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 THE 
 
 LIFE 
 
 O F 
 
 Late Lord Bifliop of St. D A v ID'S. 
 WITH THE 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 O E THOSE 
 
 CONTROVERSIES 
 
 In which he was Engaged : 
 
 A N D A N 
 
 ABSTRACT of thofe FUNDAMENTAL 
 DOCTRINES which he Maintained and 
 Defended in the Latin Tongue. 
 
 By ROBERT NELSON, U 
 
 LONDON: 
 Pr-'nted for R i c H A R D S M i T H at the Sign of Bifhop 
 Beveridge's Head in Pater-nofter-Roiu near Cbeafjide 
 and in Exeter-Change in the Strand. 1713.
 
 I 
 
 
 * 
 
 U 
 4 
 A 
 M
 
 THE 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 late 
 
 O F 
 
 The LIFE of Dr. George Bull, 
 Lord Biihop of St. Davids. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE Occapon of -writing the Life^ -p. I. 
 An Apology for attempting />, p. 2. 
 His own Reputation fecured by his 
 
 p. 3. 
 Why it may be acceptable to learned and good 
 
 p. 4. 
 Reafons for the length of it, p. f. 
 
 I. When and where Mr. Bull was born^ p. 6. His 
 Family and Parentage^ p. 7. Early dedicated to 
 the Service of the Church, p. 8. 
 
 II. Educated ^Tiverton School in Devonshire, p. p. 
 An Account and. Character of his Maficr, p. 10. 
 His great and early Progrefs in ClaJJick^ Learning^ 
 p. II. 
 
 III. Removed to Exeter-College in Oxford, p. n. 
 Taken notice of by two great Men, p. 13. Ac- 
 quainted with Mr. Clifford, afterwards Lord High 
 Treafttrer, p. 14. 
 
 A z IV. ft 
 
 2055787
 
 * 
 
 The CONTENTS. 
 
 IV. He retires from Oxford, upon refufing the En- 
 gagement^ p. i f . He goes with his Tutor^ Mr. 
 Achland, to North cad bury, p. 17. Influenced 
 to great Serioitfnejs by a, Sifter, ibid. 
 
 V. He puts him ff If under the Conduct of An eminent 
 Divine y p. 18. The Advantage of Seminaries for 
 the Candidates of Holy Orders^ p. ip. The Fruit 
 to be reaped from them, p. 2 1 . He is put under the 
 Direction of Mr. Thomas, p. 22. He contrails & 
 Friendship with Mr. Thomas'* Son^ -which -was 
 very advantageous to him^ p. 2 3 . 
 
 VI. He enters into holy Orders, p. if. He was but 
 One and Twenty when ordained Prieft, p. 27. His 
 Forwardness in Juch Times an Argument of his 
 Zeal, ibid. 
 
 \ VII. He fettles at St. George** near Briftol, p. 28. 
 A little Accident which contributed to his Reputa- 
 tion, p. 30. Difturbed in his Sermon by a Qua- 
 ker, p. 31. 
 
 VI II. The Method he too^ in governing his TariJJj^ 
 p. 34. The Parijl) infefted with Antinomian Books* 
 p. 36. The Excellency of Mr. Bull'* Met W, p. 38. 
 
 IX. The Prayers he ufed in publicly p. $9. An Inftance 
 of the Common-Prayer being admired by the Diffen- 
 ters when ufed by M.f. Bull, ibid. An eminent Dan- 
 ger he was prefctvedfrom^ p. 41. He goe s to Ox* 
 ford once a Tear, for the ufe of Libraries-, p. 41. 
 
 X. Mr. Bull marries Mrs. Bridget Gregory, p. 44. 
 Her Charaffer* p. 45. 
 
 XI. He was presented to Suddington St. Mary'/j p. 
 47. He was made privy to the Dejign of agent" 
 ral In[urreclion in fifty nine^ p. 49. His preach- 
 ing at Cirenceftcr, and the occajion of />, p. f o. 
 
 XII. He was prefented to the f^icaridge of Sudding- 
 ton St. Peter, p. 52. He marries a Couple pub- 
 lickly by the Form of Common -Prayer, p. yj. 
 Reading the Prayers devoutly^ no mean Attain-
 
 The CONTENTS. v 
 
 TI 
 
 went) and of great Advantage to the People^ p. $j*. 
 
 XII I. His manner of Preaching and the frequency 
 of it) p. fy. He only writ the Scheme of hts Ser- 
 mons, p. ^p. His Care in Catechijtng the Touth^ 
 p. 60. Baptifm and the Eftcharift, how admini- 
 fired by him, p. (Si. His Observation of the Holy 
 Days of the Church^ p. 6$. 
 
 XIV. The religious Government of his Family, p, 65. 
 His private Devotions, p. <5p The pious Frame, 
 and Temper of his Mind, p. 70. His figging of 
 Pfalms in his private Devotions^ p. yz. The Jlng 
 ing of Pfalms of the old yer/ion* defended by Bi- 
 fltop Bevcridge, p. 74. The Char after of his Ser- 
 mons, p. 7f. 
 
 XV. Mr. Bull'* manner of governing this Parifb t p. 
 76. He confirms two Ladies that 'were wavering 
 in their Religion, p. 79. ^ ridiculous Story of a 
 Quaker's Challenge, p. 80. His Charity to the 
 Poor and Indigent, p. Si. His Sentiments upon 
 Charity^ p. 8i. 
 
 XVI. His only Diver/ion agreeable Converfation, pj 
 84. He profecutes his Studies ivith great Appli- 
 cation, p. 8(5". Several Tratts compofed by him 
 loft, p. 87. 
 
 XVI I. Hepublijked his fir ft Book* called Harmonia 
 'Apoftolica, &c. p. 89. An Account of this 
 Book^ P- P- The Caufes and Motives of his wri- 
 ting it, p. pi. A particular Obligation laid upon 
 him, to confider this Contr over fy, ibid. H>s pre- 
 paration for writing it, p. 93 . The Method he tool^ 
 in collecting Materials, p. P4- How he came to 
 write in Latin, ibid. 
 
 XVIII. The general Scope and Defyn of this Trea* 
 tife, p. pr. His great Caution, in treating this 
 Point of J unification, p. 96. The Diffatisfattion 
 tf fome Proteftant Divines hereupon^ p. 97. The 
 Ofca/ton and Grounds of this Diffatisfattion, ibid. 
 A 3 The
 
 f 
 
 vi The CONTENTS. 
 
 The Judgment of the Church cf England variou- 
 Jly represented^ p. 98. The Effeft which this Con- 
 tention produced^ p. pp. The Advantage by it to 
 Mr. Bull's C<* f*fe, p. 100. 
 
 XIX. Animadverjions upon his Bookj p. 10 1. The 
 Oppofltion it met wtth, front three conjtderable 
 Men ia the Church, ibid. And front others, either 
 Half-Conformtfts, or Non-Conformifts, p. 103. 
 
 XX. A Review of his Method, for determining the 
 Senfe of St. James, p. 104. The Proportion of St. 
 James farther explained, p. 105*. This Explica- 
 tion vindicated by five feveral Arguments, p. 1 06. 
 
