders, Relations, Dependencies, 
 
 C c Powers 
 
202 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Powers and Ends, throughout univerfal fpace, and 
 infinite Duration •, and consequently God alone en- 
 joys this Happinds infinitely. 
 
 The Angels and Heavenly Effences have bound- 
 lefs Objects of Knowledge and Speculation, but finite 
 and limited Faculties, and their ilappinefs in this 
 Regard, is therefore tiwitt and limited. They knew 
 and enjoy God, but not to the infinite fulnefs of the 
 Divine Perfections : They know the Works of Crea- 
 tion and Providence, but not every one all, nor to 
 the lull extent of the Divine Wifdom and Counfel, 
 in their Formation and Difpoiition, nor the extent of 
 future and pofiible Productions and Events •, but ac- 
 cording to the Proportion and Meafure of their Fa- 
 culties, and in the fame Proportion is their intellectual 
 Enjoyment and Felicity. 
 
 Man in the State of Innocence was made as the 
 Scripture informs us, a little inferior to the Angels, 
 PVt9$Q p^D ^rrcniri and baft made him fa little de- 
 fective, a little fnort o!" ) a little lower than the /higeis, 
 Pfa. viii. 5. And his intellectual Facui:;es were pro- 
 portiomibiy lefs than theirs : A /matter Part, compa- 
 ratively of the Ways of God was known to him, Job. 
 xxvi. 14. Nor couki Adam in Innocence, nor even 
 the Holy Angels, find out the Almighty to Perfection, 
 ""job. xi. 7. But yet we have the greateft Reafon to 
 believe, that the Happinds which proceeded from the 
 clearnefs and extent of the intellectual Powers, where- 
 with our fir It Parents at their Creation were endued, 
 was very great, while they continued in their Ori- 
 ginal State; as they had Ability and Opportunity to 
 contemplate the Being and Perfections of their great 
 Creator, as manifefted in the beautiful and harmoni- 
 ous Frame of primaeval Nature, which then fubfifted. 
 That this muft have been a fource of great and ele- 
 vated Pkafure, will eafily appear to thofe who are fo 
 happy as to experience the delight winch n r w arifeth 
 from that Confederation, though very irnpert ct, 
 
 which 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 203 
 
 which fome of the Sons of Men, by superior Fa- 
 culties, and closer Application, are enabled to 
 exercife upon the Effects of the Wifdom, Counfcl, 
 Power ana Goodnefs of the Almighty, which yet ap- 
 pear in the vifibie Heavens, and in the mattered re- 
 mains of the terraqueous Globe, which ever fince 
 the Apoftacy of Man, and the confequent Curfe of the 
 Earth, and its fubilquent univerfal Deformation, by 
 the ruinous Effects of the general Deluge, wants 
 as we may well think, a great deal of its original 
 Beauty and Symmetry. Ana confequently the iiap- 
 pinefs of our firft Parents in Innocence from the 
 View of Nature, muft be vaftly greater than we 
 can now enjoy cr conceive, by reaion both of the fu- 
 perior extent or their Powers or Mind, above the 
 greateft Improvements, which the wifeft of their 
 Sons (by cloie Study and Experience, with all the Ad- 
 vantage of the progreflive Difcoveries of later Ages) 
 have been able to attain to ; and alio by Reafon of 
 the superior Perfection, in which, as we have 
 juft hinted, the State of Nature then was. 
 
 Of Adam's superior Understanding there ap- 
 pears a very pregnant lnitance, in the very ihort Ri- 
 itory we have ot trie Creation and the Antediluvian 
 World, in his giving Names to the feveral "Species of 
 the brute Creation (when they were brought before 
 him, by the Almighty, to fee what he would call them, 
 Qen. ii. 19, 20.) fome Way expreffive of their original 
 ConP.itutions, as the learned A. B. Ezra, in his Com- 
 mentary on this Place, very juilly remarks : a^H 
 
 •wroi irm bz nrfiftn ^d wn n^nn L, nb otao n~p s v nmn 
 v/nanzi r\x wn wan $b p rvnv ^vn wn "?rrj or-n ruro 
 
 i. e. Do you not fie (is it not plain) that he gaze Names 
 to the Beajis and to the Fowls according to the different 
 Conjlitutions of every one, (of every Species) which was 
 (an Effect, of) great Wifdom \ and had it not been fo, 
 the Almighty would not have brought them to him to fee 
 what he would call them. 
 
 C c 2 I 
 
204 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 I make no Queftion but the Nature and Use of 
 every Thing in the Vegetable Kingdom; of every 
 Tne, Shrub and Plant, Flower, Fruit and Seed, 
 which the fei tile Earth at firfb produced ; their Cul- 
 ture and Improvement, Virtues and eventual Ufes, 
 for Food or Phyfic, Service or Delight, were equally 
 known to sldam's difcerning Mind, as were the Na- 
 tures, Properties and Difpofitions of the feveral Spe- 
 cies of the brute Creation ; and that he was able as 
 well to give Names to thofe as thefe ; which probably 
 he did; with Judgment and Propriety, fupcrior to 
 what ot the Kind was ever fince done by the 
 grcaieft Proficients in the Knowledge of Nature; as 
 h's Difeernment, in this Regard, was greater than 
 that of any of his Poiterity, and particularly than 
 that ot the wife King of Ifrael> who, many Ages 
 after, /pake of Trees, and other Vegetables, from the 
 Cedar in Lebanon to the Hyfjop that jpringeth out of the 
 Wall, i Kin. iv. 33. The Reafons of Vegetation, as 
 well as Generation, Accretion, Nutrition, &c. were 
 I believe all open to the comprehenfive View of his 
 unclouded Mind; and did neceffarily afford unfpeak- 
 able Pleafure : As thofe faint Glimmerings of Science, 
 which the greater!: of the Sons of Men now acquire by 
 long laborious Study upon thofe Objects of philofo- 
 phic Speculation, are experimentally found to give 
 fome of the most refined and elevated Plea- 
 sures, which human Minds rightly difpofed are ca- 
 pable of. 
 
 Since writing the above, I find that what I have 
 here taken for granted, from the plain Letter of Scrip- 
 ture, as well as from the general Concurrence of Wri- 
 ters upon this Subject, is very different from what a 
 learned Author hath of late afferted : Who makes our 
 firit Parents in their primaeval State perfectly unacquain- 
 ted with the Nature of Things, void of all innate 
 and intuitive Knowledge, and even void of Speech 
 
 for 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 205 
 
 for the mutual Communication of Ideas, otherwife 
 than as they might become gradually acquainted 
 therewith by hearing the Voice of the Almighty 
 {peaking to them, and by Improvements upon that 
 Foundation. By which elegant Defcription, which 
 nearly comports with that which the ignorant Ravings 
 of the Heathen Poets, in after Ages, have given, of 
 the primaeval State of Man, as we fhall fee further 
 on, He makes their original Happinefs (Tuch Happi- 
 nefs as can be fuppofed to appertain to rational Crea- 
 tures in fuch Circumftancesy to confiit, wholly in a 
 stupid Indolence. 
 
 But how different is this from the Mofaic Defcrip- 
 tion, and from the Conception of all who nave formed 
 their Ideas upon the Plan of divine Revelation; and 
 the probable Perfection of the divine Productions. 
 But fuch Ideas thofe mult be content to take up with, 
 who are refolved to adjuft the Steps of infinite Wif- 
 dom by the very fcanty Meaiure of their own Under- 
 ftandings. 
 
 This Author, to avoid the Evidence which the 
 fore-cited Pafiage of Holy Writ gives of the origi- 
 nal Knowledge of Nature, which our firft Parents 
 were endued with, fays that Adam did not give 
 Names to the feveral brutal Species all at the fame 
 'Time, but only to fome one Species, and to the 
 reft by Degrees as he afterwards became acquainted 
 with them.- To fuch bold and bare-faced Con- 
 tradiction, of the divine Oracles, will the modern 
 fafhionable Pruritus innovandi lead People. Nothing 
 can be plainer than the facred Text, as cited be- 
 fore, Gen. ii. 19, 20. The Lord Gad formed every 
 Beaft of the Fields and every Fowl of the iiir, and brought 
 them to Adam, to fee what he would call them, and 
 wbatfoever Adam called every living Creature, that was 
 the Name thereof. So Adam gave Names to all. Cattle, 
 and to the Fowl of the Air, and to every Beajl of the 
 Field? &V. it is not indeed faid, Q»>^1 and brought 
 
 THLM, 
 
206 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 THEM, but only N.3*3 and brought indefinitely ; but 
 by g amma'icalConftrudion tnis Verb hath a piain and 
 neceffary Relation to DV^n c]^"^3 r^on^'n A J n-^ 
 [every Beaft of the Field and every Fowl of the Air] 
 juft preceding. Nor is it any Objection that the rela- 
 tive V? is in the lingular Number, for that is with the 
 higheft Propriety, as it hath evidently a fep .irate Re- 
 lation to the 13T"5S> every B^uft, and F P^"73 every 
 Fowl, which are each of the lingular Number. And 
 the whole Paflage hath not the lead Appearance of 
 the feveral Species of Beafts and Birds having been 
 brought in a confufed Diforaer, but in an orderly 
 Succeffion of every Species, they were brought to 
 Adam fttfvi? , .npJTi*q'? to fee what he would call IT. 
 Suti Mn HJO #|>| Q"$n' ft N"}P? T$J bp. and whatever 
 Adam called IT, even every living Soul, that zvas the 
 Name of IT. Here every one will i'te with how much 
 Propriety the Relative IT is put in the fingular Num- 
 ber, notwithstanding it is as plain as a Sun beam that 
 the feveral Species were named by Adam one by one 
 at the fame Time. And fo the Poet hath elegantly 
 defcribed it, reprefenting Adam as relating to the An- 
 gel how the Almighty had faid to him : 
 
 All the Earth 
 To thee and to thy Race I give, as Lords 
 roffefs it, and all Things that therein live, 
 Or live in Sea or Air, Be aft, Fifh and Fowl: 
 In Sigh whereof each Bird and Beaft behold, 
 After their Kinds, I bring them to receive 
 From thee their Names. 
 
 Afterwards he makes Adam to proceed thus : 
 
 As thus he fpake, each Bird and Beaft behold 
 Approaching* two by two, thefe cow' ring low 
 With Blandifhment •, each Birdftoopd on his Wing. 
 Inamd them as they pafs'd, and under ft ood 
 
 Their 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 207 
 
 TbeirNatures, with such Knowledge God endued 
 My sudden Apprehension. 
 
 And the Angel reciting the March of the holy 
 Legions, B. 6. j%. is ma^e to fay to Adam: 
 
 As when the total Kind 
 Of Birds in orderly Array, on Wing, 
 Came fummon'd over Eden to receive 
 Their JSames of thee, &c. 
 
 And in his Defcription of the Creatures formed 
 on the fixth Day of the Creation, he fays : 
 
 The reft are numberlefs, 
 And thou their I\aiures knowejl, andgav'ft them Names. 
 
 These are all Evidences that the Conceptions of 
 that great Author were quite agreeable to what wc 
 have before noted of the original intuitive, philofophic 
 Knowledge of the firft Parents of the human Race, 
 and the Felicity thence refulting. 
 
 And to ftrengtheri what I have here advanced with 
 the Authority of one of the moft learned Men the 
 latter Ages have produced-, Bochart, in his Treatife 
 De ncminibus Animalium ab Adamo impcfitis, writes thus: 
 At que bine dijeamus quam exacta fuerit Animalium noiitia 
 in prima ilk humam generis cpnditore, quern hie Hits nomina 
 impcfiiiffe refer t Mofes. Nempe in ejus animum Deus 
 mult a infuderatj qii<£ non nifi grand labor e et tonga experien- 
 tia tics addifcimus. It a ut non foluth fuperficiem, ut nos 
 hodie, fed et ipfam rerum natnram intrefpiceret. Which 
 for the Sake of the Englifh Reader I thus tranflate. 
 
 " Hence we may fee how perfect a Knowledge of 
 " the animal World the firft Founder of the human 
 " Race had ; who, asMofes here writes, gave them JSames. 
 " CertainlyGod had infilled into his Mind manyThings 
 " which we now cannot underftand without great La- 
 
 " bour 
 
2o8 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 *' bour and long Experience. So that he not only Taw 
 " the Surface or Things as we do, but was able to con- 
 " template their internal Nature and Conftitution." 
 
 And the fame moil learned Writer, in his Chapter 
 de Cameli nomine, remarks, that the Hebrew Name for 
 the Camel, ^|, is fully fuitable to, and exprcfiive 
 of, the peculiar Difpofirion of the Creature, from the 
 Verb A?|, to requite ; as it is, m a moft remarkable 
 Manner Animal fjanrtxmw, remembering to revenge In- 
 juries, for a great While. Upon which he takes Oc- 
 cafion to add : H<ec de Cameli Hebrao nomine cujus rationem 
 accuratius difquirere opercc pretium ideo dim ; quia in eo vel 
 maxime elucct primi patris fapientia, qui, quod nos non nifi 
 txperti fcimus, vifo Camelo jlatim animad'vertit •, hoc illius 
 ejje Genium y ut iram diu fervet et malum pro malo tandem 
 rcpexdat. i. e. " Thus much for the Hebrew Name 
 " of the Camel, the Reafon whereof I thought it 
 " worth while fomething accurately to examine, as it 
 • e gives us a moft clear Inftance of the Wifdom of our 
 " firft Father, in that he was able upon Sight of the 
 ** Creature to difcover that its natural Difpofition 
 " was to retain Anger along Time, and at length to 
 " revenge a Provocation;, which Difpofition We could 
 " not have known but by Experience." 
 
 And as our firft Parents very probably received fo 
 much Delight from the Knowledge and Speculation 
 of the divine Perfections manifefted in thefe lower 
 Scenes ; fo we have Reafon to believe that, in their 
 original State, they were equally able to view and 
 underftand the fame as exhibited in the Conftru&ion, 
 Order, Motions and Influences of the heavenly Bo- 
 dies, and had Ability and Difpofition thence to derive 
 a moil exalted # I'leafure, both from the naked View 
 and Contemplation of the Tilings themfelves, moving 
 and exerting their Influences in peiiecTl Harmony and 
 Subordination, for the Advantage of this Globe; and 
 alfo as thefe, as well as the former, muft neceflarily 
 give a moft grand and interefting Profpect of the 
 
 Power, 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 209 
 
 Power, Wifdom and Goodnefs of the great Creator, 
 in their original Conftruction, and their conftant Di- 
 rection and Prefervation, and in their Ufes and Influ- 
 ences to this lower World. 
 
 Agreeable to this is what the very learned Sehlen, 
 in the firft Chapter of his Book de Diis Syris, writeth, 
 concerning the Cultivation of Aftronomy from the 
 firft Ages of the World, thus : 
 
 Verwn a longe vetuftiffimis imo nee a rerum primordio, 
 ita diffitis auftoribus Afirologiam emanate merito volunt ple- 
 riqiie, et Sethi fofierorumq\ ejus proximorum beneficium 
 agnofcunt. i. e. " Very many with good Reafon ac- 
 " knowledge, that the Science of Aftrology, (i. e. 
 " Aftronomy,) was eftablifhed by Authors of the 
 M greateft Antiquity, and even near the firft Origin 
 " of Things; taking it to have been a Benefit derived 
 " from Setb y and his neareft Pofterity." And fuppo- 
 fing this true, as it is far from being improbable, is 
 it not moft likely that Seth muft have had his Inftruction 
 from his Father Adam, who had it, with his Being, 
 communicated from the Almighty? 
 
 And as our firft Parents may be conceived thus 
 happy in the Extent and Exercife of their intellectual 
 Faculties, they could not be lefs fo from the native 
 Purity and Rectitude of their Wills. 
 
 The Concurrence of the Will with the Underftan- 
 ding in the Love, Profecution and Enjoyment of 
 Good, is an additional Fountain of Felicity. And 
 as two concurrent Caufes, uniting their Forces in na- 
 tural Action, have proportionably greater Moment 
 and Effect, but in contrary Direction defeat each 0- 
 ther, in Proportion to the Force of the Oppofition. 
 In the fame Manner we may conceive of the Under- 
 ftanding and Will with refpect to the Happinefs of 
 
 moral Agents. When the W r ill con/pires, in its 
 
 Operations, with the Dictates of the Underftanding, 
 defiring and puriuing thofe Objects with the greateft 
 Ardor and Intention, which the Underftanding de- 
 
 D d clares 
 
2io The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 clares to be the greateft Good ; this harmonious Union 
 of thefe two leading Faculties produces a Felicity 
 proportionably extenfr/e as their united Powers. 
 
 Thus the infinite Extent of the Understanding 
 and the infinite Rectitude of Will, in the moll High, 
 may be confidered. as the formal Caufe of his infinite 
 Happinefs. And I doubt not but the perpetual Har- 
 mony and Concurrence of thefe Faculties, in the blef- 
 fed Spirits, make a great Part of their Delight, their 
 Heaven: And the Oppofition of thefe Powers, in 
 the apoftate Spirits, very probably produces a great 
 Part of their Mifery : The Purfuit of their depraved 
 Wills being eternally contrary to the natural and per- 
 manent Apprehenfion and Judgment of their Under- 
 Handing. 
 
 So the Poet reprefents Satan in his Soliloquy 
 ipeaking thus to himfelf : 
 
 Me miferabk ! which Way Jh all I fly? 
 
 #U ' - ' '' rifcr ^it iik ^ii'- ^ ■$-£■ -^t- ■££■ 
 
 ^ vRr ^T ^ ^T ^P - ^P" ^ ^fr ^F 
 
 Which Way I fly is Hell, my f elf am Hell. 
 
 This unrelenting Oppofition of Will to the necef- 
 fary Judgment of their Underftanding, arifing from 
 their perpetual Enmity to the divine. Nature, produces 
 that Confufion and Tumult in their diffracted Minds 
 which makes their endlefs Mifery, their Hell. 
 
 Adam in Innocency received from the Concurrence 
 of his illuminated Underftanding with the Rectitude 
 of his untainted Will, in the Speculation and Enjoy- 
 ment of Good, that refined PJeafure, which Minds 
 in any Part depraved can form but a very Imperfedt 
 Idea of. Great Peace have they that love thy Law, and 
 nothing Jhall offend them, Pf. cxix. 165. ^t^biDT?KJ 
 ** There mall nothing obih'uct or hinder them in their 
 " uniform Profecution of fpirkual Pleafures." Light 
 is [own for the Righteous, and Gladnefs for the upright in 
 Heart, Pi', xcvii. 11. — And if thole of the degenerate 
 
 Sons 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 211 
 
 Sons ofMen, who, by the Grace of Redemption, 
 are in Part free'd from their natural Depravity, and 
 have attained fuch a Degree of Holinefs as is con- 
 fident with the prefent imperfect State of human Na- 
 ture, experience fuch Joys refulting from the Tefli- 
 mony of a quiet Confcience, in a fincere Aim at 
 univerfal Obedience, and the Light of Gop's Coun- 
 tenance mining upon them ; how much greater mull 
 that Felicity have been which our ftrfl Parents, in a 
 State of Innocence, enjoy'd in the untainted Serenity 
 of Mind, arifmg from the perfect unreluctant Con- 
 currence of their upright and unbiaffed Wills with 
 the native and extenfive Evidence of Truth and Good- 
 nefs, in their unclouded TJnderftandings. ? How great 
 the Pleafure refulting from the Harmony of all their 
 Defires, Affections and Anions with the known Will 
 of their Creator, and their Apprehenfion of his Fa- 
 vour, in the Approbation of their Conduct? Their 
 Minds being conltitutionally free from the leait Taint 
 of Corruption, or Oppofition to the Laws of Heaven, 
 and their Obedience, the natural and pleafurable 
 Exercife of all their Powers and Faculties. 
 
 Here they had the Happinefs of living without 
 Experience of thole gloomy Terrors which obfeure 
 the fereneft Intervals of Joy in the Minds of the belt 
 of Men, in this imperfect State, from a Confcience of 
 Sin and Guilt, the Fears of the divine Difpleafure, 
 the Uncertainty of their Interefl in the divine Favour 
 and of their Qualification for future Felicity. 
 
 They were free from thofe afflictive Hurries and 
 Commotions, which are the habitual Uneahnefs of 
 Minds under the Influence of the mutual Struggles of 
 contrary Paflions to which this, imperfect State is 
 liable. 
 
 Nor were they apprehenfive of Danger from with- 
 out. They ' knew the World and all therein was, 
 perfectly, under the immediate Direction of the moil 
 High, their Creator and conitant Friend, 
 
 D d 2 Their 
 
212 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Their Souls thus illuminated with divine Truth, 
 actuated by divine Love, in a willing and chearful 
 Obedience to the Laws of Heaven, and happy in the 
 Friendfhip and Protection of the moftHigh, inhabited 
 Bodies formed from the Earth with Difpofitions and 
 Propenfions fuitable to their Original, but perfectly un- 
 der the Command and Government of their fuperior 
 Powers of Underflanding and Will. And as their 
 Minds were clear of all Difturbance from Sin and 
 confcious Guilt, fo no Pains or SickneiTes diftreffed 
 their bodily Frame, being liable to no Confequences 
 of Intemperance of Appetite or Inclemency of Seafon. 
 And their other Enjoyments received Addition from 
 the linlefs Indulgences of their bodily Defires with 
 the proper Objects of their refpective Propenfions. 
 Their Eyes were entertained with the delightful View 
 of that Scene of Wonder and Order v/hich the Hea- 
 vens continually prefented, as well as of that vail 
 Variety of Objects which the Earth exhibited. And, 
 among other Delights of this commanding Senfe, I 
 think it not improbable that, in that original and 
 perfect State of human Nature, they might have the 
 viiive Faculty fo ftrong, as to view diftinctly thofe 
 innumerable and unutterable Beauties, thofe niceji 
 Touches of the Creator's Hand, in the minuteft Parts of 
 this earthly Frame, which have, from their Days, 
 been quite concealed from all their Pofterity, till a- 
 bout the Beginning of the fifty-feventh Century, when 
 the Invention of the famous Galileo's Tube for the 
 clearer Perception of dinant Objects, gave Birth to 
 the microfcopic GlafTes, which have fince that Time 
 difcovered to the Curious a iurprizing Multitude and 
 Variety of beautiful Animals, as well as inanimate 
 Particles, vaftly too fmall for the Perception of the 
 naked F.yc, in aimoff, every Part of this World. 
 
 Now, as Man was by Creation Lord of this Earth, 
 
 I cannot but think the Suppofition here advanced 
 
 highly probable, as thefe moll: numerous and curious 
 
 A Objects 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 213 
 
 Objects of entertaining Notice feem to have been in 
 Nature quite in vain, for near fix Thoufand Years, 
 unlels this Hypothefis be allowed. And I know not 
 why the Almighty might not after the Fall as well 
 caufe or permit the Contraction of this Faculty, as 
 the Depravity of the Powers of the Soul, as a natural 
 or judicial Confequence of Tranfgreffion, and perhaps 
 to give the human Conftkution a better Difpofition 
 for Action and Labour, then become neceffary. 
 
 Their Ears were no lefs agreeably entertained with 
 the natural Melody of the Sylvan Choir, when 
 
 From Branch to Branch the fmaller Birds with So fig 
 Solacd the Woods and fpread their fainted Wings 
 Till ev'n, nor then the folcmn Nightingale 
 Ceas'd warbling, but all Night tun'd her foft Lays \ 
 
 ■^n? vfe vfl? 5j^ ?ftf ^ ^ 3ft? 3ft? 3j$F ?R? 3jf? ^ 
 
 She all Night long her am'rous Defiant fang. 
 
 And may we not fuppofe there might be more than 
 Fancy and poetic Flight in that Defcription, B. 3. 1. So, 
 
 -Here often, from thefteep 
 
 Ofecchoing Hill, or Thicket, have we heard 
 Celejlial Voices, to the Midnight Air 
 (Sole, or refponfive to each other's Note) 
 Singing their great Creator ? • 
 
 And again, 
 
 Cherubic Songs by Night, from neighboring Hill*, 
 Aerial Mufic fend. 
 
 And, upon the finifliing of the Creation, the Poet 
 makes the Angel fay to Adam : 
 
 -Up He roc 
 
 Followed with Acclamation, and the Sound 
 
 Symphmious 
 
-14 Tl* CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Symphonious of ten thoufand Harps that twfd 
 Angelic Harmonies : The Earthy the Air 
 Refoundedi {thou remembreft, for thou heard/1) 
 The HeavenSy and all the Conftellations, rung , 
 
 Their Tafle and Smell wanted not thofe odoriferous 
 Fruits and Flowers, thofe balmy Gums and Spices which 
 afforded the moil agreeable Entertainment to thofe 
 Senfes •, whereof the Eaftern Gardens at this Time 
 probably give but a faint Refemblance, though their 
 Fragrancies fo embalm the ambient Air, as to yield a 
 delightful Senfation at a great Diftance to thofe who. 
 vifit the happy Ifles. 
 
 And thefe with other bodily Delights were pure 
 from every Taint of immoral Pamon in the Enjoy- 
 ment, for 
 
 There with Meats and Drinks 
 They fatisffd, not burthen* d Nature 
 
 And in their Hearts Love unlibidinous reigrfd 
 Nor Jealoufy was known. 
 
 And all thefe fenfitive Delights were moreover 
 heightened and improved by the mutual Conven- 
 tion, and tender Affection of that 
 
 happieft Pair 
 That ever flnce in Love's endearments mef. 
 
 Nor were thefe Entertainments contributive to 
 their Felicity, meerly as Objeds of fenfitive Gratifi- 
 cation ; but were railed and fublimed into intellectual 
 Pleafure, by the exhibition of a moil delightful View 
 of the Wifdom, Power and Goodnefs of that eter- 
 nal Mind, the Creator of the Univerfe, in the for- 
 mation of thofe Objects fo completely fuitable to the, 
 
 Human 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 215 
 
 Human faculties, and the Human faculties fo fuited 
 to receive fatisfaction from thofe Objects. 
 
 And no doubt they were able to extend their Con- 
 templation further, and from the Confideration of 
 their original Immortality, form refined Ideas of 
 thofe itill more pure and fpiritual Delights, which 
 they fhould by the Practice of, and Improvement in 
 every heavenly Virtue, in this Word, be quali- 
 fied for ever to enjoy, in the nearer and more imme- 
 diate Vifion of the moft High, in that future State, 
 to which, after a long Period of earthly Felicity and 
 unblemifhed Holinefs, they would, without dying, 
 have been tranilated : Whereof we may well conceive 
 they muft have had Pre-apprehenfions from innate 
 Science and Intuition, or from friendly Com- 
 munication, in thofe happy Converfes the Almighty 
 gracioufly vouchsafed them, with himfelf, or with the 
 holy Angels, the blerTed Internuncii of the celeftial 
 Correfpondence, in the Scenes of Paradife. 
 
 Nor can we well fuppofe their Thoughts and 
 Confiderations were then confined to their own per- 
 fonal Concern and Intereft, but that they were able 
 with Pleafure to forefee and delightfully to contem- 
 plate upon thofe happy Societies, which were to 
 ipring from themfelves the univerial Parents of the 
 human Race, all blerTed with the Perfection of fuch 
 Difpofitions as can only make Society completely 
 happy ; free from all infolent Superiority or fervile 
 Subjection : No invidious Detraction from Alining 
 Qualities, nor injurious Invafion of others Rights ; 
 but every one pleafed and happy in the diftinguiihed 
 Excellencies and Enjoyments of every one, and in 
 mutual dif-interefled Communication for general Ad- 
 vantage. Oh ! how unlike the Societies of Men we 
 now behold where Fraud, and Force, and Avarice, 
 and Envy reign ; and Pride, difdaining of the greatelt 
 Worth in thole of lower Condition; Ambition, form- 
 ing univerial Sway and abfolute Dominion, to endave 
 
 , the 
 
216 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 the World and make Mankind unhappy, doom'u to 
 propagate more Slaves from Race to Race, unhappy 
 State ! 
 
 Add to all this, that the Image of the divine Do- 
 minion and univerfal Government, which was origi- 
 nally conferr'd on Man, as Soveraign of this fublunary 
 Sphere, being made a little lower than the Angels, and 
 crowed with Glory and Honour, and to have Dominion- 
 aver the Works of the Creator's Hands, Pfal. viii, 5, 6. 
 &c. was a farther Ingredient of the Happinefs our firft 
 Parents were in Poneilion of, during their State of In- 
 nocence in Paradife. 
 
 Thus wife and intelligent, thus pure and finlefs, 
 thus holy and happy was Man as he came out of 
 the Hands of his great Creator. And his Felicity 
 wanted but one Ingredient more to make it as com- 
 plete as was confiftent with human Nature, that is 
 Permanence and Indefectibility. But as this 
 was made, agreeably to- the Nature of moral Agency, 
 to depend upon his Ufe and Application of that Free- 
 dom of Will wherewith he was created, he eventually 
 continued but a little While in the ferene Enjoyment 
 of that extenfive Felicity. For, 
 
 Secondly : Satan, the great Enemy of God and 
 Man, envying to the Almighty this new Evidence of 
 his Omnipotence, of his infinite Wifdom and Good- 
 nefs j envying him, as the Poet defcribes it, this new 
 Accefiion to his Soveraignty and eternal Empire-, and 
 envying Man the Share he faw him admitted to in the 
 Almighty's Favour, by fly Infinuations and deceitful 
 "Wiles, by a falfs Profpect of increafed Glory, wrought 
 his Fall, (educing him to difobey the only Law which 
 the Almighty chofe to lay him under, that alone Re- 
 ftraint which he thought fit to institute, as a Proof of 
 his own Soveraignty and Man's Subjection, by temp- 
 ting him to eat of the forbidden Fruit. — Thus Man 
 by fond Compliance became expofed to the Curfe 
 threatned on Difobediencc. And fome Way or other, 
 
 as 
 4 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 217 
 
 as hinted before, in Confequence of that original 
 Tranlgreflion, the whole human Race became vitiated 
 and depraved, and fo incapable of that refined intel- 
 lectual Felicity, which our firft Parents before enjoyed 
 in Paradife, while they preferved untainted Innocence 
 and conftant Obedience to their Maker's Laws. 
 
 And here, though we can rorm but imperfect Ideas 
 of the Felicity our firft Parents enjoy'd before the 
 Fall, we may be more able to delcnbe fomething cer- 
 tain of the Mifery enfuing upon their Tranfgretfion ; 
 As hardly any one hath had the Happinefs, in this 
 degenerate State, of conducting with that uniform 
 Agreeablenefs to the Laws of Virtue and confummate 
 Realbn, as not to be able, upon proper Reflection, 
 to know the uneafy State of a guilty Mind, upon Con- 
 fcience of Dilbbedience. And particularly, 
 
 In the Firft Place, we cannoc doubt, but that as 
 foon as they came with Compofure to reflect upon 
 their undutiful Return for their kind Creator's Favour, 
 they lay down in their Shame , and their Confufwn covered 
 them -, as the Prophet exprefferh it, Jer. iii. 25. This 
 made them dread the Prefence of the Lord, and the 
 Appearance of the divine Shechinah they had before 
 with awful Joy fo oft beheld, lb avoid which, upon 
 hearing the Voice of the Lord God walking in the 
 Garden, Gen. iii. 8. they fled to hide themielves from 
 his Prefence, amongft the Trees of the Garden, v. 8. 
 and when demanded the Reafon of fo unufual Be- 
 haviour, by an evafive Anfwer they alcribed it to the 
 confcious Shame of their Nakedntfs ; without reflect- 
 ing how oft before they had had the Favour of the 
 divine Prefence and happy Converfe, naked as they 
 were created, without the leaft Senfe of Shame. For 
 while all was clear within, and their Minds free from 
 confcious Guilt and unfoil'd with foul Tranfgretfion, 
 their Nakednefs was no jufl Ground of Shame. As 
 the Poet writes : 
 
 E e For 
 
218 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 For naked on they pafs'd, nor fhunnW the Sight 
 Of God or Angela for they thought no III. 
 
 But upon Confcience of their Ingratitude and Difobe- 
 dience, 
 
 Their Innocence, which as a Vail 
 Hadjhaded them from knowing III, was gone j 
 Jufi Confidence, and native Right eoufnefs, 
 And Honour from about them, naked left 
 To guilty Shame. 
 
 And under this Diftrefs the Poet defcrbes Adam ex- 
 preffing the Confufion of his Mind to his unhappy 
 Confort. 
 
 / 
 How fhall I behold the Face 
 Henceforth of GOD or Angel, erjl with Joy 
 And Rapture oft beheld ? 
 
 Hardly any Thing fo much confounds the Mind, 
 as confcience of foul Ingratitude; cfpecially in the Pre- 
 fence of the Author of great, free and undeferved Fa- 
 vours, as nothing is more fubftantially bafe r unworthy 
 of, and contrary to rational Nature. And of all 
 Ingratitude, that of our firfl Parents was the moft 
 aggravated, as being againft the Author of their Be- 
 ing and all thofe Bleflings, whofe Concurrence in that 
 happy State made their Felicity the moft accumulated ; 
 whofe every joyful Scene bdore beheld and enjoy'd, 
 and that with heavenly Pleafure, now, alas ! became an 
 ungrateful Monitor of Guilt and Shame, and every 
 Blefling heightned the Confufion. 
 
 2. In the fecond Place, their ju It Apprehenfion of the 
 divine Difpleafure and of the terrible Execution of the 
 Threatning denounced, in Cafe of Dilobedience, mult 
 necefiarily rill their guilty Minds with Dread and 
 Horror. To be deprived of that happy State of Being 
 
 and 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 21? 
 
 and all thofe Bleflings they had but begun, with ce- 
 leftial Pleafure, to enjoy, and of all they had in Profpect 
 and Expectation for themfelves and their Pofterity, 
 with a final Extinction of their prefent Exiftence and 
 the awful Confequences of their Diffolution were juft 
 Objects of dillreffing Fear, 
 
 Their Affliction on the Apprehenfion of their Ex- 
 pulfion out of Paradife is by Milton mod beautifully 
 defcribed, fuitably to the different Conftitutions of 
 Adam and of Eve, in his Eleventh Book, where on 
 Notice given by the Angel of the divine Decree, firft, 
 the Woman is defcribed as uttering her Lamentation 
 in this pathetic Strain : 
 
 Q unexpected Stroke, worfe than of Death I 
 Muft I thus leave thee, Paradife ? thus leave 
 Thee, native Soil! thefe happy Walks, and Shades, 
 Fit Haunt of Gods ? where I had Hope to fpend, 
 ^uiet, though fad, the Refpite of that Bay 
 That muft be fatal to, us both ! O Flowers, 
 That never will in other Climate grow ; 
 My early Vifitation, and mylaft 
 At Ev'n, which I bred up with tender Hands 
 From the firft opening Bud, and gave you Names! 
 Who now (hall rear you to the Sun, or rank 
 Tour Tribes, and water from th' ambrofial Fount ? 
 Thee laftly, nuptial Bow'r ! by me adorn'd 
 With what to Sight, or Smell, wasfweet! from thee 
 How fhall Ipart, and whither wander down. 
 Into a lower World-, to this objcure, 
 And wild? How fhall we breath in other Air 
 Lefs pure, accuftonfd to immortal Fruits $ 
 
 Afterwards Adam, in a more lofty and more philofo- 
 phic Strain, is reprefented thus fpeaking his Sorrow : 
 
 This moft afifURs me, that departing hence, 
 As from His Face J pall be hid, deprk >\i 
 
 Fes Ms 
 
230 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 His bleffed Countenance ! Here I could frequent 
 
 With Worjhip, Place by Place, where He vouchfafd 
 
 Prefence Divine : and to my Sons relate ; 
 
 " On this Mount he appeared; under this Tree 
 
 w Stood vifible ; among ft thefe Pines His Voice 
 
 " I heard; here with Him at this Fountain talked" 
 
 So many grateful Altars I would rear 
 
 Of graffy Turf; and pile up every Stone 
 
 Of Lujtre, from the Brook ; in Memory r , 
 
 Or Monument to Ages ; and thereon 
 
 Offer jweet-fmelling Gums, and Fruits, and Flowers-, 
 
 In yonder nether World where (hall Ifeek 
 
 Flis bright Appearances, or Footjleps trace ? 
 
 For though I fled Him angry; yet recall' d 
 
 To Life prolonged, and promifd Race, I now 
 
 Gladly beheld, thtf but His utmoft Skirts 
 
 Of Glory, and far-off His Steps adore. 
 
 Thus that peerlefs Author, with the utmoft Ardor 
 of poetic Flame, defcribes the Lamentations of our 
 firit Parents, on the dreadful News of their Banifh- 
 ment from thofe biifsful Scenes. And probably with 
 Sentiments not much unlike, they did bewail their 
 Lofs of Paradife and all its Joys. 
 
 And as they were, by the Force of that intuitive 
 Science they were created with, enabled to diftinguifli 
 the Nature and Difpofition of every other Creature, 
 it is highly probable they were not unacquainted with 
 the Particulars of their own Conftitution, the natural 
 Mortality of their Bodies, and the Immortality of 
 their Souls. 
 
 I make no doubt but the Almighty Creator could 
 have formed the Bodies of our firft Parents naturally 
 immortal from material earthly Principles; but I think 
 it is more probable they were not lb formed ; but that the 
 Immortality, which was to have been the Confequence 
 of their Perfeverance in Innocence and Obedience, 
 would have been from the peculiar Donation of the 
 
 Almighty's 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 221 
 
 Almighty's Power, whereby their Bodies would, by 
 a long Continuance in a State of perfect Vigor, Health 
 and Virtue, have been gradually elevated and fublimed 
 into Spirituality ; or by an immediate Act of divine 
 Power, after a long Duration in a State of earthly 
 Felicity, have been changed to Immortality and In- 
 corruption, as fhall be done to the Bodies of the Saints 
 at the general Refurre&ion. But this Privilege they 
 by Tranfgreffion loft, and their Bodies were thence- 
 forward liable to the natural Difpofition of all material 
 Fabricks, a perpetual Tendency to DirTolution, which 
 muft fometime put an End to their prefent State of 
 Being ; But the natural Immortality of their Souls 
 neceffarily gave them to apprehend that DEATH was 
 not to terminate in the Separation of Soul and Body, 
 but that their immortal Spirits would after that Difunion 
 continue to exift, and that as in Confequence of their 
 Tranfgreffion and Depravity they were become unca- 
 pable of the Felicities of Heaven, into which nothing 
 can enter which is polluted, they muft be thru ft down 
 to dwell for ever with thofe depraved Spirits whom 
 they had too much imitated in Tranfgreffion. 
 
 Milton reprefents Adam under this Apprehenfion, 
 thus reafoning : 
 
 Tet one Doubt 
 Purfues me JIM, left All I cannot die; 
 Left that pure Breath of Life the Spirit of Man> 
 Which GOD infpir'd, cannot together perifh 
 With this corporeal Clod : 'Then, in the Grave, 
 Or infome other difmal Place, who knows 
 But I fhall die a living Death ! Thought 
 Horrid, if true ! 
 
 This Thought muft fill their Minds with infupport- 
 able Horror, and make them, all the Remainder of their 
 Tins, 'fubje$ to the fevereft Bondage, unlefs relieved, 
 as tfcey afterwards were, and the gloomy Profpect 
 
 much 
 
222 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 much illumin'd by the Promife of a Propitiation 
 for their Tranfgreflion to be, in the Fulnefs of Time, 
 made by the Seed of the Woman, the Messiah, 
 afterward more explicitely promifed (who mould bruifc 
 the Serpent's Head) whereof the Sacrifices and Obla- 
 tions, now inftituted, were to be a perpetual Sign,. 
 Prefiguration and efficacious Subftitution, till the 
 Accomplifhment of the appointed Period. By this 
 reviving Revelation they had AfTurance given them, 
 that by Faith in the divine Promife, with Repentance 
 and a confcquent Life of holy Obedience, to the ut- 
 moft of their Power, and with a conftant and confcien- 
 tious Ufe of the religious Ordinances of divine Infli- 
 tution, they mould obtain RemifTion of their original 
 Difobedience, and of thofe future Failures, TrefpafTes 
 and manifold Inftances of Sin, whereinto thro' the 
 Infirmity of their fallen Nature, they mould, without 
 an obflinate Rebellion againft the Laws of Heaven, 
 from Time to Time, fall; and through the Merits of 
 that Median, who mould fubmit to Death, that he 
 might be a propitiation for the Sins of Mankind, 
 and by dying open the Gate of everlafting Life to all 
 thofe, who mould be qualified to receive that Favour, 
 they fhould be delivered from the eternal Mifery due 
 for Difobedience. 
 
 But though thus a Way was provided for their 
 efcaping the laft and mod dreadful Part of the £>en= 
 ttnce of SDtatfi pafs'd upon them for Tranfgreflion ; 
 yet they and their Poflerity muft all be lubjed to ma- 
 ny Infirmities and Sorrows, Inconveniencies and Mi- 
 feries in this Life, naturally or judicially confequent 
 upon the Fall, and to the firft Death, the Extinction 
 of this mortal Life and the DifTolution of their prefent 
 State of Being. And, 
 
 3. In the third Place, They loft that Peace and Se- 
 renity of Mind which was the Refult of the Clearnefs 
 of their Underftandings, and the Rectitude of their 
 Wills and Affections, which they enjoyed before the 
 
 Fall. 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 223 
 
 Fall. Inftead whereof their Minds became clouded, 
 their Wills perverfe, their Affections and Paffions de- 
 praved and irregular ; as the Poet with great Propriety 
 defcribes it : 
 
 Nor only 'Tears 
 Raind at their Eyes, but high Winds worfe within 
 Began to rife. High Paffwns, Anger, Hate, 
 Miftruft, Sufpicion, Difcord; and Jhook fore 
 Their inward State of Mind ; calm Region once 
 And full of Peace ; now toft and turbulent. 
 For Under/landing rul'd not, and the Will 
 Heard not her Lore ! but in Subjection now 
 To fenfual Appetite, which from beneath^ 
 Ufurping over fov'raign Reafon, claimed 
 Superior Sway. 
 
 Agreeably to which Adam is defcribed as thus re- 
 counting to Eve the miferable Confequence of their 
 Difobedience, 
 
 Our Eyes 
 Opend we find indeed, and find we know 
 Both Good and Ev'l I Good loft and Evil got ! 
 Bad Fruit of Knowledge, if this be to know ! 
 Which leaves us naked thus, of Honour void, 
 Of Innocence, of Faith, of Purity, 
 (Our wontea Ornaments) now foild andftain'd! 
 And in our Faces evident the Signs 
 Of foul Concupifcence. 
 
 How Jhall I behold the Face 
 Henceforth of God or Angel, erft with Joy 
 And Rapture oft beheld f 
 
 They loft the Happinefs of delightful Contem- 
 plation upon the Perfections of their great Creator, 
 and the Conformity of their own Faculties to thole 
 divine Perfections, io far as comported with created 
 Nature being Now 
 
224 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Now defpoil'd 
 Of all their Good -, Jham'd, naked, miferable ! 
 
 It is not known, as noted before, whether the 
 original Depravity of our firft Parents was any Way 
 a natural Confequence of their Act of Tranlgrefllon ; 
 or whether it was fo that the Almighty, upon their 
 Violation of his Law, thought proper, in fome Mea- 
 fure, judicially to withdraw the bleffed Influences of 
 his o-ood Spirit which were neceffary and effectual, 
 without Diminution of the natural Freedom of their 
 Will, to maintain in them the Purity of divine Life 
 and Li°"ht and Love, and every heavenly Difpofition 
 
 they pofTefled before the Fall. Be this as it may, 
 
 fure it is that by the Fall they were diverted, as before 
 faid, of all thofe heavenly Joys, which a Confcience 
 of native Purity, and the Light of God's Counte- 
 nance mining clear upon them, did before infpire. 
 And not only fo, but they were unhappily expofed to 
 the Conflicts of contrary Pamons, imprudent in their 
 immoderate Apetities of fenfual Gratifications, which 
 by Degrees betrayed them and their vitiated Pofterity 
 to thofe wild Scenes of Luft and irregular Indulgence, 
 which made them forget their God, their own origi- 
 nal, their native Happinefs and the Laws prefcribed 
 for their moral Conduct, fo that they were in the 
 Condition elegantly defcribed by the Prophet, If a. lvii. 
 30. The Wicked are like the tr cabled Sea when it cannot reft, 
 whofe Waters caft up Mire and Dirt. There is no Peace, 
 faith my God, to the Wicked. 
 
 The firft. recorded Inftance of the dreadful Effects 
 of Human Depravity, and that fpiritual Death which 
 was immediately confequent upon Difobedience, was 
 the cruel Murther of Abel by his Brother Cain, fpirited 
 with Envy againic him, tor the fuperior Favour ot 
 Heaven, in fome Manner ihew'd in the Acceptance 
 pf his Offering, while his own, becaufe of his eril 
 
 Dr , 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. ix$ 
 
 Deeds, i Job. iii. 12. and Want of a pure Regard to 
 the divine Inftitution, was reje&ed. And to fuch a 
 Fitch did the confequent Immoralities of depraved 
 Men arife, that the Almighty feeing that the Wickednefs 
 of Man was great in the Earth, and that every Imagination 
 of the 'Thoughts of his Heart was only evil continually ; it 
 repented Him that he had made Man on the Earthy and 
 it grieved him at his Heart, Gen. vi. 5, 6. He therefore 
 determined to deftroy that impious Race from the 
 Face of the whole Earth, by a Deluge of Waters ; 
 which he alfo accomplifhed in the tenth Generation, 
 and in the 1656 Year of the World, according to the 
 Hebrew Account, referving only the righteous Noah 
 and his Family by a miraculous Deliverance, to be a 
 Seed Plot for a new Race of Men in the World reftored. 
 But fo great and fo univerfal was the Depravity, 
 Ignorance and Wickednefs of Mankind, that after 
 the Renovation of the Earth, (from the Ruins of the 
 Deluge) and the Multiplication of the human Race, 
 even during the Lives of Noah and his Sons, who had 
 been Eye-witnefles of that ftupendous Evidence of the 
 divine Dilpleafure at the Tranfgreffions of the old 
 World, they fell into the Practice of Idolatry and eve- 
 ry confequent Impiety and Iniquity. For we are told, 
 JoJJo. xxiv. 2, that the Fathers even of God's peculiar 
 People, and particularly Terah the Father of Abram, 
 ferved other Gods on the other Side of the Flood, 
 that is, in the Country of Mefvpotamia, beyond the 
 Euphrates, where they firft dwelt after the Deluge. 
 But Terah, who was the Tenth after Noah, was born 
 in the 22 2d Year after the Flood, which was 128 Years 
 before the Death of Noah-, fo early and in fo grofs a 
 Manner did the Apoflary of Mankind difcover itfelf. 
 And in following Times they grew to be ftill grofler 
 Idolaters, and were guilty of greater and more uni- 
 verfal Immoralities, as having Toft all Senfe of God, 
 of the Origin of the World and of the Creation of 
 Mankind. 
 
 F f Of 
 
ti6 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Of this ancient Writers have given diftinct Accounts, 
 from which Enfebius having made large Extracts, in 
 his Book of the Preparation of the Gofpel, I mail from 
 him borrow a few Paffages to fhew ibmething parti- 
 cularly the ruin'd and abandon'd State of the greatelt 
 Part of the World, before the Times of the Gofpel, 
 when Darknefs covered the Earthy and grofs Darknefs the 
 People, Ifa. lx. 2. in Confequence of the original De- 
 pravity of human Nature by the Fall ; till it pieafcd 
 the Almighty, in the Fulnels of Time, to caufe the 
 Light of Revelation to arife upon the benighted 
 World, to reftore the Knowledge of God and the 
 Truth of Religion, which before was almoft univer- 
 fally loft. 
 
 The forementioned Author, in his firft Book of 
 the Preparation of the Gofpel, writes thus : xxpdhuiov ■£ 
 7rpa;7*jj k? uiyw; lvspyvi<riag th ctuta^h Koya yvoins av, li lv via 
 a.x@oi<; tw $£i<ri$diy.ovx ■kX&.va'j v 7ra\ctioig £iJwAoA«t£s»»? y to 
 c'l^irav avS"pw7rwv ytvog dutpovM ccvxyxoug 7raAa» irportfiov 
 
 x«t£t^^£to. i. e. " You may underftand the very great 
 " Advantage arifing from the Doctrine of Salvation, 
 " by confidering the blind Superftition of that an- 
 " cient Idolatry wherewith all the Race of Mankind 
 " was long before opprefied, through the Tyranny of 
 " the Devil." This learned Father had the higheit 
 Reafon thus to fpeak of the confummate Milery of 
 Mankind in Confequence of this ignorant and abomi- 
 nable Superftition. For as the original and higheft 
 Kappinefs of intelligent Nature is, as before noted, 
 to have ite Faculties fully exercifed upon proper Ob- 
 jects, which are Truth and Goodnefs ; fo the greateft 
 Mifery of rational Creatures is to be enfiaved to Igno- 
 rance, Error, Deiufion and Wickednels. 
 
 Of this diftreffing Ignorance, Idolatry and Super- 
 ftition he gives a great Nu'mber of Inftances, whereof 
 I mall tranlcribe a few, for a brief Specimen of the 
 Whole. 
 
 Thus 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 227 
 
 Thus he writes : ^oivixaq -^ 'Atytnrlutc 7r^wTa? uTrduruv 
 
 xOilt^Bi Xoyoq v\XiOV ^ ciX\wv\v ^ dsifuxq Srmq X7f0fnua.i, povxri 
 hvxi 7* rm oXuv ymnvtooq re Kj <pOop<x? Mtmq, &C. 1. e. " It 
 
 *' is generally efteemed that the Phoenicians and the 
 
 " Egyptians were the firft of all Mankind who affirm- 
 " ed the Sun, the Moon and the Stars to be Gods, 
 " and the Caufes of the Production and Diffolution of 
 " all Things." And this is what, he tells us, Plato 
 writes in his Cratylus. 
 
 M At firft, fays he, they had no Images nor Temples, 
 " as the Arts of Statuary and Architecture were not 
 " yet cultivated; But they worfhipped the Luminaries 
 '< of Heaven with bodily Worihip and offered Sacri- 
 " fices unto them : Gu<nai? ^ zrgo<Txvvri(rs<riv lyt^ai^ou, 
 
 *' which is certainly the moft probable Account of 
 " the firft Idolatry among Men. 
 
 " In the moft ancient Times, he fays, they knew 
 * c nothing of the Names of Jupiter or Saturn, of 
 *' Neptune or Apollo, of Juno or Minerva, of Bacchus 
 *' or any other male or female Deity •, nor were good 
 <c or bad Daemons honoured or worfhipped amongft 
 " Men, (pot/a Js t« £a»K5|</,a# tvv zpccvwuv ufouv) but only 
 46 the conlpicuous Lights of Heaven, and thefe they 
 * c called $£«?, Gods, na^oi to 3-kiv oWe^ tq\ T^^av, from 
 " the Verb Uw, which Jignif.es to run. 
 
 " In after Times Myriads of Gods, Male and Fe- 
 " male, were invented, both by the Greeks and Bar- 
 " barians, with a great Variety of vain Appellations, 
 
 *' (iroykri cpX'Jctgict.'T' tuv clppiwj T£ ^ OrjAawv xtZTOi/opaviotq.) 
 
 " The Phenicians and Egyptians being the firft Authors 
 " of the Superftition, which pafied from them to other 
 " Nations, extending itfelf as far as Greece ; as Philo 
 " Byblius writes from Sancboniatbon, the Phoenician 
 " Hiftorian ; who, he fays, lived before the Time 
 " of the Trojan War, and almoft as early as Mofes" 
 and from Greece it was tranfported to Rome and the 
 Weftern Parts of the World. 
 
 F f 2 These 
 
228 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 These imaginary Divinities of the Heathen Ido- 
 latry, Alexander ab Alexandra writes (L, 6. c . 4. from 
 Farro, the Roman Hiftorian) amounted to the Number 
 of thirty Thoufand. And St. Augujiin, in his Book 
 De Civit. Deiy writes, that they could hardly make 
 Volumes large enough to contain their Names. 
 
 They had Gods for the Sea and Gods for the Ri- 
 vers, for the Lakes and for the Fountains, Gods for 
 every Country and Province, for every City and Vil- 
 lage, Gods of the Hills, Gods of the Plains, and 
 Gods of the Vallies. See 1 King. xx. 23, 28.. They 
 had Gods for every Profeffion and Employment of 
 Life* Gods for War and Gods for Peace ; They had 
 Gods for the Cultivation of the Earth, fome for the 
 Seed-time, others for the Growth and Germination, 
 others for Maturation and others for Harveft; They- 
 had Gods for Health and Gods for Sicknefs : Every 
 Virtue and every Paffion was deified. 
 
 An.d as fatal Ignorance and diabolical Delufion dif- 
 covered themfelves in the Multitude and Variety of 
 their imaginary Divinities, No lefs evident were the 
 miferable Effe&s of the human Depravity in the Ac- 
 tions afcribed to thofe Deities, which were of the 
 fame Kind with thofe, which the moft wicked and a- 
 bandoned of the Sons of Men delighted in ; io that 
 Wars, Murders, Rapes, Adulteries, Psederafties, Thefts, 
 Drunkennefs, Revelling, and other fuch like Abomi- 
 nations were recounted as the Exploits of their Deities; 
 and the Worfhip paid them confiflcd accordingly in 
 the groffeft Abominations perpetrated in. the obfcene 
 and impious Myfteries of their Gods and Goddefies, 
 and particularly in that moft grofs and fhocking In- 
 stance, mentioned before, of offering human Sacrifices, 
 and fo Eufebiqs writes (Evccy. Tr^cvagxrx. L* 4.) from 
 Pbilo Biblyus\ Tranflation of Sanchoniatbon. *£00? l*Z 
 
 loi$ 7ra,\a,H)7? iv raiV ptyccXxif <rvy.<pop7AS twj> xwdvvuv v.vti 
 
 T TTCCVTKV tpVOgXg TV nyXTT^iVOV TUlf Tl^ViCV. Tiif Kfj&TUVTXt 7) 
 
 tto'Aix; v fr^ytfj lig ctpp.yluj izddovaa Xvrgov toTs riuu^oT; Jai- 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 22? 
 
 pari, u ft " It was the Cuftom for the Rulers of' 
 V. Cities or Countries, in great DiftrefTes and Dangers, 
 "- to deliver their molt favourite Child to be offered 
 *S in Sacrifice to the vengeful Demons, as a Propi- 
 *' tiation to ward of univerfal Deftruction." 
 
 And as Mankind run into fuch monflrous Abfurdi- 
 ties in Religion from their Ignorance of the true God,. 
 in Confequenee of the original Apoftacy; Their Ig- 
 norance was no lefs amazing with regard to the Crea- 
 tion of the World and the Origin of Things, as the 
 fame Eufebius informs us from Diodorus Siculus, who, 
 he tells us, writes : 
 
 " That concerning the Original of the World and 
 **• of Mankind, there were of old two different Opr- 
 *' nions;" (whereof TertuHian alfo makes Mention, in 
 his Apology Advzr. Gerjes. c. 11.) M the one was, that 
 " the World and Mankind were without Beginning, 
 
 V having fubfifted in a perpetual Succeffion from all 
 " Eternity : ocymnrav -Kj occS'x.cro'j \ZG&?ricr<x.iJt.vjQL r xo<ry,ov 
 
 &(>X m i%t y -v' l <*s' " The other Opinion was, that the 
 S' World began to exift at a certain Period, that it was 
 yawTw k) tpQoifiTovy " created and liable to Diifolution. 
 ',* That in the Beginning the Heaven and the Earth 
 " had one Form : yim h/jw tfigat zg&xovTs *£ ylZ' their 
 
 V material Principles being mixed in one general con- 
 '** fufed Mafs," (jLt[Myy.ans olvruv $ <pv'<rsu>?, to which 
 State of Things others gave the Name of Chaos : jfrw, 
 uh 7t^wtjV« %aog y&&\ Hcjiad ; the Word being not far 
 different in Signification from the VT2JVU1 of Mcfes, 
 (obfcuritas et inanitas) without Form and void. So the 
 Latin Poet defcribes it : 
 
 Ante mare et 'Terras et quod tegit omnia Caelum 
 
 Unus erat toto nature vultus in Or&e 9 
 
 9$uem dixere Chaos. 
 
 <c That in Procefs of Time, the Bodies being fepa- 
 
 " rated, the World acquired it's prefent Form and 
 
 " Difpo&tion : (*tr& $\ TOutTft 2>JxrdivTu>v twv truyuTuu ccir 
 
2 3 o The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 *• %&. That the Air being put into continual Agita- 
 ** tion or Revolution, the fiery Particles being lighter! 
 f rofe the higheft, to /t*a/ Trvgafe Trgog -raj- /tAi]£«goT*T8$ 
 *• ToVa? GWMxfyocpw. And Jo Ovid exprefleth it : 
 Ignea convexi vis el fine ponder ~e cceli 
 Emicuit fummaq; locum Jibi legit in Arce. 
 * 4 And therefore, they fay, the Sun, the Moon and 
 w the Stars are in the higheft Place" (for they feem 
 to have known nothing then of thofe immenfe Diffe- 
 rences of Diftance which the Aftronomers. in latter 
 Ages have difcovered) u and in continual Motion. 
 
 w The groffer Parts of Matter, they faid, conti- 
 * 6 nued longer in a Chaotic State, but afterwards theie 
 ** alfo feparated j the moifter Part making the Seas, 
 * 4 and the more folid becoming dry Land ; which at 
 " firft was foft and marfhy, but being in Part dried 
 ** by the Heat of the Sun, the Surface waxing warm, 
 "■ a great many Bubbles arofe, in which were contai- 
 *' ned Particles of Corruption, <rwreMvo; % in thin 
 •' Membranes •, as the Author fays happened fre- 
 ^ quently in wet and marmy Places in his Time, «•*. 
 *« x) vZv. Thefe Particles of corrupted Matter being 
 •' heated by the Sun conceived Life; and being nou- 
 f* riftied by the Moifture which fell in the Night, 
 " and ftrengthned by the Heat of the Day, the Km- 
 f* bryos coming in Time to the Perfection of Matu- 
 " rity, and the encloiing Membranes breaking,. 
 " rlvcctpYiMi iravTofairvs tuttx; tyw, Creatures of every 
 " Kind came forth; whereof thofe which had the 
 " moft Heat in their Conftitution pofferTed the upper 
 *' Regions, growing to be of the winged Species : 
 " ymptm WW : Thofe which had moft of the earthly 
 " Particles became Reptiles and Quadrupeds: Thofe 
 " which had more of Moifture receded to their own 
 " Element, and were called Fifties : evoy.a&£VTt* ttAmJA 
 " That afterwards the Earth growing perpetually 
 * harder by the Heat of the Sun, and by the Winds, 
 
 " was 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. *%% 
 
 *' was uncapable of thofe animal Productions, which 
 " were thenceforward propagated in the ordinary 
 *' Way. And in like Manner as the other Animals, 
 " the human Species had alfo this Kind of Origin, 
 *' and fo writeth Euripides, we zgovog t£ ya.Ta.r hZ y.optp* 
 
 <c /u.»a, i7rti <T l^jjo^iSiy\<TX)> Siyjx. rumen ttxvtx. x dviounxv iff 
 " foc.0^ JtVJW, irlnvocj S"/joae, ag S - aKfxa, T%tQu 9 yivog ts 
 
 " .SWwir. £ e. The Heaven and the Earth were (o- 
 * c riginally) of one Form, but parting afunder they 
 " produced all Things, giving Being to Trees, Birds, 
 ** Beafts which the Earth fupports, and to the Race 
 « of Men." 
 
 The human Race as well as all other Species hav- 
 ing had fuch a Beginning, according to thefe aittteitf 
 iipalfe?0 of natural Keafon and Science, They lived 
 at firft, fuitably to their Original, difperfed without 
 Society or Order, feeding upon the natural Produce 
 of the Earth, 
 
 Contentique cibis nulla ccgente crcatis 
 Arbuteos fcetus montanaq-, fraga legebant. Ov. 
 and refting under the Canopy of Heaven •, till affaulted 
 by the wild Beafts, they united into Societies for De- 
 fence and Prefervation only, being without Speech, 
 for the mutual Communication of Ideas, to render 
 focial Life commodious and advantageous, till by 
 Cuftom they happened to agree in fome Sounds, to 
 denote at firft fome few Things of moil familiar Ufe: 
 Afterwards, improving upon this Foundation, they 
 by long Exerciie compleated a Syftem of Words, to 
 fupport a Converfation fuitable to their Condition and 
 Circumftances j very much in the fame Way as the 
 learned Author of the Creation and Fall cf Man repre- 
 fents his Adam and Eve in a' State of Innocence, and 
 Perfection, as we have before noted, p. 205. rather 
 choofing to form his Plan upon thefe Pagan Fictions 
 than the infpired Scripture. 
 
 And as there were a great Number of thefe origi- 
 nal Societies, Mankind being fuppoled by thefe Phi- 
 
 lofophera 
 
£$2 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 io-fophers to have been produced at or near the fame 
 Time all over the Earth, and to have extended their 
 Habitations far and wide, before the Accomplifhment 
 of any Language, there happened to be many Syftems 
 of Speech coaeval and independent, ixdsuvux; 'iwyp <rw- 
 Toc^oivruv ras *.%& , as every Society happened to form 
 it. 
 
 The primaeval State of Man being thus reprefented, 
 by thofe Sages of Antiquity (the proper Progenitors of 
 cur Natural-religionijls) without Speech and Knowledge, 
 without Houfe or Harbour, without Clothes or Fire, 
 without Art or Forefight to provide for future Con- 
 tingencies, They were liable to very great DiftrefTes, 
 upon the natural Change of Seaibns; Multitudes, as 
 they fay, periihing in the Winter by Cold and Hun- 
 ger •, &o 7to^jj? aurwi/ &rc^u<Saj xoltv. tb? p^£i ( «.wi/a? £t% te to 
 
 Wx oi *> ** cro " a ' 1 "" ^ V^ f » till, taught by Neceffity and 
 Experience, they fought fuch Places for Shelter and 
 Protection againft the Severities of Seafon and other 
 Inconveniencies, as Nature or the rude Attempts of 
 primitive Art directed them to. 
 
 Tumprinwm fubiere Domos Domus antra fuerunt 
 Et denji frutices et vincta cortice Virga. Ov. 
 
 AFTERWARD,thefePhilofophers tell us, they learned 
 the Methods of preferving and improving the Fruits 
 of the Earth for their Winter's Provifion: They found 
 out the Ufe of Fire and other Conveniences of Life, 
 as Reaibn, or rather Neceffity and Experience taught 
 
 them : icaOoAs y^irxi/Tuv rnv wuotv dvrluj (TiJaVxaAov ytvzcqj 
 voiS at*Qpw7roi? ufJiya//. w\w o\xiiu>; ri^ Ixoifz (xx^no'iv svtpvu ^uw 
 yu ewtpyzg i%oi/Ti ttpos olnxvlx xfit x $ Y "0 ^°y ov *b V^PC 1 ^ a y~ 
 
 ym\<m. i. e. " It was Neceffity itfelf taught Men every 
 «' Thing, explaining familiarly the Nature of Things 
 " to Creatures intelligent, and formed with the Ufe 
 «* of Hands, of Reaibn and Sagacity for their Affi- 
 " fiance." 
 
 Into fuch miferable Ignorance was human Nature 
 funk, by reafon of the general Depravity confequent 
 
 upon 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. '333 
 
 upon the Tranfgrefiion of our firft Parents, that their 
 wife Men, Teachers and Philofophers themfeives run 
 into Conceptions concerning the World and Nature fo 
 monftrous and abfurd. Which, as well as their abo- 
 minable Idolatry, fhew they had loft all Traces of that 
 original Knowledge, wherein the Glory and Happinefs 
 of Man, in the State of Innocence, fo much confifted. 
 And hence we may be able to form a juft Idea of that 
 Natural JfUltgion which thofe Sages of Antiquity 
 inftru&ed Mankind in, and in which all Generations 
 of Men to the End of Time would moft probably 
 have acquiefced, (as is to Demonstration evident from 
 the prefent Condition of the unenlightened parts of the 
 World) had it not pleafed the Almighty, of his great 
 Favour and Goodnefs, to grant the heavenly Light of 
 divine Revelation, in Purfuance of the Scheme of Re^- 
 demption, for the Reftoration of Mankind, in this 
 World, to fome Degree of that original happy State, 
 from which Adam by Tranfgrefiion fell. And we may 
 hence know how to efteem that %x\Xt Sfteisgiott o£ 
 jftatllte, which fome Men, fond of their own Im- 
 provements, are fo defirous to fubftitute inftead of the 
 Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of GOD ', in the Faca 
 of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. iv 6. who hath abolifjjed 
 Death ^ and brought Life and Immortality to Lights through 
 theGofpel, 2 Tim. i. io,«*-inftead of that Day -fpring from 
 on High, which } through the tender Mercy of our GOD* 
 hath vifjted us.) fo give Light to them thai before fat in 
 JDarktiefi and in the Shadow of Death, to guide our Feet 
 into the Way of Peace? Luk. i. 73, yg. 
 
 This brief AbftracT: of the ftupendous Ignorance in 
 which the Nations of the World lay buried, wit! out 
 the Light of divine Revelation, I cannot better clofe 
 than in the Words of Eufelms. twqvtm v>]* q AjX&iOTjs 
 
 yoviet^ jriiisruvixiw <5j tux, Hy avTOfjicKlw Lfnyn ' ^jmvq; tw t« 
 T-ct;~lc freatfopyviv. i. c. " Such Things the fore-men- 
 M lioned Author hath writ in his Treatife of the Ori- 
 
 G v " ginal 
 
234 rhe CHRISTIANITY 
 
 " ginal of the World, not fo much as once mentioning 
 " the Name of God, but defcribing a Sort of cafual 
 ** and fpontaneous Production of all Things. 
 
 What an abfard inconfiilent Scheme is this, in 
 Comparifon of the grand and regular Cofmogony of 
 Pltfes! Who, by interesting the Almighty Eternal 
 Author and Fountain of Being in the Creation of the 
 World, hath given a mod fublimc Deicription of the 
 gradual Production of all Things out of nothing, by 
 his omnipotent Word. Let there be Light, faid GOD, 
 and there was Light : Let the Earth bring forth the living 
 Creature after his Kind, and it was fo. And fo of the 
 reft. A Defcription this \ worthy of the Almighty 
 Author of Nature to give* and worthy for intelligent 
 Creatures to believe and receive ! 
 
 Thz MifeTy of Mankind under this consummate 
 Ignorance will dill more fully appear by a brief Reci- 
 tal of its ruinous effects, widi refpecl to the Admini- 
 Itration of their Political and Oeconomical Affairs, 
 little, if at ail better than one might expect from 
 Creatures void of all Knowledge and Understanding, 
 or under the Influence of Idiotiim and Diitraction, 
 which is juftly efteemed amongit the greateft Calami- 
 ties incident to human Nature. 
 
 The fore-mentioned Eiifelius writes, that in ancient 
 Times before the coming of Chrifl, y.u^uv to irxXouw 
 
 Tro'/.sic., /y t«p y.zv dVij^OKfftTHjugj/uv , tuv il Tvpccmzu-ivxu, tim 
 zrjikyoigxzfA&uv, &c. i. e. 4i Every Nation of old being 
 wt under the Command of grei-t Numbers of Kings 
 " and Governors in City and Country, ibme in the 
 ct Form of Democracy, fome of Polyarchy, and fome 
 " of Monarchy they were continually diltreffed with 
 " Wars; . rifing rainft Nation, and commit- 
 
 " ting and fufferingall Manner of Violence and Spoil, 
 " fo that the very Children were taught martial Ex- 
 " erciles, and went armed in the High- ways, and in 
 " tiie Fields and Villages'. And a little further on he 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 235- 
 
 '* adds : to fiw TroiXociov crs TtoU i$uuv ot-wavruv xctT£TVga,wzv 
 
 " o* oxipovzi;, Xy 7ro\\ri tk Iuj m^uttuv h fd&i auxs? vs^octthix., 
 
 Tjrtfoj aiiTwi/ twi/ 3"£wv ifcoH'pzf.t.EvcH £7rt t«? xaT a/&»)Awi/ s£- 
 
 44 efjutivouTo ttoA^h?, &V, i. e. 7w ancient Times , u^# /£<? 
 " Gentile Nations were all under the 'Tyranny of Devils, 
 " tfff*/ Mankind paid them a great Variety of religious Wor- 
 " yft/p, &•/#£ injpired by thefe their Gods with Rage and, 
 " Fury, they madly waged IVar ene dgdinji another ; fo 
 ** /£«/ tf/ /##/ 5TrW Grecians sew* 0/ #^w u7//> Gre- 
 " cians, Egyptians with Egyptians, and Romans with 
 " Romans, fpoiling, killing and enflaving one another, 
 Ci befieging Cit.es and other Places, to the utmoft Diftrefs 
 " and Conjujion of the Inhabitants," &c. 
 
 But he lays, " This Polyarchy being taken away 
 *' by the happy Eftablimment of the peaceable Empire 
 " of Augujius C<ejar, at the Time of our blefled Savi- 
 " our's coming into the World, thefe ruinous Wars 
 ** cealed. As, be adds, did alfo their other barbarous. 
 " and ablurd Cuftoms : So that no longer did the 
 " Perfans, converted to Chrifdanity, marry their own 
 " Mothers as before, nor the Scythians feaft upon hu- 
 " man Flelh, nor other Barbarians incefluouily mix 
 " with their own Daughters and Sifters, nor Men 
 " with Men commit full gxoffef Abominations, and 
 " indulge unnatural Pleaiures as before. Nor do they 
 ** now call the dead Bodies of their Rclation-s to the 
 " Fowls of Heaven, as they were wont to do ; nor 
 <£ ftrangle thofe that are grown old, as their Cuitom 
 " was ; nor do they offer human Sacrifices and even 
 " their own deareft Children to Devils, under the 
 " Notion of Gods, as in former Times. Thefe and 
 "■ infinitely more filch Actions as thefe were of old 
 " done to the Pollution and Mifery of human Life. 
 
 " History informs us that the Majjagetans and 
 " Derbikans looked upon thofe to be moft miserable 
 " who died a natural Death. To prevent which they 
 " killed even their deareft Relations, when they were 
 " upon the decline of Life, and feafted upon their 
 G g 2 " Flefti, 
 
Z$6 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Ci Fleili. The Tibarians (T»j3«^ot) threw their neareft 
 " Relations, when growing old, headlong from high 
 " Rocks. The Hyrcanians and Cafpians threw them 
 *' to the Dogs and to the Birds of Prey, fome alive, 
 " and fome dead. The Scythians buried them alive, 
 * { and buried with them* or burnt upon Piles, thofe 
 " that were deareft to them whilft alive. The Bac- 
 *' trians threw their aged People alive to the Dogs, 
 
 " These Things were done of old, but fince the 
 " Preaching of the Gofpel the Cafe is changed, &c." 
 Besides thefe mocking Cuftoms r which were efteem- 
 cd Lawful and Virtuous, they run moreover into the 
 general Practice of all Manner of Wickednefs and De- 
 bauchery, as the Apoftle informs us, Rom. i. v. 22. to 
 the End, and in other Places of his Epifcles, as noted 
 a. little further on. 
 
 What a melancholy Profpect does this brief Reci- 
 tal, of a few out of a vaft Number of Particulars de- 
 fcribed by this and other ancient Chriflian Writers, 
 exhibit of the miferable ruin'd Condition of human 
 Nature in Confequence of the original Apoftacy before 
 the Light of divine Revelation arofe upon them. And 
 it cannot be denied, that although the above-recited 
 Abominations cannot be charged upon every Part of 
 the heathen World, yet not all the Learning and 
 Philofophy of Egypt, Greece and Rome was effectual to 
 rectify Mens Notions of Things, and particularly of 
 God, of Religion and the World to come: But even 
 thofe Nations, for all their Improvements in Erudition, 
 yet perfifted in the grofs Idolatries of the molt aban- 
 doned, and in the Practice of all that Wickednefs to 
 which they were led and accuflomed, as well by the 
 Ignorance and Depravity they univerfaliy lay under, 
 as by the impure Myfteries of their Religion. So poor 
 Advances could the Reafon of Mankind, with all the 
 Advantages of human Learning, make towards the 
 Difcovery of a Religion worthy of God and Man. 
 #?!& t§M t?nelReIi0lon of jftfttllje, whereof our mo- 
 dern 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 237 
 
 dern Infidels boaft,tothe undervaluing of Chriftianity„ 
 is wholly eftablifhed upon thole Principles which the 
 Chriilian Religion alone hath made known to the 
 World. That Life and Immortality, which is the only 
 adequate Motive to the Practice of univerfal Virtue 
 fcontrary to the Propenfity of corrupt Nature to Vice 
 and Wickednefs) having being difcovered and brought 
 to Light only by the Go/pel of Christ. The uncertain, 
 inconfiftent and fabulous Accounts of a future State., 
 which were hinted at by the Poets and Philofophers 
 of the Pagan World, make it undeniably evident that 
 the Doctrine was above the Reach of human Reafon, 
 and confequently all the Motives thence taken in Fa- 
 vour of Virtue arc ofomtg ttx tijc Cijrilftan Utefcria- 
 tioiu 
 
 To the Want of which Motives it muft principally 
 be afcribed that the learned Heathens, notwithstanding 
 thofe Shadows of Knowledge, and of the Diftin&ion of 
 Good and Evil which they had, yet almoll univerfally 
 ran into the Practice of all that Wickednefs, which 
 the ApoiUe fpeaks of in the Place above-cited, Rom. 
 i. 25. 29, 30, 31. Having changed the "Truth of GOD 
 into a Lie, and worfhipped and ferved the Creature more 
 than the Creator ; who is GOD over all, bleffed for ever- 
 more. They were filled with all Unrighteoujhefs, For- 
 nication, Wickednefs, Covttoufnefs, Malicioufnejs -, full of 
 Envy, Murder, Debate, (tpifos, Contention) Deceit, Ma- 
 lignity ; Whifperers, Backbiters, (xa7<*A*Aa?, Revilers) 
 Haters of GOD, defpiteful (u'Sp»ra$, Slanderers) Proud, 
 Boajiers, Inventers (t«v xaxwv, of Miichief ) of evil 
 Things, Difobedient to Parents, without Underftanding, 
 Covenant -breakers, without natural Affellion, implacable^ 
 unmerciful ; having, before- mentioned, thofe unnatural 
 Abominations which are not fit to be named. 
 
 The unhappy Condition of Mankind under thefe 
 Circumftances is emphatically defcribed by the fame 
 Apoitle, Eph. ii. 1, 2, 3. You hath He quickened, who 
 were dead in Trefpaffes and Sins, wherein in Time paft ye 
 
 alfo 
 
23$ The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 alfo walked? according to the Courfe of this World? according 
 to, the Prince of the Power of the Air? the Spirit that now 
 worketh in the Children of Difobedimce \ among whom we 
 all had our Converfation^ in Times pajl? in the Lujis of the 
 Fleftj ; fulfilling the Defires (rot S^uara,? the Wills) of 
 the Flefh and of the Mind ;• and were by Nature Children 
 cf Wrath as well as others. And in the 19th Verfe he 
 fays, they had no Hope, and were without GOD in the 
 V/orld. ' 
 
 This Ignorance of the Rewards of Virtue in the 
 Life to come was a very great Accumulation of the 
 other Diftreffes human Nature was under before the 
 coming of Chrift ; not only as wanting that moft ef- 
 fectual Motive to Virtue, which it was not within the 
 Reach of tfie tnolf perfect J2atu?al ^Religion to fup- 
 ply, but alfo as without the Knowledge of the future 
 State, the perpetual Apprehenfion of the total Extinc- 
 tion of their Being by Death, or of fome worfe State 
 of Exiftence, muft neceffarily fill their Minds with 
 continual Horror, and keep them all their Life-time 
 jubjetl to Bondage. 
 
 It would be eafy to extend this Account of the 
 Unhappinefs of Mankind, by the natural or judicial 
 Confequences of the Fall, in thofe innumerable Evils 
 to which human Nature is vifibly liable in this World 
 from the manifold Diforders to which our Bodies are 
 expofed •, the Griefs arifing from Unhappinefles inci- 
 dent to every focial Relation, pubhck or private, the 
 Confequences of intemperate Seafons, &c. to- the In- 
 creafe of the Catalogue of human Calamities. 
 
 But from what we have in this brief Account laid 
 down, of the primaeval Felicity of Man in the State 
 of Innocence, and of the Mifery confequentupon Trani- 
 greflion, it will, I truft, eafily appear, 
 
 3. In the third Place, How necelfary it is, not only 
 by the foveraign Appointment of the Almighty, in his 
 moral Government of the World, but in the plain and 
 natural Reafon of Things, that human Nature be re- 
 
 ftbred 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 239 
 
 ilored to the Perfection of its original Faculties, of 
 Knowledge and Holineis, in order to a State of com- 
 plete Happinefs, not only as a Preparation and Con- 
 dition, but as a principal Conftituent and effential Part 
 thereof. 
 
 The Happinefs of rational Nature is and cannot 
 but be eternally the fame ; therefore, as we have fhewn 
 that the original Happinefs of Man confifted in his 
 being in die Image and Likenefs of God in Know- 
 ledge and Holineis, and in his Enjoyment of the di- 
 vine Favour; and that his Mifery proceeded from his 
 Lofs of this Image and his being expofed to the Ef- 
 fects of the Difpleafure of the molt High for his wil- 
 ful Difobedience : It follows that he can only be reftored 
 to a Capacity of recovering his loft Felicity by the 
 Removal of the natural and moral unhappy Caufe of 
 Unhappinefs; by being renewed in the Spirit of his Mind, 
 and putting on the new Man, which ajter GOD is created 
 in Right eoufnefs and true Holinefs, Eph. iv. 23, 24. And, 
 Col. iii. 10. which is renewed in Knowledge, after the Image 
 of Him that created him. 
 
 From this Consideration it will appear that were it 
 conceivable Mankind mould be freed from the judicial 
 and penal Coniequences of the htft, and of the black 
 Train of fubfequent Tranfgrelfions which unavoidably 
 arofe and ftill arife from the original Depravity of 
 human Nature-, yet until fallen Nature be reftored to 
 its primitive Habit: of Knowledge and Holinefs, it is 
 naturally impofiible that Happinefs which reiulted 
 from that primeval Difpofition, and which is the only 
 eifential Happinefs of rational Nature, can be attained. 
 God is the Fountain oi all Felicity to the whole ra- 
 tional World : But Felicity confifts in tft hill (B%C[t\{t 
 
 ol.etJfjnj^acuitu upmi tuitablt attfc adequate £>bje£tg* 
 
 Our iirii: Parents in the State of Innocence, we have 
 feen, had their Faculties perfect according to the Rank 
 they bore in the Sv,ale of rational Beings; free from 
 all Immorality, and pollened of taintlefs Purity, and 
 
 fo 
 
S 4 o The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 (o naturally qualified to receive with heavenly Plea- 
 fure that Felicity which to pure Intelligences anles 
 from the Enjoyment of God, and which, in a Manner 
 and Meafure to Mortals unconceivable, makes the 
 Happinefs of the bJeffed Spirits in Heaven. But 
 Minds habitually under the Influences of Depravity, 
 Ignorance, and Immorality can no more be delighted 
 in the Enjoyment of God, than Fire and Water, Heat 
 and Cold, or other natural Contrarieties, can in their 
 intenfe Degrees fubfift together. So that, mould a, 
 Sinner be fuppofed, with all his reigning and unmor- 
 tified Vices and Pafiions, to be received into Heaven, 
 (if fuch a Suppqfition may be made without jlbfurdity) it 
 would be impoflible for him, in thole Circumftances 
 to find Happinefs there. For how great and exalted 
 foever the Objects of heavenly Felicity be, they could 
 not affect or influence Faculties quite indifpofed and 
 contrary to them. They would be no more to the 
 unholy Soul than the fineft Melody to the Deaf, or 
 than the mod beautiful Flower or the moll exquifite 
 Painting to One born blind. If one may not fay they 
 would rather give the fame Uneafinefs and Fatigue, 
 as the regular Exercifes of Virtue and Religion are 
 known to do to unfancYified Minds, in this World, 
 where the natural A'Lan receiveth not the Things of the 
 Spirit of GOD, for they are as Fooliflmefs unto him, neither 
 can he know them, becaufe they are fpiruually difcemed, 
 i Cor. ii. 14. 
 
 It is indeed evidently inconfiftent and impoflible 
 that infinite Wifdom and Goodnefs fiiould inftitute 
 fuch a Method for the Redemption of Mankind, from 
 the Miferies confequent upon Tranfgrefiion and De- 
 pravity, with an Indulgence to the criminal Propen- 
 iioas of that Depravity, and wherein a great Part of 
 ihe Mifery effentially and originally confifts ; Or that 
 he mould fend his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, into 
 the World, to die as a propitiatory Sacrifice to atone 
 for the Guilt of human Tranfgrefiion, and thereby 
 
 reconcile 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 2 4 r 
 
 reconcile fallen and depraved Man to a God of infi- 
 nite Holinefs and Purity without the Correction of 
 that Depravity, which is eflentially and neceflarily 
 odious to the Divine Nature, contrary to the Laws of 
 his Kingdom and moral Government, and inconfiftent 
 with the Nature of that Happinefs he came to reftore 
 Mankind to the PoffefTion of. And confequently it 
 mull, as we have laid down, be effential to human 
 Felicity, in the Natv'.re of Things, that the divine Image 
 be reftored upon the human Faculties. <j>. E. D. 
 
 And it will be equally evident from an impartial 
 Attenfion to the whole Tenour of the New Teftament, 
 That the Sanctiflcation of the human Soul is no lefs 
 neceffary to its Happinefs, by the Laws of the Redeem- 
 er's Kingdom, eftablifhed in the Gofpel, than it is (o 
 from the Nature of Things, as is before ihewn : And 
 the Sacrifice offered by the Son of God upon the 
 Crofs, as an Atonement for a guilty World, was not 
 to defeat and deflroy the original Laws of the divine 
 moral Government and human Duty, but to make it 
 confiftent with thofe Laws and the divine Oeconomy 
 to admit Sinners upon their Repentance, and fincere 
 though imperfect Obedience, into his Favour, and the 
 Enjoyment of that everlafting Happinefs which Man 
 was originally formed to enjoy, in Confequence of his 
 Perfeverance in unfinning Obedience to the Laws of 
 Creation. 
 
 This is clearly the Meaning of that PafTage, Afls 
 x\. 18. where the Jewijh Chriftians, who feem before 
 to have had no Apprehenfion of the Gentiles being to 
 be admitted to any Participation in the Bleffings and 
 Privileges of the Gofpel, upon St. Peter's Relation of 
 the Affair of Cornelius the Centurion, and his Friends 
 and Family having been received into the Chriftian 
 Covenant, anfwered : Then indeed hath GOD alfo to the 
 Gentiles granted Repentance unto Life. That is ; Then 
 hath God granted (in Confequence of the Death of 
 Chrift) that the Gentiles, as well as the Jews, (hall have 
 
 Hli the 
 
242 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 the Privilege of being admitted, upon their tVUt 5R.es 
 pttltHtltt and confequent fincere Obedience, to the En- 
 joyment of the Privileges of the Gofpel, the Favour of 
 God in the Remiflion of their Sins,andthat eternal Hap- 
 pinefs which was loft by Tranfgrefiion, the Reftoration 
 whereof Jefus Chrift came to publifh to the World. 
 
 Repentance -had Man been, by his own Power, 
 capable of performing it) did not of itfelf by any ori- 
 ginal Law of Nature, or any effential and eternal 
 Reafon of Government, entitle the penitent Offender 
 to the Remiflion of Guilt and Punifhment, and a Re- 
 ftoration of the Happinefs loft by the original Tranf- 
 grefiion. See p. 86. '•No: This was granted by 
 
 the peculiar Grace and Favour of the moll High, in 
 the Method publiihed by Jefus Chrift, and called the 
 New Covenant, and the Covenant of Grace. Wherein 
 He hath been pleafed to engage his Word and Pro- 
 mife, that to all thofe who fincerely comply with this 
 Eftablilhment, he will, in the Ufe of the Means of 
 Grace, put his Laws into their Minds., and write them in 
 their Hearts ; and that he will be merciful to their Unrigb- 
 teoufnefs, and their Sins and their Iniquities he will remem- 
 ber no more, Heb. viii. n, 13. and ch. x. 16, 17. — The 
 fame was foretold and promifed, Jer. xxxi. 31, 33, 34. 
 and accordingly it is made the indilpen fable Condition 
 of this Covenant, that all thofe who fhall have the 
 
 Benefit thereof fhall ferve him in Holinefs and Rigb- 
 
 teoufnefs before him all the Days of their Lives, Luke i. j$. 
 
 And agreeably to this, our Saviour being afked by 
 a young Man, a Ruler, Matt. xix. 16. Afarkx.iy. and 
 Luke xviii. iS. who came running, and kneeling, faid, 
 Good Mafter, what good 'Thing fhall I do that I may have 
 eternal Life? anfwered very briefly : If thou wilt enter 
 into Life, keep the Commandments-. Plainly and fully al- 
 iening what we have before laid down, that without 
 that internal Sanctification and renewal of Heart and 
 Mind, which will be productive of univerfal Holinefs 
 of Life, in Obedience to the Commands of God, 
 
 which 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 243 
 
 which was eiTentially neceffary to the original Perfec- 
 tion and Happinefs or" human Nature, there can be no 
 Reftoration of fallen Man to a State of true Felicity. 
 Being afked the fame Qucflion by another, a Stu- 
 dent of the JewifJj Law, Luke x. 25. who came, i-kttu- 
 fdi^uv, " to make a Trial of his Judgment or Opinion 
 " concerning the Law or Rule of Life," (Hamm. ) 
 or what was neceffary in order to inherit eternal Life ; 
 He anfwered by afking him: What is written in the 
 Law, bow readeji thou? to which the Lawyer anfwering 
 Jaid : Thou foalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, 
 and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Strength, and with 
 all thy Mind, and thy Neighbour as thy/elf. To which 
 Jefus replied : Thou haji anfwered well, this do and thou 
 
 jhalt live. But the Love of God and the Love of 
 
 our Neighbour comprehend all the Duties of the mo- 
 ral Law: And fo our Saviour laid, Job. xiv. 15. If ye 
 love me keep my Commandments, and v. %$ . if a Man love 
 me he will keep my Words, and 1 Jo. v. 3. This is the 
 Love of God that ye keep his Commandments. We cannot 
 love God otherwife than as a Being poiTelTed of all 
 amiable Perfections in an infinite Degree, fo that to 
 love God is to love thefe Perfections, and what we 
 love we mail always endeavour to be poiTelTed of and 
 to imitate, as far as is confiftent with our Faculties 
 and Capacities; fo that if we love God, we mall love 
 and endeavour to be poiTelTed of Righteoufnefs, Truth 
 and Goodnefs, univerfally in Theory and Practice, and 
 mall endeavour to exhibit the fame in our whole 
 Converfation ; that is, as abovefaid, if we love God 
 we mail keep his Commandments. And this neceiTa- 
 rily comprehends the Love of our Neighbour alfo, and 
 therefore it is. faid, Gal. v. 14. all the Law is fulfilled 
 in one Word, even in this, Thou Jhalt love thy Neigh' 
 hour as thyfelf. This is by our Saviour preicribed as 
 abfolutely neceiTary to the Obtainment of that Hap- 
 pinefs which he died to purchale. Chrift came not 
 to deilroy the Works of the Law and the Prophets* 
 
 H h 2 but 
 
244 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 but to fulfil them, Mattb. v. 17. to dtflblifl) them as 
 a Rule of Life for all that mall be faved-, and that 
 their Repentance for having tranfgreffed the Laws by 
 their original Depravity and Difobedience, with a De- 
 fire and Endeavour after a fincere, univerfal, conftant 
 and chearful Obedience, for the future, might be ac- 
 cepted as a Condition of Salvation, inflead of that 
 finlefs Conformity to the Laws of Innocence which Man 
 was originally difpofed to yield, and upon the Per- 
 formance whereof his eternal Happinefs depended. 
 
 The -pure in Heart are they who alone fhall have the 
 Bleffednefs of feeing God, Mat. v. 8. And, Heb. xii. 14. 
 it is mod fully declared that without Holinefi no Man 
 jhall fee the Lord. Which Exprefiion denotes the Hap- 
 pinefs of theBlefied in a future State, Pf. xvi. n. in 
 thy Prefence (T35 1 ?) is Fulnefs of Joy, and at thy Right- 
 hand are Pleafures for evermore. — Rev. xxi. 27. There 
 (hall in no wife enter into the heavenly Jerufalem any Ihing 
 that defleth, or worketh Abomination. And Ch. xxiii. 24. 
 They only that do his Commandments jloall have a right to 
 the Tree of Life, and to enter in through the Gates into the 
 holy City ot God. 
 
 Agreeable to this Account was the firft Publication 
 of the Gofpel by John the Baptifi, Mat. iii. 2. Repent 
 ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand; and, Mar. i. 4. 
 John did baptize in the Wilder -nefs, and preach the Baptifm 
 of ^Repentance, foj tije ftemiffton of »>iw$: And to 
 thofe who came to his Baptifm, he declared the Ne- 
 ceffity of evidencing the Sincerity of their Change of 
 Mind, by bringing forth the Fruits of Repentance -, and that 
 efpecially by the Reformation of thofe Vices, which 
 Perfons of every Profefiion and Character were more 
 peculiarly prone and addi&ed to, Luk. iii. 9, &V. 
 
 And in like Manner our bleffed Saviour himfelf, af- 
 ter his Baptifm and his Temptation in the Wildernefs, 
 began his public Miniftration by preaching the fame 
 Doctrine, Mat. iv. 17. From that Time J ejus began to 
 preach, and to fay, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is 
 
 at 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 243- 
 
 at Hand. And in his Difcourfe with Nicodemus, 
 
 Jo. iii. he declared tfic afafoltlte jfteteffitp of 3£Uge= 
 Iteration in order to Salvation, v. 3. Verify, verily , / 
 fay unto thee, Except a Man be born again he cannot fee the 
 Kingdom of GOD. 
 
 The Doctrine of Repentance and Regeneration was 
 peculiarly neceflary at the Beginning of the Publication 
 of the Gofpel, to obviate and corre£t the pernicious 
 Influences the People of the Jews were under, from 
 their arrogant Opinion of their abfolute, unconditional 
 and exclufive Right to the Bleffings of the Median's 
 Kingdom -, of the Appearance whereof they had the 
 fuileft Expectation at the Time of our Saviour's Ad- 
 vent, from the plain Senfe of their Prophefies, though 
 their Expectation of his appearing with external Pomp 
 and Grandeur, fo different from that of our blefled Sa- 
 viour, hundred their Converfion to ChrilHanity. 
 
 They thought the Benefits of the Meffiah to have a 
 peculiar Relation to them, as being of the Seed of A- 
 braham, and fo the fpecial favourite People of God, and 
 the only Heirs of the Promifes made to that renowned 
 Patriarch. Againft which, Think not, fays our blefled 
 Saviour, to fay within yourfelves, we have Abraham to 
 our Father ; For I fay unto you that God is able of thefe 
 Stones to raife up Children unto Abraham. Meaning 
 either literally, as the learned Author of Synop. Critic. 
 writes on the Place : Si vos omnes male per eatis Deus ta- 
 men non erit vacuus in promiffis -, nee deerit Abrahamo po- 
 Jleritas. Ut formavit Deus Adamum e Terra, Jic ex verts 
 lapidibus potefi Abrahamo filios fufcit are, &c. i. e. " Tho* 
 *•' your whole Nation mould utterly perifh, yet would 
 *' not God fail in his Promifes, nor mould Abraham 
 *' want a Polterity. For as God created Adam out of 
 si the Earth, fo can he out of real Stones raife up 
 *' Children unto Abraham." Or much more is this true 
 in a figurative, metaphorical Senfe, applying the Word 
 Stones to denote the Gentile World; whom the Jews 
 from their innate Pride, as the Polterity of Abraham, 
 
 treated 
 
r 4 6 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 treated as being, in Companion of themfelves, of n® 
 
 mere Value than the Stones in the Street. And yet 
 
 It is certain a great Number of the Jews, then and iince 
 exiiling, faifly arrogated this Honour to themfelves; 
 being not of the natural Iflue and Pofterity of Abraham, 
 but of fuch as had, in different Ages, been profelyted 
 iVorn other Nations into the J.ewijh Church and Cove^ 
 runt, efpeciaiiy iince the Return of the Babylonijh Cap- 
 tivity. 
 
 To all thofe who valued themfelves upon their being 
 J/ras'ites or Jews our Lord declares, that that gave them 
 no peculiar and exclufive Intereil in the Bleffings of the 
 Gofpel •> but that, by true Faith, and true Repentance 
 and Regeneration alone, all (both Jews and Gentiles) 
 were to be admitted to thofe Benefits ; agreeably to the 
 original Promife made to Abraham, Gen. xii. 8. that in 
 him all the Families of the Earth Jhould be bleffed: Which 
 pfomifc was not openly fulfilled till Salvation came to 
 be published to all Nations through Jefus Chrift, who 
 was of the Seed of Abraham. For fays he, v. 16.) God 
 jo loved, the World that he gave his only begotten Son, t)j%lt 
 torfwfoebe; tfUcijttJj in Mm flmild not periftj, but have 
 everlajling Life. But to. believe in Chrifl neceffarily 
 includeth an Obedience to his Laws; and accordingly 
 He declared to them that notwiftanding the Promiles 
 
 made to the Fathers, and the Salvation publifhed 
 
 by himfelf y yet now the Ax was laid to the Root or 
 the Tie-, and that every Tree that brought not forth 
 good Fruit mould be hewn down and call into the 
 Fire, Matt iii. 10. and vii. 19. &c. 
 
 Not long aftsr our Saviour's Baptifm, his Tempta- 
 tion in the Wildernefs, and his entringupon his public 
 Minium', he preached his famous Sermon on the Mount, 
 (recorded in the 5th, 6th and 7th Chapters of Matthew) 
 v herein, in a plain and familiar Manner, is laid down 
 the Necefftty of the Habit and Practice of univerfal 
 
 } ioiinefs in order to Hanpinefs. A brief Cor.fide- 
 
 ralion of the principal Parts whereof will afford iufn- 
 
 cient 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 247 
 
 cient Arguments to fhew the Neceility of Holinefs, to 
 Salvation. 
 
 Having firft declared the chief and principal Chri- 
 flian Virtues of Humility and Contentment, godly Sor- 
 row, Meeknefs, Hungerand Thirif. after Righteournefs, 
 Mercy and Benevolence, Purity, Peaceablenefs, and 
 Patience under unjuft Sufferings, Perfecutions and Re- 
 proaches, and the Beatitudes to which thefe Virtues arc 
 connected and entitled, He declares -the Neceflity of that 
 univerfal exemplary Virtue and Goodnefs, which alone 
 can conftitute and adorn the Chriftian Character •, fay- 
 ing, Ye are the Salt of the Earth \ your, exemplary Virtue 
 and Holinefs is to preferve the World from Corruption 
 and Depravity. Ye are a City jet on an Rill, conspi- 
 cuous to all ; therefore Let your Light jofhine before M?%, 
 that they may fee your good Works, and. glorify your Father 
 which is in Heaven, Matt. v. 16. the Dilciples of Chriil 
 are not, by their Practice of Virtue, to purlue Views of 
 Ambition, fecular Intereft or Applaufe •, but to aim at 
 the Promotion of univerfal Holinefs, for the general 
 Good of the World, and the Honour of Geo and' his 
 Laws. And therefore their Obedience muft h<z univer- 
 fal; for, <p. 19. zvhofaever fhall break one of thefe haft 
 Commandments, and fhall teach Men fo, he JhaU be called 
 leaf in the Kingdom of Heaven •, that is, fay the learned 
 Expolitors, he mall have no Intereft in it. 
 
 And as our Saviour defcribes the Virtue and Holinefs 
 necelTary to his Followers abfolutely; that it muft be 
 fincere as to the internal Principle, and univerfal in its 
 Extent, in regard to the divine precepts -, ib, my, 2,0, 
 he defcribes the fame comparatively : I fay unto yon, that 
 except your Right eoufnefs fhall exceed the Righteoufnefs of the 
 Scribes and Pharifees ye fhall in no cafe enter into the King- 
 dom of 'Heaven. 
 
 He feems to have entered upon this Subject becaufc 
 the Scribes and Pharifees by their accurate ObferVance 
 of the particular Injunctions of the ceremonial Law, as 
 well as of a great Train of Traditionary Initiations, in 
 
 their 
 
- 4 3 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 their external Conduct and Behaviour, were eiteemed 
 the wifeit and belt of Men. 
 
 As this is a Matter of very great Importance, it can- 
 not be improper, in purfuance of my Argument, to 
 enquire fomething particularly, for what Reafciv; prin- 
 cipally the Righteoufnefs of the Scribes and Pharifees 
 was not judged a iumcient Qualification for the King- 
 dom of Heaven, or rather the Reafons why they could 
 not have Admiflion into it; efpecially as they looked 
 upon themfelves and were generally lookea upon by 
 others, to have, by their fuperior Sanctity and Zeal 
 for the Laws of their Religion, a more eminent Title 
 to the Favour of God and the Rewards of Obedience. 
 
 To fet this Matter in a clear Light, it will be ne- 
 ceffary to fhew, (i.) What was the general Character 
 of the Scribes and Pharifees. (2.) To defcribe their 
 Righteoufnefs or Religion. And, (3.) To fhew more 
 particularly for what Reafons this Righteoufnefs was 
 not pleafing to God, nor a due Qualification for the 
 Kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 (1.) The Scribes (called DH5D Sopherim) were an 
 Order of Men amongft the Jews, principally after the 
 Captivity, who were efpecially concerned in writing, 
 teaching and expounding the Law, or the holy Scrip- 
 tures, and fo were generally reckoned to be accurate- 
 ly fkill'd in the Meaning and Interpretation thereof, 
 
 and therefore of great Efteem and Authority. 
 
 Ezra is defcribed, Ezr. vii. 20. That he had prepared 
 bis Heart to feek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and 
 to teach in Ifrael Statutes and Judgments. And Artaxerxes, 
 the King of Perfta, wrote this Addrefs : v. 12. Unto Ezra, 
 the Priejl fTO N»D# FfJ^ri *N "I3D mrQ) aperfetl Scribe, 
 (Scriba doctilTimus. Hier.) of the Law of the God of H a- 
 
 ven. It was Part of the Bufmefs of the Scnbes to 
 
 fee that the Copies of the facred Books, and other 
 Writings for public Ufe, were accurately performed : 
 And it was another Part of their Office to adjuft the 
 Numbers of the Parafha's or Sections, Words and Let- 
 ters 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 249 
 
 ters of the facred Books, to preferve them from being; 
 loft or depraved ; which Numbers remain to this Day, 
 and are placed at the End of the feveral Books in the 
 Hebrew Bibles reflectively. And therefore it is faid in 
 the Talmud, (as Buxtcrf informs us in his Tiberias) 
 rrhnlv jiv/yin >3 DnsnD rnr onsnp owm iinpi "tiw 
 *>31 j £% /j : ci For this Reafoh the Ancients were called 
 *' Scribes, becaufe they numbred all the Letters of 
 " the Law, &c" The lame Word "SP, which ftgni- 
 fieth to write, lignifying alfb to number. As an In- 
 stance of this Practice they tell us, that 1 in the Word 
 V>^\ Lev. xi, 42. is the middle Letter ot the Law or 
 Pentateuch: And that ttm WITT, Levit. x. 16. are 
 the middle Words of the fame. They noted how oft 
 the fame Word recurr'd in the whole Okl Teftament. 
 How oft *> and / were written full, and how oft the 1 
 and the ' were wanting in thofe Letters : That is, how 
 oft the Points, now called Hirech parvum and Holem 
 caffum, were writ without the correfpondent Letters. 
 And a, great many fuch Accuracies they were (killed 
 and txercifed in. And on this Account they werealfo 
 called ETC^n?: wife Men, and P^3n TO&nj the Dif- 
 ciples of the wife Men. Nay, Buxtorf informs us, thac 
 the Word m wD\ a Scribe, in the Talmjtd, frequently an- 
 fwers the Word N\D.}, a Prophet. And lb we find, in 
 1 Sam. X..10. what is in the Hefrew&*^^^m% 
 is Saul alfo among the Prophets, is in the Qhaldee Pa- 
 raphrafe N!H?P?, amongfr. the Scribes-. 
 
 The Pharifees were fo called from the Cbaldaic Word 
 $1? Pherafh, to feparate. The Word alfo fignifietk 
 to expound or explain. From the former Signification 
 R. David, as Buxtorf informs us, writes thus of them; 
 
 *13j itfobo n^n 1 ?! DH'Dm DWfcosxy ffjna Dnwa a*i , 
 
 ^V. i. e. feme fay, they were Men who /hewed tbemfekcs 
 feparate from others, holy, and dad in another Fapmn- of 
 Drefs, fee. And another writes thus : lyTBl'^n^D 
 jnpTB "I*tfl0 JTiNn D^l NOB ^Na poi rmaiffl ^DO uw 
 : ^3$2)3 i. e. " The Pharifee feparates hinaftrif from all 
 
 I i " Impurity 
 
35<> The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 " Impurity, from all unclean Meat, and from the; 
 " People of the Land {the common People) who are not 
 " accurate about what they eat." And Elia* Levita 
 writes of them : WW "»3 HTH D^H *3TTO UWTSn DH 
 p*TUn *'. e. " They were different from the Ways of 
 ** this World, as were the Nazarites." This Account 
 3s agreeable to what we have in the Evangelical 
 Writings, with regard to their fingular Affe&ation 
 of fuperiour Sanctity ; for which Reafon, St. Paul calls 
 
 them, Atls XXvi. 5. rw ctxpiZsrccTW alftarui t«j jj/ait/^j 
 
 ^a-jcuaj : the ftriciieft Sect of our Religion. 
 