 XXI. Argument the fir ft ^ from the Tejiimony of holy 
 Scripture, p. iotf. 
 
 XXII. Argument the fecond, from the juridical JVo- 
 tton of Juft ification) p. no. Argument the third^ 
 from the Notion and Nature of Fasth, p. 111. 
 
 XXIII. Argument the fourth, from God's proceeding 
 in the Day of Judgment^ p. 114, Argument the 
 
 fifth, from the Conceffton of Adverfaries t p. 1 17. 
 
 XXIV. The firft Concejjlon 9 concerning a living or 
 operative Faith, p. 118. Second Conceffion, con- 
 cerning the Neceflity of good Works to Salvation, 
 p. up. An Ohjettion anfivered, p. 122.. 
 
 XXV. The Propofition of St. James demonstrated to 
 accord with the Senfe of St. Paul. p. 1 22,. He 
 flews both the falfe and true way of folving the Dif- 
 ficulty, p. 125. How the Term Juftification^ as 
 ufed by St. Paul, is to he interpreted, p. 124. 
 How the Term Faith, in this Controverjy, is to be 
 inter pretated, p. 124. Firft Argument, that St. 
 Paul meaneth fuch a Faith as implies Obedience^ 
 p. 1 25. Second Argument , that St. Paul means. 
 Juch a Faith as contain eth Obedience, p. 127. 
 Third Argument^ that St. Paul meaneth fuch a, 
 Faith as containeth Obedience, p. 128. The 
 Ground of this manner of Speaking^ p.- 120. 
 
 XXVI. The
 
 The CONTENTS. 
 
 XXVI. The fir ft Reafon^ why St. Paul ufeth F.xth 
 to defer ibe the Condition required from us, p. 150. 
 The fecond Reafett, why Faith is ttfed to fxprefs 
 Evangelical Obedience, p. 133. 
 
 XXVII. Hew the Term,, Works-) is to be interpreted 
 in this Controversy , p 154. Works wrought by 
 the Spirit , to be diftingttijjfd from all other Work^ t 
 p. 135. faith and Workj conftttutc the Gofpet- 
 Covenant^ ibid. All fort of Work* not excluded 
 front Jttftification, p. 135. What fort of Work* 
 rejected from Jttftification^ p. 137. 
 
 XXVIJ1. Animadverfions on the Harmonia fent to 
 the Author, p. 1^9. The Animadverfions writ- 
 ten by Mr. Charles Gataker, ibid. The Sum of 
 the Animadverfions.TJ. 140. Animad. I, 2, $> ^> 
 ibid. Animad. 5, 6, 7, 8, p, 10, p. 141. Ant- 
 mad. II, 12,, 13, 14, p. 142. Animad. If, j 6, 
 17, 18, 19. p- 143. Slnimad. 2O, il, 22,23, P* 
 144. The Character of the Animadvert er^^. 145-. 
 
 XX IX. Mr. Bull'j Motive for taking fo much notice 
 of Mr. Gataker' J ntanttfcript Animadver/ions t p. 
 146. An Abflracl of his Examen Cenfurae, in 
 an fiver to them. Anfiver to Animad. 1,2, p. 147. 
 Anfwer to Animad. 3, 4, f , <J, p. 148. An fiver 
 to Animad. 8, p, 10, p. 150. Anfiver to Ani- 
 mad. II, p. 151. Anfwer to Animad) 12,, 13, 14, 
 p. 151. Anfvser to AdimAd. if, i(J, p. i^.An- 
 fwer to Animad. 17, 1 8, p. 154. Anjwer to 
 Animad. ip, 20, 21, p. Iff. Anjiuer to Animad. 
 Zi, 23, p. 156. 
 
 XXX. ^owr farther Obftrvations of Mr- Gataker** 
 Management of this Contr over fj) p. if(J. A Re- 
 ftettion of 'Mr. Bull'^ Management of it againft 
 him, p. i f p. An Account of the eldcft Gataker, 
 And how Mr. Bull came t be engaged -with him^ 
 p. i<5i, 
 
 A 4 XXXI. 7he
 
 The CONTENTS. 
 
 XXXI. The Occafion and Motives, of Mr. Truman'* 
 writing againft the Harmonia, p. I(5z. His Cen- 
 fure, how different from that of Mr. Gataker, and 
 how favourable to Mr. Bull, p. 165. Hotv he <*- 
 greed and disagreed with Mr. Bull, p. 165. Hoiv 
 fome concurred with htm in the very Offence taken t 
 for whom Mr* Bull had otherwije anelieem p. 1 66. 
 How he came to write againft Mr. Bull in Englifll 
 rather than in Latin, p. I 67. 
 
 XX XII. An Account of the fever ai Treatifes pitb- 
 lifljed by him, againft the Dottrine and Method of 
 Mr. Bull, p. lyi. An Account of the Defign and 
 Method of his laft Treat ife, p. 175" . Principal Mi- 
 flake* charged upon Mr. Bull, p. 4. and Pref. 
 p. 2. 177. 
 
 XXXIII. The Principle* of Mr. Truman oppofttc to 
 thefe^ p. 177. His Interpretation of the Threats 
 and Promifes of the Old Tcftament, with a four- 
 fold Refpe8 t p. 180. His Opinion of the Horcb 
 Covenant, and that made in the Land of Moab, 
 p. 1 8' i. ffis Sentiments concerning the Nature of 
 the Mofoick Law, p. 182. His Commendation 
 of Mr. Bull, and agreement "with him in Jome 
 mat trial Points, p. 185. 
 
 XXXIV. His DiflatisfaRion, both with Dr. Ham- 
 mond and Mr. Bull, about their Notions of Grace* 
 p. 1 86. Some other Objections raifed againft Mr. 
 Bull, p. ip i. Some of Air. Truman'/ ConceJJi- 
 >/ p. ipi. The refnlt of the whole Matur t p. 
 
 XXXV. Mr. Bull anfiverethhim in Englifll, p. 
 But r.ot contented -with that 9 anfwereth him in La- 
 >, p. 19^. The Subflance of his Anfwcr, p. 
 
 . 
 XXXVI. An Hj/potbcjts of Mr. Truman'* examined, 
 
 p. 200, The Charafter of the Refttfier, p. 204. 
 
 XXXVII. Itt
 
 The ^CONTENTS. it 
 
 XXXVII. Bifiop Nicholfon, Mr. Bulh 
 
 dtes-y his Character, p. 205. Bijhop Nicholfon'j 
 Epitaph, -writ by Mr. Bull, p. 206. HOTV a flop 
 was put 19 Mr. Bull'; Dejtgns of 'vindicating Jome 
 Catholic!^ DoffrineS) p. 208. Hou> publicly Lc- 
 ftures were read againfl him at Oxford, p. 2 1 1 . 
 
 XXXVIIf. How Dr. Tully became Dr. BarlowV 
 Second again ft Mr. Bull, p. 2 12. The fitnefs of 
 Dr. Tully for Juch an Undertaking, and the high 
 Expectations from hint) p. 214. Some Ende 'avows 
 
 of modeft Men in the Church^ t-o put a flop to thefe 
 Contentions, p. 215. 
 
 XXXIX. What Mr. Bull did, token he heard Dr. 
 Tully was writing againft him, p. 2i(J. What 
 paffed at a Vifit of Mr. Bull to Dr. Tully, p. 217. 
 Dr. Tully publifies his Anjiver to Mr. Bull, p. 
 218. The manner of his flat ing the ^tteflton^ and, 
 eflabli/hing his own Opinion^ p. 220. His Ac- 
 count of the ReafonS) why all are not of his Opini- 
 on, p. ZZ.2.. 
 