 I think it not improbable they called themfelves, 
 DW19 Pharifees y from the other Signification of the 
 Verb W© mentioned before, to expound or interpret ; as 
 being, or affecting to appear, critically fkill'd in the 
 Knowledge and Expofition of the Jewifi Laws, and 
 facred Writings •, particularly from their great ApplU 
 cation to the Study of that which they called the 
 nStyaiPfTWi the oral Laws, or Laws of Tradition ; 
 upon which they laid a greater Strefs, and paid a greater 
 Attention to them, than even to the written Law itfelf. 
 On which Account they had obtained a fuperior Cha^ 
 rafter for Holinefs and Religion. And it may feem, 
 from feveral Parages of holy Writ, that they were alfo 
 of great Authority in the Church. See Mat. xxiii. 2. 
 John vii. 48. — viii. 3. — ix. 13, 16. &c. In this Account 
 (if we except their fuperftitious Zeal for their Tradi- 
 tions, for which our Saviour juftly reproves them) 
 there does not appear much that might tend to exclude 
 them from the Kingdom of Heaven. But if, 
 
 In the Second Place, we take a View of their Reli- 
 gion as reprefented in the 23d Chapter of Matthew^ 
 and elfewhere, we may obferve a great Deal not ap- 
 pearing to proceed from that true Love of God and 
 Man, and that internal Purity of Heart, and difinte- 
 refted Regard for the Laws of Heaven, which are 
 necefTary to recommend the pureft Religion to the Fa- 
 vour and Approbation of the Moft High j but rather 
 
 Sundries 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 251 
 
 Sundries of a contrary Tendency, particularly a fuper- 
 ftitious Zeal for trifling Ceremonies and arbitrary Ex- 
 positions of their Laws, with a Neglect, at the fame 
 Time, of the Subftantials of true Virtue and pure Re- 
 ligion. 
 
 We are told, Matt, xxiii. 3. that they made broad 
 their Phylacteries, and enlarged the Borders of their 
 Garments. 
 
 The Phylacteries are, with good Reafon, believed 
 to be what the Jews have long ufed, and ufe to this 
 Day, in Obedience, as they apprehend, to the Com- 
 mands given by Mofes, Exod.xm. 9, 16. Numb. xv. 
 38. Deut. vi. 8. and xi. 18. and xxii. 12. and per- 
 haps in other Places. 
 
 In the third and fourth mentioned Places, they were 
 commanded diligently to teach the Words of the divine 
 Precepts to their Children, and to converfe frequently 
 with their Families upon them ; to bind them as a Sign 
 upon their Hands, and as Frontlets (/lS^b ) betwen their 
 Eyes, &c. So it is in Deut. vi. 8. and xi. 18. which in 
 Exod. xiii. 9. is called tf"^?, a Memorial between their 
 Eyes •, that the Law of the Lord may be in their Mouthy 
 &c. which Injunctions, many Chriftian Writers think, 
 mean no more, than, by thofe figurative Exprefllons, 
 to command them diligently to read and meditate upon 
 the divine Precepts ; as the Holy Pfalmift defcribes the 
 Character of the Good Man, Pfal. i. 2. that he medi- 
 tates in the Law of God, Day and Night j which is 
 
 alfo very often repeated in the cxix. Pfalm, &c. 
 
 But the Jews, who attend moftly to the Letter and Out- 
 fide ; in Obedience, as they think, to thefe Commands, 
 write out certain Portions of the Law upon fmall Scrolls 
 of Parchment, and bind them about their left Arms, 
 and place them upon their Foreheads, between their 
 Eyes, particularly when they perform their dated De- 
 votions-, for which Reafon, I fuppofe it is, that they 
 were firft called lty&% Tephilin. (See Targ. Onk. on Deut. 
 vi. 8.) Which Word, in the Chaldaic Tongue, figni- 
 
 I i 2 fieth 
 
2J2 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Beth Prayers, and by that Name they are called to this 
 Day. 
 
 The Portions of Scripture which they write upon 
 thefe Tephilin, as Buxtorf informs us; are, (i.) Exod. 
 xiii. 2. 131 7"tfr2 Sanctify unto me all the Firjl-bom, 
 %. - (2.) Exod'.xm. 5. 13? W^WS? : And it flail 
 come to. pafs, when the Lord thy GOD flail bring thee 
 into the Land of the Canaanite, &c. (%.) Dent. vi. 4. 
 Vyi^^V&f:-. Hear, Iliad, the Lord our GOD is 
 one Lord. And, (4.) Deut. xi. 13, 14, 15. ONJTiTi 
 "Q1 gpiy : And it flail come to pafs, if ye flail hearken 
 
 diligently unto my Commandments, (g?a Other 
 
 •Writers have Jefcribed theie Portions of Scripture lbme 
 thing different from this Account, 
 
 In the Tephilin for' the Head, thefe four Paffages 
 are written, upon four different fmall Scrips of Parch- 
 ment, and roll'd up very tight, and lodged in four 
 different Apartments, or Cellules, in the midft of a 
 larger Piece, and the whole folded up together very 
 dole, and placed upon their Foreheads, at the Termi- 
 nation of the Hair, that it may be in lbme Manner 
 before {quafi ante oculos. Buxt.) or rather between their 
 Eyes, according to the Precept, when they fay their 
 Prayers. — Thefe they call the Tephilin for the Head. — 
 The other, which they call the Tephilin, lor the Hand, 
 have the fame four PaiTages written in four Divifions, 
 called VST Pages, al! upon one Piece of Parchment. 
 Thefe alfo they fold up very clofe, and fallen by long 
 Thongs of Leather, wound round their left Attn, 
 ilrij.it naked at 'the Seafons of their Devotion. This 
 Account is agreeeble to what the learned Jarchi hath 
 
 wit upon Exod. xiii. 9. OT^p/iliy^jmhs avoirs 
 ynfc\VlX12i that thouflalt write cut thefe Paffages, and 
 
 shalt bind them upon thy Head, and upon thine Arm. 
 
 Upon the Words, thou flalt bind them for a Sign i$pon tbh e 
 Hand: The fame learned Jew writes, ^^piClvStt "ftN 
 i. e. " Thefe are the Tephilin for the Arm." And 
 upon " the other Part, they shall be for a Memorial be- 
 
 tween 
 
Cf tie NEW TESTAMENT. 253 
 
 livten thine Eyes ; he writes WlJWTl , 4M"nSWi <- thefc 
 
 *f are the Tepbilin tor the Head." They have a 
 
 great many Ceremonies relating to the Matter and 
 Manner of the Preparation and Conftrucfion ot the V 
 piUiii) which it would be too tedious to recite. This 
 fhort Account of this Article, which the Jews re 
 to be of i'o much Importance in their Religion, '£ 
 rhought might not be difagreeable to fuch Readers as 
 have not before met with any Account of it. 
 
 The Borders of their Garments 'calied in the C 
 both of the Old and New Tcitament *p**7r«Jjei 
 •certain Additions made to the Extremities of ibrno 
 Part of their Garments, which were commanded in 
 Nuud>. xv. 30, &*i upon which Place Buxtorf write dv 
 hoc fr&c&ptum in miram fapcrjluionem c.pud pojleros cmver- 
 fum eft, qaam vel magna iibro neqiieunt hodie fails explicare, 
 i. e. " This Precept hath, by the later Jews, been 
 *' turned into ftrange SuperO.ition, whereof they are 
 *' not able, at this Day, to give a fufneient Explica- 
 " tion in a large Book," I know not how they mould. 
 give a clear Explication of it at this Day, fince their 
 learned Men a good many Centuries ago, when their 
 Learning; was in a more rlouriihinsr State than at ore- 
 Tent, were not fully acquainted with the Meaning of 
 this Precept. A. Ben Ezra, in his Commentary on 
 x\\z Place, .faith; It is capable of tw r o Interpretations: 
 OVJ'pS^iy : The one h that the ancient Hebrews .haft 
 Threads (called <f^2W£, which the Jews pronounce Zrzis) 
 upon the Extremities of feme cA their Garments, like 
 thole, at the End of a Web, which are not woven : To 
 thde was fomehow added a Cord, String, or Lace, &j. 
 which the Text calls ?VT3, (Pi/ill^ our Tranflators have 
 cali'd it a Ribbon, of blue; the Greeks have translated 
 it xAwVua, fometlr.ng [pun : for whiqh the Vulgate Latin 
 hath yittiii a Lace : The Chaldee calieth it tilT-n kb&ta-, ti 
 Thread. The Form of this whole Addition is to the 
 hirer Jews quite unknown. The other Interpretation 
 A. B. E. gives of this Precept, and which the mo 
 
254 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Jews follow, is : That every Jew is to have a Garment 
 wich four Corners, (Wings, D*M3ja"lH "TO, which, 
 from the Hebrew, they call their Arhangh Canphoth, 
 Deut. xxii. 12.) upon each of which they put a Thread, 
 Cord, or Lace, with the two Ends hanging down. On 
 thefe Eight Strings they place five Knots, and the whole 
 they call the Zizis, (D^nj On JT^S) of which they thus 
 reckon : The Letters of the Word in the Hebrew Nu- 
 merals make 600, to which adding the Eight Strings and 
 the five Knots, they make up 613 ♦, which is the Num- 
 ber of Precepts they reckon in their Law. Thefe they 
 efteem, by wearing this Part of Drefs, they are fome 
 how kept in continual Remembrance of, according to 
 the Intention of the Precept, and preferved from tranf- 
 greffing them. For which End they are enjoyned every 
 one, tfjyB UTD^ sVl Ton DV2 U HDlim : that he wear 
 it every Day conftantly, and not put it off: "N3P|yo^ • 
 that he may remember. And, addeth he, they who are 
 performing their Prayers, 10*^233, with their Talis (their 
 Veil) Jhall alfo do the fame; that is, fhall ftill wear 
 their Zizis. But indeed, he faith, in my Opinion, 
 (WVB^pl) a Man is rather obliged (3*n) to have 
 •* on his Zizis at other Times, than at the Time of 
 •* Prayers, as he will at that Time be the leaft liable 
 " to miftake and tranfgrefs. 
 
 These as well as the Tephilin, worn on their Fore- 
 heads and on their Hands only at the Times of Prayer, 
 were very probably defigned by the Greek Word (puAax- 
 -rijfji*, Phyla&eries, from the Verb pyAaiww, to keep ; 
 becaufe they were to preferve or keep in Remembrance 
 the Laws of God, which Idea is, in the Hebrew, often 
 mentioned by the Word "I0# 7 of the fame Significa- 
 tion. So Pfal. ciii. 18. To fuch as keep his Covenant, 
 and remember his Commandments. In the Hebrew, 
 Vl^n^-iin^no^: which in the Greek is, wis <p»- 
 
 AaVrse-i ^ (Mpvypivait;, &V. Or elfe it fignifieth to 
 
 preferve or keep thole who wore them, as Charms or 
 Amulets, from the malignant Influence of evil Spirits. 
 
 These 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 2$; 
 
 These the Scribes and Pharifees feem, by our Sa- 
 viour's Reprehenfion, to have made larger and more 
 confpicuous than others, in token pf their fuperiour 
 Regard to the divine Laws. 
 
 Another Inftance of the Religion of the Scribes and. 
 Pharifees, which our Saviour remarks, was their Zeal 
 for advancing the Interefl: and Honour of the Jewifj 
 Church, by the Conversion of the Gentiles. Matt, xxiii. 
 j 5. Wo unto you Scribes and Pharifees ; Hypocrites ; far 
 
 ye compafs Sea arM Land to make one Profelyie. 
 
 During the Continuance of the Jewi/b State and Re- 
 ligion, there were two Sorts of Profelytes. The 
 firft were called Profelytes of Righteoufnefs, P!?*!?, 
 and alfo Profelytes of the Covenant, iT^^*?? The 
 other were called UltfiJV^, which may be rendered 
 Profelytes of Habitation^ or "K^" v }j?, Profelytes of the 
 Gate. The Profelytes of Righteoufnefs fubmitted to 
 Circumcifion and the whole Law, and were admitted 
 into the Jewish Church and Covenant by that Rite^ 
 joyn'd with Baptifm and Sacrifice, and fo had a Claim 
 to all the Privileges, and were obliged to all the Duties 
 of Native Jews. The Profelytes of the Gate only en- 
 gaged not to practife' Idolatry, but to worihip the One 
 God of Jfrael, and to obferve the Institutions of Noah, 
 and fo were allowed to dwell amongil them. The 
 former Sort are continued to this^Day, and they are not 
 admitted without being before-hand duly inftructed in 
 their Laws and Religion, and warned of the Troubles 
 and Inconveniencies attending it : They are alfo to 
 make a folemn Profeffion, that they are moved to be- 
 come Profelytes to Judaifm, not from any Views of 
 worldly Interefl, Gratification, or Convenience, what- 
 foeverj but for the Truth of Religion, and the Glory 
 of Goo alone. The other Sort of Profelytes are ne- 
 ceiTarily ceafed fincethe Subverfion of the Jewilh State. 
 Our Saviour cannot well be understood to have reprov- 
 ed the Scribes and Pharifees merely for making Pro- 
 felytes to the Jewiih Church, beeaufe this was always 
 
 allowed 5 
 
z:& The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 allowed; but the Cenfure muft probably be, becanfe* 
 of their ZfcaJ to procure Profelytesv which I do not find' 
 
 any where enioyn'd ; and efpeeiaiiy for depraving their 
 §€iitimejats, and perverting their Zeal to Purpofcs un- 
 
 Bfe to, and inconlittent with the true Ends of, 
 Religion-, which he calls, making them two-fold more 
 the C if 1 U:l than themfdves \ by their Zeal 
 
 tor arbitrary and traditional Iriftitutidns, prejudicing 
 then Minds, as is iifual with new Converts, againft the 
 pure Precepts of the divine Law, and the plain Truth 
 
 Virtue which our Saviour enjoyns upon his Loi- 
 re wers, in his Doctrine. 
 
 A third Inftance our Saviour mentions of the Re 
 figib.n of the Scribes and Pharifees, was their ardent: 
 Zeal tor the Rituals and external Institutions of the 
 Law of' Mcfes. They were vaftly Zealous for the 
 Punry and Lxaetneis of the legal Sacrifices and other 
 Oblations of the Temple fervice'j fo that they even al- 
 lowed, and vindicated the Violation of the Laws of eter- 
 nal Keafon and Morality, when thry interfered, or- 
 teemed to interfere with thefe Inftitutions, rather than 
 to be guilty of any Defect in the punctual Obfervance 
 of thefe pofitive Precepts. A Man might be excufedf 
 from relieving his indigent Parents, agreeably to the 
 Laws of Nature, by alledging, that what he might. 
 ikherwife have applied to that pious Service, was by 
 Sn Act of Religion conf-crated to the Service of the 
 Temple, as al%1i?, or Offering of the Lord. In like 
 Manner, they were punctual in paying the Tythe, not 
 only of the In ere a & of their Cattle, and of the Fruit* 
 of the Trees and of the Ground, which were enjoynea 
 by the Law (Lezit. xxvii. 30, 32.) to be holy; but of 
 the Herbs alio; which although not liable by the di- 
 vine Law to that Demand, but only by human In- 
 stitution, yet our Saviour declares even this to be a 
 Matter of Duty, thd* not of Importance and confeien- 
 tious Obligation, comparable to Juilg • end 
 
 Faitb, which, with all their icrupulous- Tithings and 
 
 othei 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 257 
 
 other trifling Punctualities, they are charged with 
 having neglected. 
 
 Other Inftances of* the external and Fuperftitious 
 Religion of the Scribes and Pharifees I (hall have Oc- 
 cafion to mention under the third Head I propofed CO 
 enlarge upon* which therefore I here pafs over. 
 
 But, I think, it may not be inconvenient to mention 
 and dwell a little upon one very remarkable Inftance 
 of Superftition, njpt fpoke of by our Saviour in this 
 Place, which the whole Nation of the Jews had then 
 long been, and ftill continue to be under the Influence 
 of. I mean their fuperftitious Reverence frr the great 
 Name of God, JEHOVAH, which they moft con- 
 fcientioufly abftain from mentioning; looking upon it 
 as a Crime little, if any Thing, lefs than capital, for 
 any one to pronounce this Name upon whatever Oc- 
 casion, fince the Destruction of the Temple and its 
 religious Service. And that during the Continuance 
 thereof, it was not lawful for any one to pronounce it, 
 except the High-Pried alone, in his folemn Bleffing 
 of the People, (once a Year, as they fay, upon the 
 great Day of Expiation ; ) as defer ibed in Numb. vi. 
 24, 25, 26. The Lord (Jehovah) blefs thee and keep 
 thee , The Lord (Jehovah) make his Face to Jhine upon 
 thee, and he gracious unto thee. The Lord (Jehovah) lift 
 
 up his Countenance upon thee, and give thee Peace. 
 
 To which is added ; And they Jhall put my Name upon the 
 Children of Ifrael, and I will blefs them. Upon this-, they 
 shall put, &c. Rashchi writes: t^SI^T DW3 Qmtf : . 
 they shall llefs them By the Name Jehovah. And upon 
 the latter Part i and I will, C5V. he writes, pyD\3DK 
 D^msn Iwilljoyn with the Priejls in the Benediction. 
 
 Upon all other Occafions except this annual moft 
 folemn Benediction, fome other of the Names of God 
 was fubftituted (in reading or fpeaking) inftead of this 
 Name "W 5 as '^a Adonai, or D*nt>K Elohim. Or, if 
 this Name were neceffarily to be mention'd, they did 
 it by fome Periphrafis, or Defcription: for which Pur- 
 
 K k pofe 
 
2*8 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 pofc they had many Forms : As nm DW : Shem Rabbab> 
 che great Name : *1333n Dttf : Shem hankbbad> the glo- 
 rious Name : "tnVDDW : Shem Mejubhad, the appropriate 
 Name: JTPJ-nKymK ^O0 : Sbem She' I arbangb Othioth: 
 or, by Contra&ion, ^31» bv W, Sbem She' I Arbangb : 
 the Name of four Letters (or of Four - y ) whence the Greeks 
 call it the great Tetragrammaton. Tn^xx^^a.rov. 
 
 Various other Ways they had ofexpreffing this 
 unutterable Name, which it would be tedious to de- 
 fcribe. One of which Jarchi has ufed in the PafTage 
 cited above : viz. 2n^3DJ1 Dttf , the defcribed Name ; fo 
 called, becaufe, in all thefe Periphrafes, it is rather 
 defcribed than exprefledj and as, by a different Puncla- 
 tion, the Word denotes Wonderful^ this Defcription 
 might be underftood to mean the wonderful Name -, but 
 the Jews, who reverence the Punctations, do not ufe it 
 fo. But the moil ufual Manner, I think, amongft the 
 Commentators, and perhaps other Jewish Writers, of 
 denoting mm is by the Word DtWI, hashem, t%t jftamc* 
 This may, I think not without Reafon, feem to have 
 been firft taken from Levit. xxiv. 1 1 . where this Word 
 DtWI JIN is put to denote the Moil High, without any 
 other Word to limit its Signification : Dttfil J"IN 3p""l ; 
 He uttered^ or pronounced [Chald. WIS) t\)t fftamt ; which 
 is here put inflead of Jehovah, which the Jews believe 
 the Son of the Ifraelitifh Woman to have pronounced, 
 according to the four Letters; and to have been, on 
 that Account, put to Death. And lb writeth A. B. Ezra: 
 " Some take the Word ^ to mean the fame as 2TIS* ; 
 " as it is in Ifa. lii. 2. which the Mouth of the Lord fl)all 
 " name ^p" 1 ; and the fame, Numb. i. 17. which are 
 " crp:cffci3 by Name'&Pl." The Word is in both 
 Places as in this: And Rashci fays, he pronounced the 
 Name Jehovah, (WTlDDn DW) which was heard from 
 Mount Sinai •, but the Authors of our Verlion have 
 rendred it Cur fed; as the Word is underftood, \nNumb. 
 xxiii. 8. How flail I unit whom GOD hath not cmTcd, 
 &V. And A. B. Ezra fays, fome Jews took that to be 
 
 the 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. *S9 
 
 the Senfe of it, but he himfelf took the other to be true. 
 Some of our Bibles have alio that, by the Word Named, 
 in the Margin. And it is certain, as Buxtorf and others 
 obferve,the Words in all the Places cited may either be- 
 long to 32p, to Curfe, or to^pl, which fignifies to fafien % 
 as alfo to exprefs by Name, &c. and fometimes to curfe. 
 
 Hence, it may feem not improbable that the Jews 
 (or rather the Israelites) had this fuperior Reverence for 
 the Name JEHOVAH fooner, and perhaps upon 
 fbmething better ground, than is, "by the Chriflian 
 Writers, generally believed. And this the Jews are 
 confirmed in from that very remarkable PafTage, Exod. 
 vi. 3. where the Almighty faith unto Mofes: I appeared 
 to Abraham, to Ifaac, and to Jacob, bp tJje jQantg of 
 0oD aimigljtp, p-JCW?) but by my Name IcjlO&alJi 
 was I not known unto them. This is certainly a true 
 Translation of that PafTage, Dn^n^^nin*^. 
 But this Interpretation is not fatisfactorily explained 
 by Jews or Chriftians, to make it confiftent with thole 
 many Paffages in the preceding Part of the Mofaie 
 Text, where the Name *vp) is plainly exprefied, and 
 Its Pronunciation, in the reading, neceffary to the pro- 
 per Senfe and Connection. 
 
 To this they may anfwer, that Mofes, as an Hiftorian, 
 might exprefs the Ideas he wrote of, in fuch Terms as 
 he thought proper; efpecially as he knew they would 
 
 be read according to the National Tradition. —This 
 
 may be allowed wherever Mofes himfelf fpeaks as an Hi- 
 ftorian, relating Things in his own Words : But I think 
 it would not be confiftent with Truth, to fuppofe him 
 in reciting the Expreflions of others, to put Words in 
 their Mouths, which they did not fpeak. So, Gen. iv. 1. 
 Eve,upon the Birth of Cainfis defcribed as faying: I have 
 gotten a Man ( nv?-.ntf ) from the Lard. The Particle 
 <n^ hath given the Commentators a good deal of Trou- 
 ble, as being hardly eHewhere ufed with the Significa- 
 tion from ; and no Reafon can be affigned why me ihould 
 be reprefented as faying njiT'JW*, if (he had not expiefc 
 
 K k 2' $a 
 
*6o The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 fed that Word. And, I think, the literal Conftruclion 
 of the afore-cited Text, Exod. vi. 3. cannot be made 
 confident with the plain Senfc of this Paffage, or many 
 
 others. Gen. xv. 7. God faith, of himfelf, toAbram, 
 
 rrVt^, J am (the Lord) Jehovah •, and, v. 8. Abram 
 faith, Hirr/r^, Q Lord (Jehovah) God.. Gen, xxii. 14. 
 Sarai faith to Abram, ^l^HW The Lord (Jehovah) 
 hath retrained me from bearing ; and, v. 6. The Lord 
 ( Jehovah ) judge between me and thee: ni*T EEH^, £fr . And 
 in <:£. xviii. in feveral Places the Almighty fpeaketh of 
 himfelf by the Name •fn.' 1 . So, v. 14. Zf «»y 2"j&/w£ too 
 hard for the Lord? The Hebrew is, HiTO N^Tj ; and v. 
 19. they fh all keep the Way of the Lord: ^3J"CJ|, (70*. 
 xxii. 14. Abraham called the Place where he caught the 
 Ram *"^H' *^s > which it is very probable, continued 
 to be the Name of the Place afterwards, as well as to, 
 have given Rife to a Proverb, there recorded, where the 
 
 Name Jehovah is alfo exprefTed.- In ch. xxviii. 13. 
 
 the Moft High faith to Jacob, in the Vifion, rrin;> \}H 
 tzn^'-rbX: I am (Jehovah) the God of Abraham -, and 
 v'. 16. Jacob faid, Surely the Lord (pffil) is in this place. — 
 So Exod. iii. 15. 'The Lord faid moreover unto Mofes ; thus, 
 fhalt thou fay unto the Children 0/Tfrael, The Lord God of 
 your Fathers (DD\na& vf?N £lVf>) hath Jent me : and, in the 
 1 6th and i8thVerfes, the Almighty commands Mofes 
 to declare to the Children of Ifrael in his Name, ^V\ 
 Jehovah what he purpofed to do. And in Ch. 5. when 
 Mofes and Aaron, by divine Appointment, fpake unto 
 Pharaoh, they faid unto him, ^^ V$£ 7Tf% -)%# JTD: 
 thus faith the Lord God of Ifrael, and Pharaoh laid, who 
 is the Lord, pjDJ^ft, who is Jehovah? which he could not 
 have faid, had not the Name Jehovah been before pro- 
 nounced to him. 
 
 In thefe and a great many other Inflances., which I 
 have omitted, I think, it is quite difagreeable to the 
 Propriety of the Narration, to fuppofe that the Word 
 njfij mould not have been pronounced, but ^H$ , or 
 C'?^ fubflituted in its Stead. Bvt 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT- 261 
 
 But the learned Rabbi Solomon Jarchi hath endea- 
 voured to give a better Solution of the Difficulty thus, 
 writing on the "Words *?i P^13ST*$^l$?i I affeaud 
 unto Abraham, &c. He faith : " / gave them many 
 *' Jjfurances, -nTO2rr, 2 nd in all of them I laid yntq 
 " them, I am El Shaddai; but I was not known ta 
 " them by my Name Jehovah. It is not laid I did 
 ■* € not make known (\nJHTlN?) to them my Name 
 44 Jehovah; but, V>rru & % I was not known to them, 
 
 *< »M$» xipirvbyy ,f w nwm msn on"? wo: ^ : 
 
 <c that is, I was not known to them according io the 
 *' Extent of Truth which is in me, and which is de- 
 " noted by my Name Jehovab y which was the Ratiii- 
 " cation of the Words which I then gave them, but did 
 " not give them the Confirmation of, Mlp^p K 1 ?," as I 
 fliall now do by the Deliverance of Ifrael out of Egypt. 
 This Remark I chofe to make here upon this verj 
 prevailing Inftance of Jewijb Superftition, from which 
 they feem to look upon themfelves as performing a 
 Service of very great Importance to the Moil High. 
 Whereas I think it plain that, although the Senfe of 
 fixod. vi. 3. and its Agreement with the preceding 
 Paffages and other of Mofes's Writings is noc<> nor per- 
 haps ever will be fatisfactorily adjufted; yet it is plain 
 the Name Jehovah was not then firft pronounced, when 
 the Lord fpake to Mofes, as recorded in Exod. vi. 3. 
 nor till then unknown to the Sons of Men, but rather 
 well known from the Beginning. But fuppofe the 
 contrary, yet that or any other Pafiage of holy Scrip- 
 ture contains no Command or Prohibition, to make it 
 unlawful for the Jews, or any other Nation, to fpeak 
 to or of the moil High by that, more than by any other 
 Name by which he was pleafed to make himfelf known •, 
 and which they appear to have ufed in their ordinary* 
 Converfation •, fuch as *?tt, £/,the migSt]) Cat*. ^>t-$. 
 Elohim, dDofc* "F^Jdonal, &GV&. *2fe^!, El Shaddai, 
 (003) aimirjDtp* Which lall was declared to Abraham* 
 Gen. xvii. j, as the Name of Gcd with a peculiar So- 
 lemnity. Q:<? 
 
362 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 One might wonder that with all this fcrupulons 
 Reverence about this Name of the Almighty, for which 
 they can mew no Command, they mould not have had 
 fuch Regard for alt Things which were plainly com- 
 manded, as not to have run into the Practice of Ido- 
 latry and other Abominations, forwhich the Molt High 
 thought fit to vifit them with many Tokens of his Dif- 
 pleafure, and at length cut them off from being a Na- 
 tion, and fcatter them over the Earth, and make them 
 a By- word amongft all People, as at this Day. 
 
 And although a Reverence for the Name of God 
 be every one's bounden Duty, yet, I cannot but think, 
 the mighty Point of Religion which fome People of 
 later Times appear to make of not mentioning that 
 great Name, excepting in Affairs immediately relating 
 to Religion, has fomething in it not unlike the Jtwrjh 
 Superitition, and efpccially may be fo efteemed when 
 infilled on as an Argument of diftinguifhed Piety, ki 
 fuch as, in too many Inftances of Conduct, fcruple 
 not to facrifice the Honour of God, and aft to the Re- 
 proach of all true Religion, in Profeeution of interefted 
 and worldly Views inconfiftent with Truth and Righ- 
 teoufnefs, as if they thought this Piece of Reverence 
 for the Name of God would fufficientlv atone for the 
 moft glaring Violation of his Laws. 
 
 The Name of God will always be treated by all who 
 truly believe in God, and are under the proper Influ- 
 ence of his Laws and Government, with a fuitable De- 
 gree of Reverence -, and, I think, there is no doubt 
 but it is lefs cenfurable to err on the Side of Religion, 
 than the Contrary ; and that even a confcientious Super- 
 ftition is to be preferred to an impious Profanenefs. But 
 when it is ufed as a Cloke to cover Acts of daring Ini- 
 quity it b°comes juftly odious to God and all good 
 Men; as was the Cafe with regard to many of the religi- 
 ous Scruples of the Scribes and Pharifees, for which our 
 Saviour declares their Righteoufnefs not a fufficient 
 Qualification for the Kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 It 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 26$ 
 
 It is, I think, unqueftionably true that the Goipel 
 does no where require the Name of God to be treated 
 by Chriftians with greater Reverence, than was required 
 under the flourifhing State of the Church and Nation 
 of the Jews, the peculiar People of God, who were fet 
 up by his Providence to fupport the Honour of his 
 Name and the Purity of his Worfhip, amidft the Na- 
 tions of rhe World, which were over- run with Idolatry 
 and Profanenefs. Hefibewed his Word unto Jacob, his 
 Statutes and his Judgments unto Ifrael : He hath not dealt 
 fo with any Nation, Pfal. cxlvii. 19. But, we find, they 
 did not only mention any Name of God, except this 
 (UmSDnqp) of JEHOVAH, without any remarkable 
 Reierve in their Converfation ; but they frequently 
 called their Children by Names which included and 
 cxprefled fome Name of God ; whereby they were un- 
 der a Neceffity of mentioning that Name very often in 
 a curfory and unguarded Manner, whereof the follow- 
 ing may ferve for a few Inftances. 
 
 The Name ^P?8, Elizur, Numb. i. 5. fignifieth, 
 My God is a Rock: An Appellation frequently given 
 to the Molt High,efpecially in the devotional Parts of 
 Scripture. Zuriel, Numb, iii. 3$. ^T 1 ^, fignifies, 
 God h my Rock : different from the former only in the 
 Order of the Letters. Numb. i. 6. ^*TP^?, Shelumiel: 
 God is my Peace : in the fame Verfe, Zuri/haddai : 
 *r&yet : <The Almighty is my Rock. Ver. 8. Netha- 
 neel, ^O?, God gave, or the Gift of God. V. 10. 
 JW*^| : Elilhama, My God heareth, or hath heard. 
 Gen. xvi. 15. t#Dt£ : ]Jhmael\ God heareth, or God 
 will hear. 1 Chron. iii. 6. Vffltyjjf . : Eliphelet : My God 
 hath delivered. 1 Chron. iii. 1. Daniel: ^TJ : Godjudgeth 
 me, or God is my Judge. 1 Chron. viii. 15. 'TP.' : 
 Zebadiah : Gcd is my Portion. Ezra iii. 18. '$7^7 w : 
 Shealtiel : J have entreated the Lord. So the Name lfaiah, 
 «TW, fignifieth the Sanation of God. Jeremiah, HW^ 
 God fxall exalt me. Ezekiel, ^Pi??nj, God 'will fir -engtien 
 we. Hezekiah, OJJJX: God is my Strength, &c. &c. 
 
 Now, 
 
2$4 *&>? CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Now, can any Man living rationally believe, that a 
 Perfon who in Converfation, and without any Affedta- 
 tion of Drollery or Profanenefs, mall mention the 
 Name of God, can be guilty of any Thing more cri- 
 minal, than any Ifraelite was, who during the Reign 
 of a Perfon of King David's Piety and prophetic Illu- 
 mination, when one cannot fuppofe Profanenefs to a- 
 bound and be avowed, fhould fpeak freely tOj or of a 
 Child, Or other Perfon, who was called by any of thtfe* 
 or a great many other fuch like Names recorded in 
 Scripture^ 
 
 But) I mail clofe this Paragraph with the Recital of, 
 and brief remark upon a very extraordinary Name, by 
 which probably more than one of the Jewish Nation 
 were called. It was the Name of one of King David's 
 Sons, i Khigs i. 5; Adcmjab, Wp%\ which, in the 
 Hebrew^ fignirieth neither more nor lefs than My Lord 
 God. — How odd it would found in our Days, and to how 
 fevere a Cenfure of Profanenefs and Impiety would it 
 expofe a Mart, to haVe a Son called by that, or any 
 foch a Name, in our Language^ Yet in reality there 
 would be nothing more cenfurable for Impiety, Pro- 
 fanenefs, or Immorality in it, than for any of King Dtf- 
 vid's Court to call, or fpeak of, or to, his Highnefs 
 Prince Adomjah by his proper Name. 
 
 I mention not this, or any Thing of like Kind, in any 
 way of Slight, or Dif-erteem, for any rational Mode of 
 fhewing an external Regard and Reverence to every 
 Thing belonging to Religion, and the Worfhip and 
 Honour of the Great God ; for I take a rational Re- 
 verence of God to be the Foundation of all Virtue 
 and true Religion, as in nccetlary Obedience to his 
 Laws and Authority; but I cannot at the fame 
 Time, and for the fame Reafon, forbear treating with 
 fome Contempt, a pharifaicai Affectation of fuperior 
 Sanclity, by appearing to make a confeientious Scruple 
 of Things Vo ivee from all Wickednefs, fo agreeable 
 to the moft rational Reverence of the Deity, and fo 
 vindicable from the higheft Authority, as this is. 
 
 When 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. $6$ 
 
 When the Moft High paffed before Mofes in the 
 Mount, and proclaimed his Name, The Lord, the Lord 
 God, l^niD^n^^niiTrnr^ . merciful and gracious, long- 
 -Suffering, and abundant in Goodnefs and Truth, keeping 
 Mercy for Thoufands, forgiving Iniquity, Tranfgreffion and 
 Sin, Sec. He feems not to have defigned his Name to 
 be an Object of Dread and Terror, tho ! it be the Ob- 
 ject of the moft rational Reverence and Regard, as it is 
 expreffed, Pfal. xcix. 3. 
 
 The innocent Mention of the Name of Gob is, by 
 too many, reprefented as ^rofiT.iensC.S, and taking the 
 j&ame of 0oU in Haiti : I know not whether the Ad- 
 vocates for this devout Scruple make any Difference in 
 thefe two Expreffions, or no : But as they are both ufed 
 in the Old Teftament, if I can give their determinate 
 Signification, I may perhaps contribute to rectify fo me 
 People's Appreheniion, and moderate their Cenfures in 
 this regard. 
 
 The Expreffion of -Caking dDoti'g jframe in Uain: 
 
 I have not met with in more than four, or perhaps fix 
 Places, whereof two (or, if you pleafe, four) are in the 
 Third Commandment, as recited Exod. xx. 7. and Deut. 
 v. 11.- — In this Command, taking the Name of God 
 in vain, is expreffed by N^/Nk'J : In the other two 
 Places the Signification is fomething uncertain. Pfal. 
 exxxix. 20. the Hebrew is T"3¥ **W2 **!&.}, which our 
 Tranflators have rend red: Thine Enemies take thy Name 
 in vain : tho* the Words thy Name are not in the Hebrew 
 Text, nor is thine Enemies, by any Means, a fure Tranfla- 
 tion of T"!^: nor is it fure that '&&} is of the fame Im- 
 port here with WfrO in the Third Commandment, tho' 
 it feems to be from the fame Root. — In Prov. xxx. 9. 
 VbN Q# \nfr9n is by no means the fame with the Third 
 Commandment, as^P-H is a different Word from Ntt^ 
 and there is nothing to anfwer the Words [in vain] 
 which are therefore printed in Italick. 
 
 So that, the true Meaning of taking GOD*s Name 
 in v)ain, mufl be had only from the Confederation 
 
 LI of 
 
*66 *?$e CHRISTIANITY 
 
 of that Exprefiion in the Third Commandment, 
 ^^^^^mn^O^-DS^ ikb : Thoufhait not take the 
 Name of the Lord thy God in vain, or rather, to a vain 
 ^Thing : The Pathach under Lamed denoting the He em- 
 phatic. 
 
 The learned Jews, in their Expofittons, take the 
 Senfe of this Precept to be (at lead principally) a Pro- 
 hibition of Perjury. So writeth the learned A. B. Ezra: 
 ")3? 1133 D£» : " The Name is as a Remembrance or 
 " Memorial; and the Remembrance is in the facred 
 " Language ufed to denote, as here, the Exprefiion of 
 " the Tongue, as well as the A& of the Mind." And 
 then he proceeds : J"»BN Dl^n Nin TBttO OtPrr TOft D^ai 
 jnDN 1-131 HVTp : i. e. " And the Meaning of (frftAg) 
 " making Mention of, the Name (cf God) is«, that as 
 " he is a Goo of Truth, fo his Word (or the Decla- 
 *' ration of him that fweareth* or taktth the Name of 
 " GOD) mall be Truth." And he feemeth to (peak 
 of promiflbry, rather than of afiertory Oaths ; for he 
 adds : Q*?n nx ©was fttO 113*1 -HN D M p lO dn mm ; 
 f. £. '* and you are to rake Notice that if he do not 
 * 4 tilttfp Jjt0 Q&IO^fc, it is the fame as making God a 
 " Liar.*' And, He adtis further in Confirmation of 
 this Idea* "* that it was at that Time (OVH) a Law a- 
 " mongft the Egyptians, That if any Man fhould lwear 
 ** by the Head of the King, and not perform his Oath, 
 " he mould be liable to Death: tmVltim : And al- 
 *' though he fhould for an Atonement* or Price of 
 <c Redempticn tor hrs Life, give his 6* n Weight in 
 " Gold, it would not be -accepted \ be rtiwft not live, 
 *' becaufe he had poured open Contempt upon his 
 " Sovereign," And then he thus reafons : " Under 
 " how many Thoufana Thoufand Times greater Ob- 
 ** ligation is he that taketh (mentioned^ the Name of 
 •' Gon, to beware that his Tongue do not err, and 
 " caufe his Flejh to fm, (Eccief. v. 6.) by taking the 
 *' Name of Goo to a vain Thing, that is, to a falfe 
 -•--v ^c r,ft t r) than he who only fweareth by the 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 267 
 
 4i King, who is Flefh and Blood ; whole Beginning is 
 " Vanity, "?3s?, and his End is Vanity, and his King- 
 tC dom Vanity.' • He afterwards recites fundry Judg- 
 ments, public and peribnal, inflicted for the Violation 
 of Oathh. Mentioning particularly the Affair of the 
 Men of Jabejh-Gilead, Judg. xxi. And how Saul would 
 have flain even Jonathan his Son, for the Violation of 
 an Oath, he had laid the People under ; tho' Jonathan 
 heard not the Oath. He recites the Famine in the 
 Days of Saul, for his Violation of the Oath, which the 
 Princes 0$ Ifrael had fworn to the Gibeonites, 6cc. Hence 
 it is plain this Commentator underftood taking the Name 
 of GOD-, in this Commandment, to mean fwearing by 
 the Moft High-, and taking bis Name in vain, to mean 
 fwearing faljk ; and the Chaldec Paraphrafe, by Onkelos, 
 expreffeth the fame Thing thus : '^'tEMJ^WS »*?• 
 
 $r0b ms$z rarn r\\ 5 sje a 1 ? ^ \$#$ : Thou fialt not 
 
 fwear by the Name of the Lord thy God to a flAltl 'C&tHJj: 
 for the Loxd mil not acquit him who jwear.eth.by his. Nam$ 
 
 to a fnUfioob. 
 
 This, is a Demonftration, this ancient Interpreter un- 
 derftood the Precept to be a Prohibition of Perjury, or 
 Falte- fwearing, but not of mentioning the facred Name 
 of God occafionaliy in Converiation, 
 
 Rabbi Solomon writes upon the fame Pafiage to the 
 fame Purpofe : That it means an Oath fworn contrary 
 to Knowledge ; as if one Jhould fwear of a Pillar of Stone* 
 that it is a Pillar of Gold. And the aforefaid A. B. 
 Ezra upon the parallel PafTage, in Deut. v. writes : 
 Klttf Ip&'Paa UVX Dn »a "»pt01 OT ]3 bx : « Therefore , 
 " whatfoever is vain is alfo falfe, for they are Brothers, 
 ^ (fo the Rabbins uie the Word, to fignify two Words 
 " alike in Signification,) and every Falfhood is Va-r 
 " nity."— And that In vain, in the Third Command- 
 ment, fignified Falfhood, is further evident from other 
 Pafiages, where the two Words are lb ufed. In Deut. 
 v. 9. what is, Thou (halt not hear a vain Witnefs, W& "*&, 
 zTeftinwiy of Vanity, againftthy Neighbour, is in. Exod. 
 
 hi 2 xx. 16, 
 
268 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 xx. 1 6.1p# ^9f> a Witnefs of Falfhood. And according- 
 Jy our Tranflators have made them both alike. — Pfal. 
 xii. 3. they /peak Vanity ; which is explained in the fol- 
 lowing Words : with flattering Lips, and with a double 
 Heart, do they [peak. In the Hebrew it is, with a Heart 
 and a Heart. And, for Vanity in this Place the Chaldee 
 Paraphrafe hath *HI?^, Falfhood ; and the whole Verfe is 
 thus in that Verfion : " They fpeak Falfhood every 
 " Man with his Neighbour, with flattering Lips and 
 " a deceitful Heart ; they fpeak with a Heart of Fai- 
 u fhood." What is Vanity in the Hebrew is Fvljhood, 
 m the Chaldee, Pfal. xxiv. 4. who hath not lift tip his 
 Soul to Vanity, nor /worn deceitfully: r t Pl Q '?. The Word 
 fignifies Falfhood of every kind; and accordingly the 
 Targum hath it : who hath not fworn to Falfhood in the. 
 Wickednefs of his Soul, and hath not fworn in Confirmation, 
 cf Deceit. — Pfal. cxliv. 8. and 11. whofe Mouth fpeaketh, 
 Vanity, and their Right-hand is a Right-hand ofFalpood. — 
 Prov. xxx. 8. Remove from me Vanity and Lies : "^7* **'W 
 SO. From thefe and many more Places it is very plain, 
 that taking the Name of God was underitood by the Jews s 
 to fignify fwearing ; and taking the Name of God in vain, 
 or to a. vain Thing, fignified fwearing falfly ;. and con-^ 
 fequently that an innocent mentioning of the Name of 
 God is not taking the Name of God in vain, according to 
 the Scripture Senfe of the Word. — And that the lame, 
 is not denoted by prophaning the Name of God, is equally 
 evident from the Scripture-Explication of that Terrn 
 alfo.- — Lev. xix. 12. Ye fhall not fivear by my Name falfly, 
 neither fhalt thou prophane the Name of thy God. ^^ *y 
 ntyn^tibvzvi : Ye fhall not fwear by my Name ; falfly * 
 and prophane the Name of thy God.— — So is the He- 
 brew ; which fheweth that falfe fwearing is prophaning 
 the Name of God, And fo is all unfuitable and im- 
 pious Treatment of the Inftitutions of Divine Worfhip, 
 and all other open Violation of the Laws of Virtue and 
 Religion. Lev. xxii. 2, &c. Speak unto the Sons of Anton, 
 that they feparate themfelves from the holy 'Things of the 
 
 Children 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 26.9 
 
 Children of Ifracl, that they prcphane not my holy Name. 
 Where in the Sequel is plainly declared, that the Priefts 
 miniftring in holy Things, when they v/ere under any 
 legal Impurity, was a Prophanation of the Name of 
 God. The fame is declared of fund ry other Particu- 
 lars in the 21ft and 2 2d Chapters of that Book. Aad, 
 in Chap. xx. it is ordered, that whoever mould give of 
 his Seed to Molech fhould be put to Death, And, faith 
 the Lord, I will fct my Face againji him, and will cut him 
 off, becaufe he hath given of his Seed to Molech, to defile 
 yiy Santluary and to propane mp Ijolp J2amc» This 
 grofs Abomination, committed by Peribns profefiing 
 to be Worfhippers of the God of Ifrael, was with a 
 peculiar Deteftation called a Prophanation of his holy 
 
 Name.— In Ezek. xxxvi. 20. When they entred unto the 
 
 heathen, whither they, went, they prophaned my holy Name; 
 when they faid unto them, Thefe are the People of JtllQbalj 
 and are gone forth out of his Land. Here the Occafion 
 which the Ifraelites gave the Strangers where they 
 were, to fpeak reproachfully of them, who were called 
 the People of Ggd, is imputed to Ifrael, as being in 
 them a Prophanation of the Name of the Lord. The 
 Chaldee Paraphrafe represents the Strangers as impeach- 
 ing the Power of God, for fufFering them to be taken 
 Captive :. V?J n\n:r:)# JV2 n^NS rp^l V 1 ?.** ?! ™&l ON 
 i. e. " If thefe be the People of God, how come they to 
 " be carried captive from the Land of his Dwelling- 
 '.' place." Either Way the Reproach of the Heathen, 
 on occafion of the Jews appearing unfuitably to the 
 Character of the People of God, is charged as their 
 prophaning the Name of God. — And in Amos ii. 7. a very 
 aggravated Inftance of Wickednefs is called by the fame 
 Name, which R. D.. Kimchi declares to be fo, as being 
 unworthy of the People whom God hath fanclified, or 
 feparated to himfelf. — And fo it is faid, Ezek. xx. 27. 
 Thus faith the Lord, Tet in this have your Fathers hlaf- 
 phemed me, in that they have committed a Trefpafs a^a'rnfi 
 me. Their Idolatry is called blafpheming the Moil High. 
 
 v. 28. 
 
270 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 %r 28. So that all Acts of Wickednefs^efpecially, com- 
 mitted by thofe who, by outward Profeffion. or Charac-. 
 ter, have a nearer and more diftinguilhed Relation to 
 the Service of God, are in Scripture called emphatically, 
 Propbanations cf his. holy Name ; and not the innocent 
 mention* or Repetition, of the Name of God. Even 
 die Crime, of the Son of Sheiomitb? Lev. xxiv, tho' it 
 was an Act of very aggravated Guilt, whofe Particulars 
 are unknown, is not (tiled, Prophanation of the Name 
 of God v tho' by fome fuppoied to be no lefs than a 
 curfingof the Almighty: ^j^! D^T^— n^X 
 
 Such Inconfiftencies as thefe, or imputing Guilt to 
 innocent Actions, from Ignorance, Superftition, or po- 
 pular Prejudice, and as Excufes for Cl\infg;cfUGUg lit 
 if)t G&fentsalg o-t aimte and iuglitjoutnetg, our 
 biefied Saviour charges upon the Scribes and Pharifees, 
 thofe hypocritical' a?ai!W0 of Antiquity , as making, 
 all their external Punctualities in Religion of no avail 
 for the Kingdom of Heaven. — — A more particular 
 Account whereof I am, in the Third Place, to at- 
 tempt. 
 
 And it is very remarkable, under this Head, that 
 the firit Charge our Saviour lays upon them is, their 
 Hypocrify, all their Works they do, from a Principle or 
 Pride and Vain-glory, for anfweri-ng theEndsof fecu-. 
 far Reputation and Intereit. Matt, xxiii. 5. All their 
 Works they do to be feen of Men \ for although they bind 
 heai-j Burthens and grievous to be born, and lay them on 
 Mens Shoulders, out of a ibecious Pretence of Zeal to/ 
 the Honour of God and his Laws ; yet they themfelves 
 contrived fome Shew of Realbn or Authority, to be 
 excufed from bearing any Part of the Burthen. They 
 -jcould not move them, our Saviour lays, ivith one of. their 
 lingers. — : — Thole heavy Burthens are by their own 
 Writer* called, D^n^iViJD, the Strokes of the Pha- 
 rifees; and v>ere fome Inftitutions eftablifhed upon the 
 arbitrary critical Conltructions of the ceremonial Laws.; 
 
 either. 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT, tfi 
 
 cither thoie of divine Appointment, or rather their own 
 Traditionary Precepts, which were in greater Number, 
 and urged by them with greater Force, than the written 
 Laws themfelves. 1 But even thefe lay all in the Ex- 
 ternal and Shew ■; and feem not to have been defigned 
 by them to have any Influence, for the Regulation of 
 their inward Principles, the Giiard of their Thoughts 
 and Intentions, and the moral Conduct of their Lives 
 and Actions. Even their (Wl*) Zizis, whatever -it 
 was originally, or whatever it is now, was, and is worn 
 In Obedience to the original Precept, as given by the 
 Lord to Mofes, Numb. xv. 37, ■&£-. to be a perpetual 
 Memorial to them, as before is noted, to keep con- 
 stantly in their Minds the Commandments of the Lord, 
 •tijflt ti)Cp tmgljt tso tljem •: and not feek after their own 
 Hearts and after their own Eyes, -after which they were 
 wont to go a whoring, 65V. ■- • And the 'Txphillin alio, 
 which they took upon themfelves under fo great an 
 Obligation in Conference to wear, at the Times of th&ir 
 ftated Devotions, are, according to the literal Senfe of ' 
 thole Precepts by which they think them enjoy ned, tc 
 ■be for Memorials to preiervea perpetual Remembrance 
 ■of the Lawot God upon their Mincis. But thefe, our 
 Saviour alleges, were, as well as the other, made large 
 and fpecious tor outward Orientation, to mew their Zeal, 
 and not as Helps to forward their internal Devotion and 
 true Piety. 
 