 XL. The Dejtgnof hisDifcourfe, DeSentemia Pau- 
 lina, p. 12.J. Dr. Tully dies-, his Quarafter 9 
 p. 227. 
 
 XLI. Mr. Bull publifoes his Examen Cenfurx, and 
 his Apologia together^ p. 21p. An Observation 
 on his Examen, which vindicates his Sincerity^ p. 
 250. An Observation upon his Apology ', which 
 confirms the fante y p, 233. 
 
 XLU. The preferring Modern Authorities before Ca- 
 thelick Tradition, faetvn to be unreasonable) p. 235. 
 The befl Method of ending Cdntr over fie s in tht 
 Church, p. 2^7. 
 
 XLIII. Air. Bull anfwers Dr. Tu\\fs Objection, of 
 his little Skill in the Fathers when he writ his 
 Harmonia, p. 238. The Greek and Latin Fa- 
 thtrs favour Mr. Bull'; Interpretation^ p. 259. 
 
 Hn
 
 The C o N T E*N T s. 
 
 fits Anfivcr about the Judgment of the Church of 
 England, and the Foreign reformed, p. 240. 
 
 XLV. Dr. Tully charged with fever al Error sjp. 241. 
 The ancient Fathers of Mr. BullV Opinion upon 
 the fcvcnth of the Romans, p. 2,41. 
 
 XL VI. Mr. Baxter alfo anfwers Dr. Tully, p. 243. 
 How Mr. Tombes animadverted upon Mr. Bull, 
 p. 245. An Account of this new Animadvcrter, 
 and his Charatttr 9 p. 249. 
 
 XLVII. The Charge of Dr. Lewis du Moulin brought 
 againfl Mr. Bull and his Principles 9 p. 253. The 
 Conclujion of this Controverfy^ that related to Mr. 
 BuH'j Harmonia Apoftolica, p. 255*. 
 
 XLVIII. The fame Controversy at this time carryed 
 on alfo among DiJJenters, p. 257. The Cafe of 
 Dr. Williams among the Dtjfinters, about the A;J- 
 tinomian Co;;trovtr[y, p. 2fp. The Occ a/ion that 
 engaged him in this Controverfy, p. 260. His 
 Method in tins Controverjy, p. z<Si. Mr. Lob 
 flarts a new Controverfy^ p. 2^4. Mr. Williams 
 writes to Btfoop Stillingfleet, ibid. The Bifiop 
 anfwers Mr. Williams, p 26f . An Appealmade 
 to the late Bifoop o/Worcefter^; Mr. Lob, p. 265. 
 The Appeal confidered by the Bifhop^ p. 26'8. The 
 Queftions propofcd to Sifeop Stillingtieet, were fent 
 to Dr. Jonathan Edwards/%2/;//. p. 2<5p. A fur- 
 ther Account of the State of this Affair ^ p. 270. 
 How this Controverfy was compofed, p. 274. The 
 Succefs that followed hereupon^ ibid. 
 
 XLIX. Mr. Bull made Prebendary of Glocefter by 
 the Earl of Nottingham, p. 275. The Earl of 
 Nottingham'* Method of be (lowing his preferments^ 
 p. 278. Theprefent Arcbbifoop of York then his 
 Chaplain^ p. 279. 
 
 L. Mr. Bull futijbes his Defence of the Nicene Faith, 
 p. 280. Arian and Socinian Writers in Holland, 
 
 fpretd
 
 The C o N T E N T s. 
 
 fpread their Hcrcftes herf^ ibid. A J?Atdt obfer- 
 ved in fame learned orthodox Writers^ of ihe rt vz- 
 fonablsnefi of ibis Trcattfe, p. 281. HQIV the 
 Treat i/e, when fitted .far the Prejs, was in Dan- 
 ger of bdiig utte>h 'fttflsd, p. 282. Bj what 
 mews it cs.rne 10 be encouraged vy Btfkcp Fell, p. 
 285, And prihied tit ihe Theatre /' Oxford, 
 p. 284, 
 
 LI. What PetJRViUS had written on this Subjett both 
 fufpe&ed by. C.uholick,^ and challenged by Arians, 
 p. 284. How for --nndicated herein aga,wfi San- 
 dius by M<-. BuJl T p. 286. His Conjecture, why 
 Petaviuo IcffeKtd the Authority of the Anteniccne 
 Fathers, ibid. 
 
 L1I. How Petavius was fttcceeded in this Contro- 
 verfy bj Curcelhtus, p. 288. The different Dc 
 Jigns of Petavius and Curcellseus, p. 292. 
 
 Lilt. A Mijiake c/Bofuet Bifiop of Meaux, concer- 
 ning Air. Bull, p. 293. No Argument for the In- 
 fallibility of General Councils^ from the manner 
 of hit vindicating that of Nice, ibid. A plain 
 Account of the Truth of this Matter^ And tht 
 Grounds for undertaking this Vindication^ p. 295*. 
 Full Satisfaction given herein to the Bijbop of 
 Meaux, p. 298. 
 
 LI V. The fame Attempt, as to fame Proteftant Wri- 
 ter s % p. 300. An Advantage taken by Socinians 
 and Arians, from the Writings of fome learned 
 RemonftrantSy p. 302. 
 
 LV. The chief Pillars of the Cttholick. Faith concer- 
 ning Chrtfly p. 303. And concerning the Holj 
 Ghofty ibid. An Account of Air. Bull'j The/tSj 
 concerning the Pre~exiflence of Chrift, p. 304. 
 
 LVI. An Account of his Thejis concerning the Con- 
 fubftantiality of the Word with God the Father, 
 p. 306. And concerning bis Coeternity with him, 
 p. 509. 
 
 LVII. N,t-
 
 xii The CONTENTS. 
 
 K.J 
 
 JLVII. Notwithflar.ding his Subordination with the 
 Father^ p. 314. The Doctrine of the Council of 
 Nice, vindicated by Mr. Bull againft the modern 
 Autotheans, p. 316. His candid Treatment of 
 Calvin on this sJccottnt, p. 319. 
 
 LVI1I. He defends an Equality of Nature^ not to 
 be inconfiftent with fuck a Subordination^ p. 311. 
 The Advantage of this Doffrine, how by him ex* 
 plained, ibid. 
 
 L1X. The Vfe of this Treatife made by Dr. Clarke, 
 confider'd t p. 32.2. Whofc Scheme of the Trinity is 
 compared with his, p. 315. The DocJor's artful 
 way of citing Authors and Books, p. 3 i6. More 
 particularly the Defenfio Fidei Nicenas, p. 328. 
 
 LX. The Vje of this Treatife made by Dr. Edwards* 
 the Attimadverter on Dr. Clarke, p. 333. 
 
 LXI. Of Dr. Cudworth and Dr. Sherlock; and 
 their Schemes compared with this Author, p. 3 3 p. 
 How Adversaries as well as Friends applauded this 
 Performance, p. 341. 
 
 LXIf. The Bifiop 0/Meaux fends Mon/icur Jurieu 
 to Dr. Bull, fur the Senfe of the Fathers about the 
 Trinity y p. 344. An Injfance^ how much Dr. 
 Bull'* Book^ was efleemed by the Remanifts and 
 Protects, p. 34^. 
 
 LXUI. Mr. Bull twenty feven Tears Reft or o/Sud- 
 dington, p. 347. Preferred to Avening in Glo- 
 cefterfhire, p. 348. His natural Mode ft y where 
 his Inter eft was concerned^ p. 350. The State 
 and Condition of the Parijh when he entred upon tt t 
 
 p. 
 
 
 LXIV. Mr. Bull preferred by Archbifiop Sancroft, TO 
 the Archdeaconry of Landaff} being his Grace's 
 Option^ p. 37-4. His Graces Character, ibid. 
 The nature of an Option, p. ^ftf. The Degree of 
 Doctor conferred on Mr. Bull, by the Vn'werfitj of 
 Oxford, p. 3j-$. 
 
 LXV. Ht
 
 x 
 
 LXV. He eftablif]}es A Sermon on Thurfdaj in every 
 Wee^ with Gitechijtng, p. $60. f^ery f crapulous 
 in figning Testimonials, p. 361. Hejupprejjesthe 
 Obfervation of a Wake in his Parijh. t p. 362. He 
 preaches againft Popery in the Reign of King 
 James P* 3^3* He was made a Jufticc of Peace 
 after the Revolution, p. $66. 
 
 LXVI. ///j Judicium Ecclefire Catholicae, vr///* 
 againft Epifcopius, p. 369. His Character <?/E- 
 pifcopius, and his Motives to write againft him^ 
 p. 370. The Anathema of the Council of Nice, 
 defended againft hint and other s, p. 371. The 
 main Occajton and T)ejign of puhli/bing this Eook.y 
 
 - 
 
 LXVI I. A fl)ort Ahftratt of its Contents and Me- 
 thod.', p. ^76. The Hierofolymitan Creed, p. 
 381. A farther Account of the Method and Ar- 
 gument of this Book,) ibid. 
 
 LXVI] I. Dr. Bull'j Judgment of the Catholic^ 
 Church^ &C. fent to the Bifiop of Mcaux i who 
 with the reft of the Bijbops of France, complemen- 
 ted the Author, p. 383. The Btfhop of Meaux'j 
 Letter to Mr. Nelfon, concerning Dr. Bull, p. 
 
 LXIX. Dr. ButtpM/hes his Primitive and Apoflo- 
 lical Tradition, &c. againft Dr. Zwicker. An 
 Account of that Pruifian, p. 390. Bred ft Lu- 
 theran, and turns a Unitarian, p. 391. An Ac- 
 count offbme of this Doctor's extravagant Pofiti- 
 os. p. 394. 
 
 LXX. How Dr. Bull was moved to write againjl 
 Zwicker, and fuch as copied after him, p. 397. 
 The Subft-ance of Dr. Bull'j Primitive and Apo- 
 ftolical Tradition, &c. againft Zwicker and 
 thcrti p, 400. 
 
 LXXt, Dr. Bull'j Latin Works, collected into. &ve 
 Volume by Dr. Grabe, p 401 . Dr t Grabe'j Char a-
 
 The CONTENTS. 
 
 Her* p. 401. Supported in his Sick?efs, by the 
 prefent Lord High Treafurer, Earl of Oxford and 
 Mortimer, p. 406. 
 
 LXXII. Dr. Bull promoted to the Bifhoprick^of St. 
 Dav:ds, p. 407. St. Davids formerly a Metro- 
 politan See, p. 410. He buries his Son Mr. 
 George Bull, from -whom he expettcdjifji(lance y p. 
 411. -Mr. Bull'* Character, ibid. A Teftimony 
 of his Humility, in a Letter to Mr. Nelfon, p. 413* 
 The Bijbop tak.es his Seat in the Hottfe of Lords, 
 at the time of the Vmon, p. 415. 
 
 LXXUI. The Btfiop, in July After 'his Confecration, 
 goes into his Diocejs* p. 416. The Bifoop appoints 
 a Triennial ytfitation by Commijfioners^ p. 418. 
 The Sum of the Charge prepared by the Bifiop, p. 
 
 LXXIV. The Bifoop Confirms in feveral places^ p. 
 4! I. The Ctre he took, in ordaining Deacons and 
 Trie ft s> p. 42,3. The manner of Bifiop Bull'/ 
 treating ihf Candidates of Holy Orders^ p. 414. 
 Hts Exhortations to them after Ordination> p. 
 
 LXXV. He endeavours to reform the adminiftring 
 Raptifm in private, p. 419. He frequently ex- 
 preffed his dt/like of Lay-Impropriation^ p. 430^ 
 The manner of governing his Family while he was 
 Bt/bop, p. 434. 
 
 LXXVI. Hisjeveral Methods of Charity, p. 436. 
 He defignd to have fent a Circular Letter to all 
 his Clergy j a rough Draught whereof was drawn 
 up, p. 441. The D'Jign of this Letter, p. 442. 
 The firft thing recommended, the eftablifiing Fa- 
 mily Devotion, ibid. The fecond thing recom- 
 mended is eretting Charity Schools, p. 445<?, 
 The third thing recommended, is a Library of 
 Books of practical Divinity for Tomh, p. 448. 
 The fourth thing rfcommened, the Welfb Com- 
 
 mon"
 
 The CONTENTS. 
 
 won- Prayer Book, p. 449. The fifth thing recom* 
 mended, to procure the Laws to be put in Execu~ 
 lion, againft Ptce or Immorality, p. 450. 
 
 LXXVlil. The Bt flop reftded conftantly in his Dh- 
 Cffs 9 p. 4^4. The Bificp extremely [urpriz,ed by 
 a Stmoniacal Prieft, p. 4f7 
 
 LXXIX. He impaired his Strength, by tntenfe and 
 unfeafonable Study, p. 45*8. An Account of his 
 laft Sicknefs, ibJd. His apprehenfion of the ap- 
 proach of Death, p. 459. His immediate Prepa- 
 ration for Death) p. 460. The Confcjfion of his 
 Faith* and general Piew of his Life, p. 462. Hts 
 Repentance, and Ground of Hope, for the Remif- 
 Jton of Sins y p. 463. His Charity r , and Forgive- 
 nefs of Enemies, p. 467. His Frofejjion, concern- 
 ing the Church of England, ibid. 
 
 LXXX. The manner of his taking his folemn Leave^ 
 p. 468* His Care and ^ffetlion for thofe who 
 waited upon him^ p. 469. What was ebjerved of 
 him in the Agony of Deathy p. 470. Hts repeated 
 Farewel, and dying Exhortations to his family, 
 p. 471. His Death, p. 473. He was buried at 
 Brecknock, ibid. Bijbop Bull's Character, p. 
 476. 
 
 LXXX I. *dn Account of Bifoop Bull'j Sermons and 
 Difcottrfes, p. 480. The firft uje of the Sermons^ 
 to inform us in fame primitive Truths^ p. 481. 
 The middle State of Happinefs and Mtfery, ibid. 
 The Doclrine of the Euchariftical Sacrifice, p. 
 48 5 . The Dottrine of Angels, and the Vfes of it, 
 p. 486. The Title of Mother of God, averted and 
 vindicated, p. 487. The fecond ufe of the Sermons^ 
 is a Model for young Preachers, p. 488. Dr. 
 Lupton'j Letter to Mr. Nelfon, concerning Pijhop 
 Bull'f Sermons, p. 490. 
 