 Not unlike thefe oftentatious Particulars of the 
 Jewifo Superftkion, are a great many Ceremonious Re- 
 quirements wherewith fome, who call and efteem them- 
 felves the chief and only true Christians, have burdened 
 the pure Religion of Jefus Chrift, which he and his 
 Apoitles knew nothing of; nor gave the leavt ground or 
 occalion for, and are, I believe, of about-equal Advan- 
 tage for the Kingdom of Heaven. To fuch a Length. 
 Extent, and Variety, are thefe traditionary Injunction!* 
 carried, both as to Faith and Practice, that if one was 
 fo take a complete Draught of Christianity, as it hath 
 
 bee-% 
 
272 ^CHRISTIANITY 
 
 been, for more than a Thoufand Years, modified in the 
 Reman Church, it would require a great deal of Time 
 and Study to adjuft what Relation, or what Pretence of 
 Relation, a great Part of the Inftitutions thereof have 
 to the Doctrine and Practice of our bleffed Saviour, or 
 his Apoftles and Evangeliftsj or to that of their Suc- 
 ceffors in the primitive Church, for the firft three Hun- 
 dred Years ; that one may well wonder that fuch a 
 Superftructure could poffibly have been raifed upon 
 fuch a Foundation. And it would be as far from the 
 firit Edition of the Chriftian Religion, as was the tradi- 
 tionary Religion of the Jews in our Saviour's Time, 
 
 irom the original Inftitutions of Mofes. Which was 
 
 fo different, that our Saviour had great Reafon to re- 
 quire from his Difciples a Righteoufnefs fuperior to 
 that of the Scribes and Pharifees, in order to their en- 
 tring into the Kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 To this Impeachment of the Righteoufnefs of the 
 Scribes and Pharifees for their hypocritical Affectation 
 of the outward Appearances of fuperior Sanctity and 
 Devotion, as the Foundation of their Religion, he fub- 
 joins that of their Ambition for the external Appearan- 
 ces of fuperior Worth and Dignity* in Matters of civil 
 Intercourfe. They would have the upper moft Rooms 
 at Feafls, arid the chief Seats in their Synagogues, as 
 their Due from their religious Character, they appeared 
 in public in long Robes, and expected all external 
 Ceremonies of Refpect from thofe they met in the 
 Streets and public Places of the City, and to be faluted 
 by the Title of Rabbi, Rabbi, in token of their fuperior 
 
 Learning and Authority. Nor is it to be fuppofed 
 
 that our blefled Lord blamed thofe external Diftinctions 
 of Title, Place, and Habit, as being evil in themfelves-, 
 fince they are manifeflly neceffary for preferring that 
 Government and Order, which the Almighty hath in 
 his Providence madeeffcntial to the well-being of human 
 Societies. But he blames the Ambition and vain Af- 
 fectation of appearing and being treated with thofe out- 
 ward 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 273 
 
 ward Tokens of Excellence, without being qualified 
 With that internal Merit of fuperior Virtue, Abili- 
 ty, and Zeal for publick Good, which make the Only 
 true Reafon of all outward Refpectand Deference, but 
 which never can fubfift with the Spirit of Pride. <2>iA5<rt 
 rw irpuToxXio-ixv, &'c. they love, are delighted with, and 
 fond of, the uppermoft Seats and other Marks of Su- 
 periority. Contrary to which, he commands his Dif- 
 ciples, hajj)cAh9*?t£ f«{3j31 ; do not you be called, that is, 
 do not you defire, and be ambitious, to be called, 
 Rabbi, Doctor, kxhynrcc, &c. rather be zealous to de- 
 ferve, than to obtain the outward Signatures of Honour 
 and Efteem. And whatever Honour Men fhall pay 
 you, let it be rather the juft and grateful RefuTt of" their 
 own Appreherifions of your fuperior Virtue, Ability 
 and Merit, than the Object of your own Purfuit and 
 Ambition. Have the loweft Opinion of your own Qua- 
 lifications, and believe that a true Humility and Poverty 
 cf Spirit is a much better Difpolition for the Kingdom 
 of Heaven, than that pharifaical Haughtinefs and vain- 
 glorious Affectation of Superiority, from Reafohs which 
 are of no Value, or perhaps have no Exiltence. Learn 
 of me, (faith the bleffed Redeemer, Mat. xi. 29 J for 
 I am meek and lowly in Heart, and ye fhall find Reft unto 
 your Souls : which may properly be underftood oi that 
 prefent Tranquility of Mind, which is the natural Ef- 
 fect of a virtuous Humility, as well as of the eternal 
 Rewards of the Kingdom of Heaven, as confequenfc 
 thereupon, in the Way of true Faith and Religion. 
 
 The wife King of Ifrael with all the Eminence of 
 his Birth, Character and Station, and with all the Great- 
 nefs of his Wealth and Wifdom, Honour and Power, 
 was affectionately aware of the original Excellence of 
 this amiable Virtue of Humility, which our Saviour 
 cnjoyns and recommends to his Difciples and Followers; 
 and of the Odioumefs and Malignity of the oppofite 
 Vice, which he juftly reproaches in the Character of the 
 Scribes and Pharifees. That Royal Philofopher has 
 
 M m left 
 
a 7 4 ^CHRISTIANITY 
 
 left us many nervous Remarks upon the Subject, in his 
 divine Ethics, for the Caution and Conduit of Life, 
 Particularly Prov. xi. 2. he writeth: When Pride com- 
 eth> then cometh Shame \ but with the Lowly is Wifdom. 
 Which Aphorifm may either be underflood to comport 
 with our Saviour's Declaration, Luk. xiv. 1 1. ana Ch. 
 xviii. 14. Whofoever exalteth himfelf Jhall be abafed ; but 
 he that hurnbleth himfelf jhall be exalted': regarding the 
 Events of Providence •, and fo the learned Dr. Patrick 
 hath taken it in his Paraphrafe : Or it may be underflood 
 of the native and original Bafenels, which is eflentially 
 in the Conftitution of this odious Vice ; which feems to 
 me the more proper Idea, from the Import of the He- 
 brew Word v?p ri which fignifieth Lightnefs, Vilenefs, 
 Worthlelhefs, &c. as well as from the following Anti- 
 thefis ; with the Lowly is Wifdom \ nD?n D^-JW : 
 The Word occurs in the Hebrew Scriptures only here and 
 in Mic. vi. but is more frequently uied in the Chaldak 
 Writings, and particularly, to denote a.Modefty, Re- 
 fervednefs, and Humility of Behaviour, very near the 
 Idea our Tranflators have given the Word as it is 
 here fet in Oppofition to P^P r , which therefore denoteth 
 a Paffion unworthy of, and contrary to all intellectual 
 Excellence. And accordingly it is noted with the utmoffc 
 Propriety, Ecclus. x. 1 8. that Pride was net made for Man, 
 It is quite uniuitable and even contrary to the Realbns 
 of his Exiftence, the Circumftances of his Support, and 
 the Duties of every Relation ; which whoever duly 
 weighs, will fee the Folly and Deformity of this Vice. 
 Solomon has told us, Prov. xiv. 3. That in the Mouth 
 of the Foolijh is the Rod of Pride y not the Rod of Cor- 
 rection, as it is by fome improperly taken ; but of Pro- 
 duction -, with which Idea the Word is plainly ufed in 
 the only Place where, befides this, it is met with in 
 the Old Teftament, Ifa. xi. 1 . fo that it was quite agree- 
 able to the Character of the blefTed Jefus, the Eternal 
 Wifdom of the Father, and a Teacher fent from God, 
 to difcourage this Vice in his Followers, and reprove it 
 
 in 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. iy$ 
 
 in the Scribes and Pharifees, as an eflential Depravity, 
 and a Difqualification for the Kingdom of Heaven— for 
 all rational Excellence and Felicity. 
 
 The next Accufation our blefled Lord charges upon 
 the Scribes and Pharifees, perhaps as a Confequence of 
 their Pride and Affectation of fuperiority, but affuredly 
 as rendring their Righteoufnefs an insufficient Qualifi- 
 cation for the Kingdom of Heaven, is their (lout ting up 
 this fame Kingdom of Heaven againfi Men, Mat. xxiii. 13. 
 which, in Ijik. xi. 52. is called, their taking away the 
 Key of Knowledge, not entring in themfelves, and hindring 
 others that were entring. — One might wonder, from 
 the preceding Account of their Character^ as making 
 it their Study and Profeilion to teach, interpret and 
 expound the Scriptures, that they mould have given' 
 Occafion tor flich a Reproof: But our Saviour, who very 
 well knew what was. in Man, did not blame them wrong- 
 fully. The learned Expofitors underftand this Ex- 
 
 prcfllon, of thofe perverfe Interpretations of the Scrip- 
 tures, and particularly of thofe Proprieties which went 
 before concerning our Saviour's Character and Office;, 
 as well as of their violent Enmity and Averfion to his 
 Perfon and Doctrine, whereby they prejudiced the Peo- 
 ple, as much as poffible, againft attending to his In- 
 itruction, and confequently obstructed their entring 
 into tljt &itl0fcom of ^eafccm And fo we find, John 
 vii. 3 1 . Many of the People hearing our Saviour's Dif- 
 courfes (fo plain, humble, difinterefted, important, 
 iiiftructive) and feeing, the diftinguifhing Miracles .which 
 he wrought, believed on him, faying, When Chrift (the 
 MelTiah) cometh, will he do more (or greater, TrXyeva <m- 
 fistct) Miracles than thofe are which this Man hath done? 
 And when the Officers who went to apprehend him 
 returned (to the chief Priefis and Pharifees, who had 
 fent them) being aflced'^^^y; had not brought him, 
 they anfwered ; Never Man f fake like this Man. But 
 all was, by the chief Pricfts and Pharifees, rejected and 
 over-ruled, -by an infole'nt Appeal to the People of their 
 M m 2 . own 
 
276 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 own order : Have any of the Rulers, or of the Pharifees be- 
 lieved en him? But this People, o^Ao?8to?, (with an Air 
 of Difdain too frequent with fuch Men ; this Rabble, 
 this Mob, this ignorant Vulgar) who know nothing of 
 the Law, are curfed, as in Lieut, xxvii. 26.— — The Peo- 
 ple who judged honeftly according to the Rules of plain 
 Senfe and Reafon, and the obvious Meaning of the pro- 
 phetic Scriptures, upon our Saviour's Declarations and 
 Actions, were ready to believe that he was in Truth the 
 expected Mefllah. But the Scribes and Pharifees, and 
 the great Men of the Sanhedrim, endeavoured, by 
 the Force of their Authority and Example, to deceive 
 the People, and give them a falfe prejudice againft the 
 Conviction they were going to yield to. And to this 
 Day they perfift in the fame Method and Defign ; againft 
 all Reafon refilling the plaineft Declarations of the for- 
 mer and later Prophets, and even the Explication of 
 thofe Prophefies by the ancient Rabbins : Whereof I 
 have occafionally given two Inftances in my Dijferta- 
 tion upon the Hebrew Points, the Targum of Jonathan 
 and that of Jerufalem both agree that the Prophecy of 
 Jacob, in his bltfling of Judah, Gen. xlix. 10. The Sceptre 
 (hall not depart from Judah, nor a Lawgiver from between 
 his Feet, till Shiloh come, hath Relation to the Coming 
 and Kingdom of the Meffiah -, for which Reafon I have 
 declared my Sufpicion that thofe Writings are more 
 ancient than they are generally taken to be : As the 
 later Jews, in their Expofitions, endeavour, by different 
 and incoherent Interpretations, to fmother the genuine 
 Senfe ol the Place, in order to defeat its Evidence in 
 Favour of Chriftianity. The Chahiee Paraphrafe is to 
 this Senfe : " The Dominion fhall never depart from 
 " Judah, nor a Scribe, N??P), from amongll his Sons, 
 " till the Median come: NnntfQ \rp;p2 : whofe the 
 " Kingdom fhall be, and to whom the People fhall 
 " all be obedient." 
 
 The Targum of Jerufalem is much to the fame Senfe: 
 " Kings fhall not ceafe if om the Houfe of Judah, nor 
 
 « fuch 
 
Of the. NEW TESTAMENT. 277 
 
 15 fu.ch as are Ikillful in the Law from among his Sons, 
 '* till the Time when the King Meiliah ihall come : 
 « ^n^Q^JD^lD!^. unt6 whom ail the King- 
 " doms ol the Earth mail be in Subjection. 
 
 How unlike thefe two Explications is the Conftruclion, 
 which the learned A- B. Ezra gives ol this Railage in his. 
 Commentary : PTiH H2V V rCTVVQ T&h^yifim^ Ht> ; 
 " The Sceptre of Maj fty (the Royal Sceptre) mail not 
 " depart from Judah, till David come, and fo it was. 
 *< Don't you fee, the Standard of Judah marched iirit? 
 1' and fo the Almighty faith, Judah Jhall go up jirfi." 
 Judg. i. 2. — See here the Force of Prejudice. — Why, 
 Rabbi, the Sceptre, inftead of departing from, did not 
 come into the Tube of Judah, tili David came to be 
 King. What a perverie and abfurd Expofition this ! 
 rather contrived to confound, than to inifrud: : See what 
 I have noted upon the Accomplishment of this Pro- 
 
 phefy in p. 191.- Something h.^e this Interpretation 
 
 is what the learned Rasbci writcth by Way of Eplication. 
 of that Part of the Promife made to Abrah m, Gen. xii. 
 g. — and in thee [ball all the Families of the Earth be blefjed. 
 * c There are, writeth this learned Commentator, various 
 *' Methods of Explication, but the plain Senfe is this : 
 " Every one fhail lay to his Son, DrrQND mn : Be thou 
 4i as Abraham." A very ftrange Way this of ex- 
 plaining how all Nations are bleffed in Abraham ! I 
 would afk the Jews, what Proportion this Account bears 
 to many other magnificent Inftances of the Dealings of 
 the God of Abraham^ in confequence of his Promiles, 
 with their Nation in ancient Times ? And whether, 
 fuppofing the Chriflian Eitabliihment true, as we do, 
 it would not appear to be a more grand and majeflick 
 Manifeftation of the Almighty's Power, and of his Fa- 
 vour to the renowned Patriarch and his Pollerity, than 
 any Thing, than all Things, before tranfacted, in Ac- 
 complifhment of this ana other Promifes, and how 
 infinitely more than according to the Import of this 
 moft forced, jejune, unnatural, difproportionate, and 
 
 trilling 
 
— £• c iue CHRISTIANITY 
 
 trifling Account/given of late by a learned Man of the 
 Nation, not to explain, but to evade the Evidence of 
 the glorious Accomplifhment of this Promife made to. 
 their illuftrious Anceltor. 
 
 All the Wonders of the Almighty's Hand in Egypt , 
 at the red Sea, and in the Wildernel's; His moltafto- 
 rrifhing Appearance for giving the Law to Ifrael at 
 Mount Si?:ai ; all the following Wonders of Mercy and 
 Judgment fhewn in the Defart and at the River of Jor- 
 dan : The miraculous Conqueft of Caiman, and the 
 Eibblifhment of Abraham '& Pofterity in the peaceable 
 Enjoyment of the promifeel Landj the Victories and 
 nphs of David; the Peace, Splendour and Mag- 
 nificence of Solomon'' s Throne, the Riches and Glory of 
 his Temple and all its Service, the Train of moft fur- 
 prizing Providences in Favour of Ifrael, to diftinguifri 
 them irom all the Nations of the Earth, in the following 
 Ages, and particularly, to mention no more, their won- 
 derful Deliverance out of Babylon and Re-eftablifhment 
 in their own Land. All thefe were very remarkable 
 Evidences of the Power and Favour of God, in Accom- 
 plifhment ci" the Promifes made to the Founder of their 
 Nation, the great jfat^ercf tbt jMUljftlk But all thefe 
 were vaftly, I may fay infinitely, outdone by the glori- 
 ous Exhibitions of thePowerof Goo, and of his Faithful-' 
 nefsto his Promifes, particularly that before-mentioned, 
 to Abram^ in fending the Lord Jefus cf l)i0 *3>cefcl to be 
 the Saviour of the World, in whom all the Nations of 
 the Earth have been, and are moil remarkably bleiied; 
 in being turned f ran Darknefs to Light, and from the P Giver 
 of Satan unto God. And if the People of the Jeivifh 
 Nation coillft but calmly confkler, that the Eftablifh- 
 rnent, Continuance, and Confirmation of the ChrifHan 
 Religion, with all the fignal Occurrences of the Divine 
 Providence to this End, are but the Accomplifhment 
 of this ancient Prophecy and Promife, and others of' 
 the like Import, to their Father /lirabam^ they would 
 not furc periiit to reject the Share they h:ive a Right 
 
 to 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. '::-;- 
 
 •to in fuch a wondrous Difpenfluion •, nor would People 
 of lb much Learning as Rabbi Solomon, and others, 
 concur, with lb fenfelefs an Evafion, to obfcure an an- 
 cient Prophecy of fo vail Importance and fo eafy Ap- 
 plication. 
 
 Such another Inftance of perverfe Interpretation of 
 the Jezuijb Rabbins, the Succefibrs of the Scribes and 
 Pharifees, for taking away the Key of the Kingdom 
 .of Heaven, is that of R. A. B. Ezra upon Pjal. ex. I. 
 .'The Lord /aid unto my Lord, Sit thou on my Right-hand, 
 ££c. This WE know is to be applied to our Saviour, 
 as he himfelf fo alledged it, Matt. xxii. 44, 45. and it 
 is plain his Audience, the Pharifees themfelves, allowed 
 "it was to be underftood of the Meffias. Yet fee how 
 ,the later Jewijh Commentators have perverted the 
 fame. A. Ben Ezra writes upon it thus: Ht WV-ft VQ3 
 iphfij d^d ynm iji nrrox by Ti»?»n : i e . " 1 his Pfalm 
 " is to be underftood of Abraham, upon the Words of 
 " Melcbizedek" And Rab. Solomon faith : WTOi* 
 1^»DnMiaNmmB.m c « Our Anceftors interpreted it 
 of Abraham our Father.'* It is too plain to need fur- 
 ther Explication, that this is a falfe and perverfe Mif- 
 conftruclion ot the Pfalm; and quite agreeable to our 
 Saviour's Charge upon the Scribes and Pharifees, of 
 (hutting up and taking away the Key of the Kingdom 
 of Heaven. 
 
 One might fhew in a great many other Inftances the 
 fameobfdnate Endeavour to ftifle and pervert the Mean- 
 ing and Signification of prophetic and other Scriptures, 
 too plain to be mistaken by People of common Under- 
 Handing, and dif-interefled Application, in order to 
 obftruct the Progrefs, and defeat the Efficacy of the 
 
 Chriilian Eftabiiihment.- But I fhall only mention 
 
 .that famous Paflage in the Fifty-third Chapter of lfaiab 9 
 which is fo complete a Defcription of the Character, and 
 of the Actions and Sufferings of our blefled Saviour, that 
 fome have iuipccteci it to have been written expoftfalJo, 
 
 by Advocates for Ckriifianity, fmce His Time. 
 
 Yet 
 
std 7'he CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Yet this the Jewifij Expofitors have not been afhame'd 
 moftabfurdiy and perverfely to apply to the Affairs of 
 the Babyhnifh Captivity; afferting the Prophet to have 
 ipoken of the Jevis, with refpect to that Difpenfation, 
 under the Character of one Man. Under which View 
 R. D. Kimchi writeth thus : '* The Gentiles fhall fay, 
 •DirDNOiTJVb : « Who hath believed the Report 
 fcc which we have heard from the Mouth of the Pro- 
 " phets; nor have we been able to gain Credit to the 
 " Relation of what we ourfelves have feen with our 
 " own Eyes. — Ver. 2. He /kail grow up before him, &c. 
 " That iSj faith this Writer, the Captivity fhall go up 
 " before the Moft High miraculoufly, »&9 YH ^as if a 
 " Root mould produce Branches in the dry Ground." — 
 Upon the Words : A Man cf Sorroivs and acquainted with 
 Grief: he writes : /iV^n^V^I^.Tn %1 : " The 
 " Yoke of Captivity was wont to come upon Him." 
 V. 4. He hath born out Griefs, &c. " Thefe, he faith, 
 
 " are the Words of the Gentiles Not that the If- 
 
 u raelites did bear their Sorrows, but they (the Gentiles) 
 " thought fo. This, he adds, is according to the Ex- 
 " predion of lifting the Sins of the Fathers upon the Chil- 
 " dren: And though this appears inconfiftent with what 
 " is declared by Ezekiel, it ieems agreeable enough to 
 tc what Jeremiah writeth in his Lamentations : Our Fa- 
 tc thers have finned, and are not, &c. But thefe, he faith , 
 ct are the Words of a broken fpirited People, which are 
 " not therefore regulated, ^pttfam BSW»:i, by Weight 
 " and Meafire, &c?' 
 
 It would be tedious to go through the Whole, which 
 is full of as glaring Improprieties and Falfities, quite 
 
 through, as are thofe few 1 have here recited. One 
 
 may well wonder, a Prophecy fo plainly applicable to 
 the Hiftory of Jcfus Chrijl, and agreeing with none 
 other, mould not have convinced the former or the 
 later Jews, who have had it continually before them. — 
 And as itrange ic is, that their learned Men mould have 
 fufrered thcrnfelves to be impofed upon by Interpreta- 
 tions 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 281 
 
 tions fo perverfe and inconfiftent, which were no doubt 
 formed at or near the Time of our Saviour, to prevent 
 the Application of thefe Prophefies for the Eftablifh- 
 ment and Progrefs of the Chriftian Faith ; and were 
 afterwards aflerted and improved by their Followers, 
 from Age to Age, to the Times of thefe later Com- 
 mentators, who generally father their Declarations upon 
 *?W, their Anceftors of bleffed Memory; who thus firft 
 took away the Key of Knowledge, both from the Peo- 
 ple of their own Times and their Succeffors, and fo 
 effectually obftructed their entring into the Kingdom 
 of Heaven ; depriving them of the Honour and of the 
 Benefit of the Wonders of the Wifdom and Goodnefs 
 of God, in the Difpenfation of the Gofpel. 
 
 One need not wonder the Righteoufnefs of a Race of 
 People, who, befides other Difqualifications, thus fet 
 themfelves to oppofe and defeat the Eftablifhment of 
 the bleffed Gofpel of Chrift:, and thereby ihut the Peo- 
 ple out of the Kingdom of Heaven, mould be, by the 
 great Redeemer, declared to be infufficient for their 
 own Entrance into it; as it was not the Effect of una- 
 voidable Error, but the malicious Confequence of an 
 obftinate Difregard of, and Oppofition to, the ftrongeft 
 Evidences our Saviour gave of his being thepromifed 
 Mefliah, the Chrift of God. 
 
 The next Inftance our bleffed Saviour urged of the 
 Depravity of the religious Principles of the Scribes and 
 Pharifees, and their Infufficiency as a Qualification for 
 the Kingdom of Heaven, was their fcandalous Avarice, 
 and eager Purfuit of worldly Wealth, for the neceffary 
 fupport of their Pride and vain Affumption of Superi- 
 ority, which difpofed them, under the Umbrage and 
 falfe Appearance of triftmgml&et) &atutttp, to practife 
 and patronize Methods or Art and Addrefs, in the Exe- 
 cution of Schemes of groffeft Iniquity, Oppreffion and 
 Violence. Matt, xxiii. 14. Wo unto you Scribes and Pha- 
 rifees, Hypocrites •, for ye devour Widows Houfes, and for 
 a Pretence make long Prayers : x) is-popdvu paxp* -arpoa-fu^o- 
 
 N n jw£vo» : 
 
232 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 lj.ivoi : £C Even while you are, for Shew and Orientation* 
 " making long Prayers, you are carrying on intricate 
 '" Schemes of Iniquity, and long Contrivances to de- 
 " vour Widows Houfes," to opprefs the indigent, 
 dependent and helpiefs, contrary to all the Rules and 
 Obligations of general Equity, Jufticeand Humanity. 
 ce It is not eafy to conceive how Men whofe Minds 
 " were ever habitually under the Influence of a real 
 " Belief of God and his Providence, and of a World 
 '* and a Judgment to come, could poffibly, at the 
 " fame Time, be influenced, by any fecuiar Profpecls, 
 " fo daringly to affront the Majeft y of Heaven, as to 
 " make Ufe of folemn Appearances of Zeal, Ardor 
 <c and Affection, in the facred Offices of Religion, as 
 " a Cloke for fuch Hypocrify, Villany and Cruelty. 59 
 But fuch were the Scribes and Pharifees in our Savi- 
 our's Time, whom he therefore fo juftly dooms to Woe, 
 and declares diiqualified for the Kingdom of Heaven. 
 A very great Writer of our Nation, and of our own 
 Times, hath remarked, how abfurd it mult be to 
 imagine any Mode of Religion can recommend to the 
 Favour and Acceptance of the Mofl High, which vin- 
 dicates, or is confiftent with, glaring Tranfgreifions of 
 the plain and fundamental Laws of Righteoufnefs and 
 Humanity. That Righteoufnefs which the Followers 
 of Jefus are to have, as a Title and Difpofition for the 
 Kingdom of Pleaven, by the Laws of his Religion, mull 
 exceed the Righteoufnefs of the Scribes and Pharifees> 
 and all other Pretenders to raiftintjtlifljetl ^uritp, who 
 indulge themfelves in a Train of Life eftablifhed upon 
 Principles inconfiftent with the Love of God and Man. 
 Our Saviour further alleges, againft the hypocritical 
 Scribes and Pharifees, their hypercritical Expofitions 
 of fundry Laws, burtheivng and embarraffing the Con- 
 fciences and Practices of People with groundlefs Di- 
 (linftions, where the Obligation was plain and obvi- 
 ous. They faid, it was lawful to fwear by the Temple, 
 or by the Altar, without any Intention of performing 
 
 the 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT, 283 
 
 die Oath •, (&» f**, it is nothing, of no Force or Obli- 
 gation ;) but if a Man fwore by the Gold belonging to 
 the Temple, or by the Gift that was upon the Altar, 
 he was held to Ratification and Performance. This 
 our Lord calls Folly and Blindnefs, and denounces a 
 Woe againft the Authors of fuch groundlefs and frau- 
 dulent Diftinclions ; declaring every Oath, as well by 
 the Temple or the Altar, as by the Gold or the Gift, 
 to imply an Obligation to Performance, as both the 
 one and the other derived their Holinefs from their 
 dedication to the Service of the Moil High ; and con- 
 fequently to fwear by them was to fwear by the Great 
 God himfelf. Ferfe 21. He that jhall fwear by the Tan- 
 gle , fweareth by it, and. by bim tbaS dwdktb therein, &V. 
 
 Our Saviour further profecutes his Reproof of the 
 Scribes and Pharifees in Ver. 23. Wo to you Scribes and 
 Pharifees, Hypocrites ; for ye pay Tithe of Mint, and Anife, 
 and Cummin, and have emitted the weightier Matters of 
 the Law, §u$gment, tft\tp ant* faith* It was nor. 
 for their paying Tithe of Herbs that our Lord reprov- 
 ed them; or becaufe that was not done in Obedience 
 to a Precept of divine Authority, which had only en- 
 joyn'd the Decimation of the Encreafe of their Cattle, 
 and of the Fruits of the Trees and ot the Ground, to.. 
 be holy to the Lord, Lev. xxvii, 30, 32. Yet as the 
 other had been enjoined on latoM human 3utfto?itp, 
 our Saviour fays, it ought to be done; but what he re- 
 proves them for was, that with this fpecious Exadtnefs 
 in their Obedience to the lefler Requirements of the 
 Law, and fuch as were notenjoyned by immediate di- 
 vine Appointment, they had neglected the fubftantial 
 and elTential Duties, and which are of eternal and 
 unchangeable Obligation, 3!ufi"Ue,ipe:cu ant! j*aitij» — ■ 
 He blames them, not for their Exactnefs in ceremo- 
 nial Warnings and Purifications, ver. 25. but that, 
 while they took Care to warn their Hands and to 
 cleanfe the Outfide of their Veffels, their inward Part 
 N n 2 XWJ 
 
284 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 'was full of Extortion and Intemperance^ dp7rtx.yri? *) xxparUi : 
 They made a confcientious Scruple or warning their 
 Hands often, Mark vii. 3,4. and cleanfing the outfide of 
 their Cups and Platters , Matt, xxiii. 25. but made no 
 Scruple of defiling their Hands with Ads of Rapine, 
 and with the Wages of Unrighteoufnefs and Oppref- 
 fion, the Spoils of the Widow and the Fatherlefs \ that 
 therewith they might replenish their Dimes and their 
 Bowls, with the Supplies of Luxury and Intemperance, 
 which they fcrupled not to indulge in Ways fo bafe and 
 
 injurious.- He blames not their building up the 
 
 Tombs of the Prophets, and adorning the Monuments 
 of the Righteous; V. 29. Kca^sm rx pviy-tTx ruv JWiwv' 
 as Things in themfelves evil-, but as an Argument of 
 their odious Hypocrify, and becaufe, in their Lives, 
 they rather imitated thofe who had murthered the 
 Saints and Prophets, than thofe Saints and Prophets, 
 at whofe Sepulchres and Shrines they performed Cere- 
 monies of fo much outward Honour and Efteem,. 
 9 Twas their Hypocrify and vain- glorious Oftentation 
 of fuperior Sanctity, to cover a referved Fund of Vil. 
 lany and Iniquity, under thofe oftentatious Performan- 
 ces, that the Divine Teacher fo juftly reproached in 
 them, as making even the innocent Part of their Re- 
 ligion appear odious in the Sight of God, and rend ring 
 them unfit for the Kingdom of Heaven. And he, 
 therefore, in his Sermon, Mat. v. 20. with the highest 
 Reafon, requires a Righteoufnefs exceeding this of the 
 Scribes and Pharifees, in all his Difciples and Follow- 
 ers, as a necefiary Qualification for the Kingdom of 
 Heaven. 
 
 But I think it neceflary here to obferve, with St. 
 Chryfojlome of old, that all thofe Abominations, our 
 Saviour taxes in the Character of the Scribes and Pha- 
 rifees, did not defeat the End of their public Authori- 
 ty, but that, as they fat in Mofes's Seat, our bleficd 
 Lord commanded his Difciples to pay Obedience to 
 their Orders and Inftitutions, fo far as was confiftery: 
 
 \vltlx 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. %$$ 
 
 with the Laws of God. Omnia non contraria Mofi aut 
 legi; omnia I £s5 honefia. Synop, crit. upon the fy'c%ds 
 
 7T0t.\rt0t.dV QGi, ■ CY'i 3' 
 
 Other cui ..s or I he Lifufficiency of the Righ- 
 
 teoufnefs o e S< \\ e§ a . .larhees, as a Qualification 
 for the Kingaom oi Heaven, lTight from this Chapter 
 be infilled 0.1.; but t eie are fy ncient to fhew the Pro- 
 priety of our . . i - s Injuncl ion, in Mat. v. 20. That 
 in order to be qi amiet fo tl ■ kingdom of Heaven, 
 his Follow, n- muu bepoffefi . of a Righteoufneis fu- 
 penor to the Rigateoum . pi the Scribes and Phari- 
 (ees, both in its Sincer^y an , ;: xtent. It muft be, as 
 St. Peter faid in another Caie, 1 Ep. iii. 4. in the hidden 
 Man of the Heart : and as St. Paid writes of the true 
 Circumcifion, Rom. ii. 29. it mult be of (he Hearty in 
 the Spirit, and nu( in the Letter, zvhoje Fraife is not of 
 Men, but of GOD. And this is a Demonstration or the 
 ^eceflity of true Holinefs, in Heart and Life, as a 
 Condition of Salvation, by the Conititution of the Re- 
 deemer's Kingdom- 
 
 After our bleffed Lord had, in his Sermon, cau- 
 tioned his Difcipies againft the hypocritical Religion 
 of the Scribes and Pharifees; and recommended that 
 internal Purity of Heart, which would produce liich 
 true Holinefs of Life and Converfation, as that thofe 
 who mould obierve their good Works might thence 
 be induced to glorify the Father which is in Heaven; 
 He proceeds to fhew, by initancing in fundry Particu- 
 lars., that their Righteoufnefs muft not only appear by 
 their Obedience to the Letter and external Meaning of 
 the Laws of God ; and abftaining forn grofs and open 
 Tranfgreffions, and Acts of Wickedneis, though this 
 is more than the Scribes and Pharifces did: But they 
 were, moreover, to abitain from all Indulgence oi in- 
 ward Affections and Inclinations to fit), and avoid all 
 Occafions, Incentives and Temptations to Tranfgref- 
 Jion, That the Sixth Commandment, in particular, 
 
 doth 
 
$%t The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 doth not only forbid the unjuft taking away the Life of. 
 oar Brother; but alfo whatever might tend to alienate 
 our Affection from him, and excite DiQike or Hatred 
 to or in him •, we are not to treat him with invidious 
 or reproachful. Language, or Severity of Action • I fay 
 unto you, faith our Saviour, zvbofoever is angry with bis 
 Brother (Ukvi) without Caufe, Jhall be in danger of the 
 Judgment ; and whofoever frail fay to his Brother ; Raca, 
 ( a Word of Contempt) fball be in danger of the Council '; 
 hut whofoever Jh all fay r , C- 1)011 jfaol, jhall be in danger 
 of Hell-fire. Matt. v. 22,. We are commanded, efpe- 
 cially before we perform any religious Service to the 
 Moft High, fuch as was at that Time offering a Gift- 
 at the Altar y to do all in our Power to put an End to 
 every Difference or Quarrel, we may happen to be 
 engaged in with our Brother, and to cultivate and efta- 
 blifh, to the belt of our Power. Peace, Unanimity and 
 Good-will, with all. And, therefore, whoever fhal!. 
 refufe or neglect to enter into all reafonable and friendly 
 Meafures, for terminating all fuch Differences, as hu- 
 man Affairs are liable to, is, by our Saviour's Rule, 
 guilty of TranfgrefTmg this Command. *Ia9t cupouv tu 
 £vn#xy <ra T «%" ; -dgree with thine Adverfary quickly, &c. 
 The Word means : be of a good Mind; of a benevolent, 
 friendly, good-natured Temper and Difpofition towards 
 thole you have any Difference or Mifunderftanding 
 with. " No Difference of worldly Intereft can be im- 
 " portanc enough to excufe a Temper of Mind and Con- 
 " duct of Actions contrary to this Description :"' No; 
 whoever acts fo, does, by our Saviour's Account, hate 
 his Brother, and is, as fuch, a TranfgrdTor of the Sixth 
 Commandment 5 and fo faith the beloved Difciple, 
 1 Job. iii. 1 5. Whofoever hateth his Brother, is a 
 deter ; and ye know that no Murderer hath eternal Life 
 abiding in him. 
 
 In like Manner, with refpect to the Seventh Com- 
 mandment, our Saviour, in his Sermon, informs his 
 
 Followers, 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 287 
 
 Followers, that not only the grofs Act of Adultery 
 was forbidden, but that every Degree of impure Af- 
 fection and Defire, if indulged and profecuted, was 
 equally obnoxious to the Divine Difpleafure, as the 
 outward Act. / fay unto you, that whofoever looketh on. 
 a Woman (xjpo$ xl tTr^u^rtcxt) to Jtllt aft£l* f)tt, hath 
 commuted Adultery with her already in his Heart. The 
 Difciples of Chrift are not only to keep their Bodies, 
 but their Minds pure. For t!)£ pti?C in \$mvt are they 
 who alone jhall fee GOD. And all who have the Pro- 
 mifes of the Gofpel, 2 Cor. vii. 1. are bound to ckanfe 
 themf elves from all Impurity, both of Flefh and Spirit, per- 
 fecting Holinefs in the Fear of GOD. 
 
 As an Appendage to this Subject, our Saviour pro- 
 ceeds to correct the Irregularities which had grown into 
 Practice upon the Affair of Divorce* from the Privilege 
 granted by Mcfes, Deut. xxiv. 1 . where the Reafon al- 
 igned forgiving a Writ of Divorce,"^? /*S> ^ ^Wi"'^ 
 becaufe he bath found fome Uncleannefs in her, is fo obicure, 
 that the Rabins have not pretended to explain it. And 
 this moil probably gave occafion for that Queftion of 
 the Pharifees, Matt. xix. 3. Whether it were lawful for 
 a Man to give this Writing for every Caufe (of Difcon- 
 tent, probably, or Uneafinefs;) which, with all their 
 Study and Learning in the Law, they feem not to have 
 determined. But our Lord, for Prefervation of Peace 
 and Order in the World, re-eftabliflies the Divine Au- 
 thority of the primitive Inftitution, retraining the Pri- 
 vilege of Divorce to the fingle Reafon of Fornication, 
 as the only Crime fubverlivc of the true End and De- 
 lign of Marriage; and what might, not improbably, 
 be principally intended by the *12l J ~tH# of Mofcs ; which 
 is in the Chaldee expreffed by the Words D1W3 nyy£ : 
 a Tranfgrejfion of (or in; the Affair. Buxt. Rei alicujus. 
 Our Saviour in this Inftance mews, the Defign of his 
 Religion was to regulate human Actions by the pure 
 Laws of Heaven ; an4 to reftrain all Indulgence of 
 Paffions, inconfiftent with the Purity of Divine Infti- 
 
 tutions, 
 
2$S The C H R 1 S T I A N I T Y 
 
 ttttions, and the eternal Reafon of Things. Which is 
 further ex preiTed, Matth. v. 29. by cutting off the right 
 Hand, and plucking cut theright Eye ; that is, denying our- 
 fclves of the deareft Comforts and Enjoyments, which 
 cannot be indulged without TranfgreiTion. 
 
 He proceeds, Verfe 38, &c. to correct the Practice 
 of his Time, reflecting the Law of Retaliation, en- 
 joynedL'cv. xxiv. iq. or rather the perverfe Expofitions 
 thereof, in favour of malicious and vindictive Paffions; 
 enjoy ning to his Followers, that, efpeciaily with refpect 
 . to lighter and involuntary Injuries, they mould rather 
 forgive than profecute, and endeavour to cultivate 
 Peace and mutual Benevolence, rather than infill upon 
 the Severity of every legal Demand. But he doth not 
 extend this Gentlenefs to deliberate, grofs and malicious 
 Injuries, periifted in; fuch as that D<?z/f . xix. 16. where 
 an obflinate falie Witnels (DpFT#, a Witnefs of Violence) 
 is fuppofed to teftify againft his Neighbour fome very 
 grievous Crime, as, («""QD) Apoftacy from the true Re- 
 ligion, &c. The Word is the fame as in Deut. xiii. 5. 
 For fuch malicious Wickednefs, Deut. xix. 21. their 
 Eye Jheuld not pity, but Life fhould go for Life, Eye for 
 Eye, &c. But in fuch Cafes as thefe, I doubt not, 
 upon true Repentance, even under the Old Teftament, 
 it was reckoned a Duty and Virtue to forgive; as Abi- 
 gail pleaded with David, 1 Sam. xxv. 26. And our 
 Lord Jefus hath made it a Handing Law of" his King- 
 dom-, that his Dileiples a:e, upm t£e IRepemanec of 
 tht jHUl?VOU0, to forgive Offences, even to Seventy 
 Times Seven, Matt, xviii. 22. that is, without Limita- 
 tion. And he declares, that without this Difpolition 
 and Practice, we are not to expect Forgivenefs of our 
 Offences at the Hands of God, Matt. vi. 14, 15, 
 
 Against a very remarkable Depravation of the Jew- 
 ijh Laws, our Saviour further inftructs his Difciples. 
 Mat. v. 43. Te have heard that it hath been f aid, Thou 
 
 fhalt 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 289 
 
 floalt love thy Neighbour, and hate thine Enemy. The 
 
 latter Claufe is not to be found any where in the Law 
 as a general Precept ; for though they were comman- 
 ded to preferve a perpetual Holtility againft fome par- 
 ticular Nations, or People, for fpecial Reafons of Po- 
 lity and Providence ; yet they were, in the general, 
 commanded to be kind to Strangers. Exod. xxii. 21. 
 Thoujhalt not vex a Stranger, nor opprefs him; for ye were 
 Strangers in the Land of Egypt. Which is repeated ch. 
 xxiii. 9. and Levit. xix. 34. they were commanded to 
 Love the Stranger : and there are other Precepts of like 
 Import; yet they feem from thofe Commands, which 
 enjoyned a perpetual Enmity with fome Particulars, 
 to have inferred, that it was their Duty to treat all as 
 Enemies, who were not of their own Stock and Na- 
 tion. Or, perhaps, for a worfe Reafon : That as they 
 had the Privilege, by the diftinguifhing Favour of the 
 Moil High, and not for any fupenor Excellency in 
 themfelves, Deut. ix. 4, 6. to be treated by him as his 
 peculiar People and Inheritance-, They reckoned all 
 other Nations fo far inferior to themfelves, in the Al- 
 mighty's Account, as to be quite excluded from any 
 Intereft in his Favour, and that therefore it was their 
 Duty to treat them as Enemies : As too many in all 
 Ages and Nations, inftead of making the fuperior 
 Bounties of God, in the kind Difpenfations of his Pro- 
 vidence to themfelves, an Argument for treating thofe 
 whoarelefs confpicuous in fuch providential Favours, 
 in Imitation and grateful Acknowledgment of divine 
 Goodnefs, with RefpeCt and Kmdnefs, Friendship and 
 Benevolence; think it their Privilege, if not their Duty, 
 to ufe them with Slight and Contempt, if not with 
 Oppreffion and Cruelty. — Befides this, the Jews put 
 a mighty Value upon themfelves on Account or then- 
 Religion •, not fo much becaufe it was exempt from all 
 the Follies and Abominations of Idolatry, nor for tirz 
 Extent and Purity of its moral Inftitutions ; as that its 
 Ceremonies and Rituals were peculiarly of the divirte 
 
 O o Ap» 
 
cpo The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Appointment; efteeming the Gentiles, on that Ac- 
 count, to be Enemies to the Mod High, and that, 
 therefore, they were to efteem them tf)til Enemies al- 
 fo. The Diftinclion was general. St. .FW himfelf re- 
 citeth it without any Apology, tho' he was the Apoftle 
 of the Gentiles, Gal. ii. 1 5. We who are Jews, by Na- 
 ture* and not &imt e of tbt dDentiieg : ax i£ t0*«v «/*«£- 
 7wAo», && 
 
 Our Saviour, to teach his Difciples a better Rule 
 of Life, and more adapted to the Divine GoodneCs, 
 and to the Profpects of Life and Immortality brought to 
 Light by the Gofpel, commands them to love, not only 
 all Mankind in general, but even their Enemies in 
 particular •, and to treat all, not only with Juftice 
 and Equity, but alfo, with Kindnefs and Humanity, 
 in Imitation of the Goodnefs of God, who maketh his 
 Sun to rife on the Evil and on the Goods and fendeth Rain 
 on the Jujl and on the Unjuji. And for their greater 
 Encouragement to cultivate this God-like Difpol]tion> 
 he is pleafed gracioufly to ftile it, being perfefl as our 
 Father which is in Heaven is ■perfecl. With fo much 
 Favour did our dear Redeemer treat the poor Advan- 
 ces his fincere Difciples can, with all their Attention, 
 make towards an Imitation of the Divine Goodnefs. 
 Chriilians are not to pique themfelves upon their dif- 
 ferent Degrees in the external Favours of Providence, 
 of Body, Mind, or Fortune; but to behave, as being 
 all equally under Obligation to ad agreeably to the 
 Rights of Humanity and Chriftianity, as Fellow-Crea- 
 tures and Fellow-Chriltians, and Fellow-Soldiers in 
 the heavenly War ; always preferving a due Regard 
 to Civil Order and Government. 
 
 In the 6th Chapter of Matthew^ our blefled Saviour 
 proceeds, in his Divine Sermon* further to caution his 
 Difciples and Followers againft all hypocritical Shew 
 and Oftentation in the Performance of their religious 
 or focial Duties : Take hetd that ye do not your Alms be- 
 fore 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 291 
 
 fore Men, to be feen of them. And when thou pray eft, ( when 
 thou performed thy perfonal Devotions; thoufhalt not 
 be as the Hypocrites are \ for they love to pray ftanding in- the 
 Synagogues, and in the Corners of the Streets, that they may 
 be feen of Men ; with a Defign to eftablifh the Repu- 
 tation of Devout and Charitable Perfons. But let your 
 Acts of Charity, faith the Divine Teacher, be fo pri- 
 vate, as, if poffible, they might be unknown to your- 
 felves : Let not thy left Hand know what thy right Hand 
 doth. And when thou pray eft, when thou performeft 
 thy private perfonal Devotions, enter into thy Clofet. 
 Avoid all Opportunities of Show and Oftentation, that 
 thine Alms and thy Prayers may be infecret, and thy Father 
 
 which feeth in fecret, Jhall reward thee openly. ^And 
 
 when ye perform a religious Faft, do not by any ex- 
 ternal Signatures of Grief, Heavinefs, or Sorrow of 
 Countenance (pi yivaQt (mufyuTroi) affect tofhew that ye 
 are fading, as the Hypocrites do. — Or as the Jews now 
 do in their Days of public Humiliation, in Memory of 
 their National Calamities, &c. in which they very re- 
 markably (&<pxvi£z<ri t& TZfoa-umx otvruv, V. 1 6.) disfigure 
 their Faces, put on an Habit and Afpect of Heavinefs, 
 Sorrow and Piftrefs* as fcenical Perfons, or Players, 
 putting on artificial Perfonages, which are in the Greek 
 called 'Jirox^Ta* : From which Idea, fome Paffages in 
 our Saviour's DifTertation may be elucidated; in par- 
 ticular, that of founding a Trumpet before them, v. 2. 
 as St. Chryfoftome mentions in his Homily on this Part. 
 And the learned Pole taketh Notice, that after diligent 
 Enquiry he had not been able to find any Inftance of 
 fuch Practice prevailing, with regard to the Affairs of 
 Religion ; but it was probably taken from the Practice 
 of the Hypocrites of the Theatre, to expofe the Oftenta- 
 tion of the Religious Hypocrites. 
 
 Contrary to this Affectation of Shew for Vain- 
 Glory, he commands his Difciples, on their Days of 
 Failing, to anoint their Heads and wajfj their Faces ; to 
 appear in their ufual Cleannefs and Propriety of Drefs 
 
 O o 2 and 
 
292 
 
 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 and Habit ; that they may not difcover a Defire, that 
 others mould know they are failing; but let it be their 
 only Care, by acting under the cordial Motives of true 
 Relig on, to render themfelves acceptable to their Fa- 
 ther which is in Jecret, that their Father which feetb in 
 fecret may reward them openly. This Honefty, Sin- 
 cerity and Purity of Heart, our blefTed Redeemer here 
 enjoins his Difciples, as a neceffary Qualification 
 of every kind, beneficent and religious Action, to ren- 
 der the fame acceptable to God, and of any Avail to 
 their Intereft in the Kingdom of Heaven; inftead of 
 the Shew and Pageantry of the Religious and Civil 
 Duties of the Scribes and Pharifees, atttl tfycit Jfol* 
 lotou#> 
 
 Our Lord proceeds, in his Sermon, to caution his 
 Difciples againfl Worldly-mindednefs, and an immo- 
 derate Love and Purfuit of earthly Treafure, as being 
 a Difpofition of Mind inconfiftent with a proper Qua- 
 lification for the Kingdom of Heaven. V. 19. Lay not 
 up for yourfehes Treafures upon Earth, where Moth and Rujt 
 corrupteth,andwhereThieves break through and fieal: But lay 
 up for your [elves Treafures in Heaven^where neither Moth nor 
 Ruft corrupteth, and where Thieves do not break through nor 
 fieal. By this Similitude preffing upon their Minds the 
 Confideration of the Unfuitablenefs. and Infufhxiency 
 of the good Things of this World, for giving an ade- 
 quate Satisfaction and Felicity to an intelligent immor- 
 tal Spirit : As well from the Incongruity of their grofs 
 material Conftitution,asbecaufe they are liable to many 
 Cafualties and Misfortunes. They either may -of their 
 own Nature fail, and deceive us, or by Fraud or Force 
 be taken from us : But the Bleffiogs of Heaven are 
 in their own Nature fuitable totheConiljtution, and to 
 the Defires of the pureit Intelligences, and durable as 
 Eternity. — And to enforce his Exhortation he adds ; 
 For where your Treafure is, there will your Hearts be alfo. 
 If you have chofen the Bkflings of Immortality, lor 
 
 your 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 293 
 
 your Treafure, your Hearts will be upon them ; and 
 it will confequ ntiy be your principal Concern, by a 
 Life of Faith and Holinefs ; of Righteoufnefs and uni- 
 verfal Virtue, diligently to purfue the Ways that lead 
 thither: But if otherwife, and that you choofe Earth 
 for your Portion, and its i'ieafurts and Enjoyments 
 for your Treafure and Felicity, you will, in Profecu- 
 tion of that ralie Attachment, be influenced to purfue 
 the broad Way which leadethdown to Deftruction j as 
 deicnbed in the next Chapter. 
 
 Some ve,y learned Men have taken the following 
 Paffage upon the Eye a;*d Light to have been given as 
 a Recommendation of Charity, Companion and Bene- 
 volence, as of main Importance to evcrlafting Happi- 
 nefs j alleging that o,-kXot*i;, Simplicity, is in Scripture 
 uied to fig.iiy Liberality : Ano that irpwaoc ofOaA/Ao?, an 
 tvil Eye, is on the Contrary ufed to denote an envious 
 Dilpofidon, bpppfite to all Goodnefs, Liberality, and 
 every generous Paif on. 
 