 LXXXII. ^/ Account of Bifiop BullV Difcourfes ; 
 and the fir ft concerning the blefled Trinity, p. 495. 
 
 Dr.
 
 The CONTENTS. 
 
 Dr. Bull'* Letter to Archdeacon Parfons, p. 
 Lord krundeYs Letter to Mr. Parfons, p. 496. The 
 fourth^ concerning the Animadverflons upon Mr. 
 Gilbert Clerke, p. 497. Dr. Bull'* Letter to Dr. 
 Grabe, p. 498. Mr. Clerked ^nfwertoDr.Eull, 
 in behalf of the Unitarians, p. 499- 
 
 LXXXUI. The manner of Mr, Clerkc'j writing for 
 the Unitarians again ft the Doftor, p. 502. Some 
 account of the Life and Character of Mr. Gilbert 
 Clerke, p. fo8 
 
 LXXXIV. The fifth Difcourfe, concerning the State 
 of Man before the Fall, &c. p. 511. Communi- 
 cated to Dr. Hickes. -His Chara&er, p. 512. Dr. 
 Hicke&'j Letter to Mr. Nelibn, ttpon Bi/bop 
 fifth Difcmrfa p. 51$. The Cone /*>, p. f 
 
 THE
 
 L I 
 
 THE 
 
 Of y 
 
 F 
 
 Dr. GEORGE 
 
 Late Lord Bifliop of St. David's : 
 
 With the HISTORY of thofe 
 
 CONTROVERSIES 
 
 In which he was Engaged : 
 
 .' 
 AND THE 
 
 ABSTRACT of thofe FUNDAMENTAL 
 DOCTRINES which he Maintained 
 and Defended in the Latin Tongue. 
 
 The INTRODUCTION. 
 
 HEN the Reverend Mr. Robert v>e 
 Bull propofed to me the publifliing^ 
 the following Sermons and other Life 
 Difcourfes, which his Father, the 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David's, had ordered 
 to be printed after his Death i I thought my 
 
 B felf
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull 5 
 
 felf upon feveral accounts obliged to comply 
 with his Requeft, and therefore was too eafily 
 overcome by his Importunity : For I had main- 
 tained a long and intimate Friendfhip with 
 his Lordfhip, which gave me an Opportunity 
 of being acquainted with his folid and fub- 
 ftantial Worth } I had frequently fate at his 
 Feet as a Preacher, and as often felt the force 
 of thofe diftinguifhing Talents which enabled 
 him to (hine in the Pulpit , But above all, I 
 had preferved a grateful Remembrance of 
 thofe Advantages which I had received from 
 him in my Education, part whereof was com- 
 mitted to his Care and Direftion. 
 
 I am very fenfrble that this Engagement will 
 carry me into a difficult Province, and it may 
 be thought too prefumptuous for a Perfon 
 no better qualified than my felf, to venture 
 tofpeak offo great a Prelate, fo famous abroad 
 for his elaborate and judicious Writings, and 
 fo valued at home for his unfeigned Piety and 
 profound Learning. To thofe that mail urge 
 this I have nothing to reply, but that Friend- 
 fhip and Gratitude are not always governed 
 by the mod cautious Meafures , that the de- 
 fire to do Juftice to thofe we love, frequently 
 concealeth from us the danger that attendeth 
 fuch an Undertaking, and throws a Veil over 
 thofe Snares which hazard the Succefs of the 
 Performance. And therefore I hope the Senfe 
 of Obligation, and the Zeal which I have for 
 the Memory of fo pious and learned a Friend 
 
 which
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. DavidV. 3 
 
 which moved me to this Aflurance in Wri- 
 ting, will ferve fomething for my Excufe, 
 and help to (helter me from that Cenfure 
 which otherways I might juftly deferve. 
 
 It muft be owned that the Lives of great H* own 
 and excellent Men require fldlful and faithful 
 Pens , that the Exaftnefs and Truth of their 
 Characters may be adorned with all Purity, 
 Force and Propriety of Style, and that the 
 Writer mould be animated with a Portion of 
 that Genius which made the Perfon, he draws 
 for the Knowledge and Imitation of Pofterity, 
 famous in his Generation. But the Reputa- 
 tion of our Author hath received fo great ' 
 Brightnefs from his own Pen , that it needs 
 no auxiliary Light to encreafe its Luftre ; 
 and his Character is fo fecure from his own 
 Works, the immortal Monuments of his true 
 Worth , that I am the lefs concerned for my 
 own Inability to embalm his Memory -, efpe- 
 cially fince I hope the Weight and Importance 
 of the Matter, will make fome amends for 
 thofe Defeds that may arife from the manner 
 of handling it. But befides, if he had been fi- 
 lent in his Life-time, yet being Dead he (till 
 fpeaketh with fo much clearness and ftrength 
 of Reafon , with fo mafterly a Knowledge in 
 his own Profeflion, the beft of Studies, with 
 fuch an affeding Pathos, that imprefTeth it upon 
 the Minds of others, and above all with fuch an 
 inward Senfe of Piety ?.nd Devotion, the true 
 Chriftian Un&ion, in thofe Sermons and Dif- 
 
 B 2 courles
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 courfes which are now publifhed, that the 
 World would not have been at a lofs to have 
 framed a juft Idea of this confummate Divine, 
 if thefe Remains had been the only Works of 
 his, which were to have been conveyed down 
 to Pofterity. 
 
 \ hope I may prefume that this Undertaking 
 wil * not b e altogether unacceptable to the Lear- 
 ned, becaufe it attempteth to gratify a Curiofity, 
 w hi c h prevailed! much, and is nouriftied a- 
 mong them ^ whereby they are prompted to 
 fearch for, and enquire after the minuteft 
 Circumftances , that relate to fuch Authors 
 who are no otherways known to them, than 
 by thofe learned Works they have left behind 
 them. And I promife my felf that good Men 
 will not be Wanting in that Candour which 
 is eiTential to their Character, and which incli- 
 rieth them to be favourable to all Attempts of 
 this Nature , becaufe they freely allow that 
 it is but juft that the Memory of the Servants 
 of God fhould be preferved in the Church , 
 not only that their Names may be mentioned 
 wkh Honour , and that they may be had in 
 everiafting Remembrance ^ but that their Vir- 
 tues may remain upon Record to provoke o- 
 thers to Love and good Works* For as it is 
 efteemed a piece of Refpeft to commit their 
 Bodies to the Grave, with the Decency at leaft, 
 if not with the Pomp of a Funeral } and yet . 
 farther to perpetuate their Memories by the 
 Magnificence of Monuments , and the Elo- 
 2 quence
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. Da vid *s. 
 
 quence of Infcriptions, though all this ferveth 
 chiefly to cover the Frightfulnefs of Mortality - y 
 fo the fame Charity and Refped oblige us to 
 fet their virtuous and pious Actions in a clear 
 Light, that we may difcover the Beauty and 
 Brightnefs of them, in order the better to reve- 
 rence them, as well as to dired our own Steps, 
 It being very reafonable that we mould not 
 be more felicitous to bury them with Ho- 
 nour, than we are to make them rife in our 
 felves by Remembrance and Imitation. 
 
 What I apprehend will carry this Life to a 
 greater Length, than I at firft imagined, is the of it. 
 Hiftory of thofe important Controverfies , in 
 whidi our learned Author was engaged ^ and 
 the Abftract of thofe fundamental Dodrines , 
 which he hath with great Perfpicuity of Style 
 and Matter, delivered in the Language of the 
 Learned. The Particulars that relate to the 
 firft, certainly come in as a part of his Life 5 
 and the other was neceffary to be attempted , 
 that thofe Readers whofe Knowledge is confi- 
 ned to their own Language, might have a truer 
 Notion of the Capacity and Genius of that 
 reverend Prelate, whofe Life I am about to 
 write, and therefore I hope I have a juft title 
 to their pardon for the Length of it. And fo be- 
 feeching God to enable me to finifh what I 
 begin in his Name , and dedicate to his Ho* 
 nour and Glory $ I (hall proceed to the Sub* 
 jed I have undertaken. 
 
 B 3 D
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 George Buff, the late learned 
 Bifhop of St. David's, was born in the 
 Parifh of St. Cuthbert at Wells, in 
 the County of Somerfet, on the 
 twenty fifth of March 1634, being the Feaft 
 of the Annunciation of the bleffed Virgin, 
 So that the Place and Day where he firft faw 
 the Light were very remarkable : The one 
 for being a Bifhop's Seat, and giving Title to 
 the jSee, near two hundred Years , before the 
 denomination of Bath was added, and procu- 
 red precedency in the Style j the other for 
 being diftinguifhed among the greatefl Fefti- 
 vals in the Chriftian Calendar, if we confider 
 it not only as inftituted in Honour of the 
 Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Lord, whom, 
 all Generations are to call Eleffed, but as it re- 
 lated to the Incarnation of the Son of God , 
 the Saviour of the World. And it fo fell 
 out by the Difpofition of Providence, that this 
 learned Man lived to adorn both the Subjects 
 of this Feftival $ the latter in his admirable 
 Defence of the Nicene Faith, and the former 
 in that excellent Sermon of the following 
 Collection, which aflerteth and vindicateth 
 thofe great Privileges and Excellencies, which 
 were the blefled Virgin s peculiar Honour and 
 Ornament. 
 
 Hi3
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V. 7 
 
 His Defcent was from an ancient Family of HU F*miij 
 very good Note among the Gentry in Sower- * ndP 
 fetflrire 9 where they have a very handfome 
 Seat, and a very fair and large Eftate at Sbaf- 
 wick in the faid County. His Father, Mr.' 
 George But/, was fecond Son of William Bull - 
 Efq-, who had ten Sons and eight DaiTghters \ 
 fo that by reafon the Family was fo nume- 
 rous , he was bred to a Trade in Wells , and 
 became a principal Member in that Corpora- 
 tion. The fettling him in the World after 
 this manner , was very much againft his own 
 defires } which carried him towards a learned 
 Education, which he defigned the rather that 
 he might become particularly ferviceable to 
 the Church of God - ? but the choice- of his 
 Parents determined him another way, in which 
 he fucceeded much better than they ordiria 1 - 
 rily do, who engage againft the bent of their 
 Inclinations. The dired: male Line of this 
 ancient Family being now extinct, the Eftate 
 is devolved , upon Mrs. Eleanor Doddington 
 fole Heirefs of Henry Bull Efq-, of Sbapwick, 
 and Wife of George Doddington Efq, who 
 was lately Member of Parliament for the Bur- 
 rough of Eridgwater, and one of the Lords 
 Commiflioners of the Admiralty. By this 
 it appears that Mr. Bull was by extraction a 
 Gentleman, an Advantage which he the lefs 
 wanted, becaufe he was engaged in a Profefiion, 
 which is not only highly honourable in it- 
 flef, but confereth greater Degrees of Honour 
 
 B 4 on
 
 8 Tfee Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 on thofe who are the beft born. And let the 
 Family be never fo confpicuous, the Learning 
 and Piety of any Branch of it, addeth more 
 to its true Luftre and Glory, than it is capable 
 of giving by any Blood it can convey. 
 He was ear- Itmaynot be amifs to obfervehere that Mr. 
 ly dedicated Bullwas dedicated to the Service of the Church, 
 ^icelfth'e at ^ ie ^ ame t ^ me tnat he was made a Member 
 church. $fit, for his Father declared at the Font, that 
 he intended him for Holy Orders. In which 
 he was the more zealous, by reifon of the 
 Difappointment he had met with liimfelf from 
 the fixt Refolutions of his Parents, who 
 would never comply with his earneft and re- 
 peated Defires of being made a Clergyman, 
 But this good Man did not live to fee his pi- 
 ous Defign put in Execution, for dying when 
 his Son George was but four Years old, he 
 could not have made one Step in that Educa- 
 tion which was neceflary to qualifie his Son 
 for the Service of the Altar. I venture to call 
 him a good Man, becaufe the Memory that is 
 {till preferved of him, reprefenteth him as a 
 Perfon that was very confcientious in his Deal- 
 ings, and very pious towards God $ and when 
 he left off his Trade, which he was never 
 well pleafed with, becaufe it diverted him 
 from Holy Orders, which he chiefly coveted, 
 he gave corfiderable Charities to the Poor 5 
 and after having been twice Mayor of the 
 City of Wells , became a Benefaftor to the 
 Corporation. But though his Father left fe- 
 
 veral
 
 late Lord Bifoop of St. DavidV, 
 
 veral Daughters, yet George was his only Son, 
 who was committed to the Care and Tuition 
 of Guardians by his Father's Laft Will, with 
 an Eftate of 200 /. per Annum , which had a 
 Rent-Charge upon it of near 50 /. a Year , 
 payable to his Father's Widow , who was his 
 Mother- in-Law, for his own Mother dyed 
 foon after he was born. Thus by the Provi- 
 dence of God, and the Care of a good Parent, 
 he was enabled to fupport the Charge of a li- 
 beral Education, which many famous Men 
 have obtained with great Difficulty, and not 
 without the Afiiftance of Perfons charitably 
 difpofed , and what good Ufe he made of fuch 
 an Advantage, we may be inftru&ed from the 
 enfuing Paifages of his Life. 
 
 When he was fit to receive the firfl Rudi- 
 ments of Learning he was placed in a Gram- 
 mar-School at Wells i where he continued not & 
 long j but by the Care of his Guardians was to ^ 
 great Advantage removed to the Free School Devoaihire 
 of Tiverton in Devonshire, of the greateft Note 
 of any in the Weft of England. This School was 
 
 founded by Mr. Peter BlundeL a Clothier, in 
 
 j 
 
 the Year 1604, with a very good Maintenance 
 for a School- Mailer and Uiher, and is not 
 more confiderable for its liberal Endowment, 
 than it is for its (lately and nable Strudure. 
 There are 150 of the Foundation, and if that 
 Number cannot be fupplied from the Town 
 Parifh of Tiverton itfelf, which feldotn 
 
 furniiheth
 
 I o The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 furnifheth above half fo many, then the adja- 
 cent Places have the Advantage of providing 
 the reft - y for the Scholars generally rather ex- 
 ceed than fall fhort of the prefcribed Comple- 
 ment. It hath the Privilege of fending two 
 Fellows and two Scholars to Balicl College in 
 Oxford, and the fame Number of both to Sid- 
 ney College in Cambridge , which are chofe 
 here, and incorporated afterwards into the re- 
 fpedive Societies in the Univerfities. An En- 
 couragement wifely contrived to preferve the 
 School in Honour and Reputation, and Ex- 
 perience confirmeth the Obfervationj for it 
 not only flourimeth at prefent, but hath made 
 the moft confiderable Figure of any in that 
 part of the Nation ever fince its firft Foun- 
 dation. 
 