 I make no doubt but that the Virtue of Charity 
 (and particularly, as practifed in Acts of Beneficence 
 to the Poor and Indigent, Luke xviii. 22.) has a prime 
 Tendency to fit for everlafting Happinefs,forthe World 
 of pure Love and Goodnels, and that it is therefore 
 included in the Import of the Text: But I alfo cannot 
 but apprehend, its Meaning and Application to be 
 more general and exteniive, as an Iiluftration of the 
 preceding Paffage, of the Neceflity of having the Mind 
 and Unciei Handing under a proper Influence of the ju ft 
 Value ot the Happinels of Heaven, above all the En- 
 joyments of this World, in order to direct and regulate 
 our Conduct in the prefent Life accordingly. And 
 this is explained by comparing the Operation of the 
 Faculties of the Mind with the different Effects of the 
 bodily Sight, as the Eye is found arfd perfect, or other* 
 
 wife.- The Light of the Body is the Eye-, if- therefore 
 
 thine Eye be Jingle («rAfv, clear, unconfufed, having the 
 feveral Plumors and Membranes neceffary for forming 
 
 Vifion, 
 
294 rhc CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Vifion, in their State of Natural Perfection,) thy whole 
 Body flo all be full of Light ; and confequently the feveral 
 Parts and Oigans to which Light is neceifarily fubfer- 
 vient, will be capable of performing their proper Fun- 
 ctions for the Ufes of Life. But if thine Eye be evil, con- 
 fufed, depraved, uncapable of the proper Admifiion 
 and Union of the Rays of Light for forming regular 
 Vifion, the whole Body fJjall be full of Darknefs. So if 
 the Mind and Underflanding be properly difpofed te 
 apprehend and put a due Value and Efteem upon the 
 Things of the World to come, the Treafure laid uo 
 in Heaven, to fee their proper Size and Importance, 
 the fubordinate Affections and Paflions will be influen- 
 ced to concur in the Profecution of fuitable Meafures,, 
 for their Attainment: But if otherwife, and this intel- 
 lectual Sight be depraved, fo that the Things of this 
 World are made to appear of greater Value and Impor- 
 tance than the Joys of Heaven ; the Scheme of Con- 
 duel: for Life will be proportionably vitiated and perver- 
 ted, from the Paths of Virtue and Religion, which 
 alone lead to the fublime Enjoyments of Immortality, 
 to the Purfuit of the falfe and delufive Joys of Senfe, 
 and the tranfitory Glories of this World. And (as it 
 follows) if therefore the Light which is in thee be Darknefs^ 
 
 si av ro <pco$ to tv <roi (t-xoto; Eft, to trxoTO? ^to tv cot) zrovov ~ x 
 
 how great will be the Darknefs that is in thee? If the 
 Mind and Underflanding, which fhould direct the Af- 
 fections and Paflions, be depraved and vitiated, how 
 corrupt and irregular will thole fubordinate Affections 
 and Paflions be, which are naturally under the Influ- 
 ence of fenfitive Impreflions? — So the Verfion of St, 
 Jerom hath it : Ipfe tenebra quanta erunt. And more 
 exprefs is that of Tremellius : Si Lumen quod in te eft Te- 
 nebr<e funt, T'enebra tua quanta magis erunt? more con- 
 sonant with the Greek, than is our Verfion : how great 
 
 ii that Darknefs. Our bleflfed Lord proceeds to 
 
 illuftrate the lame Thing by a very obvious Similitude 
 from common Life: I'er. 24. No Man can ferve two- 
 
 MafterL, 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 2 9 $ 
 
 Mafiers. This muft be underftood of two Mafters 
 
 of different, or perhaps contrary Interefts \ otherwife 
 two or more Perfons joined in one and the fame com- 
 mon Intereft may be, and are very frequently commo- 
 dioufly enough ierved by one Man: But, otherwife, 
 confidering the various inconiiftent Difpofitions, Tem- 
 pers and Interefts of Men in this World, it is not 
 generally to be expected that one Man mould readily 
 fcrve and promote the different Affairs and Concerns 
 of two Mafters % but that, as the Text expreffeth it, 
 he will love the one and hate the other ', or hold to the one 
 and defpife the other: That is, he will have a fuperior 
 Affection for, and Attachment to the one, above the 
 other. And he applies it to the Argument he was 
 upon : Te cannot ferve God and Mammon •, meaning, by 
 the latter, the ardent Profecution cf the Things ot this 
 
 World. The Word Mammon is of the Chaldiac and 
 
 Syriack Languages, which have a great Affinity. It 
 is ufed in the Chaldee Parapbrafe of the Old Teftament, 
 to fignify Gain, or Wealth. Judg. v. 19. They took no 
 Gain of Money : The Chaldee is, ^3j3»Se)D?71'lD^: 
 They took no Mammon of Silver : And Prov. xv. 27. 
 -)^?iDD^ppnwni^iD: He ruineth his own Houfe, 
 who gathereth unjufl Gain : The Mammon of Falfhood 
 or Unrighteouihefs, as it is called, Luke xvi. 9, 11. 
 And in the fame Senfe it occurs Eccl. ii. 26. To the Sin- 
 ner he giveth Travail, to gather and to heap up. In the 
 Chaldee it is, tf DD tf JpD> tf»3 $ ; a perverfe (or de- 
 praved) Mind or Understandings to heap up (Mammon) 
 Wealth. The learned Pole faith : " Our Saviour, in 
 " this Paffage, anfwers a tacit Objection the worldly 
 
 " Man might make. Why? — « I know, might 
 
 '* he fay, I have a great Defire to get Money, to ad- 
 " vance my Fortune and Family; but, in the mean 
 Time, I pay a due Regard to the Duties of Religion. 
 I am regular and conftant in the Worfhip of God in 
 my tfamilp antj £!ofer, as well as in public, in »i 
 fcerp Oe&out ty&mu ; " And I doubt not, my dili- 
 
 " r:e<K 
 
t 9 6 'The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 " gent . Profecution of my domeftic Affairs and In* 
 " tereftsj is very confident with my Religion, and the 
 
 " Service of God. No, fays the bieffed Redeemer, 
 
 " 1 his is irnpoflible. No Man can ferve two Mailers, 
 " &c." And, after reciting a iuitable Paffag-- from 
 gutntilian, he adds : Quanto minus unusidemq; Homo pot erit 
 Pietati quantum opus ejl impendere, et fimul circa divitias 
 qu<erendas fervandafq-, perpetua Jollicitudine difirahi. i. e. 
 " How much lefs can one and the fame Man devote 
 *' himfelf, as he ought, to the Works of Piety and Re- 
 " ligion, and at the fame Time be constantly engaged in 
 " a iblicitous Concern about getting and accumulating 
 «' Wealth." No. — c The Purfuits are (in their in- 
 c tenfe Degrees) abfolutely incompatible. Te cannot 
 <■ firm GOB and Mammon.— The Man whofe HEART 
 « is ardently (st to encreafe the Glory of his Houfe (Pfal. 
 ' xlix. 1 6. and Jer. xxii. 13.) by the perpetual Aggran- 
 
 * diflement of his Treafures ; let him fpend what Time 
 ' foever in Aces of Religion ; his Love of Money will 
 
 * deprave all, will prevent his Profecution of the Hea- 
 ' venly Treafure, and caufe him, for advancing and 
 c fecuring the Succefs of ambitious and pecuniary 
 \ Schemes, to break in upon the Laws of Truth and 
 e Righteoufnefs, Goodnefs and Humanity, Equity, 
 e Gratitude and Charity, and even debafe his Devo- 
 
 * tion, and Religion itfelf, to be fubfervient to the 
 ' Succefs of deep-laid Schemes of Avarice, Iniquity 
 c and Ambition.' 
 
 To prevent the ruinous Effects of this miftaken 
 Conduct, our bieffed Saviour faith to his Difciples and 
 Followers: Therefore I fay unto you, Take no Thought for 
 your Life, what ye fhall eat, or what ye foall drink ; no 1 " 
 yet for the Body what ye fhall put on, &c. This Pre- 
 cept is plainly one of thofe which are not to be under- 
 stood according to the utmoft Extent of the Words, in 
 their literal Meaning, at leaft in our Verfion, which I 
 apprehend is. capable of fome Improvement. The 
 Condition of Man, in this mortal Life, maketh fome 
 
 Care, 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 297 
 
 Care, Thought and Labour unavoidably neceffary for 
 his Subfiftcnce. But it mult mean at leaft, that ail 
 that inordinate Care and Labour, which is only ne- 
 ceffary for acquiring fuch a Proportion of worldly 
 Goods as is not of Ufe, effentialfy, tor the true Ends of 
 Life, and which is not confident with a virtuoUs Con- 
 tentment, and a rational Tfuft and Confidence in the 
 Divine Providence, and which diverts the Mind from 
 a due Attendance on the Service* of Gob, arid the ne- 
 celTary Means of Grace and Salvation, be retrenched 
 and avoided by all who would effectually lay up a 
 Trcafure in Heaven, arid fecure a Title to the Inheritance 
 bicorruptible, undefiled, and which fadeth not away, t Pet. 
 i. 4; The juft Meaning of the Precept may perhaps 
 be, in fome Meafure, alcertained, by attending to the 
 Etymology of the Word [AipipJSb, here tranQated by 
 taking Thought ; which is, by the Men of Learning* 
 faid to be ff«j* to ptgifyiv tm vzv, ab anintd difpertienao t 
 five varie dijtrakendo. The facred Text doth not fay 
 
 {*ri ETri^EAsitrflf rri; ^vyffc, aS in Lllke X. ^^^6. Or f*'«j^o>- 
 
 timers, as Tit. iii. 8. to forbid a rational and virtuous 
 Care for the Affairs of Life •, but p4 n*e^/*v««, doh^ 
 fuffer your Mind to be fo anxioufly folicitous about the 
 Concerns of the prefent Life, as to over 1 -engage and 
 diffract your Thoughts, from giving a proper Atten- 
 tion to the great and neceffary Concerns of Immorta- 
 lity The learned Pole fays, Non laborem vet'at fed 
 
 folicitudinem : M He doth not forbid Labour, but Soli* 
 " citude." And He urges the Precept from the Con- 
 fideration of the All fufficiency of Divine Prdvidence 
 for our Support, evidenced particularly by its coriftanc 
 vifible Effects in the Adminiftration of the Natural 
 World j the Proviliori made for the Fowls of the Air, 
 which neither few nor reap, yet our heavenly Father feedeth 
 them, and for the Lillies of the Field, which, without: 
 Care or Labour, are {o clothed by the Almighty's 
 Hand, that even Solomon in all his Gloty was not arrayed 
 like one of theft. " The Hand that gave Life will give 
 
 P p «•'. Mestj 
 
2oS The C H R I S T I A N I T Y 
 
 " Meat, and he that formed the Body will fupply _ 
 " needful Raiment." He therefore, vcr. 31. repeats 
 the Precept : Take therefore no Thought, (the fame Word 
 again, p* psgipAyrctTe, ) faying. What Jhall we eat ? or 
 what frjall we drink ? or wherewithal Jhall we be clothed? 
 for your heavenly Father hwweth that ye have need of all 
 thefe Things. But feek ye frjl the Kingdom of GOD, and 
 his Righteoufnefs, and all thefe 'Things Jhall be added unto 
 you. — > — Trujl in the Lord and do good, Jo Jloalt thou dwell 
 in the Land, and verily thou Jhalt be fed, Pfal. xxxvii. 3. 
 
 In the Beginning of the Seventh Chapter, the Di- 
 vine Preacher proceeds to warn his Audience againft a 
 Practice too much adapted to the depraved Paflions of 
 fallen Man, and too prevalent in the World, though 
 quite inconfiftent with that mutual Efteem, Refpect 
 and Benevolence, which the Gofpel was defigned to 
 reltore and eftablifh, Luke ii. 14. and which every one 
 ought ftudioufly to cultivate with every One, as Men 
 and Chnflians; as is enjoyned in fome preceding Paf- 
 fages of this heavenly Sermon ; and as is abfoiutcly 
 neceffary to the Comfort and Happinefs of focial Lite. 
 I mean, that proud, malignant and uncharitable Cen- 
 forioufnefs, which, however common in Practice, is, 
 in Theory, univerfally difallowed and condemned : 
 This Precept is given in thofe Words, Judge not, that 
 ye be not judged. 
 
 Human Virtue is in this World far from Perfection. 
 We are all fataJly liable to Errors in Apprehenfion, 
 and Slips in the Conduct of perfonal and relative Ac- 
 tions. Thefe we are, in this part of our £lc$££ttttl*'$ 
 Sermon, admonifhed, and commanded mutually to 
 treat with favourable, tender and companionate Re- 
 gard : pv ytmvnrt : Be not critically fevere in your Cen- 
 fures of fuch Actions. — Let not fuch Faults as may 
 probably be the Effect of unavoidable Infirmity, par- 
 donable Inattention, or the ludden or violent Infult 
 and Surprife of Temptation, be cenfured as proceeding 
 
 from 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 2991 
 
 from habirual, deliberate and malicious Purpofe and 
 Difpofition, but be ready always to throw a Vail of 
 Charity over fuch TranfgrefTions, and. to plead and 
 allow all probable Reafons, in Excufe, Extenuation 
 and Mitigation thereof — Efpeciaily is this the bounden 
 Duty, as well as an Inftance of great Prudence, in fuch 
 as upon an impartial Difquifition of their own Con- 
 duel:, cannot but be confeious of their Obnoxiouf- 
 nefs to, at leaft equal Cenfure with thofe, whom they 
 are difpofed,, with great Vivacity, to exercife their 
 malevolent Talent upon. Say not to thy Brother, Let 
 me pull the Mote out of thine Eye, when, fee — There 
 
 is a Beam in thine own Eye.— 1 have above fliled 
 
 this odious Difpofition and Pra&ice, p£OU&, as well as 
 malignant and uncharitable. For I make no doubt but 
 that the true Principle of that quick -lighted Cenfure, 
 whereby fo many endeavour, fo eagerly and inhumanly, 
 to blemifh and obfeure the jufl Efteem of others, is 
 generally a very fincere Defire and Ambition to raife 
 and illumine their own comparative Excellence, by the 
 Cloud of Calumny they fo induftriouily throw upon 
 others : Not confidering, or not regarding, that hardly 
 any Thing is more unjuit and cruel, than to endeavour 
 the Eftablifhment of a Man's own Character, upon the 
 Ruin of that of his Neighbour. 
 
 The Almighty hath made an innocent Defire of 
 Efteem an effential Part of the human Conflitution, 
 as a conftant Spur and Motive to virtuous and lau- 
 dable Actions, for the Glory of God, and the public 
 Good -, the good Effects whereof, the Bafe and Invi- 
 dious, in whofe degenerate Breafls this heavenly Spark 
 was never kindled, or is quite extinct, endeavour to 
 obfeure in others by Slander and Falfhood, that their 
 own Reproach and Deformity may not appear, or ap- 
 pear lefs hideous and (hocking. And by an indulgent 
 Eftimation of the Force of their own Reputation, and 
 the Inaccuracy of vulgar Apprehenfion, they pleafe 
 P p 2 them- 
 
$00 r-he CHRISTIANITY 
 
 themselves very much with the Idea of the univerfal 
 Reception, their interefted Obloquy will meet with. 
 
 This Vice is, as before noted, univerfalty odious, 
 but never appears fo illujirioujly deformed, as when 
 thofe fubmit to fo vile an Artifice for raifing a faife 
 Reputation, who have otherwife, \i\ their own Cha- 
 racter, Excellencies fufficient to be, with proper Cul- 
 tivation anci Improvement, a rational Foundation for 
 juftElteern. And wherever fuchlnftances occur, as they 
 fometimes lamentably do, the rnittakcn Pourfuivants 
 qf this gaudy Phantom, this ignis fatuus, are molt em- 
 phatically cheated. As in the Judgment of all wife 
 and good Men they fuffer more, in point of Elteem, 
 by the juit Imputation of inhuman Bafenefs and Perfi- 
 dy, from fo vile Attempts, than they could poffibly 
 gain by their Succefs. As none but the ignorant and 
 interefted will concur to approve and promote fuch 
 ^cherries of Iniquity. And from the Prevalence of 
 this fhameful Vice of Detraction, from which the 
 greateft Profeffion of Religion is. not always an a- 
 clequate Guard, it is certain, that hardly any one 
 Excellence in Life gives a Man a more general Cha- 
 racter of difinterefted Virtue, than an uniform Endea- 
 vour to affert and promote the Efteem and Reputation 
 of others, and particularly fuch as have their Cha- 
 racters unjuttly run upon by the invidious and powerful.. 
 A Practice from which Experience proves the Threat- 
 ning, expreffed in the latter Part of the Words, of 
 being liable to Judgment, is not fufficient to deter; whe- 
 ther the fame be meant of that human Cenfure to which 
 they will be expofed, or of the awful Judgment of the 
 Molt High. 
 
 But this Precept, againft uncharitable Judgment, 
 is not inconfiltent with the innocent Mention of grofs 
 and public Iniquities, as it can be no Crime to ipeak 
 without Malice of what is openly acted and avowed; 
 nor is it inconfiltent with the public legal Judgment 
 and Punifhment of Notorious Tranfgreflion's. — Nor 
 
 vet. 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 301 
 
 yet is the fame inconfifrent with that charitable and 
 Chriftian Admonition, which we ought, with A flection 
 and Prudence, Humility and Privacy, to give to our 
 Neighbour, upon fuch Errors or Irregularities which 
 he may fall into, as it is confiftent with our Station, 
 Relation and Character, to mention to him, with the: 
 moil: difinterefted View at his Improvement ana Ad- 
 vantage ; agreeably to the (Precept given by the Moll: 
 High to Ifrael, Levit. xix. 17. TbouJhe.lt net hate thy 
 Brother in thine Heart \ Thou Jhait (O^u^rpvv in any 
 wife rebuke him, and not fuffer Sin upon him. — — A\ here 
 this Practice is reprcftnted as an Inihmce (and it is 
 certainly one of the highefl anu moft difficult Inflances) 
 of trueFriendihip. 
 
 The following PafTage in our Saviour's Sermon : 
 Give not that which is holy unto the Logs, nor caji y< your 
 Pearls before Swine, &c. is by Commentators undtrUood 
 as a Rule for the better di (charge of this Duty of fra~ 
 ternal Admonition; viz. Not to proliitute fo valuable 
 an Act of true Friendihip, by Application to Perfons 
 of fuch a Difpolition and Character, as are not likely 
 to give it afuitable Reception. This he compares with 
 .the feeding Dogs or Swine, Creatures legally unclean, 
 with the confecrated Offerings, which were not to be 
 touched by any Impurity. If this be, as 1 believe it 
 is, the Meaning of the Place, it is much of the fame 
 Import and Intention with the Precept of Solomon, Prov. 
 ix. 8. Reprove not a Sccrnerleft he hate thee; rebuke (the 
 Hebrew Word is the fame in both Places, rebuke) a wife 
 Marian^ he will love thee. — To fuch a height of difm- 
 ferefted Affection and Benevoience, it is the Will of 
 God our mutual Regards fhould be carried. 
 
 The next Inftruction ^ur bleffed Redeemer gives his 
 Followers, in this divine Sermon, is upon the Duty 
 of Prayer, which he had before enjoined, and given 
 
 Directions about, in Chap. vi. Ver, 5, to 16. How 
 
 {his is joined with the preceding Part of his Difcourfe is 
 
 not 
 
302 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 not very dear, nor very material. — We may under- 
 ftand it as a general Precept in the Conduct of Christian 
 Life, that we mould, as the Apoftle orders, Phil iv. 6. 
 in every Thing, by Prayer and Supplication, let our Requefts. 
 be made known unto GOD. — Our Saviour explaineth and 
 prefieth this Duty, by three figurative Modes of Ex- 
 preffion : AJk, and ye pall receive: feek y and ye (hall find: 
 knock, and it pall be opened unto you-, which feem to im- 
 port that Affection., Ardour, and Perfeverance, which 
 thould accompany the regular Performance of this Du- 
 ty. And for our Encouragement herein, befides allur- 
 ing us of Succefs by a general Promife fuited to every 
 Form of the Precept, he ftrengthens this Affurance by 
 xeprefenting and reafoning from the Effects of human 
 Affection and Companion, to thofe of the divine Bounty 
 and Mercy. Which of you, if his Son afz Bread will give 
 him a Stone, or if he afk a Fip will give him a Serpent ? 
 If ye then being evil, know how to give good Gifts to your 
 Children, how much more pall your heavenly Father give, 
 good Things to them that ajk him. I have often thought 
 this to be one of the moft gracious ExprefTions, for 
 Encouragement of our Faith in Prayer, that occurs 
 in all the Word of God. — All thofe whom God hath* 
 made Parents know, with what delightful Ardour of 
 moft tender and eager Affection they give Bread to 
 a requeuing Child: And it is a great Confolation to 
 be allured, that with like Affection will the Moft High 
 our heavenly Father anfwer rhe regular Requefts of his 
 faithful Children. But the moft tender Parent will not 
 indulge the imprudent and ruinous Petitions of his 
 deareft Child, no more doth our heavenly Father. 
 And from the proper Ufe of this Confideration may 
 all the Difficulties about Succefs in Prayer, be rationally 
 
 anfwered. Or, perhaps, the Precept about Prayer 
 
 may be connected with the preceding Part thus: 
 
 He had before given a variety of Directions for re- 
 gulating the Affections and Conduct in Chriftian Life, 
 which, for their proper Execution, require more than 
 
 human 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 303. 
 
 human Reafon, and Strength of Mind, and Refblution, 
 in the State of Depravity, is able to perform •, He 
 therefore, for the Encouragement of our diligent En- 
 deavour to comport with his Inftitutions, gives us 
 AfTurance, that, upon our earner!: Requeft, our Hea- 
 venly Father will be gracioufly pleafed to grant us 
 thole Afliftances, which are neceffary to enable us to 
 perform the Duties required •, and it may feem, that 
 ior this Reafon, inftead of good Gifts in this Place, the 
 Expreffion in Luke xi. 13. is, how much more floall your 
 heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to ihofe that ojk him, 
 to aflift the natural Defects of our Powers of Mind, 
 for the right Conception of our Duty, and to work in 
 us Refohation of P-arpofe to carry us through all the 
 Oppofition, we (hall meet with from our innate De- 
 pravity, with the Force of thofe external Temptations, 
 which (hall oppofe us in the Courfe of our holy Obe- 
 dience •, and all this in the Way of moral Influence, and 
 without obftructing or breaking in upon the Freedom 
 
 of the human Faculties and Actions. And as our 
 
 bleffed Lord hath been pleafed in this Place to repre- 
 fent the Workings of parental Affection in our Breafts, 
 towards the Wants and Requefts of our own Children 
 as the Model of our heavenly Father's affectionate and 
 gracious Regard to our* AddrefTes, for the Encourage- 
 ment of our Faith in Prayer; fo he proceeds, 
 
 In the next Part, to make the Sentiments and 
 Apprehenfions of our own Minds, with refpect to our 
 juft and equitable Claims and Expectations from our 
 Fellow-Creatures, in Matters of human Commerce 
 and Intercourfe, the Rule and Meafure of our Beha- 
 viour to them: Therefore whatfoever ye would that Men 
 fhould do unto you, do ye even fo to them. Sec. — I am by 
 no Means fond of differing in Sentiment from learned 
 Men ; but I cannot help thinking this Reprefentation 
 juft and natural, and that the illative Particle (&, there- 
 fore) is not in this Place redundant, as fome very great 
 Men have thought, but proper enough to form the 
 
 Con- 
 
£o4 Toe CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Connection thus : — As your heavenly Father is gi*a~ 
 dOufl.y pleafed to make your affectionate Regard fof 
 your Childrens Wants and Requefts the Pattern for his 
 Treatment of your humble Supplications, He t%C/.t^ 
 fa-j: enjoins, in like Manner, that your Conceptions 
 fof the Equity and Propriety of your own Claims 
 and Expectations, from your Brethren and Fellow- 
 Creatures, be a Rule to you, for adjuring your Con- 
 dud and Performances to them in Affairs or iikeReafon 
 and Importance. 
 
 However the Matter (hall appear with regard to 
 the Juftice and Propriety of this Connection (which I 
 defire with great Humility to mbmit to the Cenfure of 
 the candid Reader,) I think it very evident, that the 
 Rule here laid down by our Redeemer is of greateft 
 Advantage in locial Life, and would, if duly oblerved, 
 certainly produce that Righteoufnefs and Peace^ that 
 Love and Good-will in the Conduct of human Affairs, 
 which the Laws of Morality, given by Mofes and the 
 Prophets were defigned to eitabliih •, and fo he adds; 
 for ibis is the Law and the Prophets. And fo agreeable 
 is this to the natural Reafon of Things, that fome of 
 the Pagan Writers, before our Saviour's Time, had 
 given it as a neceffary Rule in their Schemes of Life. 
 And if every Man would accordingly make every other 
 Man's Cafe his own j and as Job (as before noted) faid, Chi 
 xvi. 4. put bis own Soul in the other's Soul's Steady in every 
 Difpute of Right, the greateft Part of controverted 
 Claims would be without much Difficulty adjuited.— 
 It may indeed fometimes happen, that from real Weak- 
 ness of Apprehenlion, or from an invincible Partiality 
 and Prejudice in their own Favour, fome may not be 
 able to make this Exchange of Perfons; and know* 
 clearly what their own Sentiments, upon that Suppo- 
 fuion, might be; tho' this I think is but feldom the 
 Cafes but if it fo happen* the belt and eafieft Remedy 
 is to iubmit the Controverfy to the impartial Judgment 
 of difinterelted Perfons, of approved Underftanding^ 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 305 
 
 And wherever this is propofed and refufed, it may be 
 truly faid, that there Judgment is turned away backward, 
 and Juftice fiandeth afar off: Truth is fallen in the Street , 
 and Equity cannot enter, Ifa. lix. 14. And as every juft 
 and upright Man is at leaft a0 mi!C-& COtltetnefc not to 
 injure his Neighbour, as to preferve h : s own Property; 
 in all Choice of Arbitrators for adjusting Differences, 
 a greater Regard fhould be had to the Capacity and 
 Integrity, than to the Attachment of thofe we choofej, 
 as every Man ought to be more defirous that the De- 
 termination and Award be ftrictly agreeable to the 
 Laws of Righteouihefs and Truth, than to any Views 
 of his own Advantage or Intereft. — It would be well 
 if all, who are appointed to act in this molt ufeful 
 Character and Office, would remember that excellent 
 Rule given by the Mod High, Lev. xix 15. Te (hall 
 do no Unrighteoufnefs in Judgment, thou jhalt not refftti 
 the Face of the Poor, nor honour the Face of the Mighty ; 
 but in Right eoufnefs Jhalt thou judge thy Neighbour. And, 
 Deut. i. 17. TeJIoallnot refpeci i J erjons in Judgment : Te 
 jhalt hear the Small as well as the Great \ ye fhcdl not be 
 afraid of the Face of Man. Always remembnng that 
 the Judgment is the Lord's. — The Reader will, I hope, 
 pardon this Digreflion. 
 
 Our blefTed Saviour having* in the Courfe of his 
 Sermon, given a great many Rules of Life, which 
 Were (for the Promotion of moral Excellence, inward 
 Purity and Uprightnefs of Heart, undefiled Religion 
 and univerfal Virtue) vaftly different from, and fupe- 
 rior to the Doctrines and Precepts of the Ceremonial 
 Law, and thofe of the Jewijh Doclors in their Exposi- 
 tions of the fame, and particularly the lad Injunction 
 for the moft eafy and equitable Adjuftment of all Con- 
 troverfies in the commercial Affairs and Interefts of the 
 World •, He who knew what was in Man, and that the 
 Natural Man receiveth not the Things of the Sprit of God, 
 becaufe they can only be fpiritually difcerned, 1 Cor. iu 
 
 C^q 14. 
 
3o6 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 14. and that therefore (at lead many of) his Hearer* 
 would look upon his Doctrines as merely arbitrary 
 Refinements upon the divine Laws, and needlefs Re- 
 straints upon the Liberty of human Actions ; pro- 
 ceeded, in the ipb Verfe of this ytb Chapter ', to ex- 
 plain and prefs the Neceffity of a Conformity to his 
 Inftitutionsj as the only Way to obtain that Life and 
 Immortality which he came fully to make known to 
 the Children of Men, Enter ye in at the Jirak Gate, 
 for wide is the Gate and broad is the Way that leadeth to 
 De/lruclion, and many there be which go in thereat : Be- 
 caufejlrait is the Gate and narrow is the Way which lead- 
 eth unto Life, and few there be which find it. W hick 
 
 may be confidered, with refpect to his Audience, as 
 if he had faid 1 I know you have formed your Hopes 
 of Felicity upon your Obedience to the Ceremonial 
 Laws of your Religion, and fuch Inftitutions as you 
 have received from the Senfe and Construction, which 
 your Teachers give of them, and therefore think the 
 Precepts I have now given you are needlefs and bur- 
 thenfom, difficult and intolerable: But I affure you, 
 how hard foever you may conceive the Rules of Life, 
 1 have taught you, to be, how difagreeable loever they 
 may feem to Fleih and Blood, how ftrait foever the 
 Gate and how narrow foever the Way, I have defcri- 
 bed •, they are of abfolute Neceffity to Salvation. There 
 is no other Gate, no other Way, that leadeth to Life 
 and eternal Felicity. And that eafy Religion, you 
 value yourielves upon, as the Way of Life is fo con- 
 fident with the Indulgence of depraved and criminal 
 Paffions and Appetites, that it is really no other than 
 the broad and eafy Way, that leadeth down to De- 
 itruction ; and therefore many there be who go in thereat. 
 This Defcription of the Way of Life may appear, 
 at firft Sight, inconfiftent with that which He after- 
 wards faid in Mat. xi. 29. as an Encouragement to 
 Chriftian Obedience : My Toke is eafy, and my Burthen 
 is light ; but this Difficulty is eafily reconciled, by al- 
 lowing^ 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 307 
 
 towing, that the Duties of the Chriftian Religion are 
 fare enough a Yoke and a Burthen ; at the firft heavy 
 and- galling, but, by dilig m Pra&ice and Familiarity, 
 with the kind Afiiftances of God*s Holy Spirit, made 
 tight and eafy. And fo have fome of the Pagan Mora- 
 Ms represented it. Cebes fays, The Road of Virtue 
 lieth up Hill, and ft> is difficult, and but little prao 
 tifed ; and he places a little Gate at its Entrance, but 
 fays, when by Patience and Temperance the Travel- 
 lers have gained the Summit, it is afterward agreeable 
 
 and eafy ; xxXn >£ ixmopwroq. And Hejtod defcribesit 
 
 by a fine AHegory of much the fame Importance, 
 
 Tloi jt*£V Tot xctTtamrrot.. >t> Ixxiov eV» lAitrdoti 
 Puii'JW? o\iyv\, f«k iScg, ^«Aos d*iyty\'Ai v&ui. 
 T*iff i otptrng ijpwtflt dsqi TxpoTrMpa&tv ihvtstv 4 
 AQavarat, (Maipog it k^ o^iag ot^co; fir* auTfttt*, 
 K«4 rpri^ug to srfMTQit' in^it jf Ug axpoi* uu)Tgf A 
 
 Ptl'lAlJ <T J17T£tT« Z3"eA£S, J^fltJvOTfl tT£0 itfffVX. 
 
 fAf P^j 0//?/ #r<? obvious and plain y 
 An&Jbort the Way the Sweets of Vice to gam, 
 But the Jleep Road of Virtue to aftend, 
 Labour and Sweat our weary Steps attend , 
 ' (So have the Gods ordain*d,) till Ufe the Way 
 Alleviates, and gives (hearing Profpetl of eternal Day, 
 
 And the beautiful Paffage in the Sixth JEneid may 
 be taken in the fame Light, tho* writ in a different 
 
 View. 
 
 ^Facilis defcenfus avemi, 
 
 Notles autq, dies pai'et atri J anna Ditis. 
 
 Sed revocare gradum fuperafq, evader e ad auras 
 
 Hoc opus hie Labor eft. 
 
 Down to HeWs dreary Shades is eafy Road, 
 And wide the Gate to Pluto's dark Abode, 
 But to afcend, and Realms of Light attain, 
 Affiduous Toil requires and unremitted Pain. 
 
 Q^q z But 
 
3 oS The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 But how clear foever the Reafon, and how ftrong 
 foever the Authority of our Saviour's Precepts and 
 Inftitutions, for the Practice of true Virtue and Ho'i- 
 nefs be-, The Rt-ludtance of criminal Paffions in human 
 Nature is fo fining; and the Pleafures of Sin flrike the 
 depraved Scnfe with fo engaging a Relifh, as in too 
 many L .fiances, to captivate the Sou], and enflave the 
 Affections; fo that not all the Reafon and all the Au- 
 thority of the divine Laws, not all the Rewards of 
 Obedience, not everlafting Life itfelf, with the eternal 
 Weight of Glory, which the Gofpel givei Aflu ranee 
 of, to ail thofe who by patient Continuance in well-doing 
 feek for Glory > Honour and Immortality : Nor all the Hor- 
 rors of eternal Darknefs, and the Anguifh of the Worm 
 that never dieth ; not the dre.idful Profpedl of the Pit 
 of Deftruction, which lyes at the farther End of the 
 broad Way of Vice and forbidden Pleafure, as the fure 
 Portion of all who perfifl in thofe deluding Paths; not 
 all thefe Motives, I fay, to Virtue have Force enough 
 to determine them to choofe the ftrait Gate and the 
 narrow Way which leadeth unto Life; nor to forego 
 the fhort liv'd Pleafures of Senfe, for all the fublime 
 Delights of Immortality. And therefore to fecure to 
 themfelves the largefl, the mofl extenfive and uninter- 
 rupted Enjoyment of thefe Pleafures of Sin, and to 
 filence the uneafy Clamours of their own Minds and 
 Confciences, they ufe all their Endeavours to work up 
 fome Colour, fome Refemblance of Reafon or Autho- 
 rity, how vain and delufive foever, for a temporary 
 Support and Vindication of their Choice and Conduct. 
 And for this End there have not been wanting in all 
 Ages fuch as have fet themfelves, by the fpecious 
 Arguments of falfe Philofophy, to defend and advo- 
 cate for thofe criminal Indulgences, wherein Sin does 
 
 in a great Meafure materially confift. Are not, lay 
 
 thefe Patrons of Impiety and Difobedience, are not our 
 natural Appetites and Pallions efiential to our Frame 
 and Conflkution by the fovcrcign Operation and Ap- 
 pointment 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 309 
 
 pointment of the Omnipotent all-wife Creator, who 
 gave us our Being and all our Faculties, as he thought 
 bell ? And why mould he, in infinite Wifdom, have 
 formed us with fuch Propenfions and Defires, as are 
 only to be the Sources of perpetual Trouble, Affliction 
 and Pain, by our being under continual Obligation 
 to contradict, reftrain and deny their Solicitations ; or 
 elfe be a Foundation of Guilt and Mifery in coniequence 
 
 of thfir Gratification? Againft fuch as thefe, and 
 
 all other Patrons and Promoters of the Interefts of Sin, 
 and the Kingdom of Darknefs, our bleffed Saviour 
 cautions his Difciples and Followers, under the Cha- 
 racter of falfe Prophets. Matt. vii. 15. Beware offalfe 
 Prophets, which come to you in Sheeps Chatting, but in- 
 wardly they are ravening Wolves. His Caution is groun- 
 ded upon the fmgle Reafon of the eternal Difference 
 of moral Good and Evil •, the unchangeable Excellen- 
 cy of the former and the efTential Malignity of the 
 latter, and its abfolute inconfiftency with the good 
 Pleafure of the Moll High, and the Happinefs of ra- 
 tional Nature. By their Fruits ye jhall know them. Let 
 their external Garb and Appearance be ever fo fpecious 
 and promifing; if their Doctrines be inconfiftent with 
 moral Purity and Goodnefs, their Conduct will be ac- 
 cordingly : A good Tree cannot bring forth bad Fruit ; nor 
 can a corrupt Tree bring forth good Fruit. And hence it 
 is certain that immoral Paffions are not the Work of 
 God, nor were originally in the human Conftitution ; 
 but that, as noted before, they are the depraved Con- 
 fequence of a voluntary Difobedience and Defection 
 from the original Perfection of human Nature, and 
 that therefore their Mortification is one effential Part 
 of the Reftoration of fallen Man to the Image of God, 
 and his original Felicity: And that the Principle of 
 Reafon in the human Conftitution is given to be a Rule 
 and Reftraint to the natural Paffions and Appetites, in 
 Obedience to the Laws of God, as by Deputation un- 
 der his fovereign Authority ;■ as well as our delegated 
 
 Power 
 
3ro ^CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Power over the inferior Creation gives us a Right to 
 limit and regulate the Effects of the natural Propenfiony 
 of thofe of the brutal Species, which are fubject to our 
 Comroul, Command and Direction. By thus guarding 
 his Dilciples againft the Delufions of thofe he calls falie 
 Prophets, he confirms the NecefTity of Obedience to 
 the Commands he had before given; and particularly 
 that of entring in at the ftrak Gate and walking in the 
 narrow Way, which alone leadeth unto Life. 
 
 And left they mould ftill by a popular Miftake un- 
 derftand this of the ftrict and punctual Performance of 
 the external Duties of Religion -, although he had be- 
 fore given Caution againft that, in treating of the 
 Rigfueoufnefs of the Scribes and Pharifees, he here 
 repeats the Caution, ver. 2 1 . Not every one that faith 
 unto me, Lord, Lord, /ball enter into the Kingdom of Hea- 
 ven. Not the molt exact Performance of the Ceremo- 
 nials of Religion ; nor even having prophefied in his 
 Name, and in his Name caft out Devils, and done 
 many wonderful Works, will be a fufficient Plea for 
 obtaining an Admiffion into the Kingdom of Heaven, 
 without a diligent and conftant Endeavour to do the 
 Will of our Father which is in Heaven, by the uniform 
 confeientious Practice of Virtue and Holinefs in Life 
 and Converfation. To thofe who mould expect to be 
 admitted upon any other Reafon, he faith, he will pro- 
 fefs; I never knew you: Depart from me ye that work Ini- 
 quity. Being Workers of" Iniquity is fufficient to de- 
 feat every other Plea for Admiffion into the Kingdom 
 of Heaven. 
 
 This he proceeds ftill further to confirm, by clofing 
 his Sermon with a folemn Declaration, that their hear- 
 ing his Sayings, without reducing the fame to Practice 
 in the conftant Courie of holy Obedience, would be of 
 no Avail for Salvation : Comparing thofe who mould 
 do otherwiie to a foohlh Man, who built his Houfe upon 
 the Sand-, which, when the Rain defcended, and the 
 Hoods came, and the Winds blew and beat upon it, 
 
 fell, 
 
Of the NEW TESTAMENT. 311 
 
 fell, and great was the Fall of it. Likening, at the 
 fame Time, thofe who fhould act agreeably to his Pre- 
 cepts, to a wile Man who built his Houfe-upon a Rock, 
 which, when aiTaulted by the Winds and Storms, flood 
 firm and unmoved by their utmoft Violence. 
 
 From thefe Obervations upon our bleficd Saviour's 
 Sermon, I think it is undubitably clear, that the Prac- 
 tice of univerial Virtue and Holinefs of Life in Deiigri 
 and fincere Endeavour-, though not in Perfection of 
 Degree, is required of all Chriitians as an indifpenfabk: 
 Condition of Salvation ; as well as is Faith in Jeius 
 Chrift, as a Propitiation for the Sins of die World, alfo 
 required, as a neceiTary Condition of the Divine Ac- 
 ceptance of our fincere, tho' imperfect Obedience, to 
 Salvation, inffead of that perfect Holinefs, which was 
 the original Condition of eternal Life and Happinefs. 
 
 So that, the Doctrine of Salvation by the Crofs doth 
 not defeat or difannul the Obligation of the Moral Law 
 as a Rule of Life, tho' it eftablifheth a Difpenfation 
 from the Severity thereof, in favour of penitent Believ- 
 ers, as a Rule of Judgment. The original Sentence 
 upon Tranlgreffion : The Soul thatfnneth, itjlmll die : is, 
 by the Death of Chrift, changed into t*ie gracious De- 
 claration: Believe in the Lordjefus Chrift, and thou fb alt 
 he faved; in favour of all fuch as fhtw the Truth of 
 their Faith by the Sincerity of their Obedience-, accor- 
 ding to the Declaration of St. Paid, Rom. viii. 1. There 
 is now no Condemnation to them that are in Chrift jejus-, 
 ■who walk not after the Fkjb, but after the Spirit: That is, 
 who live in the fincere and conftant (tho' not perfect) 
 Practice of every moral Virtue. — For fo the fame A- 
 poftle defcribes living after the Spirit: Gal. v. 22. TM 
 Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Jcy, Peace, Long-fuffering % 
 Gentlenefs, Goodnefs, Faith, Meeknefs, Temperance •, that 
 is, every moral Virtue. Having before defcribed the 
 Works of the Fie Hi, ver. 19. to be Adultery, Fornica- 
 tion, Unckannfs, Lafcivicujhejs, Hatred, Variance* 
 
 Eraulaticn^ Wraik^ Strife, Seditions, Hcrejies, Euzyings, 
 
 Murthers, 
 
-.12 The CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Murthers^Drunkennefs, Revellings, andfuch like', that is, 
 all Immorality : Of which, he added, I tell you before, 
 (I forewarn you, 7rpoXiyoo v^Tv,) as I have alfo told you in 
 lime -pall^ (xaflw? ■*, -ut^uttov) that they which dofuch Things, 
 
 fhall not inherit the Kingdom of God. So that the Faith 
 
 of Chrift, and Juitification by Faith, do not, as the 
 fame Apoftle wiiteth, Rom. iii. 31. make void the Law, 
 but rather ejlablifh the Law'. And it is far from be- 
 ing a Reproach, Pifhonour, or Diminution, as fome 
 have thought, to the Grace (the Favour and Mercy) of 
 God, which bringeth Salvation, and hath appeared unto all 
 Men, Titus ii. 12. that the fame teachtth and enjorheth, 
 as a necefiary Condition of that Salvation, that denying 
 Vn^odlinefs and worldly Lufts, we fhould live foberly, righ- 
 ttoujly and godly in this prefent World. And that the 
 "Redeemed of the Lord mould be a 'peculiar People, zea- 
 loui of good Works, Ver. 14. And for that Reafon the 
 fame fame Apoftle layeth it down as an effential Rule 
 to all Chriftians, that they fuffer not Sin to reign in- 
 their mortal Bodies, that they fijculd obey it (aurjj, viz. 
 Sin) in the Lufts thereof ; that is, in the natural De- 
 fires of the Body; h rouq IrnQvyAai; dvrx', Rom. vi. 12. 
 This is clearly the Doclxine of Salvation by Chrift ; the 
 firait Gate, and the narrow Way, which leadeth vnto 
 Ltfe. 
 
 F I N I Sr 
 
A 
 
 REPLY 
 
 T O 
 
 Mr. ABRAHAM BOURN\ 
 
 Free and Candid 
 
 considerations: 
 
 SHEWING 
 
 The Impropriety and Incompetency of that Work, confidered as an 
 Anfwer to the Prefuce of a Book (not then publifhed) intitled, 
 
 THE 
 
 CHRISTIANITY 
 
 O F 
 
 Which Preface was occasionally written in Vindication of the Au- 
 thor's Conformity to the Church of England, contrary to his 
 Education, upon Arguments of Reiigion and Polity. 
 
 With aPREFACE, 
 
 Addrefftd to the Gentlemen of the Presbyterian Perfuafion, efpe- 
 cially in LIVERPOOL. 
 
 By PETER WHITFIELD. 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LIVERPOOL: 
 
 Printed by R. Williamson, at the Circulating Library , near the 
 
 Exchange. M D C C L VII. 
 

 THE 
 
 PREFACE- 
 
 Addrejfed particularly to the Gentlemen and others of the Pre/ly- 
 terian Perfuafion in L I V E R P O O L. 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 AS many of you as remember the Time when fo trifling an Event as my 
 Conformity happened, may perhaps alfo remember that that Step of 
 my Conduct had no Manner of Relation to any Quarrel or Mifunderftanding 
 with any of your Profeffion ; but that contrariwife, the Chief of my Profpect 
 for the Advantage of my fecular Affairs, might juftly feem to depend (as it 
 did) upon the InterejJ I had with fome of the principal Perfons. then in 
 
 Town of that Character. I beg Leave now to declare the Affair really 
 
 was fo, and that my Conformity was entirely the Refult of a Train of the 
 molt difinterefled Reafoning I had for fome Time profecuted ; the fame 
 as defcribed in the Preface, and upon which I had taken Opportunity of 
 debating with Gentlemen and others of the mod eminent Character, both 
 of the Minifters and Laics of your Communion. The Refult was the Efla- 
 blifhment of a difinterefted Conviction, that it was my Duty to become a 
 Member of the Eftablifhed Church. 
 
 And I defire you, Gentlemen, will believe (ivhat you may eafily reply 
 is not worth your Co?ifideration) that I had not in Confequence of this 
 Change of Conviction and Conduct, the leaft Diminution of that Efteem, 
 Regard and Friendfhip I before had with a valuable Number of your Cha- 
 racter and Society. 
 
 A I HAD, 
 
ii The P R E F A C E. 
 
 I had, more than once, on Occafion of accidental flight Debates with 
 learned Men of your Perfuafion,propofed to have publifhed our different Ap- 
 prehenfions, for general Satisfaction and Entertainment, which was declined 
 from the Confideration of Difference of Character and Hazard. This 
 fuperfeded all Confideration of that Nature, till I happened to think of 
 writing againfl the Socinians, in Vindication of the Evangelical Doctrine 
 of Salvation by the Merits and Sacrifice of Jefus Chrift. On this Occafion 
 I eafily conceived the Defign of taking the Opportunity defcribed in the 
 Preface, to write an Apology to the DifTenters for my leaving their Commu- 
 nion, which I endeavoured to do entirely in Confidence with that Calm- 
 nefs and difpaffionate Regard to Truth, which fhould attend all Debates ; 
 and with that cordial Efteem and Friendfhip mentioned above. And I 
 think this Reply, and whatever is or may appear difagreeable in it, muit 
 be wholly imputed to Mr. Bourn's (I apprehend imprudent) Refolution to 
 publifh his Conceptions, without allowing himfelf to confider how far 
 they were inadequate to his Intention and Profeffion. 
 
 This, Gentlemen, I take die Opportunity of faying to you, as it was 
 necefTary to write a fhort Preface, to give you and others an Account of 
 fo uncommon and irregular an Affair, as is the Publiihing of a Preface to a 
 Book, which hath not yet appeared, nor perhaps ever may, (though the 
 Contrary isdefigned.) 
 
 The Beginning of this Reply, hath, in fome Sort done this, by relating 
 how Mr. Bourn came to have the Opportunity to read the Preface to which 
 he happened to find in himfelf, and to indulge an Inclination to compofe 
 and print his Free and Candid Considerations, as an Anfwer, frc. 
 His publiihing whereof, made it, in fome Sort, necefiary, the Preface itfelf 
 fhould appear, though the Book it is defigned to be prefixed to, is not yet 
 eompleated ; fome embarraffing Occurrences having, hitherto unavoidably, 
 intermitted my Attention thereto. But, having, in the mean Time, had 
 Opportunity to compofe the Preface ; upon the favourable Cenfure of fome 
 Gentlemen of great Ingenuity and Learning, I caufed an Impreffion there- 
 of to be made, more numerous than I defigned for the Book; that as it is 
 upon a different Subject, fome fuch might have an Opportunity of reading 
 it, as might not be equally difpofed to the other. So that a Few of the 
 Copies thereof were given out without Publication (none fold) before I 
 happened to put it into Mr. Bourn's Hand. 
 
 I have, in the Reply, acquainted my Readers, that upon my Perufal of 
 his Manufcript, I rather, as far as I durfr, difiuaded him from printing it, 
 (efpecially without Correction of fome Things I thought improper) as I 
 believed it would not be of much Honour to him, being by no Means 
 adequate to the Purpofe he pretended it to be for, though I told him I 
 believed it would fell. His Book is no more than a pretty handfome Col- 
 lection and Reprefentation of the moif. common-place Topics ufually urged 
 in popular Vindications of Non-conformity ; but bears no Manner of Propor- 
 tion to the Scope of my Preface, nor fo much as enters upon any Thing like 
 a ferious, hardly a fuperficial Confideration of that Summary, decifive Argu- 
 ment, which I have there advanced in JufHfication of my Conduct, with 
 Refpcct to Conformity, contrary to my Education, and of Conformity in 
 
 General : 
 
The PREFACE. 
 
 in 
 
 General: Againft which, upon the matureft and moft difinterefted De- 
 liberation, I could, (I can) think of very little, or rather nothing at all, 
 which may properly be alledged. In which Opinion I the rather indulged 
 myfelf, as I found I was therein under the Protection of feveral very 
 eminent Writers, who had fupported the fame Argument ; but efpecially 
 thofe two great Oracles of Political Learning, Grotius and Pujfendorf: 
 And as the whole Reafoning (whereby this Queftion is fo fully determined* 
 and in fo fmall a Compafs, which hath otherwise produced fo many Volumes) 
 is little more than an Explication of that undeniable and felf-evident Pofi- 
 tion, or Political Maxim, That the Soveraign Poiver in every State, may 
 (with a difinterefted View to the publick Good) hiflitute any Thing 'which 
 is not (or which upon the moft impartial Examination does not appear to be) 
 contrary to any Divine Laiv. But however clear and undeniable this 
 Principle is, Mr. Bourn thought the elegant Arrangement, he had made 
 of the strong Supports of Non-conformity, would be fufficient to 
 defeat all its Efficacy, efpecially by the Continuance (contrary to my 
 Advice and Requeft) of all the Irony and Sarcafm, wherewith he had em- 
 bellished his Composition, which he very 'wifely judged abfolutely necefTary 
 to keep up the Edge and Force of his Reafoning. This was the only Rea- 
 fon of whatever Afperity may appear in my Reply, all which is my Aver- 
 fion, as being rather againft, than of any life or Advantage to the Propa- 
 gation and Support of Truth ; but I apprehended myfelf under a Neceifity 
 of conforming, lb far as I have done, to the Mode and Style he had pre 
 fcribed me. 
 
 But even this, he or his Friend, (as he acquaints us) to whom he com- 
 mitted the Care of the Impreffion, thought not yet fufficient, without at- 
 tempting to throw a Reproach upon the Preface and its Author, by pre- 
 fixing an Advertifement to his Book in thefe Words. 
 
 Liverpool, Sept. 1755. 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 "The Preface which gave Occafion to this Letter, as well as the 
 " Book to which it belongs, were printed fometime ago by the Author 
 " himlelf, and have been privately and feparately put into many Hands, 
 " though they 'were never regularly publifhed." 
 
 Upon the coming out of Mr. Bourn's Book, I publifhed the Remarks 
 mentioned P. 6,7. of this Reply, wherein, among other Things, I wrote 
 to this Effect. Pray give me heave to ajk, for nvhat Purpofe you have 
 prefaced your Book 'with an Advertifement, 'which is a plain donunright 
 Falfhood? The Book you mention is not printed ; there 'wants the 'whole 
 third Setlion, nvhich I am afraid 'will prove (contrary to my firfl Inte?i- 
 tion) nearly as long as the Second. And again : I Jloall be taken by that 
 Advertifement to have printed fome Scandalous Book, / could not face 
 the Publication of, nor even trttjl the Printing of it to any Hand but my 
 
 A 2 own; 
 
IV 
 
 The PREFACE. 
 
 own-' and given out the fame in a cautious, private, clandeftine Manner, 
 
 to avoid publick Reproach, or perhaps fome fever er Animadverfion. . 
 
 Does not (pray judge impartially) does not the Letter of your prefatory 
 
 yldvertifement plainly imply thus much? and yet it is every Word 
 
 falfe. 1 printed the Book (fo much as is printed) myfelf, only becaufe 
 
 I could not otherwife get it done ; there ivas not a Hand in Town, 
 could manage the Greek and Hebrew Types. The Preface was printed, 
 by Mr. S . The Work was delivered privately out to a few, only be- 
 caufe it was imperfeel '.- What a Difference now there is betwixt this 
 
 Account and your Advertife?nent ! And yet Mr. B tley will have them 
 
 to be both alike. How much Malignity may from Ignorance, Pride 
 
 and Prejudice, be foewn about a mere Trifle. The Reader will fee the 
 Cafe plainly. Yet the lafl mentioned Gentleman perCfts to reprefent the 
 Thin" in his own Way, which is too low and dirty to be taken Notice 
 of by°my Pen. I have begun with him the Method our bleffed Saviour 
 commands in Cafe of Offence, whereto he hath not thought fit to make 
 any Reply or take any Notice of it, fo I leave him to his own Conceptions. 
 
 This Account contains the true Reafon of my publifhing the Preface 
 in fo very uncommon a Manner. And fince as others, befides Mr. Bourn, 
 have "iven themfelves an Intereft in this Affair, (how much to their 
 Honour !) I may be apprehenfive of Rejoinders and Surrejoinders, 6r. to 
 avoid the Reproach of giving up the Caufe, and to weary me into a 
 Silence, in which they may triumph as a Defeat : I hereby declare to all 
 concerned, I will take no Notice of any Thing further upon this SubjecT, 
 till they fhall give a clear, full and decifive Anfwer to the Preface, where- 
 of I have not the leaft Apprehenfion ; having fuch Supports as I mentioned 
 before, and as what they have yet advanced has not the leafl Part even of 
 an Attempt ofzn Anfwer to the principal Arguments. 
 
 A RE- 
 

 REPLY 
 
 T O 
 
 Mr. bourn's jFree w CanDtD 
 
 CONSIDERATIONS. 
 