 AD Account Mr. Samuel Butler, the Mafler under whom 
 M r> Butt was educated, was very eminent in 
 his Profefiion, an excellent Grammarian both 
 for Latin and Greek, diligent in his Office, 
 and vigilant in his Care and Obfervation of his 
 Scholars. He was recommended to this Poft 
 by my Lord Chief Juftice Popbam, who by the 
 Will of the Founder was conftituted the Chief 
 Direclor of every thing which related to this 
 Free School , and he was fo confiderable in his 
 Employment, that when he removed to Tiverton, 
 he brought feveralGentlemens Sons with him j 
 fo that he had Scholars from many parts of 
 the Kingdom, and bred feveral Perfons, confi- 
 derable for their Learning , during the long 
 
 time
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V. 1 1 
 
 time he continued Matter , which was above 
 fix and thirty Years. 
 
 Mr. Bull, by his great Diligence, and by a Hug*** 
 remarkable Pregnancy of Parts, made a very ^"//fc 
 confiderable Progrefs in all Claffical Learning, ct.ffi.k 
 under a Perfon who was fo able, and fo wil-^""""*' 
 ling to inftrucl: him. And it was the ufual 
 Method of this Mafter, when he gave his 
 Boys Themes for Verfes, to prefs them to ex- 
 ert themfelves and to do their Beft, becaufe 
 he judged how far each Boy's Capacity would 
 carry him 3 but he always told George Bull 
 that he expected from him Verfes like thofe 
 of Ovid, becaufe, faith he, I know you can 
 do it. Sufficiently thereby intimating that his 
 Scholar had a Capacity and Genius which ena- 
 bled him to excel in fuch Exercifes. And 
 we may very well fuppofe that the Mafter 
 took no fmall Pains in cultivating fuch a good 
 Soil, and that the Scholar was not lefs obfer- 
 vant of the Rules and Directions which were 
 propofed to him by fo able an Inftruftor^ when 
 we are allured that Mr. Bull was every ways 
 fit for the Univerfity before he attained the 
 fourteenth Year of his Age. 
 
 Thus young was Mr. Bull removed from III. 
 the Free School of Tiverton to Exeter College ^~v 
 in Oxford^ where he was entered a Commoner Removed 
 the tenth Day of July, 1648. Here he was 
 placed under the Care of Mr. Baldwin dcklandfad. 
 who was his Tutor, and very confiderable for 
 
 his
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 his Learning and Piety, zealous for his Sove- 
 reign , when fo many of his Subjects and 
 Friends forfook him, and true to the Intereft 
 of the Church in her moft afflicted Circum- 
 fiances. Yet notwithfhnding that he was un- 
 der the Direction of fo zealous and orthodox 
 a Divine , it muft not be concealed that Mr. 
 Bull loft much of the time he fpent at the U- 
 jiiverfity, and he frequently mentioned it him- 
 felf with great Sorrow and Regret ^ though he 
 did not, as it is too ufual, impute this Misfor- 
 tune of his Life to any Remifnefs in the Go- 
 vernment of the Place, or to any Negligence 
 in his Tutor, but to the great Rawnefs and In- 
 experience of his Age. For being tranfplan- 
 ted very young from the flrid Difcipline of a 
 School to the Enjoyment of manly Liberty, 
 before he had Confideration enough to make 
 ufe of it to the bed Purpofes', he was over- 
 powered by that Love of Pleafure and Diver- 
 fion, which fo eafily captivate Youth when it 
 is not upon the Guard. But as the Freedoms 
 he took were chiefly childim Follies, fo when 
 he profecuted them with the greateft Earneft> 
 nefs, he ftill gave fufficient Evidence of an 
 extraordinary Genius, and by the Help of his 
 logical Rules which he made himfelf Mafter of 
 with little Labour, and his clofe way of main- 
 taining his Argument, which was natural to 
 him, he quickly got the Reputation of a fmart 
 Difputant , and as fuch was taken notice of 
 
 by his Superiors, 
 
 There
 
 tate Lord Bijlop of St. David'/. 1 3 
 
 There were two great Men at that time who Takenn 
 had a particular Regard for him, the one was 
 Dr.Conant theRedor of theCollege, who en- 
 couraged Learning during his Government , 
 and gave an Example of Piety to thofe under his 
 Care. It is true that he was one of the Commif- 
 iioners on the Prejbyterian fide at the Conference 
 in the Savoy, and that he refufed to fubfcribe 
 the Ad of Conformity in 166 2, but afterwards, 
 upon betterThoughts, he complied, and became 
 Minifter of Northampton, was made Archdea- 
 con of Norifiicb , and inltalled Prebendary of 
 Worcefter y and dyed poflefTed of thefe Prefer- 
 ments, and a worthy Member of the Church 
 of England in a good old Age, in March, 1693* 
 The other was that great Prelate Bifhop Pn- 
 deaux, who by his learned Works was famous 
 abroad as well as in his own Countrey, which 
 with his fteady Loyalty to his Sovereign, 
 made him worthy of the Bifhoprick vfWorce- 
 fter, which was conferred upon him in 1641, 
 though by the Confufions of thofe times he 
 reaped little or no Advantage from it, for he 
 dyed in mean Circumftances in September, 1650, 
 and left no Legacy to his Children but pious 
 Poverty, God's Blefling, and a Father's Prayers, 
 as he exprefleth it himfelf in his Laft Will. 
 This learned Bimop, in thofe times of Perfe- 
 cution, fled for Sanduary in or near that Col- 
 lege which he had formerly governed as Redor 
 with great Applaufe. Both thefe confiderable 
 Perfons took more notice than ordinary of 
 
 Mr.
 