 WHEN I wrote the Preface to my Book, called the 
 Christian i.ty of the New Testament, 
 I thought it would be a {landing and fatisfactory Vindi- 
 cation of my conforming to the Church of England, con- 
 trary to the Courfe of my Education, againft many Re- 
 proaches I knew I had fuffered on that Account. And as 
 I had, at the Time of my Conformity, fhewed a fhort 
 Draught of the fame Arguments, to feveral Perfons, with- 
 out having any material Exception made to them ; and 
 as the Preface had been printed, and fome Copies given 
 out a confiderable Time, without any Thing appearing 
 againft it, and having had the concurrent Opinion of fome 
 Gentlemen of Learning in its Favour; I was vain enough 
 to believe it wou'd not have been anfwered ; and that it 
 would be confidered, either as not being worthy of an 
 Anfwer, which is fometimes found to be the beft Way, 
 
 B (and 
 
6 A Reply to Mr, BOURNE 
 
 (and I verily believe fome will wifh they had fo treated my 
 Preface) or as not very obvious to it. But as I happened 
 accidentally to meet with an agreeable, fprightly, young 
 Gentleman, who, at the firft Interview, appeared to me 
 well qualified, by Genius and Erudition, to confider the 
 Merits of an Argument; and rinding him to be of the 
 Prefbyterian (or however DifTenting) Perfuafion ; and 
 defcended from a Gentleman, who, I knew, had been (I 
 believe defervedly) in his Time, of great Character and 
 Reputation in that Way: I happened, in the Freedom of 
 Converfation, to tell him I had wrote fuch a Thing, and 
 defird him to perufe it, and, if he thought fit, to make 
 his Remarks upon it, which he agreed to do. I. own I 
 did not expect he wou'd have printed his Reflections, upon 
 a Queflion, I thought my Reprefentation of, had been 
 pretty much decifive-, of which Opinion I ftill am, and 
 the more fo, for his Anfwer. But he thought fit to en- 
 gage his Pen, and to publifh his Conceptions, which he, 
 fays (P. 3.) I may, if I pleafe, call An ANSWER; 
 upon which Manner of Expreffion, I made an' obvious 
 Reflection, in fome brief Remarks I publifhed, immedi- 
 ately upon the coming out of his Book. He fent me his 
 Manufcript to perufe, which I did, and wrote him three 
 Letters upon fome Part of.it, beTore I was aware he de- 
 figned it for the Prefs ; thinking to have gone through the 
 whole in that private Way, and giving him fome Hints 
 againft Publifhing it without fome Correction. But al- 
 though I (hewed him fome real plain Miflakes, he pro- 
 ceeded in his own Way, and printed his Book. 
 
 I d 1 d, as above-faid, upon -its coming out, and to 
 obviate the Effect, fuch a fepcciotlg Work might, and I 
 believed would have, upon fome weak and interefted 
 .Minds, publifh fome brief Remarks, to fhew the very, 
 great Infufficiency of the Performance, and that in how 
 agreeable a View foever it might be thought by fome, to 
 fet the Cafe, it could not, with the leaft Propriety be cal- 
 led an. Anfwer to my Preface, as. not having touched 
 upon, much lefs difcuffed and anfwered the Principal and 
 
 fundamental 
 
free and candid Considerations. 7 
 
 fundamental Arguments, and upon which the Merits of 
 the Queftion entirely depend. That is, he had not pre- 
 tended to mew, Either that the civil Powers might not, 
 with a fincere Aim for the bell Adminiftration of the 
 Public Concerns of every State, command any Thing 
 not contrary to the Laws of God ; or that the Ecclefiafti- 
 cal Eftablimment of this Nation, enjoyns any Thing con- 
 trary to any fuch Law. 
 
 This Obfervation, as it entirely fets afide the Force 
 of all he hath writ, might juftly be efteemed a fufficient 
 Reply; and I mould have thought it fo, and have given 
 myfelf no further Trouble upon the Subject ; but as I did 
 in my Remarks (I now think, rather toohaftily) promife 
 to give him a fuller Reply, to all the Allegations he 
 thought fit to make (not againft much that I had writ, 
 but rather) in defence of his own Conceptions, and thofe 
 of his Party, concerning Church-Power and Policy, and 
 the Danger and Inconfiftency of allowing the civil Powers 
 any Influence in the Adminiftration of Ecclefiaftical Af- 
 fairs, I now think myfelf obliged to fulfil that Promife; 
 not fo much out of Regard to the Man, who, I believe, 
 would taullingip difpenfe with my Failure of Promife-, 
 but for the Sake of others, who might be induced to 
 afcribe fuch Failure to fome Reafon, falle in itfelf, and 
 Prejudicial to the Caufe I have, in my own Vindication, 
 voluntarily lifted myfelf as an Advocate for. Upon a 
 nearer and more attentive Confideration of Mr. Bourn's 
 Work, I find greater Reafon to be forry that I did lay 
 myfelf under that Engagement. Not from any Diffi- 
 culty I forefee in the Performance, more than meerly the 
 Trouble of writing; but as the Stile the Book is writ in, 
 will lay me under an unavoidable Neceffity of treating 
 it's Author with more Sharpnefs and Severity, than I 
 would willingly ufe to anyPerfon. I have elfewhere hint- 
 ed, more than once, that all Advocates for tttltl) (as all 
 Difputants are or ought to be) mould always endeavour to 
 preferve an Unity of Sprit in the Bond of Peace ; and fhew they 
 
 B 2 are 
 
8 ^Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 are not purfuing any other End, or acting upon any other 
 •Motive, than the Eftablifhment thereof, in Theory and 
 Practice. But in this Gentleman's Performance, I cannot 
 avoid feeing fo much of the Cynick Snarle, (except you'll 
 rather call it Afifh Irrifton-,) fo little Regard to the true 
 Merits of the Queftion, treated or profefled to be treated 
 on ; fo litttle Obfervance of the Rights of natural Order 
 and Decency, as well as the Propriety of Controverfy; 
 that I wifh I could well be excufed from entring the 
 Lifts, where I muft be to engage with, and fuit my De- 
 fence to fuch untoward Weapons. 
 
 One Thing I hope my Antagonift and his Friends 
 will acknowledge. That as I wrote to him, to requeft he 
 would take fome of the dDall atti! HilormtDGOtl out of 
 the iE'Ctiitr.tC he had compounded for me, that I might not 
 be under a Neceffity of putting fuch a Quantity of {Etne= 
 |jaj in my Ink, by Way of Counterpoifon, they will lay 
 the Blame of all fuch irregularity of Stile, where it ought 
 juftly to lye. And particularly as he promifed, in an- 
 fwer to my Requefr, to do what I propofed, as far, he 
 faid, as he fafely might, to preferve the Force of his 
 Reafoning, which he hath not done at all. — After thefe 
 Things premifed, I begin my Reply to his fxtz anil 
 Gantuti Con£ifceratio!ig5 how properly fo called, we 
 fhall have Opportunity of feeing further on. 
 
 He fays, P. 3. The Preface required an Anfwer. Why? 
 Was it becaufe it had advanced any Thing contrary to Ge- 
 neral Truth, the Laws of Humanity, the Peace of Church 
 or State, Purity of Chriitian Doctrine, Holinefs of Life, 
 or the general Good of Societies or Individuals? No — 
 Buc — As it advances many Things, and thofe of a momentous 
 Nature, contrary to the Sentiments, tofiicij, (he fays) 31 anil 
 matin ntXyt\# fjattt a&Optetl* This Motive, as here ex- 
 prefied, is liable to fome Animadverfion, but fo plain as 
 not to need a very particular Treatment. 
 
 &t\i JttJ iEitrtygf are too often the prevalent Motives of 
 
 Action, 
 
free and candid Considerations. 9 
 
 Action, but not generally fo openly avow'd. I think we 
 ihould, efpecially in all controverted Queftions, endeavour 
 tolet&elf as much as poflibleafide, change perfoitg, and 
 reprefent to our own Minds, in the faireft Light, the 
 Reafons our Antagonifts appear to have gone upon. 
 
 This would, I believe, oft fuperfede all further Dif- 
 pute; and determine or change many a Scheme. As 
 the Famous Bowyer confelTes it did his; who, from a 
 difinterefted Attention to the Hiftory of the Chriflian 
 Church, from its firft Foundation, inftead of eftablifhing 
 the erTential Doctrines of Popery, as he intended, and 
 doubted not he Ihould have effectually done, found him- 
 felf obliged (from the irrefiftible Evidence of Truth) to 
 turn his Pen to the Defence of the Proteflant Religion, and 
 of the Reformation of the Church from the Errors of Popery., 
 
 P. 4. and 5. My Refpondent feems to value himfelf 
 upon his happy Freedom from all Prejudice of Mind, he 
 might otherwife have been unhappily under, by his hav- 
 ing never read the Writings of Arius or Socinus, Luther or 
 
 Calvin. 1 envy him not this Immunity. But might 
 
 he not have been as well qualified for the Province he hath 
 voluntarily undertaken, had he been a little more ac- 
 quainted with the Sentiments and Writings of thofe Men, 
 and not depended wholly on the Force of his own natural 
 Genius, how great foever ? 
 
 But why does he fay of my Preface, p. 5. It may be of 
 Service, ag poll fap, particularly to the Jews : Did I any 
 where fay fo? This is, perhaps, the firft Inftance of that 
 contemptuous Sneer he hath fhewn fo much of. I truft 
 there is not in all my Work fo much as this one Inftance, 
 to give me a Title to the Place fo kindly affigned me, in 
 the Seat of the Scornful, p. 80. 
 
 And yet were the Jews free from that Cloud of Pre- 
 judice, that Vail, which feems to be judicially over their 
 Minds to this Day, in the reading of the Law and the Pro- 
 phets ; 
 
io A Reply to Mr. BOURN'* 
 
 phets; could they allow themfelves to attend to free Rea- 
 soning, upon their own Scriptures, they might perhaps 
 receive fome Benefit from fome fuch Performance., as I 
 aimed mine to be, and obtain a better Idea of the Cha- 
 racter of the MESSIAH, and his Errand into this 
 World, than, not only they, but many Profeffors of Chri- 
 ftianity feem yet to have. 
 
 Whether the Number of thofe who reject: the Doc- 
 rines of Redemption, Propitiation, Sec. be more or fewer, 
 I have not undertaken to fhew, but have in the General, 
 with others, my Superiors, complained of the Prevalence 
 of the Socinian l^evefp, and if there be any Reafon for 
 that Complaint, it will juftify the Intention of my Un- 
 dertaking: Whether the Gentleman pointed at be one of 
 that Character, I don't affirm ; but I think thf Reafons I 
 have defcribed were more than Sufficient to give Credit to 
 the Account given me, and to ground my Perfuafion 
 upon. — '< — Why mould People be fo induftrious to fhiftof, 
 and avert, in Words, a Charge, their Actions plainly 
 avow ? Why do they appear to halt between two Opini- 
 ons? If Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him. 
 If Jefus Chrift be only a Prophet fent to teach the Laws 
 of refined Morality f the %t\Xt l&eltgiott of Jftature, as 
 the Gentleman call'd it) let them avow the Doctrine o- 
 penly and freely. %vuif) neetl0 tto Cohering* If he 
 came to be a King and a Prieit, as well as a Prophet, as 
 the Scriptures fully teach; if he came to give his Life a 
 Ranfom for many, Matth. xx. 28. Xvtpov a m noXm ; to give 
 hi mf elf a Ranfom for All, 1 Tim. ii. 6 WnAuT^oK uV^ vravruv -, 
 to pur chafe to himfelf a Church with his own Blood, Acts xx, 
 28. \tZ 7riDi£TrOiwoilo (o gfo?) JVa Ta ISls ottfAocToq ; if we be recon- 
 ciled to God by the Death of his Son-, having by him received the 
 
 Atonement. Rom. V. 10, IlJia vvu ryv nxrocXXayviv ixxfiofjuv; 
 
 If he have been made fin (or rather a Sin-Offering )for us, who 
 knew no Sin, 2 Cor. v. 21. Cn)p -n^Zv upocpriocv iitowev, (this 
 Word is moftly, if not always, ufed in the Greek Tranflation, 
 
 for 
 
free and candid Considerations, i i 
 
 For the Hebrew -fiNErr Sin-Offering) that we might be made the 
 Right eoufnefs of God in htm ; in fhort, if He be a Propitiation 
 for our Sins, (\\%<rpo; eV * ra^cl twi/ o.^xot^v ypuv, i John. ii. 
 2. and 4. 10.) let them, in the Name of God, rejoice in this 
 Salvation, let them proclaim this loving Kindnefs of the Lord in 
 the Ajfemblies of the Saints-, and make known the Glories of 
 redeeming Grace; afcribing with the Angelic Choir, Glory 
 io God in the Higheft, for that Peace on Earth and that good 
 Will to men, which the Redeemer came to bring the glad 
 Tidings of. Let them in the Church on Earth fpeak and preach 
 the Praifes of redeeming Love, in Concert with the glorified 
 Saints in Heaven, who have wafhed their Robes, and made 
 them white in the Blood of the Lamb, Rev. vii. 14. who are 
 elfewhere described as railing down before the Lamb, Rev. 
 v. 9. finging a new Song and faying, Thou art worthy to 
 take the Book (the Book of the Counfels and Decrees of the 
 rnoft High, Hamm. Pol. cat.) and to loofe the Seals thereof \ 
 for thou waft Jlain, and haft teoeemctl U$ to (25ot! ibp ti)p 
 315100&, out of every Tribe, and Tongue, and People, and Na- 
 tion; and in the 1 1 Ver. the heavenly Angels are defcribed 
 as joining in the fame feraphic Song of Praife and Hal- 
 leluiah, even Myriads, of Myriads, and Thoufands of Thou- 
 fands, faying; Worthy is the Hamb tgat Voag flam, to 
 receive Power and Riches, and Wifdom and Strength, and 
 Honour and Glory, and Bleffing, Sec. If I fay thefe Doc- 
 trines, as plainly laid down in very many Places of the New 
 Teftament, befides thofe above recited, be t.o be underftood 
 as the Mind and Will of God made known to the Sons 
 of Men-, and if thefe prophetic Defcriptions of Songs of 
 Praife, by the heavenly Holt, to the Almighty Father, 
 and to the Lamb (lain from the Foundation of the World, 
 be given by the Infpiration of the moil High, to enlarge 
 our Conceptions of the Mercy of God, in the QiitiiHtt 
 ant! SDcatl) of %ttM €|)tt£; let not the Miniilers of the 
 Gofpel be flack, upon every Occafion, to declare their 
 joyful Concurrence in a grateful Acknowledgement of fo 
 great a Bleffing. 
 
 J* 
 
12 A Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 In p. 6. there is fomethingof a Miftake (which I fully 
 explained, in a Letter to him upon my reading his Manu- 
 fcript) in thefe Words: OmiJJion I fuppofe you mean: How 
 complacent he is in obftinately fuppofing me, inadvertently 
 or defignedly, guilty of fuch a monftrous Blunder, as to 
 confound two Ideas fo very different, not to fay contrary 
 and inconfiftent : But I think this Imputation, Grofs as it 
 is, is not io contrary to all Decency and Politenefs, as the 
 Spift) §&\\ttV we mail find fo much of. See p. 6. of the 
 Preface. A fmall Attention would have fhewn my Critic 
 Refpondent, that the DECLARATION there meant 
 was my own Declaration juft preceding: If any Chriftian 
 Minifter, &c. and this makes the Senfe and Connection 
 eafy. But it is very obvious to note, throughout this 
 Ieajnetl and dabojate Performance, a pretty uniform En- 
 deavour to reprefent Things, as ahfurd, ridiculous, incon- 
 fjient, inaccurate, improper, &c. doubtlefs from a ftrong and 
 tiotll 5£0tMtie& Affurance, that thefe Imputations would 
 depreciate the Argument, and meet with the ready Con- 
 currence of thofe he wrote for, in Applaufe of his juft aittl 
 laudable Endeavours. A great many People, not much 
 celebrated for profound Reafoning, are very capable of 
 Irrifion. And yet I think he pays his Readers but a poor 
 Complement, in fuppofing them capable of readily believ- 
 ing a Writer, of only common Senfe, could fo eafily make 
 fo plain and fo grofs a Miftake. But this is too common 
 an Artifice of incompetent Advocates, to fupply the De- 
 fects of their Logic, by Reproach and Invective, and 
 facrifice Truth to the falfe Embellifhment of their own 
 Character. Had the Gentleman, who, I believe, added 
 the Appendix, in Commiseration to the Author, been duly 
 confulted, fif I be right in my Guefs of the Perfon) he 
 would have difTuaded the publishing this PafTage. 
 
 The Author of Free and Candid Confiderations, may feem, 
 by rhe Letter of his Text, to refent my Treatment of the 
 Minifter with too much Refpect, p. 6. But don't be 
 
 . concerned. 
 
free a7td candid Considerations. 13 
 
 concerned, he means nothing lefs. This whole Paragraph 
 is an Inftance of that Cynic Snarl I have mentioned above. 
 I efteem the Gentleman pointed at, as a Perfon of mafterly 
 Senfe and Learning, and of unreproachable moral Con- 
 duct; I wifh the Character were more universal, efpecially 
 in People of his Denomination of every Order. But let 
 not the cattDiit dDentlemait affect giving himfelf too great 
 a Concern. I thought not, nor do I yet think the Gen- 
 tleman or his Advocate (to tdljom J omft apprehend 
 ije'il bttxn fyimttU miDer anp migfttp Obligation; of 
 Confequence enough (to borrow one Flower of his Rhe- 
 toric,) to have a Title to fo much of my Labour or Con- 
 cern. But I am not afhamed to own: I was under a very 
 great Concern to fee Truth fo wounded in the Houfe of her 
 Friends: To fee the Son of God trodden under Foot, and the 
 Blood of the Covenant wherewith we are fanHfified ('have the 
 Privilege of being admitted into the Character of God's 
 peculiar People, Deut. xiv. 2.) treated as an unholy Things 
 to fee that Purchafe, which the Redeemer made out of 
 every Kindred and Tongue, and People and Nation, by his 
 Blood, unto God and his Father, as cited above, not thought 
 worthy of the leaft mention in the Catalogue of Bleffings 
 and Immunities, publifhed to Mankind, and enumerated 
 as accruing by the Gofpel of Chrift; and that Redempti- 
 on, which is made the juft Object of the Halleluiah's of 
 the triumphant Saints in Heaven, not thought worthy of 
 any Notice in an Aflfembly of t§e &aillt0 on Earth : This, 
 I acknowledge, gave me a Concern, which determined me 
 to contribute my Mite (fi quid eft in me ingenii, quodfentio 
 quam fit exiguum) to refcue that evangelical Doctrine of 
 Redemption, and Expiation, from the Contempt I ap- 
 prehended it to be treated with. This was the Motive, 
 my only Motive of engaging in that laborious Undertaking. 
 
 P. 6. Mr. Bourn reproaches my Prefumption, for ven- 
 turing.to remark upon a Sermon, &c. from no better an 
 Idea, than what I could retain in my Memory, by a bare 
 
 C Hearing 
 
14 A Reply to Mr. BOURN'; 
 
 Hearing of it: To which I anfwer; that the very Ihort 
 Memorial I have ventured, not without fome acknowledg- 
 ed Diffidence, to give of that Performance, I think may 
 be better reconciled to Truth and good Senfe, than the 
 very out-of-the-way Queftion he afks on that Occafion. 
 I said I would not pretend to give a perfect and com- 
 pleat Account of the Sermon, &c. but in what I faid / 
 would keep Jlriflly to Truth. Upon which he aflcs, " How 
 " is it poffible to keep ftrictly to Truth, in the Repetition 
 " of a thing, unlefs the Account be perfect?" A plain At- 
 tempt to mow more of the Abfurd ! In this Queftion, I 
 think, my dear Doctor has rather a little miftaken, over- 
 
 fhot and expofed himfelf This is one of thofe Quef- 
 
 tions which plainly imply a Negation, and yet I mall 
 be able, I hope, to give it a clear Solution in the Affir- 
 mative. — Some Queftions are better anfwered by Exam- 
 ples than verbal Definitions. E. G. If I mould write 
 from L. Clarendon's, &c. Account of Oliver Cromwell, 
 that he was a very great Statefman and Politician, and a 
 very prudent and valiant General; I think I might be 
 allowed, in that Account, to keep ftrittly to Truth, and 
 yet my Account of the Man would be far from perfect- 
 Take another Inftance. A very agreeable young Gentle- 
 man gave me an unexpected Call fome Time ago •, of 
 whom, from a fhort Converfation I was, and am per- 
 fuaded I might, very conjiftently with ftritl Truth, fay, that 
 he is a Perfon of fine Senfe and Erudition (tho > in this I 
 have had the Mortification of being fince contradicted \) but 
 however, fome Things which have fince occurred, con- 
 vince me that this Account (however ftrictly agreeable to 
 Truth) is very imperfect You fee, Sir, what Trouble 
 you have put me to, or rather, I may fay, I have put my- 
 felf to, in fetting pnu to Rights in many Trifles, that 
 have not the leaft Pertinence to the Queftion. But if one 
 will be Imprudent enough to undertake to follow an ignis 
 fatuus, there's no balking the Purfuit. 
 
 P. 7. How arch the Gentleman is upon my Commen- 
 dation 
 
free and candid Considerations. 15 
 
 dation of the Prayer! What would he have faid, had I 
 difcommended it? He afks, what then was the Fault? — 
 He has himfelf mentioned the Fault. And I, like an ob- 
 ftinate Fool, (till infill on it, after his kind Admonition, 
 that it was a great and unpardonable Fault in that elegant 
 Performance, in the Circumftances before noted; that 
 there was nothing, not a Word, relating to thatgrandTran- 
 faclion and Event, the Redemption of the World by Jefus 
 Chrift:; nothing relating to the Doctrine and Scheme of 
 Chriftiaftity, except the very clofe of the Prayer: Through 
 Jefus Chrift, &c. abating which, the whole might have been 
 compofed and pronounced by any learned and devout Jew, 
 Pagan or Mahometan, as mentioned in the Preface. Now, I 
 refer it to the Confideration of the CHRISTIAN REA* 
 DER, whether there are not a great many illuftrious Par^ 
 ticulars of Blefiings received, to be acknowledged, and 
 Mercies to be prayed for, arifing from the Doctrines of 
 Chriftianity, particularly as a Scheme of Redemption and 
 Propitiation, which no Jew, Turk or Pagan, upon the 
 Principles of his own Religion, nor any Infidel whatever, 
 upon the Principles of Natural Religion, could conceive 
 or exprefs. This, Sir, was the Fault; and the Excufe 
 pretended for it a little further on, is vaftly unequal. 
 
 But I defire here toobferve one very remarkable Thing 
 (and which no Cfi^ifftfltt who reads with Attention, can 
 omit obferving; ) with what a contemptuous Sneer he an- 
 fwers his own Queflion < what was the Fault?) in thefe 
 Words ; Why, that grand One of omitting poii£ favourite 
 Z>oclrine; treating the Heavenly Do&rines of Redemption 
 and Salvation, publifhed to the World by Jefus Chrift, 
 as a fingular, abfurd, whimfical Opinion, of a very ob- 
 fcure, defpicable, filly, out-of-the-way Fellow, not worth 
 
 Notice or Regard. Tour favourite Opinion! -Sir, it is 
 
 my favourite Opinion. And I fay with the great Apoftle; 
 God forbid that Ifhould glory, fave in the Crofs of Chrift. I da 
 glory, and I hope I ftiall, to all Eternity, glory and tri- 
 umph, with all the Ranfomed of the Lord, who Jhall return- 
 *nd come to Zion x with Songs and everlajling Joy upn their 
 
 C 2 Heads,. 
 
16 A Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 Heads, in the triumphant Recital of the glorious Purchale 
 of the Redeemer's Blood.— — Yes, Sir, tljt0 10 mp fa= 
 toniitt SD&tfltue, and in Companion of this glorious 
 Addition to your favourite DocJrine of the True Religion of 
 Nature, (which, by the Way, without the coming of Chrift 
 and the publifning of i)tg €>ofpcl> you never had had: 
 As his Lordfhip of Londonhath moft elegantly fhewn.j In 
 Comparifon, I fay, of this, I mail always count all my own 
 Righteoufnefs, the higheft Improvement of the Law and 
 R E L I G I O N of N A T U R E, ( which yet is effentially 
 necefTary to the Chriftian Character,) to be of no Manner 
 of Value or Account, for the Excellency of the Knowledge of 
 Jefus Chrift our Lord; for whom I would fuffer the Lofs of all 
 Things, and count them but Dung, that I may win Chrift, and 
 be found in him •, not having my own Righteoufnefs, which is of 
 the Law, (the utmoft Perfection ofiht ^Religion of ,tfla* 
 tUVt ) but that which is through the Faith of Chrift, the Righ- 
 teoufnefs which is of God by Faith, &c. Phil. iii. 8, 9. 
 
 As to Mr. Bourn's Queftion in the fame Page : Muft a 
 Minifter be condemned in the Grofs for miffing in a Prayer or 
 Sermon the Name of Chrift, or a Jingle Doffrine of Chriftianity ? 
 
 Sec. Sir, give me leave to afk freely j Don't you by 
 
 this Queftion plainly make an Appearance of denying or 
 evading the Charge which I am appearing to make upon 
 Mr. — , of not averting, maintaining, believing, preaching- 
 the Doctrines of Atonement, Redemption, &c . effentially 
 belonging to the Gofpel of Chrift ? Can you with an up- 
 right Heart do that? Will he avow your Defence? Will 
 you or He openly declare your Avowance and Belief of 
 the Redemption of the World, and the Propitiation or 
 Atonement of the Sins of Mankind, by the Sacrifice and 
 Death of Chrift; as thofe Words are, according to the 
 plain and literal Senfe, ufually underftood? If fo, I believe 
 our Controverfy is at an End. But, I think, neither the 
 one nor the other will do that. But you'll fay : What R ight 
 have I to propofe thofe Interrogatories ? — None at all . Let 
 us go forward. — To the Queftion above, I anfwer then : 
 There is a good Deal of Difference between a Sermon and a 
 
 Prayer. 
 
free and candid Considerations. 17 
 
 Prayer. Of the former I fhall here fay nothing: But I 
 freely own, I believe, the Minifter who prays extempore, 
 obnoxious to a very great and juft Cenfure, who, in the 
 Circumftances as defcribed, p. 13. did not as there related, 
 in the leaft adapt his Prayer to fo grand an Occafion. This 
 Omiffion was, I think, as abfurd, and more abfurd (pray 
 lend me this pretty Word for oncej than if, on a Day con- 
 fecrated and appropriated for the folemn religious Comme- 
 moration of fome fignal national Deliverance, there fhould 
 not be a Word, in all the religious Office for the Day 
 mentioning, or any how relative to that providential Fa- 
 vour. Or, as if the Jews, in their religious Feflivities of 
 the PafTover, mould not make the leaft mention of the Af- 
 flictions of Egypt, and their Deliverance from them. And 
 I am not afhamed to own, that the other Omifiions he 
 mentions, of praying for the King, and the Magiftrates, 
 &V. would be liable to fome Exceptions as it would be 
 very odd, in the public Offices of Religion, not to pray 
 or return Thanks for the Peace and Profperity of the Com- 
 munity, &fc . But thefe Confiderations bear no Proportion 
 to that of the Redemption of the World, by our Lord 
 Jefus Chrift •, " toijo fuffejeti SDeatfj noon tije Ctofg fo? 
 <c out liUoemption, and maoe tijete, irp U$ one iDbla* 
 " tion once offejeO, a full perfect ano fufficient &at?i* 
 " fice, ^Dotation ano Smtigf action for tge ^ing of toe 
 " toftole Ho?Iii»" Comm. Serv. 
 
 I own it appeared fomething ftrange to me, that that 
 Gentleman, or any other Minifter of the fame Faith or 
 Perfuafion, fhould feem to apprehend his whole Church, 
 fo entirely brought over to his own Opinion ; as that he 
 fhould not think it neccffary, in point of Prudence, Gra- 
 titude, or good Manners, to fuit fome Part of his public 
 Office (though with fome little of the Equivoque) to the 
 Sentiments of fuch DifTenters. 
 
 P. 8. We are got at laft, with a good Deal of Diffi- 
 culty, to the Sermon, tho* not yet quite to the Subject we 
 fhould have begun with, and to which all the reft is very 
 
 little 
 
I? A Reply to Mr. BOURN'* 
 
 little appurtenant; and for that Reafon, as well as others, 
 not very hard to be guefied, I have pafied fome Things 
 without any particular Notice. 
 
 In p. 9. I find myfelf embarraflfed with another of Mr. 
 
 Boum*s witty Queftions or Challenges. rj wifh it might 
 
 have confifbed with the Force of his Reafoning, to have left 
 Out thefe foreign Digreflions, which I own, I think, it 
 might. — Speaking of Sin and the Guilt of Sin, he fays— 
 
 feparate them if you can, 31 tfjittk 3? can. If Sin be 
 
 confidered merely as an Act of natural Depravity, and 
 without all Regard to Law or Government, then upon the 
 taking away of Sin, or of the natural Depravity, by Super- 
 induction of the prevalent Habits of Virtue or inherent 
 Sanctification, the Punifhment alfo ceafes, which I fuppofe 
 upon this Scheme of Theology, is to be confidered not 
 as a judicial, but only as the natural unhappy Confequence 
 of Immorality ;- and thus, I think, the Terms Sin and Pu- 
 nifhment are ufed in a lefs proper and rather a figurative 
 Senfe. But, 
 
 If Sin be confidered properly, as the Tranfgreflion of a 
 Law impofed upon moral Agents, by a rightful Sovereign, 
 whereby Punifhment becomes the judicial Confequence of 
 Tranfgreflion ; as the Scripture plainly defcribes the Rea- 
 fon of the Almighty's Dealing with Mankind. Then, fup- 
 pofing moral Depravity and the Defection of the original 
 Habit of Holinefs, naturally or judicially confequent upon 
 Sin •, the Sinner becomes thereby unqualified to render a 
 compleat Obedience to the original Law, and fo liable to 
 the Punifhment of Sin •, and were not that the Cafe; as 
 fubfequent Obedience does not, by any primitive Right 
 or Necefiity of Nature, or universal Reafon of Govern- 
 ment, take away the Guilt of a former Tranfgremon, and 
 much lefs when the moral Faculties are depraved ; in this 
 Cafe alfo the Sinner is liable to the Guilt and Punifhment 
 of his Original, and of every fubfequent Act: of Difobedi- 
 ence ; which Guilt can only be removed by the Act of the 
 Sovereign, relaxing or difpenfing with the Punifhment 
 
 threatened i 
 
free and candid Considerations. 19 
 
 threatned; and that either in the Way of mere fovereign 
 Grace, or in Confideration of fomething done or fuffered 
 by, or for the Offender, by Way of Reparation, Satisfacti- 
 on, Propitiation, or Atonement, for the Guilt and Demerit 
 of the Tranfgreflion. And thus the Punifliment is confi- 
 dered not as a phyfical, but as a judicial Confequence of 
 Sin-, and altho', whom hejuflifies, them he alfo fanctifies ; 
 yet the Pardon of the Guilt, and the Removal of the 
 Depravity, are two different Acts, fubfequent the latter to 
 the former, not by natural Neceflity, but by the fovereign 
 Appointment of the moft High, in the Difpenfation of the 
 Grace of the Gofpel ; the former being in the New Tefta- 
 ment reprefented under the Ideas of Redemption, Pardon y 
 Atonement, Juftification, &c. the latter of Sanclification, by 
 the Renewal of the Divine Image, loft by the original 
 Tranfgreflion, &V. 
 
 And this Defcription, which feparates the Confideration 
 of Sin and Punifliment, is fuitable to the Ideas of Atone- 
 ment by Sacrifice, given and inftituted by the Almighty, 
 under the Law-, and to the fame Ideas, from original and 
 univerfal Tradition, in the Pagan Theology ; and equally 
 fuitable to the Method of Reftoration of Mankind to the 
 Favour of God, by the Death and Sufferings of Chrift, as 
 the great Sacrifice of Atonement, under the Gofpel, plainly 
 defcribed in the New Teftament; as I have endeavour'd 
 to explain and confirm in my Book. 
 
 P. 10. 1. 7. Still more witty and important Interrogato- 
 ries or Remonftfances, Ton tell us not one Truth that was 
 
 not comprehended under tftcm* — Of great Importance this 
 to our Qiieftion ! He complains of the Length of the Pre- 
 face, and yet blames it for not being needlefsly much 
 
 longer ! very confiftently ! But yet fome Things are 
 
 expreffed, which are effential to the Subject, and not 
 comprehended in his DiiTertation, which I would not 
 here repeat. 
 
 P. 11. 1. 4. PFfyJhsuld this Che faysj be looked upon to be 
 
 the 
 
20 ^Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 the moft important Part of the Sermon? Anf. It appeared fo 
 to me, which is all I faid, and need not tell why, it is no- 
 thing to the Queftion. 
 
 H i s Analyfis of the Sermon I don't blame. I take No- 
 tice, that that Part of this critical Performance don't feem 
 to imply or complain of any Miftake or perverfe Repre- 
 fentation, in my fummary Account of the Sermon •, and fo 
 the Complement he made me, in p. 6. might have been 
 fpared, which would have faved the Trouble of my an— 
 fwering his very pertinent and critical Queftion. 
 
 But fuppofe the Sermon, as excellent in other Refpecfts 
 as you pleafe. I think I may flill infill on it as a very great 
 Defect in a Sermon compofed and uttered with great Ora- 
 tory, purpofely to explain and defcribe the Freedom and 
 BlefTings granted to Mankind by the Gofpel of Chrift, not 
 to have mentioned tljig of being delivered from the Guilt 
 and Punifhment of Sin by the Death of Chrift, fo oft 
 and fo plainly taught in the New Teftament, except you 
 can fhew, that that Idea does not belong to the Scripture- 
 Scheme of Chriftianity ; as fome Heretics have afferted, 
 or that it is a Part of natural Religion. I wifti the Gen- 
 tleman would here apply his elegant Allegory of the Cap 
 fitting and putting it on> mentioned elfewhere. 
 
 The Imaginations of young jfalfe are apt to run wild. 
 'The Author imagines / was then a late Convert , &c. This 
 has about as much Pertinence to the Queftion, as other 
 Things of equal Elegance already noted. , I might imitate 
 his polite Allegory juft mentioned, and fay, well guejfed of 
 
 an Old . I have a good Deal of Reafon to believe, I 
 
 then had been as long in the Church, as he had been, or 
 perhaps as long as he has yet been in the World. And 
 for that Reafon, had a Right, merely on Account of na- 
 tural Decency, to Treatment of fome little Gravity, and 
 not in fuch a puerile, ludicrous, and Merry- Andrew Man- 
 ner. — At the Bottom of the fame Page is a Piece of Wit as 
 
 elegant 
 
free and candid Considerations. 21 
 
 elegant as the former, about a magnifying Glafs, and a 
 /peaking Trumpet. — I had no need of the former, nor the 
 Preacher of the latter, nor can I think the laft mentioned 
 Machine will be of any great Ufe to the Author, fo long 
 as the free and t atttJifc Canfifcerattoilg lhall be read, nor is 
 either of the lead Ufe to our Enquiry. But none of thefe 
 witty Impertinencies could be fpared •, they were all neceffa- 
 ry, eifentially necelfary to keep up the Force of his Reafon- 
 ing; otherwife he would as he promifed, have taken them 
 out. Miferable reafoning, which needs fuch Supports ! 
 
 He fays, I have omitted the Word Authoritatively. — I 
 thank his kind Admonition : But I left out the Word pur- 
 pofely. I was foolifn enough to think that RIGHT im- 
 plied AUTHORITY; and that for Example, whoever 
 hath a Right to prefcribe, hath Authority to do fo ; fepa- 
 rate them if you can. 
 
 I think we are, with much Labour at laft got over 
 thefe troublefome preludious Iftefinemetttg, which have, 
 as above faid, no Manner of Relation to the Queftion 
 debated. He feems now, in the 12th Page, willing to 
 enter upon the Subject of our propofed Enquiry, in which 
 cordially join with him. 
 
 But as in the Profecution of this Part of my Reply, I 
 mail be obliged to have frequent Relation to the Authority 
 and Obligation of the Laws of the State, I think it conve- 
 nient, for eafier Reference, to digeft what is proper to be re- 
 marked upon that Subject, into the following Proportions. 
 
 1. No Society of Men can fubfift, or anfwer the Ends 
 of its original Conftitution, without fome Rules or Laws 
 eftablifhed, for the Regulation of the Conduct of its Con- 
 ftituents, relating to the Affairs of the Society. This has 
 been fo univerfally allowed in Speculation and Practice, that 
 it may pafs as an Axiom. I think it has hitherto efcaped 
 the Correction of my learned Refpondent. 
 
 2. All Mankind, tho', as hath been faid, with refpect to 
 
 D the 
 
22 A Reply to Mr. BOURN'; 
 
 the Almighty's Government, as fovereign of the Universe., 
 they may be confidered as one grand Society, Civil or Sa- 
 cred, or both •, Yet, with refpecl: to Human Government, 
 they never, fince the general Difperfion, were, nor is it 
 likely ever will be* confidered as one Society, under the 
 Adminidration of one Body of human Laws. And there- 
 fore, fp. i J every feparate foveraign Society mull have a 
 peculiar Set of Laws, for its own Adminiflration. 
 
 1 have no Occafion here to mention the Jus Gentium^ 
 whereby Controverfies relating to Right betwixt Nation 
 and Nation in general are determined, rather by a tacit 
 Confent, than under the Influence of any humane foveraign 
 Authority. 
 
 3. The Laws of all human Societies muft be fubordi- 
 nate to, and confident with the Laws of God, as Soveraign 
 of the Univerfe, as the fame are known by the Evidence of 
 natural Reafon, or by Revelaton : As the Laws of every 
 fubordinate Society mull be confident with the Laws of 
 the foveraign Society, whereof it is a Part. This is fo plain, 
 that It may well pafs for a Maxim or Fundamental Axiom 
 of humane Government and Policy. And hence it is 
 certain, 
 
 4. That no human Power, Perfonal or Collective, 
 hath or can have a Right to inflitute or enact any thing 
 inconnft-ent with the natural or revealed Laws of the Al- 
 mighty; that is, as Grotiits hath laid it down; no human 
 Power hath a Right either Dei jujfa vetare, or Deo vetita 
 
 jubere; either to forbid what God hath commanded-, or to com- 
 mand what God hath forbidden. 
 
 5. All humane Government is, or ought to be, ori- 
 ginally inftituted and perpetually fupported, in Order to 
 the bed Eftablifhiient and Prefervation of the public Wei- " 
 fare of the Society ; and confequently, the foveraign Power 
 hath a Right to make fuch Laws for the Regulation of 
 J3IIIL &>£D€!£H1 %f J=ajiES>, as, upon proper Delibe- 
 ration, fhall appear bed conducive to the public Good, al- 
 ways confidently with all known Laws of God, natural 
 and revealed. 6. God 
 
free and candid Considerations. 23 
 
 6. God cannot be the Author of Inconfifteney, Contra- 
 diction orConfufion. Thefe are plainly Imperfections con- 
 trary to eternal Reafon, that is inconfiftent with the Agency 
 of infinite Power, Wifdom and Goodneis. 
 
 7. The moil High hath not thought fit to inftitute* 
 particular Laws, or Syltems of Laws, to anfwer the vari-. 
 ous emergent Conveniences, Exigencies and Advantages 
 of human focial Affairs. 
 
 8. Therefore, as the Almighty hath made fociality 
 effential to human nature, ^probably in its firit Inftitution, 
 but moll certainly fince the Fall, and in the Condition it 
 now isj it is abfolutely neceffary, (p. i.) that focial Laws 
 be formed in every Society, by the Exercife of human 
 Reafon : And this muft be done, either by the Appoint- 
 ment and Direction of one Man, who by natural or acquired 
 Superiority of W ifdom and Power, hath a right of Legi- 
 slation in himfelf -, or by the Concurrence, Confutation and 
 Confent of the whole Society •, or by Perfons of fuperior 
 Wifdom and Influence, felected and deputed by Confent 
 of the Majority of the Society. And thefe three different 
 Methods of Legiflation have given Names to three dif- 
 ferent Modes of Government, called in our Language, 
 by Words derived from the Greek Tongue, ^onartJ)p, 
 SDemocvatp and #ritfocracp, which are liable to be mul- 
 tiplied by Divifion or Compofition. 
 
 9. U n d e r a Monarchy the whole Society is to be de- 
 termined in all things, not fixed by the Laws of God, by. 
 the abfolute Will and Appointment of one Man, vetted 
 with foveraign Power ; and in the other Forms they are 
 to be determined by the Confent of the Majority of thofe 
 who are deputed for Legiflation, unlefs otherwife origi- 
 nally eftablifhed. 
 
 10. From the preceding Proportions, it is evidently 
 neceffary, that all Affairs relating to the Society and not 
 determined by divine Authority, be under the foveraign 
 Direction of the fupreme Power in every State. For if 
 Affairs of one Kin&ffor in ftance fcctllajj be to be fettkd 
 
 D 2 ' by 
 
24 A Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 by one Body of Men, and thofe of another Kind (Tuppofe 
 jeligiou0j by another, thefe two different Powers muft 
 cither be fubordinate, the one to the other, fin which Cafe 
 the Supreme Will have a Confroll upon the Actions of the 
 other, and therefore they will be in effect but one Sove- 
 raignty^J or they muft be co-ordinate, and each abfolute 
 and independent, in which Cafe there will be unavoidable 
 Occafions, in which the Legiflations and Executions or 
 Coertions, will be interfering, contradictory and inconfif- 
 tent -, contrary to the Laws of the Almighty, and to eternal 
 Reafon. See Prop. 6. And hence, 
 
 ii. As the Regulation and Adminiftration of Affairs 
 relating to Religion and the public Worfhip of God, 
 hath a Tendency to promote or obftruct the Good of 
 Societies, it becomes neceffary, that thefe mall be under 
 the Regulation of the fupreme Power; fo far only as not 
 determined by divine Inftitution. 
 
 This is that upon which our Difpute principally de- 
 pends, and its Truth is undeniably eftablifhed by the i, 2. 
 5. 6. and 10. Proportions, efpecially the laft; for if the 
 Externals and Circumftantials of public divine Worfhip 
 and Religion, are to be foveraignly adminiftered by Men, 
 not under the Coertion of the civil Soveraign, they might 
 order things in contradiction to the Laws, and inconfiftent 
 with the Peace and good Order of the Society. 
 
 12. From divine Appointment and Inftitution of ge- 
 neral Subjection to the Powers that he, which are ordained of 
 God, Rom. xiii. 1. and to Principalities and Powers or 
 Magiftrates, Titus iii. 1. It follows, that the Laws of the 
 State have univerfally an Obligation in confcience upon 
 every Subject, fo far as they are not for after the moft fin- 
 cere, diligent and impartial Enquiry J appear not to t?e con- 
 trary to, or inconfiftent with the Laws of God. (p. 11.) 
 
 Now to proceed with the free and candid Conftderations. 
 
 In p. 13, My Refpondent after reciting from my Pre- 
 face, 
 
free and candid Considerations. 25 
 
 face, that no Power on Earth, Jince the ceafing of the immediate 
 fupernatural infallible Guidance of the Holy Spirit, &c. hath a 
 Right to prescribe new Articles of Faith, &c. fubjoins as a 
 Corollary, that this tends to prove the Truth of the Propofition* 
 inftead of its Falfity. I fuppofe he means f tho' I am not 
 quite iure of his &t\\Xt) that this tends to prove, that no 
 Power on Earth hath a Right to prefcribe in Matters of 
 Religion, univerfally. But this is neither free nor can- 
 did. Why mould this learned Refpondent, by Advan- 
 tage of fuperior Genius and Erudition, lay mares to beguile 
 unjiable Souls •, giving people of weak Judgments and 
 ilrong Affections, pernicious prejudices ? He knows very 
 well that Matters of external Adminiflration and Polity 
 are quite different things from Articles of Faith, Sacra- 
 ments and Rules of general moral Conduct, and they are 
 in the Preface very distinctly treated on. The latter being 
 declared to be Effential and Perpetual, the other Cir- 
 cumftantial, accidental and variable. This is not rea- 
 foning or anfwering, but evading, quibling, confounding* 
 darkning, Counfel by Words without Knowledge, Job xxxviii. 
 2. Like the perverfe Difputings of Men of corrupt Minds* 
 and deftitute of the Truth. The Tendency whereof is not 
 to eitablifh Truth, and promote Knowledge, but to divert 
 the Attention, and prejudice the Judgment of People, per- 
 haps otherwife not the moft capable of, nor the beft dif- 
 pofed to an unprejudiced Confideration of the true Merits 
 of the Queftion. This is with Demetrius and the Craftf- 
 man, from Views of Intereft and Prejudice, to aim at in 
 flaming the Multitude; Acls xix. 27, 28. and with the 
 Jews at Iconium, Affs xv. 2. Tojiir up the People, and make 
 their Minds evil-affetled againft thofe things, which, to the 
 Attentive and Unprejudiced are clear and undifputable. 
 
 L. 15. He hjs,We fhouldfee into the New Teftamentfor 
 
 that, and not further on. One might have expected when 
 
 he had read further on, and found the Things demonftrably 
 
 proved, particularly in the 21ft and following Pages, he 
 
 , would 
 
26 ^Reply to Mr. BOURNE 
 
 would either have objected againfl the Evidence, or have 
 crafed this Caution, and thrown this Block out of the Way. 
 
 L. 21. The Almighty alone adminifters the Affairs of the 
 whole World, and of the f UniverfalJ Church. Here to get a 
 ('very poor) Pretence of alledging an Inconfiftency, he 
 hath piirpofely, unfairly omired the Word unherfal. Let 
 the Proportion fland as I ftatedit, and it is inconteftably 
 true, and not the lead Pretence of Reafon for his perverfe 
 Affertion, of my taking the Adrniniftration of Church 
 Affairs out of the Hands of Men. But what is laid of one 
 thing he perverts to another, like Children, crofting Qiiefti- 
 ons, and no wonder fuch a Practice mould produce Incon- 
 fiftencies too Grofs to merit a ferious Attention or Relolu- 
 tion; arethefe candid or free Confider aliens? Vid. Prop. 2. 
 
 L. 26. Of this 13 Page. He lays, I fhould be glad to, 
 know the determinate Meaning of this Form of external Go- 
 vernment, &c. To this Queftion I anfwered in one of my 
 Letters to this Effect. ; That as the allwife Soveraign of 
 the World, and of the Church, hath not thought fit to in- 
 ftitute any one Form of Polity, for perpetual Ufe in one 
 more than the other, and particularly not in the Church, 
 {Prop. 7.) whether the fame be confidered as national, 
 provincial, diocefan, parochial, or ('congregational ) or of 
 any or all. thefe Forms, in Compofition or Subordination. 
 
 (See Prop. 1, 2. 10. 11.) The external Form of 
 
 ecclefiaftical Polity, may be different, as to the foveraign 
 Power, upon proper Consideration and Advife, fhall ap- 
 pear necefTary or moil conducive to anfwer the great 
 Ends of the eftablifhed Religion, (in tfyttt jftattcmg, 
 Clmffian^OteffantO And whatfoever this form mail 
 eventually be, whether under the Soveraign as Head of 
 the Church, by Metropolitans or Archbifhops, Bimops, 
 Deans, Archdeacons, Priefls or Deacons, Parfons, Vicars, 
 Curates, &c. or elfe by Paftors, Afliflants, ruling Elders, 
 Acoluths, DeaconnefTes, &c. or by Synods, Convocations 
 
 or 
 
free and ca?idid Considerations. 27 
 
 Or Counfels, national, provincial, ftated, periodical or 
 occafional, or by Perfons or whatfoever Denomination or 
 Diftinction of Power, Character or Authority, as mail, 
 by the foverai : ^» Power be appointed as above $ it fhall be 
 obligatory uped every Subject of the State, if there be no 
 manireft or unavoidably-apparent inconfifience with the known 
 Laws of God. And every Subject who mall voluntarily 
 diffent from, or'refufe or deny his Compliance with fuch 
 Regulation, (except as before exceptedj reftlieth the Ordi- 
 nance of God (Trop. 10.. 12.) And they that refift fhall re- 
 ceive to themfelves fxpt'^a, Judgment, Cenfurej Damnation. 
 They are the Words of the Apoftle by the Infpiration of 
 the moil High, Rom. xiii. i. get quit of them, or di- 
 ftinguifh them away, as well as you can, or as you fhall 
 think proper. I have in my Preface, and elfewhere in 
 this Reply, taken notice of prudencial Indulgences, in 
 humane, Chriftian, companionate Confideration, for weak 
 and tender Minds, which being eftablifhed by Law, be- 
 come a Part of the Conftitution ; and give Privilege and 
 Difpenfation from the letter of the Injunction, ftrictly 
 only to Perfons qualified according to legal Defcription ; 
 but may, in Times of general Tranquility be, by conni- 
 vance, extended further, as the public Safety, Convenience, 
 Benefit and Utility, may feem to require or bear. So that 
 the Execution of penal Claufes, in cafe of Offence, may 
 very prudently be fufpended, as hath long been Practifed 
 in our happy Conftitution, to the great Advantage of the 
 Public ; and as in many Cafes of fecular Nature, legal 
 Penalties are very often long indulged to the greateft Part 
 of the Society, from Views of Convenience, Compaffion 
 or %nu$tft+ 
 
 P. 14. What I have in p. 13. of my Preface men- 
 tioned : That the Church had exifted in the Beginning or firjl 
 Ages of Chriftianity, without any Dependence on, or Connexion 
 with the civil Powers, tie unfairly endeavours to reprefent 
 as a Conceffion, fubverfive of my Argument, without 
 
 taking 
 
28 A Reply to Mr. BOURN'* 
 
 taking Notice of the Reconcilement I have made of that 
 Conceffion with, and even Confirmation of the fame. For I 
 have in the fame Page obferved, that the SCate of the Chri- 
 ftian Church, before its peaceable Eftabj&hment, under 
 the Empire of Confiantine the Great, is a pregnant Inftance 
 of the Inconfiftency of two independent Soveraignties in 
 the fame State; by fhewing, that when moderate, good- 
 natured Princes governed the Empire, the Indulgence and 
 Protection of the Church, was one Part of their civil 
 Conftitution ; and fo the two different Powers were in 
 Subordination and Dependence one to and upon the otner •, 
 but under Princes of different Character, who were vio- 
 lent Enemies to Chriftianity ; the Church was under fuch 
 Diftrefs as put it in continual Danger of being totally 
 extinct, which would in all Probability have been the 
 Cafe, had not the eternal God been her Refuge^ and under- 
 neath the everlafiing Artns, Deut. xxiii. 27. Had not the 
 moft High, for the greater Evidence and Glory of Chri- 
 ftianity, exalted his Almighty Arm, in defence of his own 
 Caufe, made the Faith and Patience of the Saints, tri- 
 umphant over all the Powers of Darknefs, and fo caufed 
 the Blood of the Martyrs to be the Seed of the Church. 
 I appeal to every difinterefted Reader, upon a fair Confi- 
 deration, Whether my Antagonift does not, in this State 
 of the Cafe, rather chooie to cavil than anfwer, and whe- 
 ther this be not a plain Confefiion, his Part of the Queiti- 
 on is not to be fupported by Truth and fair Argument, 
 and fo is a ftrong Confirmation of mine. 
 
 P. 15. He fays, Let us examine your Quotations ', and he 
 begins with a Line out of Homer. I defire to note -, fuch 
 Quotations are feldom made by Way of Argument in 
 Confirmation, but rather, as I ufed that Line, by Way 
 of Analogy or Illnftration ; as I fince find the fame 
 Line is ufed by Grotius y in the fame Senfe, which I 
 had not noted before. And this proves I need not be 
 afhamed for having ufed it, and fo far it ferves my Pur- 
 pofe well enough. But my Antagonift, by remarking 
 
 briefly 
 
free and candid Considerations. 29 
 
 briefly on that Line, has made it neceffary I mould fet 
 him a little to Rights, and mew him that it has not the 
 leaft Relation to the Defcription the Poet gives in that 
 Iliad, of the Grkian Chiefs who joined Agamemnon in the 
 Trojan Expedition, as he inlinuates, it being near 300 
 Lines before the Beginning of that Defcription. The 
 Line is thus introduced: 
 
 Ulyffes, at the Admonition of Minerva, coming to the 
 Grecian Ships, to divert the People from purfuing the falfe 
 or fallacious Orders Agamemnon, pretending a Direction 
 from Jupiter, had given them, to prepare for a Return to 
 Greece, and to relinquifh the grand Defign, they had now 
 fpent nine Years upon : He courteoufly advifes the Com- 
 manders to leave that Scheme, as not yet fully underftood; 
 and to the common People he ufes his Cudgel ; fharply 
 reproving them for intermedling, telling them fuch as 
 tijep had nothing to do with the Adminiftration of Af- 
 fairs j thus rebuking them. 
 
 Aatjoton, urpspaq i)<ro, Xj aXXwv ju.u£)oj> axxs 
 
 O* <T10 <p£PT£0Ol EJffi* <ru $' d,ir\oXi(j.oq, ^ «V-A}tJJ 
 OuT£7roT iv vroXtpu li/aoiOjiuo? «t' iv\ fixXvi' 
 Ov [Miv 7rwf TrotvTSf j3a(TjAfu?0|U.£^ hSu.tf' dyotiot' 
 Ovx ayxtyov 7roXvx.oiPuvtn' us xoiooivos tfu. 
 
 which may be thus exprefTed in Englifh, 
 
 Sit downy* Scrub, what others fay attend 
 Tour betters; wor thief s Coward; — Ton command! 
 In Field or Cabinet of no Regard, 
 Not ev'ry Grecian is for Rule prepaid. 
 Different Commanders muft Confufion bring; 
 Let all be ordered only by the King. 
 
 The laft Line I cited merely to fhew the Concurrence 
 of the Poet's Sentiment with our political Maxims, and 
 that his general Proportion quite agrees with what I have. 
 
 E advan*- 
 
30 ^Reply to Mr. BOURN'j 
 
 advanced againft the Co-ordination of independent Sove- 
 raignties, which is certainly inconfiftent with the beft 
 Order of public Affairs. I am not to doubt but that Mr. 
 Bcurn aimed to do me Honour by remarking that I had 
 not thought fit to tranjlate that Line-, as this Remark is of no 
 Manner of Ufe otherwife. The very learned Seidell's com- 
 paring the fuppofed Co-ordination of two independent 
 Soveraignties in one State, to the Suppofition of two Suns 
 in the Firmament ; or two Souls in one Body, is certainly 
 full to the Purpofe, though my Antagonift cannot fee it, 
 and the Comparifon is far from being a Reproach to that 
 great Man, but I cannot fay fo of every Body. If one 
 were to compare the fame Thing to two Moons, fuppofed 
 to revolve in different Orbits and Periods round the Earth, 
 the Diforder they would neceffarily make, in the circum- 
 fluent Waters, would not be an improper Similitude to 
 reprefent the Confufion, fuch a claihing of foveraign 
 Powers would be fure to make in human Communities 
 
 and Bodies Politick. And I know not but that State 
 
 of Anarchy, which he prefers to either, P. 15, 16. tho* 
 impoffible to confift with publick Peace and Order, 
 might be of lefs mifchievous Tendency than the other; 
 and it furely muft be a very bad State, that can be worfe 
 than Anarchy, where every Man affumes to do what is 
 right in his own Eyes. 
 
 But after all, Mr. Bourn is fo good as at laft to fuppofe 
 the Co-Exiftence of two foveraign Powers in the fame 
 State may be inconfiftent with public Good. — Am I not 
 to acknowledge it as a great and favourable Condefcen- 
 fion in §im to fuppofe what, it is well known, the moft 
 eminent political Writers lay down as a felf-evident 
 Principle and fundamental Maxim. 
 
 What an ungrateful Talk has he undertaken ? to 
 advocate a Cauie fo repugnant to common Scnfe ? The 
 Schools have a known Axiom by which one might juftly 
 be vindicated, in refufing to take Part in fuch Quarrels, 
 where Obftinacy alone is to be oppofed, viz. Contra ?ie- 
 gantem principia non eft difputandum. 
 
 I HAVE 
 
free and candid Con sider at ions. 31 
 
 I have before fuppofed, that of different Modifica- 
 tions of ecclefiaftical Policy, any one might have been 
 originally fixed upon, as fhould have feemed to the fo- 
 veraign Power, upon mature Deliberation, bed condu- 
 cive to anfwer the Ends of Religion, and the Good of 
 the State, confident with divine Laws. But I cannot 
 help thinking it mull have been effential to this origi- 
 nal Eftablifhment, that it fhould be uniform, through 
 the whole Community ; and not Room given to the Hu- 
 mour and Caprice of fome one or a few afluming wealthy 
 Perfons, in every Congregation, to modity and prefcribe 
 for themfelves and the Body, wherein they prefide, ag toe 
 fja&e fcttofcm attempted anti fcone ; not always with the 
 heft fuccefs to the Peace of the Publick, or even of thofe fubor- 
 dinate Brotherhoods. 
 
 A Person of a lively Imagination would eafily draw 
 a very entertaining Picture of a national Church under 
 fuch a 3RcguIatibn. And indeed a critical Hiftory of 
 the numerous Sectaries and various (fclegattciejS of Zfe 
 ttuniflrjaticm during the Reign of the Saints, under the 
 pious Government of Oliver Cromwell, would not be a 
 bad Ebauche of fuch a Picture. Upon which I beg 
 Leave to make but this one Remark, for the Enter- 
 tainment and Instruction of my Friend and his Affoci- 
 ates. That after Invention arid Imagination had been 
 rack'd and exhaufted, by the Numerous, or almoft in- 
 numerable Experiments at a new Evangelical univerfal Form 
 (or rather a rudis indigeftaque Moles) or ecclefiaftical Con- 
 ftitution, during that whimfical Period; they found, after 
 all, no Reft for the* Sole cf their Foot (like Noqjd's tired 
 Dove, wafted with roaming over the vaft Confufion) but 
 by returning to the Ark of that publick Eftablifhment, 
 which they had before fo unmercifully, fo imprudently, 
 fo unjuftly rejected, as a genuine Daughter of the Mother 
 of Harlots and Abominations \ but which they, after long 
 and very dear Experience, found the only Way to com- 
 pofe publick Differences, regulate all proceedings Sacred 
 
 E 2 and 
 
32 ^Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 and Secular, and anfwer all the Ends of civil Policy, and 
 the Chriftian Proteftant Religion. 
 
 All thefe Experiments of Ecclefiaftical as well as civil 
 Commotion, Confufion and Mifchief, concurred to con- 
 firm and exemplify the Truth of that political Maxim 
 our bleffed Lord Jefus laid down, as refulting from the 
 eternal Reafon and Wifdom of the moil High: A Kingdom 
 divided againji itfelf is brought to Defolation-, and every City or 
 Houfe divided againji itfelf jhall not ft and. And what is a 
 Kingdom divided againft itfelf, if one where publick Af- 
 iairs are to be adminiftred by two different independent 
 foveraign Powers, be not fo ? 
 
 Were the perfect Reafon of every Thing clearly di- 
 ftinguifhable by every Man ; and were there no Paffions 
 or prevailing perfonal Interefts, to oppofe this perfect 
 Reafon ; the Affairs of the Church, as well as of the State, 
 would be eafily adminiftred; as I have before obferved 
 in my Preface ; but as long as Ignorance, Pride and 
 Avarice exift amongft Men, it will always require a Go- 
 vernment very well eftablifhed, to fecure the Affairs of 
 the Church, as well as other Affairs of the State, from 
 their mifchievous Influences. 
 
 For the further Illuftration whereof, and for my 
 Readers further Inftruction in the Merits of this Con- 
 troverfy, it may not be amifs to tranfcribe from my Effay 
 upon the Supremacy, &c. P. 38. a PafTage out of Eufe- 
 bius, Lib. 8. 1. reciting a String of Excellencies, which, 
 as that learned Hiftorian informs us, atiorncti the Pa- 
 fcors of the primitive Church, towards the latter End (if 
 not rather after the Determination J of the Period, I think, 
 generally affigned to that Denomination ; while the Ec- 
 clefiaftical Affairs had the original Privilege of being to- 
 tally exempted from all Cognifance and Jurifdiclion of 
 the Civil Power; and under the fole Adminiftration of 
 the Clergy, and which bleffed State the fame total Ex- 
 emption could not fail to be always productive of; as is 
 exemplified afterwards ; where I have recited a moft eminent 
 
 Inftance 
 
free and candid Con s ide rat ions . 33 
 
 Inftance of the Effects of that Exemption. 'Oi r% So^vra 
 i[/.Zv 7roipivsg t £ Stotrtfttioig Sta-pov zrotpavoLpivoi roug Trgog oiKkn- 
 Xovg 'ocvHpXiyovro (pikova-niong, ccvra. St roivrx povx, rag i^iSag Xj 
 roig onrtihocg, rov\t £y\ov x) to irpog dxXyXovg t^og hJ (M<rot 
 hr&vfyvTig oiccn rvcxvvidxs <pi\a^(xg exOu/xw? Juxo^xavrs?, &C. 
 
 *• Those who had the Character of Pallors amongft 
 " us, rejecting the Laws of our Holy Religion, were 
 " enflamed with Ambition againft one another, profecu- 
 " ting only fuch Things as Contentions, Threatnings, 
 " Jealoufies, mutual Hatred and Enmity, out of a vio- 
 " lent Fondnefs for Superiority, in Order to Tyranny 
 " and Oppreffion." 
 
 Here you have, dear Reader, a Picture taken from 
 the Life, by a moft mafterly Hand, of the genuine Off- 
 fpring of that State of the Church which thele Advocates 
 for compleat Reformation, have, for more than two hun- 
 dred Years, been with the utmoft Ardor and indefatiga-> 
 ble Application engaged in the Profecutron of, in this 
 Nation. And as they are well acquainted with that Max- 
 im of fcholaftic Philofophy, Idem qua idem femper facit 
 idem. The fame phyfical Caufes have always the fame phyfical 
 Effecls. We need not be much at a Lofs about the ulti- 
 mate Object of their Profecution. Tho' I will do them 
 the Juftice, to vouch for them, from my own Acquain- 
 tance, that I firmly believe the greateft Part of the Bo- 
 dy have no fuch View; that they are from Principle 
 Proteftants, and cordial Enemies to Popery •, and that it 
 is chiefly from Inadvertency and falfe Apprehenfion, and 
 perhaps fome little Pleafure in Oppojition, that they are pur- 
 fuing that Exemption of all Ecclefiafticai Concerns from 
 the Cognifance of the Civil Government, as the Caufe of 
 God and true Religion; which is really, as here laid 
 down, the Foundation, the Corner Stone, the firft Prin- 
 ciple and main Spring of Popery; not confidering them- 
 felves in this as the Cat's Paw, in the Hands of a few in- 
 vifible main Conductors, who are endeavouring to abufe 
 their Zeal for true Religion to the Reftoration of the 
 grofieft Corruption, Impofition, Pervcrfion ? r nd Usurpa- 
 tion. 
 
34 'A Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 tion. Such a Zeal pofifefTed the Men of Afhdod, \ Sam. 
 v. 8. thofe of Iconium, Aclsxiv. andthofe of Epbefus, Acls 
 xix. And it is as neceffary a Piece of Prudence in the 
 Conduct of public Affairs, under the gentled Treatment 
 of People of honeft and virtuous Intentions, to guard a- 
 gainft the mifchievous Confequence of their miftaken Zeal 
 and ill-grounded Prejudices, as to refift the open Attempts 
 of worfe-minded, but not more dangerous Enemies. 
 
 P. 1 6. My Antagonift, with his ufual Modejly, charges 
 me with making Grotius inconjijlent with him/elf. 
 
 I h a d drawn out a full Anfwer to this Piece of Scurri^ 
 lity ; but as the Charge is molt plainly falfe and the Quo- 
 tations exactly true, I drop the Defence, ancl leave the 
 mighty Grotius to ftruggle with this ambitious Stripling, 
 Believing it will not be in the Power of the little Dema- 
 gogue to demolifh his ColofTean Adverfary, as David did 
 Philijiias Champion, fov tfie Cornell 10 not important 
 enough to engage tije Concurrence of £Dmmootence> 
 
 I shall probably, for equal Reafon, neglect to ani- 
 madvert upon other fuch fhamelefs and trifling Impropri- 
 eties in the Procefs of this Reply. Such Things have 
 
 not, as I faid before, a Right to a calm Debate. No 
 Man of Senfe, would have had Recourfe to lb mean Ar- 
 tifices, fuch Apifh Tricks, to give Force to his Reafoning, 
 could his Caufe have been defended, or could $}Z have 
 defended it, by the Help of juft Arguments and manly 
 Ratiocination. 
 
 I h a v e had, and mall have Occafion to mention the 
 Jure naturali (he fays I had omitted) elfewhere in this Re- 
 ply, as 1 have alfo with juft Propriety mentioned it in 
 my printed Letter not much to his Honour. 
 
 P. 18. After reciting (in P. 17.) my Declaration, 
 That upon Proof of any Inconjifiency of the Requirements of the 
 national Eftablifiment with any Law of God, I would be a 
 Biffenier over again : He, with his ufual Compofuje atlD 
 
 SDecettqij afks, — And will nothing lefs lefs content you? 
 
 then 
 
free and candid Considerations. 35 
 
 then you may continue in your prefent Situation. A very fair 
 
 and polite Acknowledgment ! And I anfwer : No. 
 
 Nothing lefs will do. — And my Reafon is, beCaufe our 
 bleffed Redeemer himfelf, and after him his Apoftles and 
 Evangelifts, have made Obedience to the civil Laws, or 
 Laws of the State (Civitatis) under the preceding Limita- 
 tion the univerfal and indifpenfable Duty of all his Dif- 
 ciples. 
 
 I f therefore upon Suppofition of my deliberate Difobe- 
 dience to the State, and an authoritative Demand of the 
 Reafon of my Conduct, I anfwer, it is becaufe the Injunc- 
 ion is inconjiflent with fuch an undifputed Law of God : I have 
 here an Opportunity to ihew a laudable Zeal for the Ho- 
 nour of the Divine Government, and my Refolution of 
 Obedience to his Laws, fuperior to all human Commands : 
 But if I am not able to render fuch a Reafon, I fhall be 
 juflly efteemed a Fool, or an obftinate Traitor j a Rebel, 
 and Enemy to my Country. This is quite agreeable to 
 the Defence the Apoftles made, for their Oppofition to 
 the 3Uto0 of tljetr Coimtrp, Acls iv. 19. Whether it be 
 right in the Sight of God, to hearken unto you rather than unto 
 God, judge ye. For we cannot but fpeak the Things we have 
 feen and heard: Agreeably to the Command of their di- 
 vine and heavenly Lord and Mafter, Mat. xxiii. 3. The 
 Scribes and Pharifees Jit in Mofes Seat ; all therefore whatfo- 
 ever they bid you obferve, that obferve and do. So far as 
 they acted agreeably to their public Character, and to 
 the Laws of Heaven, they were to be obeyed, and nothing 
 could difpenfe with that Obedience, but the real or appre- 
 hended Inconfiftency of their Commands with the Divine 
 Laws ; and, I hope, a Chriftian Proteftant Government 
 hath as much Right to Obedience, as a Jewifh Sanhedrim. 
 
 But I have met with fome Perfons, even of Learning 
 and Philofophy, befides the Gentleman I am now engaged 
 with, who have not fcrupled with him to aflert, directly 
 or confequentially, that Things relating to HUUgtOtt, 
 tho' in their Nature allowed to be lawful and innocent, 
 yet by being enjoyned by the Civil Power, become fmfiil 
 
 and 
 
3 6 
 
 A Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 and unlawful in the Sight of God ; and that this alone 
 is a fufficient Reafon for Non-conformity. This Propo- 
 rtion wajs certainly firft broached at Rome, of whofe aflumed 
 Supremacy it is vifibly a genuine Offspring, and juftly 
 therefore thrown out of our Conftitution, at the happy 
 Reformation, when the King was declared fupreme in all 
 Things, ecclefiaftical and temporal. But our Sticklers 
 for a tljo^ougij ftefojmation, think this Article was 
 overdone, and that this Inftance of Power lhould be refto- 
 red to the Church, that is, to the Priefts-, or in their Lan- 
 guage, to the /acred Miniftry, or People, or both. But I 
 have never yet had the good Fortune to fee the laft men- 
 tioned Propofition proved j and from the ruinous Effe&s 
 of its quondam Prevalence, in Part recited before, I hope 
 thefe Nations will never be fo abandoned, by the Favour 
 of Heaven, as to have it again reduced to Practice. 
 
 P. 1J8. We are now come to Mr. Bourn's Knocker- 
 down Argument; his argumentum Herculeum-, whofe dread* 
 ful Effect if we can but evade or repel, or efpecially 
 (whereof I do not defpair) if we can turn it upon himfelf j 
 I hope we may be comfortably fafe from all further Fear 
 of Attack. He fays, if we allow the fecular Powers to 
 have the Direction and Controul of ecclefiaftical Affairs, 
 we may thence infer, that if the faid Powers lhould com- 
 mand our going on a Crufado, or other religious mili- 
 tary Expedition, for Recovery of the Holy Land out of 
 the Hands of the Infidels, we mull obey : Or, if the fame 
 Power mould command us to go to the Top of Mount Cal- 
 vary (perhaps that where our Lord fuffered, near Jerufalem, 
 tb<? that he does not fay, or its modern Namefake) not far from 
 Paris, by Way of Penance — (Do the fecular Powers ufe to 
 enjoyn religious Penances ?) — or to confefs there our Sins' : 
 Or if the fame Power enjoyn us a great many other 
 Things, of like Elegance and Propriety, we lhould be 
 obliged to obey, &V. This is a fair Reprefentation of this 
 tremendous Argument ; an eafy Confideration whereof 
 
 will 
 
free and candid Considerations. 37 
 
 will fhew how much it is in Mr. Bourn's Favour,- 
 
 or in mine.- 
 
 Such Things as thofe have fure enough been enjoin- 
 ed; and particularly the firft, in this and other Nations of 
 Europe; perhaps by the fupreme civil Powers. But it is 
 to be obferved, it was only during the Prevalence of Po- 
 pery, in its higheft Pitch and utmoft Extent of Sove- 
 raignty. And that fince the Wings of that towring ra- 
 venous Eagle were dipt by the happy Succefs of the Re- 
 formation) there hath been little Reafon to complain of 
 this Sort of lacred enthufiaftic Impofitions, thofe military 
 Devotions. I know not what might have been the Iffue of 
 the Vi&ory, Prevalence and triumphant Eftablifhment of 
 Popery, in thofe Struggles which were made againft it, in 
 Germany and other Parts of Europe, wherein our Fathers of 
 this Nation had a glorious Share* in the Sixteenth Cen- 
 tury. We mould, no doubt, upon the Triumphs of Ho- 
 ly Church have had the Clouds of Ignorance advantage- 
 oufly thickned, and the Chains of our fpiritual Slavery 
 moft religioufly aggravated, by fuch like Inftances of 
 Ecclefiaftical Soveraignty. But even, without that, fup- 
 pofing the lbveraign Powers of any Nation mould require 
 the Concurrence of their liege People, in fuch a rhodo- 
 montado Scheme ; I know not how they would excufe 
 their Difobedience, more than in thofe many Levees which 
 were fometime made, in thefe Nations, for Vindication of 
 the Soveraign's Right to the Dominions he claimed in 
 France, or might happen to claim in any other Part of 
 the World. So that, I am afraid, the Scheme of an am- 
 bitious Prince, upon fuch a View, might prove equally 
 mifchievous and injurious to the Nation, under whatever 
 Form of religious Eftablifhment. 
 
 To fhew the dreadful Force of this Argument, of my 
 fagacious and learned Adverfary, I endeavoured, in one 
 of my Letters to him, previous to his printing his Piece, 
 to put it into the Form of a Syllogilm thus : 
 
 (1.) 4 It is contrary to the known Laws of God, that 
 ' any of the Suhje&s of England fhould be required to g6 
 
 * F ' upon 
 
38 A Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 1 upon a Crufado, or other military Expedition, for the 
 c Recovery of the Holy Land, out of the Hands, of the 
 ' Infidels.' 
 
 (2.) * But if the Adminiftration of Ecclefiaftical Af- 
 * fairs be entrufted to the fecular Government, they may 
 ' poffibly, in fome Time to come, require fome of the 
 ' faid Subjects to go upon fome fuch Expedition.' 
 
 (3.) ' Therefore it is abfolutely unlawful for the Civil 
 4 Powers to have the foveraign Direction of Ecclefiaftical 
 ' Affairs.' 
 
 I have, fince the firft publifhing this Syllogifm, feen a 
 Letter from Mr. Bourn •> wherein, with a Deal of wrathful 
 Indignation, he calls it a foolifh and unjuft Syllogifm ; and 
 he fays right, for fo it is. But that is not my Fault; 
 and I have this to plead in my own Excufe ; that it is 
 an exact Reprefentation of his Argument, to the beft 
 Advantage. And unlefs the firft Proposition be true, 
 ('which the preceding State of the Cafe proves it is not, 
 nor is fuch a Requirement by the foveraign Powers, up- 
 on the Subjects of England, contrary to the original or re- 
 vealed Law of God, and a malum in fe) there can be no 
 Foundation for his Argument; and it is naturally falfe, 
 efpecially fince fo long as we can keep the foveraign Ad- 
 miniftration of our civil Affairs, both ecclefiaftical and 
 fecular, out of the Hands of the Priefts, which I hope 
 we fhall by the Favour of the moftHigh always do; there 
 will never be any Danger of the fecond Propofition be- 
 ing put in Execution ; and therefore the whole Argument 
 will be a mere Nullity, and fit only to fill up a vacant 
 Space in the Author's Pericranium. And thus this 
 frightful Argument, as the Author hath ftated it, con- 
 trary to all Truth and Probability, is quite ftript of all its 
 Terror. But let us, if you pleafe, endeavour, with the Au- 
 thor's Permifiion, to place it in a truer Light; and, as we 
 fay, fet the Saddle on the right Horfe. 
 
 We all know the Crufadoes, and fuch like Expeditions, 
 were undertaken and profecuted, at the fole Inftigation 
 of the holy See, under fpecious delufive Pretences of Re- 
 
 • ligion 
 
free and candid Considerations. 39 
 
 ligion and the Glory of God ; but in Truth, generally 
 from Views wholly fecular, and for the moft Part, to 
 divert the martial Schemes of enterprifing Princes, from 
 falling upon one another, to the incommoding his Holi- 
 nefs's Affairs, and difturbing his religious Repofe, facred 
 Indolence and Luxury. And it is hardly to be fuppofed, 
 the fecular Princes would ever have engaged in fuch wild 
 and impolitick Attempts, if they had not had, by the 
 Management of Holy Cheat and Artifice, Ignorance and 
 Superftition enough to believe that the Pope's Confecra- 
 tion of fuch devout MadnefTes, would render them me- 
 ritorious of the Favour of Heaven, for the fecular and 
 fpiritual Welfare of themfelves and their Kingdoms. And 
 the other opprefiive Effects of fpiritual Power and Ufur-* 
 pation, juftly complained of„ were wholly the Offspring 
 of the felf-fame foveraign Superftition. And it is plain, 
 that after the fecular Princes had begun to make off thole 
 adamantine Chains of fpiritual Slavery, wherewith the fo- 
 veraign Ufurper had had Addrefs enough to load them, 
 their Subjects, through the Chriftian World, were no 
 longer oppreffed with fuch fcandalous Impofitions. 
 
 But pray confider What is, or what then was the 
 
 Power of Rome ? Did it arife from the gradual En- 
 croachments which the fecular Soveraigns of the Earth 
 had, from Time to Time, been making upon the Rights 
 and Immunities of the Chriftian Church, — as the Author 
 of Free and Candid Confider ations has fuffered himfelf, by a 
 groundlefs as inconfiderate Prejudice, to believe and afTert, 
 contrary to all united Teftimony of Truth and Fact •, and 
 for the avoiding of the like whereof, in thefe happy 
 Kingdoms, he hath -been exhaufting all the Force of his 
 Learning, Zeal and Oratory, to diffuade or prevent all 
 Tendency of the fecular Powers towards touching the 
 leaft Part of the fanctifkd Furniture or Utenfils, with 
 their unhallowed Hands •, fo far as that they may not be 
 permitted fo much as to reach a Hammer for rivetting on 
 
 thofe Chains of holy Thraldom? You'll not find a 
 
 Man of any Acquaintance with Hiftory, who will dare 
 
 Fa to 
 
4 o A Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 'to affirm fuch a Thing. — No! That monftrous, over- 
 grown, oppreffive and illegal Tyranny, which claims to 
 tread upon the Necks of Kings, and demands from the 
 Soveraigns of the Earth, in Token of Subjection to his fpi- 
 rkual Dominion, to crouch down, like cringing Slaves, 
 and kifs the holy Slipper, and much more, that they 
 avow to hold their Crowns and Realms in Fee, under 
 his univerfal Empire, and as at his Donation and foveraign 
 Pleafure ; this holy Tyrant, I fay, this Head of the 
 Church, this Son of Perdition, i T'heff. ii. 4. who oppof- 
 eth and exalteth himfelf againft, all that is called God, 
 and under a falfe and groundlefs Pretence of a Divine 
 Legation, growing from his firft Aflumption of this Su- 
 premacy, this foveraign Priefthood, by progrefiive De- 
 grees to invade the Rights .of the Princes of the Earth, 
 and bring them into Subjection to his ufurped Empire; 
 at laft compleated his ambitious Defign, and got his tri- 
 ple Crown eftabliihed. Hence the Things, my An- 
 
 tagonift fojuftly complains of, took their Rile and Pro- 
 grefs. So that it is very evident, that had the Kings and 
 foveraign Rulers of the Earth continued to fupport their 
 natural and proper Authority, over the public civil Af- 
 fairs of their feveral Dominions, both fecular and eccle- 
 fiaftical, which are equally«civil (quippe pariter adfelicem 
 C IV ' ITAT ' 1 Sftatum pertinentesj This foveraign Invader, 
 of all Right, Human and Divine, had never gain'd the 
 EftablifTiment of fuch tranfeendent ' Power, as he exults 
 and glories in. This the learned Chancellor Puffendorf 'hath 
 inconteflably proved. Whence it undeniably follows, that 
 all thofe Arguments, whereby my learned Refpondent, 
 and all his AiTociat.es, the fteady Advocates for the Jure 
 Bivino Right of this ecclefiaftical Immunity, this Exemp- 
 tion of facred Affairs from the prophane Touch of the fe- 
 cular Soveraigns, are fo many Pleas in Support of the grand 
 Apoftacy and Ufurpation, and my AiTertion will ftand for 
 ever good againft all Oppofition, except that of the 
 Sword, That every Member of a foveraign State, is in Duty 
 hound to conform to everf Infiiiution of that State : Under this 
 
 only 
 
free and candid Considerations. 41 
 
 only general, necejfary and ejfential Reftrittion^ tljat t&t fame* 
 be confiftent tmt5 euejp liata of dDoo* 
 
 I know not but I may, as well here, as elfewhere, 
 croud in a brief Anfwer to the latter Part of a Letter, 
 upon this Subject, publifhed in Whitwortb's, January 6. 
 1756. (for the eajieft expence, and the moft proper Applica- 
 tion) poftponing the formerPart to a further Opportuni- 
 ty. But, 
 
 Previous to my Anfwer, I beg Leave to obferve how 
 the Gentleman, who has teen fo good as to enrich the 
 World with that learned Piece, choofes to deal fo much 
 in the Way of the CtcsncntiauS, as if convinced from 
 Experience, this was of greater Import to the Succefs of 
 his Miniftrations, than all the Charms of Truth and Rea- 
 fon, Virtue and Philofophy, Holy Faith, divine Love, 
 and the Joys of Immortality. He endeavours to arm 
 Heaven and Earth, and 'tis well if not Hell too, againft 
 me, without feeming to reflect upon the grofs Impiety of 
 applying the facred Terrors of the Almighty, tQ promote 
 the Caufe qf Falfhood, Self-interefl, Confufion and law-- 
 
 lefs Tyranny. He fays, my Arguments in Favour 
 
 of ecclefiaftical Polity, lead to introduce the Inquifition. 
 A terrible 'Thing this indeed! But he very prudent- 
 ly conceals the Train of Deduction. To this I can make 
 him a very brief and decifive Anfwer, to which I fear no 
 
 Reply : Keep but the Power out of the Elands of 
 
 the Priefts, as wifely fettled by the Reformation, and we 
 mail never need to apprehend the Terrors of the HOLY 
 
 OFFICE, as faid before of the Crufadoes, &d. 
 
 He adds : My Scheme of Policy cafts a Reflection upon 
 the Mifoom ant! p^ofcifcimce of God in the firft Efta- 
 
 blifhment of the Church. Juft contrary again! 
 
 It hath always been obferved by the learned and pious 
 Advocates for Chriftianity, thro' all the Ages of the 
 Church to this Day : That it was one glorious Evidence 
 and Demonftration of the WISDOM and PROVI- 
 DENCE of God, and of the heavenly Original and Di- 
 vine Authority of the Chriftian Inftitution j that it feemed 
 
 good 
 
42 A Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 good to the Almighty, to plant and propagate it origi- 
 nally, and during the primitive Ages, upon Principles 
 and Ruhs of Conduct and Adminiftration, quite contra- 
 ry to thofe of human Prudence and Policy. That Our 
 holy Fatth and Religion might appear to all the World, not to 
 ft and in the Wifdom of Men, but in the Power of God, 1 Cor. 
 ii. 5. He order'd that that Train of Caufes and Confe- 
 quences, which, according to the Wifdom of this World, 
 was moil likely to produce its utter Extinction and Extir- 
 pation, mould concur to its* mod illuftrious Eftablifh- 
 ment, and render it triumphant over the foveraign Tyran- 
 ny, and the Rulers of the Darknefs of this World, and 
 all the Powers of fpiritual Wickednefs in high Places. 
 
 This the Almighty made peculiarly and eminently 
 vilible, in that the Church did, during the firft three hun- 
 dred Years of its primitive Eilablimment, rife to the high- 
 eft Pitch of fpiritual Purity and Splendour ( notwkh- 
 ilanding the mod violent and powerful Oppofition, Op- 
 preflion and Perfecution ) under the Conduct and Direc- 
 tion of that fame Order of Men, acting by the powerful 
 Influences of the Holy Spirit of the moft High, who, 
 after the cealing of thofe miraculous Influences, and the 
 providential Conflgnment of the Church to the ordinary 
 Efficiency of human Wifdom, Learning, Power and Po- 
 licy, did in Profecution of worldly Views, as before ex- 
 plained, under the fpecious Claim of the fame fpiritual 
 Rule and Supremacy, they had before acted by, betray the 
 pure Religion of the Holy Jefus to be defiled, corrupted, 
 and even fubverted, by all the eventual Abominations of 
 Popery and Rome : From which it pleafed the Almighty, 
 after more than a Thoufand Years of fpiritual Captivity, 
 to deliver and ranfom his chofen, even from this worfe 
 than Egyptian Thraldom, and make Kings their nurfing 
 Fathers, and Queens their nurfing Mothers, Ifa. xlix. 23. 
 Which Prophecy was always understood to belong to the 
 Chriftian Church; but never feems to have been fo lite- 
 rally and adequately accomplished as fince being deliver- 
 ed, by the Reformation, from thefe cruel Tafk-mafters, 
 
 the 
 
free and candid Considerations. 43 
 
 the Minifters of Ignorance and Opprefiion, under the fove- 
 raign Pontiffe, they were reftored to the natural and right- 
 ful Subjection and Protection of the fecular Soveraigns of 
 every State, the natural and original Aflerters and De- 
 fenders of Righteoufnefs and Truth amongit the Sons of 
 Men. 
 
 H e fays further, if that Maxim, Where there is no Law, 
 there is no Tranjgrejfion, be applicable to the prefent Cafe, 
 then may Chriftians in all Ages claim the Benefit of it. 
 He's here very hard fet to keep Head above Water. The Max- 
 im, Sir, is of Divine Authority, and univerfally true •, and 
 Chriftians may in all Ages claim the Benefit of it ; but if 
 the Author of that Letter underftand the Laws of Argu- 
 ment, he endeavours knowingly, and therefore wickedly, to 
 betray the Inter efl of Truth, for the Support of his Caufe ; and 
 if he does not, he has no Right to intermeddle in this or 
 any other Controverfy, nor any Claim to a calm Debate 
 and Anfwer. Is there no Law which requires the Subjecti- 
 on of ecclefiaftical Affairs, as here limited, to the civil 
 Powers, as you fuppofe ? You know there is. We have 
 juft proved it. Does not the Precept of general Subjecti- 
 on, Rom. xiii. i. and very many others of the fame Te- 
 nor, include all fubordinate Species and Particulars ? You 
 know it does. Are not Affairs of religious Polity one 
 Species of civil or focial Affairs, and fo included ? Prop. 
 5. It lies upon you, Sir, in the neceffary Defence your 
 Caufe, to fhew where thefe are exempted. You have not 
 
 done this. You never can do it. — Our Maxim will 
 
 ftand for ever good, and my Conclufion be for ever 
 true, that the civil Soveraignty influences generally. You 
 can never get off it. — You have always laid an unjuft 
 Claim to an Exemption, but could never prove it. — I do 
 not envy nor blame all Indulgences by Statute or Con- 
 nivance. I defire, and fhall, to my Power, always en- 
 deavour their Eitablilhment and Continuance : But with 
 Refpect to lawful Claim andConftitution,'the Cafe is as I 
 have Itatcd it. 
 
 And hence, I think, we have aneafy and full Anfwer to 
 
 the 
 
4+ ^Replv to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 the third Paragraph of this Letter, which really needs no 
 other Anfwer than is given in the Preface : The Thing is 
 iiifficiently plain to every One that will fee : But the aui-o- 
 tu^Ax? there's no curing. The Author fays, 'tis very plain, 
 that the Injunctions of Obedience to the civil Powers relat- 
 ed, in the primitive Church, only to fecular Affairs. To 
 which I anfwer : There's no fuch Limitation expreffed in 
 Scripture, and we have feen, and fhall foon fee further, 
 there is none by juft Inference or Deduction from univer- 
 fal Truth. And the Author's Affertion is plainly efta- 
 blifhing an univerfal Conclufion in Law, from a particu- 
 lar Inftance of Fact, affirming a Thing ought always to 
 be done, becaufe by a particular Difpofition of Circum- 
 ftances, it is neceflarily done once, or for a Time ; con- 
 trary to all juft Policy and all juft Reafoning. This is, 
 with a Witnefs, making a Precedent into a Law, contra- 
 ry to what I have affirmed in my Preface, and what 
 none of thefe Gentlemen will, I am fure, dare to deny. 
 This is an abfolute Snare to beguile unliable or unwa- 
 ry Souls ; and I think they all know it to be fo. 
 
 The Thing is clear; the fupreme fecular Powers of the 
 State always had an eifential and unalienable Right (Prop. 
 5 J in the Nature of Things, and by Divine Inftitution 
 to the authoritative Direction and Regulation of all fo- 
 eial or civil Affairs, ecclefiaftical as well as fecular, not de- 
 termined by the Laws of Heaven, agreeably to thofe Laws. 
 
 This Power was unavoidably intermitted, in the pri- 
 mitive Church, as to Exercife not Right, while the Laws 
 of the State, Jewijh and Pagan, were fo inconfiftent with 
 thofe of the Church, as made it impracticable for the ci- 
 vil Powers to intereft themfelves, in the Church's Efta- 
 bliihment and Prefervation. But, 
 
 There is nothing eilential in the Chriflian Religi- 
 on (as Puffendorf molt juftly obferves,) which forbids 
 or obflructs thee xternal Adminiftration and Polity 
 thereof to be under the Direction and Control 
 of the fupreme civil Powers. And, had the govern- 
 ing Powers, Jewijh and Gentile, at the firlt Eftablifh- 
 
 ment 
 
free and candid Considerations. 45 
 
 ment of Chriftianity, been Chriftian, it is impoflible but 
 the Laws which were then made* and which remain un- 
 altered to this Day, requiring univerfal Subjection to the 
 Powers that be ( under our neceflary Regulation) affirming 
 them to be ordained of God, would have been under- 
 ftood as neceffarily giving or confirming to them a Di- 
 vine Right to that Direction and Controul. And thus we 
 find the Apoftles of our Lord vindicating their Difobedience 
 to the Jewijh Governors, only from the Inconfiflency of 
 their Injunctions with the Laws of God, as fhewn a little 
 above. And this was the only Reafon why the Chriftian 
 Church, during that Inconfiftency, was under a Neceffi- 
 ty of fupporting a Government, independent of the Civil 
 Powers, within themfelves, as well as they could. But, 
 even' then, they did not difobey the Heathen Rulers as 
 Heathen Rulers, but only fo far as their Commands were 
 inconfiftent with the Laws of God, in the Chriftian Infti- 
 tution. 
 
 In the famous Letter of the younger Pliny to the Em- 
 peror Trajan, he writes ^uod ipfum facre fpatet illos_) 
 
 defiijfe pqji edictum meum, quo fecundum mandaia tua hetcerias 
 ejfe vetueram. Whether this Order of the Prefident was a- 
 gainft their antelucan Affemblies ; or only againft their 
 morem rurfus coeundi ad capiendum ribum, doth not appear j 
 but 'tis plain, by that Letter, that, in fome Way, they 
 yielded Obedience to the Emperor's Authority, in Affairs 
 relating to their religious Affemblies, \oi}tlt C§ep tttiijljt 
 tto tt toitijout t^atifg^effing tfyz &ato£ of t^cij fcettgian* 
 For the fuller Defeaiance of the Jure Divino Claim 
 of this Exemption of Ecclefiaftical Affairs from all Ju- 
 rifdiction and Direction of the Civil Soveraign, it may 
 not be improper here to allege another and much ftronger 
 Inflance, from the antient Records of Chriftianity, to 
 mew that the Church had then no fuch Idea of her own 
 exclulive Soveraignty. - 
 
 I need not aquaint the learned Reader, that not long 
 after the Churches Affairs had been taken into an Union 
 
 G of 
 
46 A Reply to Mr. BOURN'* 
 
 of Intereft with the other Concerns of the State, the great 
 Controverfy of the Arrian Herefy happened; whofe Pro- 
 grefs came, in a fmall Time, to have a very great Influ- 
 ence upon the Interefts of the whole Chriftian Church. 
 
 Now, upon the Scheme my Antagonifts (as well as 
 the Papifts and all Advocates for the Divine Right of the 
 Exemption) gO upon ; that is, fuppofing it to be effential 
 to Religion, or to Chriftianity, by Divine Appointment 
 (and if it be not fo, it -cannot be eflential at all ; ) is it 
 not inconfiftent with the Wifdom of Divine Providence, 
 and with that fuppofed effentialArticle of the Chriftian 
 Conftitution, that the Means applied for Remedy of that 
 great (fcttleftaffual Evil, mould be propofed, undertak- 
 en, prolecuted and compleated folely under the Empe- 
 ror's Agency, Authority and Influence, from Beginning 
 to End? I mean, his imperial Commands, by Letters 
 and Meffages, to Alexander, Bifhop of Alexandria, and to 
 other of the Bifhops and Clergy, particularly to Arius, 
 commanding a total CefTation and Abolition of all further 
 Difpute and Controverfy, upon fo intricate, curious and 
 unneceffary Subjects ; and his other Orders about the 
 fame Thing ; and, upon the Inefficacy of this Method ; 
 the convening and conducting the great oecumenical Af- 
 fembly, or general Council at Nice, for the Decifion and 
 Termination of that moft important Difpute; as well as 
 of another, which then was accounted of not much lefg 
 Moment, and which then was, and for a long Time before 
 had been, the Caufe of a good Deal of Diilurbance and 
 Controverfy, in the Church, viz. the Time for keeping 
 Eajler. Would not the Emperor, who, as 1 have elfewhere 
 v fhewed, was very fcrupulous and accurate, in rendring and 
 preferring to the Clergy all that Regard, which, by their, 
 former Influence in the Church, they had acquired or 
 Claimed, and every other Ecclefiaftical Immunity ; would 
 not He, I fay (even fuppofing he mould have fupplied eve- 
 ry affillant Means of Action, in that grand Affair ) yet 
 have contrived to give the Whole an Appearance of 
 
 having 
 
free and candid Considerations. 47 
 
 having been conducted under the Influence of the Bifhops 
 and Clergy ; and have even fubmitted to profefs his own 
 Agency to be under their Direction and Soveraign Eccle- 
 fiaftical Authority, for the neceffary Preiervation ot that 
 erlential Right and Authority, had it then been underftood 
 
 to be any Part of the Conftitution. This would, upon 
 
 the Suppofition before laid down, have certainly been the 
 Cafe. And as the Bifhops of Rome, and their Succeflbrs, 
 the Popes, claimed this Immunity, in Order to pave the 
 Way to their fpiritual Kingdom ; they have in latter 
 Times, contrary to the Faith of all Hiftory, had the Ef- 
 frontery to affert,that the Bifhop of i&witf accordinglydid, 
 by his foveraign, original, effential, facred, ecclefiailical 
 Power and Authority, and with only the Concurrence andfu- 
 hordinate /Iffiftance of the Emperor, convene and conduct 
 that auguft Affembly. 
 
 Those fpiritual Politicians were well aware that their a- 
 vowing the Conduct of that Affair to have been under the 
 Emperor's Authority and Influence, as before fhewn to be 
 the Cafe, would appear quite inconfiftent with and fub-» 
 verfive of the Scheme of Immunity which they fee is ab- 
 folutely neceffary to be laid as a Foundation for their fpi- 
 ritual Soveraignty, to which, without that, they never 
 could form any Thing like a Pretence of Claim. And 
 they therefore publifhed the above-faid impudent Falfliood 
 in its Support. And they do, in Confirmation thereof, 
 ftill affert, that the calling or fummoning of general Coun- 
 cils is originally, univerfally and unchangeably one Part 
 of the Office and Duty of the Pope, as foveraign univerfal 
 Head of the Church. And therefore the modern Advo- 
 cates for the effential Right of this Immunity, for the pri- 
 mitive Church and for their own feparate Societies, cannot 
 infill upon their Claim, without impeaching the great 
 Chriftian Emperor as intruding into another's Province, 
 and without exprefly advocating that originally falfe Af- 
 fumption upon which the Whole of Popery is grounded 
 and eilablifhed, and which, mould it be made an effential 
 
 Q 2 Part- 
 
48 A Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 Part of any political Conftitution, would naturally, and 
 almoft neceffanly, lead to the fame Kind of Dominion. 
 
 . And this, moreover, my Antagonift in particular, 
 
 the Author of the Letter, cannot do without incurring 
 that Charge juftly, which he hath unjuftly imputed to 
 his Neighbour, viz. of accufing Divine Providence of Un- 
 righteoufnefs and Inconjijiency, in fuffering that Affair to have 
 beenfo conduced \ yet it was fo done, and that without the 
 leaft Oppofition or Remonftrance from, and contrariwife 
 with the higheft Applaufe, Approbation and Concurrence 
 of both Clergy and Laity. 
 
 And hence, I hope, it will appear beyond Controverfy, 
 that as foon as the Inconfiftency of the Secular and Eccle- 
 fiaftical Laws ceafed, by the State's becoming Chriflian, 
 and the Chriflian Religion becoming one Part of the Civil 
 Conftitution, or of the public Intereft of the State, thofe ge- 
 neral Laws, before conftituted, came to be of full Force in 
 Fad: as well as Right; and the Civil Government, in eve- 
 ry Chriflian Nation came thereby to have a Power of 
 ordering every Thing belonging to Religion, which had 
 not been inflituted by Divine Authority. And thus it 
 was, 'till Popery found the Means of trampling down, with 
 her cloven Foot, the Divine Enclofure, and bringing 
 Things to Confufion. 
 
 I know not toDat map be, but I have a flrong Su- 
 fpicion thefe Allegations will not be eafily defeated ; as I 
 find the Affertion, juft quoted, affirmed by Cardinal Ba- 
 roirius, Binius, and other Advocates for Popery. My prin- 
 cipal Opponent is a great Dealer in, and confequently 
 fhou'd be a good Judge of Abfurdityj I think I may, 
 without much Apprehenfion, acquaint him and others, 
 that hardly any Thing can be more abfurd or a greater 
 Solecifm, than to affert, that a Divine Precept, deliver- 
 ed in the mod univerfal Terms, fhould yet be univer- 
 fally underflood, but to require an Obedience much more 
 limited and incommenfurate to its plain Import, than ac- 
 cording to the certain and indifputable Influence of eternal 
 Reafon and Neceffity. 
 
 I HAVE 
 
free and candid Considerations. 49 
 
 I have thus vindicated myfelf from the falfe Charge 
 of advocating a Doctrine introductive of the Inquiution, 
 or any other fpiritual Invafion or human Right. Thefe,'we 
 have feen, always were the genuine Offspring of facerdotal 
 Pride and Power, which my Adverfary is (perhaps inconji- 
 derately) afferting. I have not impeached the Divine Wif- 
 dom and Providence, in the firft Eftablifhment of the 
 Chriftian Religion, as I am fairly charged. I defire the 
 Author of that Letter, as well as Mr. Bourn, and all the 
 Party, will confider me as a difinterefted Friend to Truth, 
 and I leave it to anfwer (as I fafely may) for all its own 
 real Confequences ; as well knowing that This is the great 
 Foundation, upon which the World is ejlablifhed that it can- 
 not be moved, Pfal. xciii. i. And of him who maketh 
 This the Foundation and Guide of his Reafonings and 
 Conduct, it may be faid, 
 
 Si fratJus illabatur Orhis 
 Impavidum ferient Ruince. 
 
 To proceed with Mr. Bourn's Anfwer : 
 
 He fays, p. 19. Infhort, whither will not this Dotlrine 
 lead us? Never to Popery, Sir, you are fafe enough for 
 that; but, I have juft fhew'd whither your Doctrine of 
 Ecclefiaflical Immunity has lead our Chriftian Anceftors, 
 and whither it would lead us all over again, if we were 
 to follow it. You, Sir, argue from the incoherent Idea's 
 of Attachment and Prejudice, I argue from original felf- 
 evident Principles of true Reafon, Religion and Policy, 
 as they have been moreover confirmed, by the repeated 
 Experience of near feventeen hundred Years. — Yet, You 
 fay of my Polition, it equally vindicates Conformity to the 
 Church of Rome. ■ It is ftrange, a Pofition which digs 
 up the Foundation of Popery, mould vindicate Confor- 
 mity to it. What's Popery without independent Power ? 
 But, 
 
 This is, I find, a general common Place Anfwer, with 
 the Party, and is always lugg'd in, right or wrong. 
 
 I RE- 
 
5 o A Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 I remember, at the Time of my Conforming, a very 
 zealous and very ferious Advocate for the MEE TI NG, 
 (equally zealous with my prefent Opponent ; but, to his 
 greater Excufe and Vindication, not of near fo much E- 
 rudition,) defired me (in a calm friendly Manner) to give 
 
 him the Reafons of my Conduct. Upon my giving 
 
 him nearly the fame I have defcribed in my Preface; He 
 immediately anfwered (in the important Words of my 
 prefent Antagonifl,) Why? You might, by the fame Ar- 
 gument, as well vindicate a Conformity to the Church 
 of Rome. This inconfiflent Anfwer might be well e- 
 nough pardon'd to an honeft fuperannuated Sea-captain ; 
 but is very abfurd (to borrow once again this pretty Term) 
 in a Gentleman of a learned Education. To this Al- 
 legation, I made him (as I now make you) this brief and 
 decifive Anfwer: So I might, Sin> if the Church of Rome- 
 had a foveraign Power in this Nation, and enjoyn'd no- 
 thing more contrary to the Word of God, than any Thing 
 our Law enjoins. But fo long as the idolatrous Sacrifice 
 of the Mafs, the abfut& Doctrines of the Infallibility and 
 Supremacy, of Tranfubftantjation, Purgatory, Prayers for 
 the Dead, the religious Worfhip of Saints and of Angels, 
 the Adoration of the Hoft and Reliques, holy Whippings, 
 devout Pilgrimages, the abfolute Power of Forgivenefs, 
 and a vaft Fracas of pompous and ridiculous Fooleries (to 
 which nothing but ignorant Prejudice or interefted Per- 
 verfenefs could induce any One to compare any Injunction 
 of the Church of England) as long, I fay, as thefe are Part 
 of the Laws of the Church of Rome, to which Ihe requires 
 the indifpenfable Conformity and Submifiion of all her 
 Members, I can never fubmit to be of her Community 
 or Communion. I defire Mr. Bourn, and the Author of 
 the Letter, will calmly confider this Anfwer, compare 
 their Reproach of the Church of England with this De- 
 fcription, and give me a friendly Detail of ail the 3b- 
 futilities, Improprieties and Inconfiltencies, at which he 
 is, a great Hand. 
 
 P. 20. 
 
free and candid Considerations. 51 
 
 P. 20. He fays: Thus I have/hewn, in the Compafs of a 
 fiw IVords, the Abfurdity of this Pofition\ (Dear Slbf VC&ity \ 
 bow often art thou lugg d in !) Its Tendency would be deftruclive 
 of Piety and Virtue (tijat tooulfc be a great ^UpJ by -plac- 
 ing fomething elfe in their Stead. Let me here afk you, Sir, 
 one important ferious Qiieftion, as you have afked a Deal 
 
 of needlefs Ones. A s we are now arguing about a 
 
 legal Conformity to the national eftablifhed, Proteftant 
 Church of England^ does not this Affertion plainly infer, 
 that the faid Eftablifhment hath a natural Tendency to 
 dejiroy all Piety and Virtue^ and to place fomething elfe (I war- 
 rant, Ignorance, Prophunenefs and SuperftitionJ in their 
 Room ? Pray, Sir, with what Sincerity fhall we be- 
 lieve your Gentlemen return public Thanks for the Efta- 
 blifhment of the Proteftant Religion in this Nation, as they 
 do, if they have the fame Idea, you exprefs of it ? Quit 
 yourfelf of the Inference, and I'll take Care of your Quef- 
 tion. In Anfwer to which, I have, in my Turn, in 
 
 the Compafs of a few Pages (if not Words) fhewn the na- 
 tural, experimental, dreadful, unavoidable Tendency of 
 your dear Doctrine, of Ecclefiaftical Exemption, Immu- 
 nity, fpiritual Soveraignty, Tyranny. I have fhewn, and 
 a much greater Man hath fhewn, it was the Soil, the 
 Seed and Manure, wherein and whence the Popifh U- 
 furpation was fown, nourifhed, improved, maturated, 
 compleated; and whofe natural and genuine Tendency is 
 to repeat the fame tremendous Courfe, to the Deftruction 
 of all Government, Order, Religion, Piety, Liberty and 
 Virtue ; tho', I hope, as before, it is not much confider'd 
 in that Light by the Dillenters. 
 
 P. 24. He is not quite fatisfied of the Propriety of the 
 Subordination of Ecclefiaftical Officers, &c. or how this 
 h conducive to the public Good. I apprehend, the Expli- 
 cation of this Affair may not be of any great Importance 
 to him or me, 'till his Judgment or mine fhall be of 
 more neceffary Concurrence than at prefent^ in public Affairs. 
 
 But 
 
52 ^Reply to Mr. BOURNE 
 
 But I believe it will, upon Examination, be found that . 
 in all large Communities, Ecclefiaftical as well as Secular, 
 Officers have been moftly in Subordination , and this hath 
 always been efteemed abfolutely neceflary to the Good of 
 the Public. 
 
 The Priefts in the Tabernacle and Temple, though 
 not a foveraign Society, were in Subordination, and that 
 by Divine Appointment, both to each other, in the diffe- 
 rent Orders, and All to the foveraign Power in the State. 
 And, I am perfwaded, one and the fame general Reafon 
 always hath prevailed, and univerfally will prevail: The 
 Inflance I cite merely as a Precedent, not as a Law. 
 
 P. 25. I think the Diftindion of ttilil and rcItgtOUg 
 
 Society (tho' I condemn it not, as having been of pretty 
 general Ufe,) is yet not of any great Importance: As in 
 every Chriftian Proteftant Country the fame Perfons and 
 the fame Affairs, both Secular and Religious, are confti- 
 tutive of, and effentially appertain to one and the fame 
 Community ; that is, as faid before, Res Ecclefiajiica funt 
 et iffe civiles, quippe pariter cum fecularibus ad unam eandemq, 
 CIVITAT EM pertinentes. And the Government of 
 the Lord Jefus, as Soveraign of the Church, at leaft, fo 
 far as it comes under our Confideration, is adminiftred by 
 the Ctfcil Soveraign, as his Deputy. And He, as KING 
 of KINGS and LORD of LORDS, and Prince of the 
 Kings of the Earthy is as well Proprietor and Soveraign of 
 Civil as Sacred, of Secular as of Ecclefiaftical Affairs; and 
 the Defign and the Honour of his Kingdom amongfl Men 
 is as much concerned and interefted in one as in the other. 
 P. 23. I blame not (to be fure) Mr. Bourn's Al- 
 lowance of public Forms of Prayer, nor his fuperior 
 Efteem of his Kinfman's, nor even his Preference of 
 the Extempore of that Gentleman, or any other, be- 
 fore 'em all •, on Condition he allow me the fame Liberty, 
 and, particularly, not take it amifs that I efteem a Form 
 of Prayer, given in Matth. vi. 9 — 15. before his Kinf- 
 man's 
 
free and candid Considerations. 53 
 
 man's, or thofe which I reckon much fuperior; but I ob- 
 ferve, in P. 24. they muft not be enjoynedby the fiipr erne Pow- 
 er. No: That would fpoil all. The moft ufeful 
 
 Things relating to Religion, by being enjoyn'd, become 
 unlawful, finful, opprefllve, injurious, heretical j the O- 
 pinion and Language of the Church of Rome, exactly ! 
 And yet I cannot, for my Life, find any Limitation of 
 foveraign Jurifdiction, relating to facred Affairs, more 
 than to Secular, of Divine Authority. The Civil Go- 
 vernment, in the utmofb Extent, can only enact what 
 the Almighty hath not forbid, or forbid what the Al- 
 mighty hath not enacted ; and fo far it may go, in Church 
 or State, and he that rejifteth the Power, rejijieth the Ordi- 
 nance of God. Univerfally : tarn circa facra qtiam fecularia. 
 
 P. 25. Mr. Bourn takes fevere Notice of fomething 
 which was mentioned before in Capital Letters, &c. 
 And is it then a Crime to repeat a Sentence, or an Argu- 
 ment, or to diflinguifh it by Capitals ? Neither. And he 
 had not mentioned fuch Things, but in Order to flrrenstlj- 
 
 CH i)t0 lR.eafoning+ 1 have it under his Hand. Pray, 
 
 Sir, would not what you urge in that Place have had all 
 its Force for Conviction, unlefs thofe Circumftances of the 
 JRepetiticm and the Capital 3LCttejg had been added? 
 Poor Relief ! A great Sign of a Confcience of Debility, 
 when People have Recourfe to fuch Supports ! He very 
 falfely infinuates my advancing fomething upon no better 
 Evidence than my Ipfe dixit. He but infinuates it, for his 
 Readers Relief and Conflation \ he knows I am not, in the 
 whole Preface, liable to that Charge, as it implies a Blame 
 or Blemifh : But his fundamental Doctrine of the Exemp- 
 tion, he does not pretend to bring any Proof of. This is 
 all pure ipfe dixit. 
 
 P. 26. He here begins, and for feveral Pages carries 
 on, a handfome Defcription of the Steps our blefTed Lord, 
 and his Apoflles and Difciples took, in their firft preach- 
 
 H ins 
 
54 ^Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 ino- the Gofpel. I wifh his whole Piece had been as well 
 executed •, but as the fame has nothing at all to do with 
 our Argument of Conformity, I mail not trouble myfelf 
 and my Readers with a needlefs Repetition and Remarks 
 upon it. It would, I believe, be, at this Day, a great 
 Advantage to the Church and to the World, if there 
 were an univerfal Prevalence, of that difmterefted Appli- 
 cation, to promote the Doctrine and Practice of Truth 
 and Holinefs, which then and afterwards Co vifibly pre- 
 vailed, and had fo great a Tendency to convert the World. 
 But, I defire here to remark, 
 
 (i.) That there is not one fttff tttltiott in the Church 
 of England contrary to that amiable Defcription. 
 
 (2.) That out of all that, and all he hath faid befides, 
 and all he can tl'ltlp fay, he is not able, nor ever will be, 
 to make out a Syftem of Inftitutions of Divine Autho- 
 rity, for the Government of the Chriftian Church, in all 
 Ages and Nations. No ; that, as neceflarily variable, 
 was left to humane Inftitution, 
 
 I have, in my Preface, laid it down as a fundamental 
 Maxim, That a Scripture Precedent, as fuch (and much 
 lefs any other) hath not the Force of a Law. This Po- 
 rtion, Mr. Bourn will not, I am fure, deny, as is noted 
 before. And, it is certain that all the Excellencies of 
 the firft and pureft Times of the Gofpel, including their 
 Exemption from the Secular Power, were not a fufficient 
 Security againft the Prevalence of very great and fhameful 
 Corruptions, before the Eftablifhment of the Church un- 
 der the firft Chriftian Emperor-, as the fame are recorded 
 by Ecclefiaftical Kiftorians, and whereof I have before 
 given a brief Hint, from the Writings of Eufebim, and 
 fhewn, moreover, that thefe very probably fprung from a 
 Want of a fecular Reftraint, upon the afiumed Power of 
 the Church, before the Union of Church and State; as 
 the greateft Abufes undeniably did from the fatal Ufur- 
 pation of Ecclefiaftical Immunity from, and Soveraignty 
 over the Secular Power afterwards, as we have, beyond 
 Contradiction, fhewn before. Pray excufe the Repetition. 
 
 The 
 
free and candid Considerations. 55 
 
 The numerous Obftruclions of the Reformation in Eng- 
 land, which happened from the natural and political En- 
 gagements and Attachments of Harry the Eighth ; the 
 Emulation, Infincerity, felfifh and fecular Views of the 
 great Officers, under the unhappy glorious young Prince, 
 his Succeffor; the many fecret Attempts of the Papifts, 
 at Home and Abroad, during that Reign-, and their open 
 ihamelefs Outrages, under the next -, the many Difficul- 
 ties which embarraffed that Affair, efpecially all the Be- 
 ginning of Q^EMzabetfts Reign, with fome particular Pre- 
 judices, which that glorious Princefs mull be acknow- 
 ledged to have been under. All thefe Caufes, I fay, con- 
 curred to give a Form to the Conftitution of the Re- 
 formed Church of England, probably fomething different 
 from what it would otherwise have been. But, whoever 
 will ferioufly confider the vifible and undeniable Appear- 
 ances of the Hand of God, in the Beginning, Progrefs, 
 Obftruction, Renovation, a,nd Accomplifhment of that 
 glorious Work, may well be convinced it was the Work 
 of God alone, and fuch a0 tl)e #lnttgljtp t§augJ)t bcff ; 
 And our Malecontents, inftead of complaining for its not 
 having been originally fitted to their ^ofcel, ought, with 
 the utmoft Adoration and Gratitude, to acknowledge the, 
 abundant Favour and Mercy of God ; that, while other 
 Nations are funk in the Abiurdities of Popifh Delufion, 
 we have a Proteftant Church, eftablifhed by Law, under 
 fuch Regulations, as are quite agreeable to the Laws of 
 eternal Reafon; the Rights of Mankind; the Inftitutions 
 of Chriftianity ; the Prevalence of univerfal Truth; the 
 Purity of Worfhip ; the Glory of God and the Salvation 
 of Men ; and what would you have more ? 
 
 The Rejection of their great Article of Demand out of 
 the Model of our Ecclefiaftical Conftitution was, you fee, 
 neceffarily the firft Step to the Reformation j as nothing 
 but the Reftoration of the Soveraign Power to its origi- 
 nal Right, could put an End to that Oppreffion and Ty- 
 rannv* which the Popes of Rome, in direct Confequence of 
 
 H 2 the. 
 
56 A Reply to Mr. BOURNE 
 
 die fame Claim and Ufurpation of the pretended original hi' 
 dependence of Church upon the State, had, for about a thou- 
 fand Years, been exercifing, to the Abolition and De- 
 ftruction of thofe fundamental Privileges which are re- 
 ftored, as juft faid,- by the Reformation. And it feems 
 nothing lefs than Inconfiftency and Delufion, that Men 
 who cannot but know this, and who affume to themfelves 
 a Superiority of Character, from their zealous Oppofition 
 to Popery, mould yet demand that Article as efientially 
 necefiary to a compleat Reformation, which was itfelf the 
 firft Step, the Foundation and Support of that Depravity 
 which made the Reformation neceffary, and without which 
 Popery never could have had a Being. Yet we always 
 hear the Party complaining of this, as the great Defect of 
 the Reformation, and what the firft Reformers defigned 
 ihould be afterwards added. May we not be induced to 
 think them given up to thisflrong Delufion, in Confequence 
 of their denying that thankful Acknowledgment of, and 
 Acquiefcence in, the Reformation, which was juftly due 
 for fo merciful and gracious a Difpenfation of Heaven. 
 
 P. 32. The Italians were not the firft that polluted the 
 pure Streams of the River which made glad the City of our God 
 (Tf. xlvi. 4..) There were many greater or leffer Deviations 
 from, and Corruptions of the original Purity of the Divine 
 Inftitutions before that, by numerous Herefies which arofe 
 in the primitive Times. But it is certain that the Biihop 
 of Rome firft acquired PofTeflion of what his Brother the 
 Patriarch of Conflantinople was aiming at; the univerfal 
 Soveraignty in Spirituals, which, in a fmall Procefs of 
 Time, gave him Opportunity of extending his Dominion 
 to Temporals too. 
 
 But the bleiTed Hand of Divine Power, as juft faid, 
 brought us, of thefe Kingdoms, from under the mife- 
 rable Effects of that grand Apoftacy. And we are now 
 fettled under fuch a Conftitution, as that nothing eiTential 
 feems wanting to continue the flourifhing State of the 
 
 Re, 
 
free and candid Considerations. 57 
 
 Redeemer's Kingdom in thefe Nations, but trie Preva- 
 lence of a Spirit of univerfal Holinefs in all Orders, and an 
 humble and peaceable Acquiefcence in the Eftablifhment. 
 This laft, I think, is univerfal! y neceffary to the flourifh- 
 ing even of our religious Affairs (according to our Sa- 
 viour's Maxim, before mention'd;) whatever -particular ac- 
 cidental Advantages may arife, or feem to arife,from the inter- 
 efted Feuds and Emulations of contending Parties -, as fame allege, 
 
 P. 38. My Refpondent here cites my Quotation from 
 P uffendorf moft: unfairly and injurioufly, and he knows he 
 does fo. But this was necejfary to ftrengthen his Reafoning. 
 This will appear from the eafieft Reference to my Pre- 
 face. That great Statefman afferts, that every Man in the 
 State of Nature, has an original Right to modify his own 
 Divine Worfliip according to his belt Conceptions of Con- 
 ducivenefs to the Ends of Worfhip, confidently with pub- 
 lic Order, and the fame may perhaps be affirmed of do- 
 meftic Worfhip. Have I faid a Word againft this ? But 
 my Adverfary wonders how I durft quote a Paffage fo 
 much againft myfelf. I wonder how he durft for Shame fay 
 fo. The intelligent Reader will hardly need my ac- 
 quainting him that, as Puffendorf exprefly declares, al- 
 though this is certainly true, as above limited -, yet imme- 
 diately upon the fuppofed Coalition of Mankind into &o a 
 titties, this, as well as every Thing elfe of a public Na- 
 ture, and not limited by the Laws of God, came to be 
 under the authoritative Direction of the fupreme Power 
 in every State. I have, in my Preface, faid thofe Things 
 may, with the greateft Propriety, be referred to the Con- 
 federation and Consultation of Men immediately concern- 
 ed; but all is to be adminiftred under the Authority of the 
 foveraign Power •, and the Suppofition of the Agency of 
 the Priefts, or of the Priefts and People joy n'd, indepen- 
 dently of the Soveraign and yet in Confiftence therewith, is 
 a Self-contradiction, a Solecifm in Politics, an ens rationis y 
 $n Impoilibility ; which it was needlefs here to add. 
 
 P. 39 . 
 
58 A Reply to Mr. BOURNE 
 
 P. 39. Show any one Ecclefiaftical Inflitution, which 
 encroaches upon any Civil Right of Mankind, in thefe 
 Nations, and the Difpute is over. I have all along all 
 ow'd this to be a fufficient Ground of Diffenting and Se- 
 paration, and I have no Dread of perfevering in that Al- 
 lowance. But however oft, or with how much foever Zeal 
 and Fervour, Difcontent, Reproach and Indignation you 
 mention this, you never yet have, you never will pro- 
 duce a fmgle Inftance of Fact. 
 
 P. 39, 40. I am here to return Mr. Bourn's late Com-? 
 plemcnt, with more Reafon than he had, and exprefs my 
 Wonder, that he mould prefs into his Service fuch a Paf- 
 fage as that of Matt. xx. 25. But, I'll excufe him, for 
 quandoaue bonus dcrrr.itat Homerus, 
 
 Our Saviour there exprefiy declares, that, the 'Princes 
 cf the Gentiles (tZu IQvm, of the Nations, the fecular Powers 
 unfa erf ally,) exercife Dominion over them, and they who art 
 great exercife Authority upon them \ but it Jh all not befoa-. 
 
 mcngft you.— Is not this a plain Affertion of the Rights 
 
 of fecular Soveraignty, and the Subordination of all un- 
 determined Affairs to their Jurifdiction, and that the A- 
 poftles and their Succeffors are not to exercife any fuch 
 Rule ? I will not infult you, upon this plain Advantage. 
 But, I queftion if your Friends will fo eafily pafs this 
 Inadvertency. 
 
 P. 41, 42. Courage! I fee Land! We are got 
 
 to ^oofee: and Caitsim Thefe two great Lights 
 
 of the Proteftant Religion had not been brought in, but 
 that, as the latter is generally regarded, as the great Pa- 
 tron of Prefbyterianii'm, and the other as an Affertor of 
 High Church and Epifcopacy, I might very briefly 
 mention the Concurrence of both, in the Principles of 
 Ecclefiaftical Polity, as we have ftated them in this Con- 
 t.roverfy. The former having, with great Truth and 
 Learning, written a Folio Volume exprefiy upon the Sub- 
 ject; 
 
frw and candid Considerations, t A 
 j 
 
 je£t; the latter having treated pretty largely, and 
 great Skill and Learning, upon the fame, in feverai of 
 the former Chapters of the fourth Book of his Inftitu- 
 tions. Both have agreed ("whatever Differences may be, 
 or appear to be, in the particular Schemes of . Eccleiraftis 
 cal Policy or AdminiitrationJ that the Whole is to be 
 under the authoritative Regulation of the Civil Sove- 
 
 raignty. -Both clearly concur with Gratia* and Puf- 
 
 fendorf, in this whole Argument. 
 
 P. 43. The Gentleman feems difpleafed with my de- 
 claring my own private Efteem of the Church of England 
 before the Kirk-, and fays, May not another fay the fame 
 of the latter ? I anfwer, He has my free Confent. If, upon 
 a due Confideration, he efteems the Conltitution of the 
 Kirk preferable, he hath an undubitable Right to declare 
 it. We are under an Obligation, by the Laws of God, to 
 obey the lawful Injunctions of the loveraign Powers we are 
 under ; but this may very well confift with an Opinion, 
 that thofe Injunctions are not the very belt that might be. 
 This, I remember, is ftrenuouily urged by Calvin^ in many 
 Inflances. And, I fufpect, if One was to examine the 
 Matter cloiely, the Power of the Kirk will not appear to be 
 or have been, fince the Reformation, lb much fofceraigjt 
 and independent of the fecular Polity as he feems to thiiil:. 
 
 I now pafs to P. 48. Where Mr. Bourn hath the Plea- 
 iure of being at a Lofs to conceive with what Kind of Logic the 
 cited Paragraph clojes. I think, now, that in popu- 
 lar Squabbles (which too often happen) about Matters of 
 fmall Moment, the belt Way of Accommodation is by an 
 authoritative Interpofition. And this is certainly one main 
 End of humane Government and Authority. This is to 
 me fo evident, that I could hardly think my Refpondent 
 ferious in his Oppofition, had he not illuftrated it by a 
 
 mctricinal camparifou, in to>i)icSJ 31 routf Miztiz |)e i$ 
 
 In 
 
60 A Reply to Mr. BOURN'* 
 
 In P. 50. The Subordination of the Clergy is again 
 haul'd in, to no Manner of Purpofe. I have before, in 
 its Vindication, fhewn the Authority and Approbation of 
 God and Man •> and I need to fay no more. I mail be 
 blamed for repeating what is certainly clear enough : 
 That the lefs Power the Clergy have, the better it hath 
 always been. The more they keep to their Studies, their 
 Pulpits and their paftoral religious Vifitations, as you 
 juftly allege, in p. 50, the better, I believe, it always 
 was, and always will be, for Church and State : But 
 while they have Influence, and are fubje£t to like Paf- 
 fions as other Men, the Good of the State will always re- 
 quire they mould be liable to the fame Control and Coer- 
 tion as ot&ej jfolfe, univerfally. 
 
 What is remarked in p. 53, upon my p. xxxi. of the 
 Preface, I have mentioned only as my own Conviction, 
 from intimate Acquaintance, and long difinterefted and 
 forrowful Obfervation, without affuming to cenfure the 
 Apprehenfions of any One upon it, and I am far from 
 
 being alone in my Opinion. " I cannot avoid 
 
 " judging of Things according to the clear Rules of na- 
 " tural Proportion, If I find a Man, in the Affairs of 
 4i humane Commerce, allow himfelf to profecute Views 
 " of a pecuniary or other perfonal Intereft, bp SltfumsS 
 " tleatlp iwonfiffent toitl) tj&e %itio$ of eternal itfUa* 
 fon, ano SDibnte pofittoe Blnffttution, ( whereof I wifh 
 I were to feek for Inltances,) I can never be perfuaded fuch 
 an One can be under any great Influence of confeientious, 
 fcrupulous Regard to the Laws of Heaven, in Things 
 
 trifling, dubious and non-efTential. Remember, 
 
 Sir, you mentioned before the Cap fitting and putting it 
 
 en. 
 
 D o you, Sir, believe One in a Hundred of you conf c t'ett* 
 tioil0SDtffetttcr£, ever took the Pains neceffary to determine 
 their Judgments impartially, ?attonaUp, upon the Subject? 
 I think whoever will confider what is cfjentially neceffary to a 
 
 folia 
 
free and candid Considerations. 6t 
 
 folitl national CottfliftfOtt, will anfwer in the Negative. 
 The Nullity of the Soveraign Power's Right to interfere 
 in Ecclefiaflical Institutions, however fhewn to be efTenti- 
 ally falfe, is* I firmly believe, the moil general Principle 
 gone upon, and they feem very much fupported and re- 
 frefhed with it. And, yet this is moft undeniably the 
 Foundation, upon which the whole Syflem of Popery was 
 originally eftablifhed, and is to this Day upheld, as I think 
 I have pretty fully explained from the natural Reafon of 
 Things, flrengthened with the greateft Authority, both 
 Divine and Humane. Pray ■pardon alfo this Repetition. 
 
 P. $$. What is here alleged, hath not the leafl to do 
 with the Queftion; particular Facts don't defeat general 
 Laws. There were a vafb Number of indefenfible Actions 
 done, during the unhappy Period of about twenty Years, 
 
 you are there upon. But rather to filence than fatis- 
 
 £y your Allegations, pray, Sir, confider how your Mar- 
 tyrs or Confellbrs got into the PoflefTion of thofe Churches* 
 whence their Ejectment afforded fo piteable a Spectacle, 
 and whereof you, with many other Apologifts for Non- 
 conformity, fpeak with fo elegant and laudable a Pathos 
 
 without feeming ever to reflect to what Diflreffes the 
 
 Gentlemen were expofed, who, by the Prevalence of the 
 grand Ufurpation, were ijtolentlp put out of their legal 
 PofTeffions (1 fay, Sir, out of their legal ^OffelTtong,) 
 to make Room for the injurious Intrufion of your Saints* 
 The Mention of this mould for ever flop your Mouths 
 from all Repetition of the other. 
 
 P. 60. It is a very fenfible Pleafure to me, to ob» 
 ferve that you are forced to change my Reprefen- 
 tation of Things, and give a falfe Account of them, 
 before you can get the lead Appearance of Advan- 
 tage. Why mould you tell your Readers fuch aSTO- 
 R Y, as that I laid in p. x. and xi. of the Preface, that, 
 fince the compleating of the iacred Canon, no Power on 
 
 I Earth 
 
62 A Reply to Mr. BOURN'* 
 
 Earth hath Authority to make new Infiitutions? This is 
 only to flatter your Readers with a falfe Appearance of 
 the Abfurd. I neither meant nor laid any fuch Thing. 
 
 ■ If I had had nothing but plain Truth to reply to, 
 
 my Work would have been a good Deal eafier. — I 
 
 faid, " No Power on Earth hath, fince that Period, a 
 " Right to inftitute new &2tttle$ of jfattij, tteto &a s 
 
 « c t?am$ms> o? ncto IRuleg of general mo^al lattice, 
 
 " &c" But I have been proving (what all your Op- 
 pofition, inftead of defeating, hath concurred to eftablifh;^ 
 that every Civil State hath a Soveraign Right to make 
 lltfD StlftttUttO1t0, for regulating the Form of external 
 Administration of Things, Ecclefiaftical as well as Secu- 
 lar, neceffary to public Good, and confidently with the 
 Laws of God. I hope you'll take the Blame of this Repeti- 
 tion. 
 
 If any Thing in the 39 Articles, as you feem to fur- 
 raife, or elfewhere, be apprehended to bear hard upon any, 
 I have (hewn a Remedy. I know nothing that impofes 
 any confcientious Difficulty upon me as a Lay-Com- 
 municant, which was all I propofed to fhew in my Pre- 
 face. And I cannot think myfelr obliged to contribute 
 to the Disturbance of public Peace and Order, by inter- 
 fering to affert the Caufe of others ; efpecially fuch, whofe 
 Office and Character has no neceffary Ingrediency, I can 
 poffibly difcover, in the public Utility •, but I ihall be 
 forced to touch upon this again, in fome brief Remarks 
 upon the Poftfcript. 
 
 I have omitted mentioning fome Things bad enough, 
 in the Reign and Troubles of Charles I. and in thofe of 
 the following pious Usurpation. They don't belong to 
 our Argument. I never pretended Ability or Inclination 
 to vindicate all the Steps of the former nor to cenfure 
 all, and I am fure you will not choofe to do it for the 
 latter. I'll here only mention one Thing Confequent to 
 that long State of Confufion, which, tho' of no great Im- 
 
 por- 
 
free and candid Considerations. 6% 
 
 portance to our Argument, may be confidered with Re- 
 gard to Practice. 
 
 We all know, there were Steps taken after the Re- 
 ftoration for the Accommodation of Ecclefiaftical Affairs, 
 in which I will not fay, Refentment had no Influence. 
 But this is what I choofe to remark : That of the Terms 
 propofed for the Admiffion or Continuance of the Pref- 
 byterian Minifters into, or in the Church, One was, their 
 Re-ordination by Biihops. This bore hard upon them, 
 and efpecially, as it was faid to be aggravated by fome Bi? 
 fhops, who infilled upon their figning a formal Difallow- 
 ance of their former Ordination, as received from the 
 Hands of Prefbyters. They thought their Re-ordination 
 itfelf too' much implied an Impeachment of their former 
 Ordination, and a Nullity of the minifterial Offices per- 
 formed in Confequence thereof, without fuch an exprefs 
 Difavowance •, as they were fully perfuaded they were 
 thereby, to all Chriftian and Ecclefiaftical Purpofes, con- 
 flituted Miniilers of the Gofpel of Chrift. This was 
 Matter of great Debate. Some few fubmitted, but great- 
 er Numbers refufed. But I think their Hiftorians allow, 
 that thofe Gentlemen would upon an Indulgence in this 
 one Article have generally conformed. What I infer 
 hence is, that as the Re-ordination has nothing to do with 
 the modern Candidates, it does not appear how they can 
 refufe their Compliance with the Terms now required, 
 without impeaching the Conduct of thofe Gentlemen. 
 
 Thus, I think, I have given fufficient Anfwer to eve- 
 ry Allegation of Mr. Bourn, of any Moment or Impor- 
 tance in the Debate. I am fure I have omitted nothing 
 from any Apprehenfion of Difficulty, but fome Particulars 
 are fo quite void of all Manner of Relation to the Quefti- 
 on, and fome fo very trifling, as that their Anfwer would 
 be of no Ufe. 
 
 I have now to add fomething in Confideration of the 
 Poitfcript, wherein I fhall endeavour to preferve all ths 
 
 I 2 Evidence 
 
64 A Reply to Mr. BOURNE 
 
 Evidences pofTible of the Efteem I have for the Learn- 
 ing and Virtue of the Gentleman I apprehend to have 
 been its Author; tho' of this I have not full Afllirance. 
 
 He fays, my taking Occafion, from the Preacher's o- 
 mitting to mention fome Things I thought he mould have 
 mention'd, to write againft the Difienters, i0 :dUittlioil3 
 iUtti abfuztl. 1 might, perhaps, by entring into a par- 
 ticular Confideration of the ^lljftnlJ and the 3ftifc>tUlIcm$, 
 find fome Exception againft the Uie of thefe two Words, 
 on this Occafion •, but out of Regard to the Gentleman I 
 mail not reply; he hath, by Character, a. Claim to reprove 
 and rebuke, as well as to exhort ; but I leave it to his Con- 
 fideration, whether thole two Words quite comport with 
 the Qualifications prefcribed as neceffary to the proper 
 Difchargeof that Office, 2 Tim. iv. 2. lv tsact-a puxpoQv pia. >£ 
 $£«.%$ j it rather appears to me to be not quite confi- 
 dent with the former Requirement, nor to have much 
 to do with the latter. May not a Perfon fometimes take 
 a flight Occafion to do an agreeable Action, and yet not 
 be chargeable with being abfurd or ridiculous ,? Is not this 
 fomething of a railing Accufation, fuch as the Arch-angel 
 did not, ' durji not, hji iToXpwt) bring againji the Devil him- 
 feif, in a Difputation ? Jude v. 9. Thus, I think, I might 
 have objected againft the Gentleman's Reproof, had the 
 Crime been to the utmoft jpaltgtutp of his Defcription. 
 Eut the Affair is quite ("and, I think, very plainly) per- 
 verted and mif-reprefented. 
 
 The Minifter's Omiflion of fo fair an Opportunity, 
 as his Subject gave him, to treat of the great evangelical 
 Doctrine of the Redemption of the World by the Blood of 
 Chrift; really gave Occafion fas I have faid before) to my 
 writing the Book, which I have not yet finifhed and . 
 printed, on that Subject, in Order to eftablifh the 
 great End of the Redeemer' coming into the World, 
 which I hope yet to finifh; but this hath nothing to do with 
 
 Conformity. But the Preface was folcly writ (quite 
 
 contrary to what is faid in the Poftfcript) ON OCCASION 
 
 of 
 
free and candid Considerations. 65 
 
 pFthe Gentleman's mentioning fome Things, I thought, he 
 ought not to have mentioned ; viz. his Challenge arid Pro- 
 teit, p. ix. of the Preface. 
 
 I shall not go about to difpute the Propriety of Dr. 
 Whitby\ or Dr. TiUfotfon's DifTertations or Remarks upon 
 Jobnv'm. 31, 32. they are certainly proper,- but, I appre- 
 hend, were not meant to take in the whole Meaning of 
 the Paffage, nor did either of thofe great Men, by your 
 Account, Sir, give fo copious and extenlive a Definition 
 of the Senfe of that Expreffion as Mr. S — did, when he 
 faid the Import of the Word c Truih, in that Text, was the 
 Gofpel of Cbrifi, at leafl he took it fo. And as he pro- 
 fefled, in Confequence of this Idea, to fhew the Bleffings 
 accruing to Mankind by the Gojpel of Ghrifi, I could not 
 imagine any other Reafon, than that I have affign'd, for 
 {lis very obnoxious OmifTion of what hath, by the Gene- 
 rality of Chriitian Teachers, been confidered as the main 
 Defign of the Gofpel, from the Days of the Apoftles to 
 our Days ; even to make us free, to redeem us from the Curfe 
 of the Law, Gal. iii. 13. by giving his Life a Ranfom for 
 MANY. Thefe are not the Words of Dr. Whitby, nor 
 of Dr. Tillotfon •, but the Words of the §>on of &§, t$Z 
 &afrioui' of t$Z W^l&i and of the great Apoftle com- 
 mifiioned, under the Infpiration of the moft High, to 
 publilli the glad Tidings of the Gofpel, not in the in- 
 tricate Words of humane Wifdom, but in Terms plain 
 and obvious to the lowefl Clafs of People, Luke vii. 27. 
 •zlwxjn tvocyhxi^oflxr the ^ oor have the Gofpel preached Unto them. 
 
 I lay not much Strefs on the Difference of minifteri- 
 al and Lay-Conformity, there is nothing required, in 
 the Latter, burtfrenfom to me; and I beg the R. M. 
 B. will excufe me from entring, in this Place, upon 
 the Debate concerning the Scruples they make of Sub- 
 lcription. Qu<£ fupra nos nihil ad nos. There is a very re- 
 verend, honourable, learned and pious Gentleman, every 
 Way an Honour to his Character, knows my Sentiments, 
 and what I am able to allege upon that Subject ; but all the 
 
 hard 
 
66 ^Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 hard Speeches of Mr. B. mail not induce me to make fiich 
 a needlefs Addition to this Piece, as the Confideration 
 of that Affair would unavoidably be. What He calls a 
 hofe Harangue, is all I need to fay, I meant, I mean to fay 
 no more, there is no Doubt of the Authenticity of Epis- 
 copal Ordination ; and no Manner of Necei'iity, I can 
 fee, for the other. Pref. P. 34,35. 
 
 My Obfervation of reafoning Bijfenters, I am very con- 
 fident, is true, and the Term proper, and I fhall peace- 
 ably allow him to confider it as of as fmall Moment as he 
 pleafes ; and allow him alfo his own Proportion of the 
 reafoning Confenters, I am pretty much of his Mind. 
 
 I am now come to the Article of Extempore Prayer, in 
 which Account I choofe to direct my Anfwer to Whit- 
 worth's, Jan. 6. upon the fame Subject. And here, in 
 the firft Place, I am to acknowledge the Author's Favour, 
 in his Complement of my great Sagacity and Application. 
 For which I may perhaps be allowed not to be under fo 
 very much Obligation neither; — as he appears to mention 
 this, only in Order to magnify his own far fuperior Abili- 
 ty, in being able to mew my very great Foible and Igno- 
 rance, as not having yet attained to the true Notion of 
 fpeaking, and particularly of the Word or Idea, Extem- 
 pore, and it would be a f Fonder I Jhould ever think of it as 
 
 be feems to be of Opinion I jhould. 'How One may be 
 
 miftaken! 1 thought I had been fufficiently inftructed 
 
 in this, full threefcore Years ago. However, I'll not yet 
 fubmit to think myfelf fo compleat a Booby and Ignora- 
 mus, as the Letter fo very complacently reprefents, with- 
 out attempting fomewhat in my own Vindication. 
 
 This Debate, I would previoufly obferve, is of no 
 Manner of Import in our Queftion, and might have 
 paifed without Repetition (as I wifh it had) but that I 
 happened to mention, a premeditated extempore Prayer^ 
 
 as a Contradiction in T'erminis an Affront not to be 
 
 born! and for which I am tJCir.autiCtJ S>ati0faxtiott, 
 and for my Conviction (of having been guilty of fo 
 
 gioundlefs 
 
free and candid Considerations. 67 
 
 groundlefs a Reproach) am referred to Quintilian among 
 the Antients, and to Rennet amongit the Moderns. — As I 
 am under the Misfortune of having neither of thofe Au- 
 thors, and fo not qualified to trtfojofoe tijc C&tfcettce, I 
 mult beg Leave to affert my Innocence, and juflify my 
 own Caufe otherwife, as well as I can, independently of 
 thofe Authorities. 
 
 BAILEY's EngUJIj Dictionary has been a long Time 
 poiTefs'd of a tolerable Degree of Reputation; and paffed 
 a Matter of twelve or thirteen Impremons. I there find 
 as follows. 
 
 Extemporal } Extemporalis. 1 done or fpoke in 
 
 Extemporary 5 Extemporarius. 5 the very Inftant of 
 
 Time, \mt§cmt ttufcping vv thinking ucio^lSaatf). This 
 
 Account, I think, is full in my Favour, and fhews I 
 had Ground for my Opinion, that the Latin Adverb 
 exactly concurs with cur Englifh One, off Hand. 
 
 The next Evidence I bung, is from the EngUfo Dictio- 
 nary of SAMUEL JOHNSON, A. M. in two Vols. 
 Fol. Pr. £.4. 10 s. (I hope no Body will fcruple its Au- 
 thority: He was indeed quite equal to the Work J Where 
 I find, 
 
 Extemporaneous, adj. [Extemporaneui, Latin.] '^SttD* 
 tmt |3:enutntatum ; Hidden. 
 
 Extemporary, adj. [extemporarius, Latin.] Uttered or 
 performed Itfitfijo tit ^tttitiKtattOtl ; fudden; quick. 
 
 Extempore, adv. [extempore, Latin.] ^<EUti)Ottt pie* 
 tttC&ltatiott ••> fuddenly •, readily ; without anp prefcioug 
 €ait or IS^pazatton* 
 
 To Extemporize, v. n. [from Extempore] to ipeak 
 extempore or tmtijoitt premeditation* 
 
 It is undeniable, I think, that thefe two very Au- 
 thentic Englifh Writers are full in my Favour. Let's go 
 on with our Evidence. 
 
 In LITTLETON'S Latin Dictionary, I find thus. 
 
 Extemporalis; Quint, aVro^.of, fudden, tpttlJOUt ^Svt* 
 
 meoitauon or ^tuop •, 
 
 Extern- 
 
68 A Reply /oMr.BOUR N\r 
 
 Extemporaneus ; Quint. xpeXernrotl clvTo%i$ios id. quod ex* 
 temporalis. 
 
 The Englifh and the Latin Part of this Expofition is in- 
 dubitably in Confirmation of my Cenfure ; and, for greater 
 Corroboration, I confuited the Lexicons for the Interpre- 
 tation of the Greek Words, and find 
 
 Scapula for auroo^JWr}, writes extempore non premeditate^ 
 and every one knows ^Aem-ros- fignifies without Care or 
 Premeditation. 
 
 Conjlantine hath auto^j^a^) temers negligenter ad rem accedo> 
 ci.u£\etv)tw<; xiyu w %d<poo. 'A'jTo^fJ'iafws, qui extemporalem ha- 
 bet orationem, which he expounds thus, aVu cpovricio; roK^m 
 xiysiv, he that ventures to /peak without Premeditation. 
 
 Suetonius fays of Augujtus Cefar, neque in fenatu neque ad 
 populum, neq; ad milites locutus eft unquam, nifi meditata et 
 compofita oratione, quamvis non defecerit ad fubita, extempo- 
 rali facultate, where it is undeniable, the extemporali facul- 
 tate is fet in oppofition to the meditata et compofita oratione, 
 which imports a fludied Compofition, written or unwrit- 
 ten. 
 
 The fame writes of Flavins Vefpatiamis, Latina Gr£ceq\ 
 linqurf promptus et facilis, ad extemporalitatem ufq; I need not 
 direct you in the Interpretation. 
 
 I cannot forbear, from fo many Evidences, full in 
 my Favour, believing that I am innocent of all TranJgreJJion, 
 in afferting that a premeditated extemporaneous Performance, 
 fmells ftrong of a Contradiction. It is plain, Littleton 
 quotes Qui 'nt ilia n in Vindication of his Senfe of the Word, 
 which is mine, and fuch a bungling Wretch I am, as not to 
 fee enough, in the Author's Citation made from Quinti- 
 lian, to fet me rieht. There is a vifible Difference betwixt 
 reading or reciting preeunle monitore, and reciting extem- 
 pore five expetlore •, but I muft itill infill, that the Author's 
 Affirmation, that the Extempore does not exclude Premedita- 
 tion, is not fufficiently explained or confirmed ; and, I am 
 very fure, it is quite contrary to fuch Authorities as I 
 have been enabled to quote above. 
 
 I THINK 
 
free and candid Considerations. 69 
 
 - 1 think it was not of much NecefTity to any Part of 
 our Argument, to reprefent what I had laid, of the Dif- 
 ficulty of joining in an extemporary Prayer, under the po- 
 lite Character of a bungling Account; efpecially, 'till the 
 Gentleman had made it evident, by Experience, that he 
 and I can fully conceive the Meaning of a long Sentence 
 in one of Tully's Orations, &V. by hearing only the firft 
 Part of it pronounced ; but as I am fure no Man alive 
 can do that, without previous familiar Acquaintance with 
 it, or a Spirit of Prophecy. I muft ftill infill that, when 
 I faid I muft wait 'till every Sentence of an extemporary 
 Prayer be finifhed and approved, before I could make it 
 a rational Act of Devotion \ with all the concomitant Cir- 
 cumftances there related, I did give a true Account of that 
 Affair, and fiich as is unalterably agreeable to the Nature 
 of Things, be it as bungling as you will. 
 
 But let us, for the greater Precifion, make an Expe- 
 riment in a famous Sentence, in the Beginning of the O- 
 ration pro A. Licinio Archia Poeta, which is not near fa- 
 long as very often occur, in the immortal Writings of 
 that great Father of Roman Oratory. Of which Sentence 
 I have tranfcribed a Branch a little before, to exprefs my 
 own Senfe. 
 
 " Si quid eft in me ingenii, Judices, quod fentio quam 
 " fit exiguum -, aut fi qua exercitatio dicendi, in qua me 
 " non infieior mediocriter efTe verfatum •, aut fi hujufce 
 *' rei ratio aliqua ab optimarum artium ftudiis et difciplina. 
 " profecta, a qua. ego nullum confiteor astatis meae tem- 
 " pus abhorruiiTe : earum rerum omnium vel in primis hie 
 " A. Licinius fructum a.me repetere prope fuo jure debet." 
 
 A very obvious Reflection will convince the moft ob- 
 ftinate, how impoffible it would be, for an Hearer, to 
 have taken in the great Orator's Senfe and Conception 
 in this Sentence, till the fame had been (at lead very 
 nearly) finifhed. What Idea could any Audient have 
 had thereof when the Word ingenii was pronounced ? No- 
 thing at all; nor any more from the Word exiguum. 
 
 K What 
 
7 o A Reply to Mr. BOURNV 
 
 What a State of Attention and Expectation muft every 
 One have been in, at his pronouncing the Words exerci- 
 tatio, infaior, abhorruiffe -, nay, even at hie Aulus Licinius, 
 &c. In fhort, what an hiatus muft have been in the Mind 
 of every Attendant,' 'till the concluding Branch of the 
 Sentence came to be pronounced. And yet I am very 
 politely reprefented as a bungling jFool, for alTerting that 
 I am not capable of taking in the Senfe of an extempora- 
 neous Prayer, and making the fame a rational, a devout 
 Addrefs or my own Mind to the moft High, otherwiie 
 than pedetentim or gradatim, Step by Step, as the Sentences, 
 one after another, come to be compleated (I muft ftill add,) 
 and approved. What I have faid in the Preface, of my 
 own Experience, is certainly true in Fact : The Force of 
 its Conclnfion I (hall not infift on, as t£e ^tup&itp ot 
 tf)t -vUfeuDant might be an Obftruction to the ready Per- 
 ception. I wifh the Author of this very humane Reflecti- 
 on would fometime attend the publifhing of a Proclamati- 
 on by the Officer, as the fame is dictated to him by a Clerk, 
 and try the Truth of my AlTertion in his own Perception 
 of the Senfe and Connection of fuch a Piece. I can tell ; 
 this Difficulty has, many a Time, given me a good Deal 
 of Trouble, while I attended that Way of divine Wor- 
 ship. I am fully perfuaded, whatever is alleged to the 
 Contrary, that the Attention of the Mind may be more 
 regular and conftant to one Train of Action, than to 
 two or more different and inconfiftent ones, as, I think, 
 I have, in the Preface, truly defcribed them. It is urged, 
 
 that Novelty preferves Attention 1 know not but it 
 
 may : But what Kind of Attention ? To this Queftion I 
 cannot give a better Anfwer, than in the Words of a very 
 worthy DilTenting Minifter 
 
 " For Want of a Form, Prayer, fays he, is oftentimes a 
 <c painful ii. ng, an Exacife of the Head only, without 
 4i any Moticn of the Heart and Affections." This isyour 
 Encreafe of Attention by (he Ewlempore. It is, you may ima- 
 gine, not a firialj Pleafure, upon the cafual falling of a Book 
 
 into 
 
free and ca?idid Considerations. 71 
 
 into my Hands, within a few Days, thus to find the de- 
 clared Sentiment of a Gentleman of the Character, con- 
 cur fo compleatly with the Defcription I had before given 
 of the fame Thing in my Preface. 
 
 This Declaration is more emphatically true of the Mi- 
 nifter, as in the cited PafTage ; but the Attention of the 
 Hearer is certainly liable to all that Waiting, that Diftrac- 
 tion and Tumult, I have endeavoured to defcribe, and 
 from which the uniform undifturbed Action of a devout 
 Mind, in the Repetition of a cuftomable Form, is quite 
 free. 
 
 I remember to have formerly fome where met with a 
 Declaration of (I think) Bifhop Bull's, on this Subject, to 
 this Effect. " If all Men were like fome Men, One might 
 " almoft wifh our public Prayers were all to be Extern- 
 " fore ; but as omnis or do humani generis habet faum Vulgus \* 
 and as this Vulgus generally takes in much the greater Part, 
 it is much for the general Advantage, that the public Of- 
 fices of divine Worfhip Ihould be from Forms authorita- 
 tively prefcribed. 
 
 Are you, Sir, as you feem, provoked that I have ven- 
 tured to enter the Lifts with a Perfon of fo much fuperi- 
 or Merit and Character? Don't take it amifs, Sir, I own 
 your double Superiority, I have a Senfe of, and a cordial 
 Efteem for your valuable Qualifications, I afiume not to be 
 upon a Level ; but we have as yet, in this Nation, by the 
 Favour of Heaven, the Privilege of publifhing a Diffe- 
 rence of Sentiment or Perfuafion from even a Dignitary, 
 fpiritnal or fecular. Titles and Dignities, Office or ex- 
 ternal Character, have nothing to do with the True and 
 the Falfe. It is as much my Duty to be fatisfied in my 
 own Mind, as any One's elie; and I have as much Right 
 to render a public Reafon of my own Conviction and Con- 
 duct, efpecially in Cafe of Cenfure and Reproach, as my Op- 
 pofers-, and if I happen to allege any Thing which don't 
 admit of a rational Aniwer or Contradiction, it is to be a- 
 fcribed to the Juftice of the Subject, not to any fuperior 
 
 K 2 Skill 
 
7 2 
 
 A Reply to Mr. BOURN'j 
 
 Skill or Addrefs in the Advocate. In fhort, in this Ar- 
 gument, the Minifters have, I own, fome Thing to fay 
 for tkemfelves, perfonaily, which I have never yet feen an- 
 fwered; but I am very clear, that it has nothing to do with 
 the People, with me j and lays no Manner of Obligation in 
 Confcience upon me or others to enter into the Merit of 
 
 their Scruples. But to go on to the Conclufion. 
 
 I don't deny but there may be a general Scheme of an 
 Extemporary Prayer or Speech formed in the Mind, as I 
 believe is moftly the Cafe ; and the more of this, I think, 
 generally the better is the Prayer, &fr. ceteris paribus. But, 
 at the fame Time, it is, toitlj tf)C lef0 pjopjietp, called 
 an extemporary Prayer. We know a Gentleman,, who 
 ordinarily (1 believe, always) preaches without Notes writ- 
 ten at all ; yet he does not profefs to preach extempore : He, 
 preaches from a premeditated, precompofed Form, depo- 
 sited in his Memory, which is, at leaft almoft, as different 
 from doing it extempore^ as if his Sermon was read from 
 a Copy, every Word written down. When Folks begin 
 to give hard Language upon Things of no more Evidence 
 and Moment than fuch as thefe are, it looks as if they 
 
 were angry, and as if it were Time to leave off. 1 have 
 
 but a little more to add. Pray what Reproach or Calum- 
 ny is it to the primitive Practice (bona verba precor, tie fevs 
 magne facerdos) to affert that I cannot pofiibly joyn fo rea- 
 dily in an extemporary Prayer (under the Circumftances 
 juft defcribedj as in a Form, which I am familiarly ac- 
 quainted with ? This Affertion don't alter the Nature of 
 Things, it does not alter the Agreement or Disagreement 
 of this with primitive Practice, it can't add or take off 
 the leaft to or from the Truth of that Declaration, which 
 therefore cannot be finful. I have faid before, I always 
 will, to the beft of my Power, cleave to Truth, and leave 
 it to anfwer for its own Confequences. This Cenfure of 
 Impiety is fo like the Charge in IVbitwort/Ss, Jan. 6. 
 mentioned before, that One would be inclined to believe it 
 was out of the fame Mine, and yet I have not thought it fo. 
 
 I have 
 
V 
 
 free a?id candid Considerations. 73 
 
 I have by me Cbryfojlomh Homilies, in the Original 
 Greeks which muft be acknowledged to be ferious, ufeful, 
 inftructive-, and even, as I have found them call'd, elegant 
 Things i but when I compare thefe with the Difcourfes 
 I had lately the Pkafure to read, of the Right Revd. 
 L Bilhop of London, I think I may, without the ieaft 
 Reproach to the ancient (for we are here beyond the 
 Limits of the primitive) Chriftian Church, or to the great 
 Character of the Bilhop of Conftantinople, fay (as I really 
 think) that the latter are vaftly more elegant, regular, 
 inftructive, perfuafive, ufeful, £sJV. than the former. I 
 can't but think, it is affuming a Power, God has not 
 given, to cenfure of Impiety my Preference of a dated 
 Form of Prayer before an unregulated, unpremeditated, 
 extemporaneous One, let the Confequence be what it 
 may ; and it is no Dimunition of a proper Regard for the 
 primitive Church, to fay fo. I wifh I may never be ac- 
 cufed of any greater Crime, or upon better Grounds, I 
 believe the Affertion of the univerfal Ufe of extempo- 
 rary Prayer in the primitive Church, may be made by 
 one Clafs of Men, with about as much Certainty, Truth 
 and Ufefulnefs, as the general Prevalence of formed Li- 
 turgies by another. I profefs to you, I believe neither 
 one nor t'other, and fuppofe cither true, it would con- 
 clude nothing, becaufe Precedents are not Laws. Had 
 the Queftion, I have interefted myfelf in, been as am- 
 biguous, obfeure and undeterminable as this, You had 
 never feen a Word of this Debate, from the worthlefs 
 Pen of, 
 
 $ I 2?, 
 
 Tour mofi cordial Friend 
 And Humble Servant ', 
 
 Peter Whitfield. 
 
S. "fc yf U L T A funt ad humanas Societates rite adminiftrand 
 
 I VJL ceflaria, qus fummo Numini non collibuit inftituere, quaeq; 
 funt idco humano Arbitrio, et authoritate omnino definienda. 
 
 Ecclefia Chriftiana eft hujufmodi focietas, cujus ad externam ad- 
 miniftrationem non placuit furamo Numini leges inftituere necerTarias. 
 
 Sunt ergo hujufmcdi leges humano Arbitrio humanaq; Auctoritate 
 inftituends. 
 
 2. Summam poteftatem contra fummam poteftatem, five binas 
 fummas poteftates in eodem Imperio, five in eadem Civitate vel Re- 
 publica, non fert rerum Natura. 
 
 At fi neceflaria quscunq; ad res facras rite adminiftrandas, fum- 
 mo Numini non prsfcripta, fint hominibus duntaxat ecclefiafticis 
 fummo jure inftituenda (uti tradidit Borneius ;) necefle erit fumnia 
 poteftas contra funimam poteftatem; five binas fumms Poteftates erunt 
 in eodem Imperio, five in eadem Civitate, vel Republica. 
 
 Ergo hujufmodi circa res facras inftituta ecclefiaftica non fert rerum 
 Natura. 
 
 Iterum. 
 
 g. Quscunq; funt publics utilitatis, five ad fummam Reip. falu- 
 tem necefiario faciunt, nee funt a Deo prsfcripta, fumms poteftati funt 
 adminiftranda. 
 
 At Inftituta pro optima rerum facrarum (five cultus divini) admini- 
 ftratione, non minus quam civilium, (funt enim et ills civiles) funt 
 publics utilitatis, five ad fummam falutem republics pertinentia. 
 
 Ergo hujufmodi Inftituta funt fumms poteftati, fuo jure prsfcii- 
 benda. 
 
 4. Ubi nulla Lex ibi nulla Tranfgrefiio, Rem. 4. 15. 
 
 At Exempla ex facris literis vel praxi primitiva petita, non habent 
 vim legum obligantem. 
 
 Ergo Inftituta circa res facras hujufmodi exemplis (ut pote non- 
 legibus) not tenentur effe per omnia conformia. 
 
 Paucula hsc rite ac debite penfitata palam facient, omnia Earneia 
 tanto cum apparatu prolata, contra fuperius pronunciata et in prs- 
 fatione noftra uberiuo expofita, nihil quicquam habere ponderis aut 
 momenti ; at in fumum fpumamq; prorius abire. 
 
; . 
 
 
 E R R A T A 
 
 In the Christianity of the jfreto Ceffamettt* 
 
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 Communication r. Communion, p. xlv. 1. 33. r. tpomtot, 
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