 1 4 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Mr. Bull, they would frequently call upon him 
 to mind his Studies , and took all Occafions 
 to encourage him in the Profecution of them j 
 and their Advice he would often own made 
 very deep Impreflions upon him. Which fhew- 
 eth of what Confequence it is for Men of Fi- 
 gure and Authority to cultivate thofe tender 
 Minds that are under their Government , by 
 animadverting fometimes upon their Faults, 
 and when there is Occafion by exciting their 
 Induftry with juft Commendations , and pro- 
 per Encouragements. 
 Acquainted - While Mr. Bull redded in Exeter College 
 fat at the fame Table, and contracted a 
 
 . . '. . , , svt- rr i 
 
 particular Acquaintance with Mr. Clifford , 
 
 Lord nigh W h afterwards came by feveral gradual Pro- 
 motions to enjoy the greateft Poft in this King- 
 dom. For after he had ferved in feveral Par- 
 liaments, and had been prefent in feveral En- 
 gagements at Sea, in the War againft the 
 Dutch, and had been employed abroad in feve- 
 ral Embafiies ^ and in all thofe Pofts having 
 given great Proofs of his Courage and Capaci- 
 ty, and Skill in Bufinefs, he was firft made 
 Comptroler and afterwards Treafurer of the 
 King's Houfhold, one of the Commiffioners of 
 the Treafury , and for fome time during the 
 Earl of Arlington's Abfence in Holland execu- 
 ted the Office of Secretary of State -, in 1672 
 he was created Baron Clifford of Cbudleigh in 
 Devonfiire, and in the fame Year made Lord 
 High freafurer of England, which white Staff 
 
 he 

 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David V. 1 5 
 
 he refigned in June the Year following, being 
 not willing, as it was faid, to qualifie himfelf 
 according to the Ted Ad. But this Greatnefs 
 of Mr. Bull's Friend-was attended with no Ad- 
 vancement to his Fellow Collegiate -, though I 
 am informed his Lordfhip did make fotne At- 
 tempts to procure Mr. Bull Preferment , and 
 folicited my Lord Keeper bridgman particu- 
 larly for a Prebend of Glofter , but it is pof- 
 fible that my Lord's Reign of Favour being 
 fhort, he might retire from his great Employ- 
 ments before there hapned any Vacancy in 
 that Church*, betides, Mr. Bull living at a 
 Diftance from Court , and not underftanding 
 the Art of intriguing for Preferment, -might 
 eafily be forgot by a great Man , who never 
 wanted fuch in his Eye that made Jntereft for 
 his Favour. 
 
 Mr. Bui! had not been admitted two Years I\T, 
 in Exeter College before the Engagement was 
 impofed upon the Nation by a pretended Ad H 
 of Parliament, which palled in January^ 1649.^ 
 The Kingly Office being abolimed upon 
 Murther of an excellent Prince, it was decla- 
 red that for the time to come England Ihould 
 be governed as a Commonwealth by Parlia- 
 ment-, that was, by that handful of Men. 
 who by their Art and Power, and Villany, had 
 wrought that wonderful Alteration. And that 
 they might fecure their new Government, and 
 have fome Obligations of Obedience from their 
 3 Subjects 
 
 menc.
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Subje&s for the future, who had broken all 
 the former Oaths which they had taken, as is ob- 
 ferved by a noble Author, this new Oath was 
 prepared and eftablimed j the Form whereof 
 was that every Man fhould fwear, That he 
 would be true and faithful to the Common- 
 wealth of England, as it was then eftablifhed, 
 without a King or Houfe of Lords. And who- 
 foever refufed to take that Engagement , was 
 to be incapable of holding any Place or Office 
 in Church or State $ and they who had no 
 Employments to lofe, were to be deprived of the 
 Benefit of the Law, and difabled from fuing in 
 any Court. There was great Zeal fhewn in fe- 
 veral Places to procure this Acknowledgment 
 and Submiflion from the People to this New 
 Government $ particularly all the Members of 
 the Univerfity were fummoned to appear, and 
 folemnly to own the Right and Title of the 
 Commonwealth to their Allegiance. Our 
 young Student appeared upon this Occafion, 
 and fignalized himfelf by refufing to take the 
 Oath. The feveral Hypothefes that were then 
 ftarted to make Men eafy under a Change of 
 Government, which was direclly contrary to 
 the national Conflitution, could not prevail 
 upon him to comply. Neither the Argument 
 of Providence, nor prefent PofMion, nor the 
 Advantages of Protection, which were all 
 pleaded in thofe Times , were ftrong enough 
 to influence a Mind that was early determined 
 to be conftant in his Duty towards the Church 
 and the King. It
 
 late Lord Bijbof of St. DavidV. 17 
 
 It muft be owned that it was a great Hap- * 
 pinefs to Mr. Bull, that his Tutor Mr. Ac 
 land fet him an Example of this fteddy Loy-iandfi 
 alty ^ for then Precepts operate to the beft Pur- Norrh-Cad r 
 pofe, when we ftrengthen them by our own 
 Pradke. But befides Mr. Bull had this far- 
 ther Advantage from Mr. Ackland's refufing 
 the Engagement, that they retired together 
 from the Univerfity to Notth-Cadbury in So- 
 werfetjbire , whither alfo many other of his - 
 Pupils , who were defirous to continue un- 
 der the Condud of fo good and fo able a Man, 
 quickly followed j where they purfued their 
 Studies without Diftradion j and found that 
 Quiet in a Village , which they had in vain 
 fought for in a College. It is not certain how 
 long he continued with his Tutor in this Re- 
 tirement, but by the beft Judgment that can 
 be made, in a Fad at fuch a Diftance, it is 
 highly probable they did not part till Mr. Bull 
 had attained the nineteenth Year of his Age j 
 and fo confequently that he then laid that 
 Foundation ,of Learning, which is necefTary as 
 a Preliminary to any particular learned Pro- 
 feffion, and upon which he built his future 
 Studies in Divinity. 
 
 And what was yet of greater Importance ,J fe ""5J* 
 
 t_- r i r^ i_ i_ J fluenced to 
 
 by this Retreat into his own Country, he nad grwf stri- 
 frequent Converfe with one of his Sifters, a /*/*&* 
 Woman of incomparable Parts, and of folid 5 '^' 
 Piety ^ whofe good Senfe exercifed itfelf chief- 
 ly .upon the beft Objeds , for me made Reli- 
 
 C gion
 
 ,8 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 gion her great Care and Employment. It was 
 this Woman that the Providence of God made 
 inftrumental in reducing Mr. Bull entirely 
 from his youthful Vanities , for by the Strength 
 of her Reafon {he expofed the Folly and Emp- 
 tinefs. of them , by the frequency of her Ad- 
 monitions me prevailed upon him to confider 
 the weight of what (he urged 5 and by the ten- 
 der and affedionate manner with which all 
 her Difcourfes were tindured, me made deep 
 impreffions upon his Mind , but above all, by 
 the Ardency and Fervour of her Prayers, fhe 
 prevailed for fuch a Supply of Divine Grace 
 as enabled him to forfake them. This fubftan- 
 tial Proof of Friendmip he always remembred 
 with great Gratitude to God and his Sifter*, 
 and that Serioufnefs of Mind which Heaven 
 by her means beftowed upon him, had an admi- 
 rable EfFed upon his Studies, which he now 
 profecuted with fuch Earneftnefs, as render- 
 ed him afterwards fo ufeful and fo famous in 
 
 the World. 
 
 - 
 
 V. His Application and Induftry began now to 
 \^~v~^ be confpicuous, and having no Thoughts of 
 He puts returning to the Univerfity, the State and 
 K(con- Condition thereof being at that time no ways 
 duti of an inviting -, he was advifed by his Guardians and 
 eminent Di- ot ^ er R e [ a n ons to put himfclf under the Con- 
 dud of fome Eminent Divine, whofe Know- 
 ledge and Skill might fleer him right in his 
 Theological Studies, which he purpofed to 
 5- profecute,
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. DavidV. 
 
 profecute , and whofe pious Example might 
 feafon his Mind with all thofe Chriftian Ver- 
 tues, which are requifite not only for the Go- 
 vernment of a private Life , but are alfo ne- 
 cetfary to difcharge the Duties of that facred 
 Fiinclion in which he defigned to engage. 
 
 And upon this Occafion I cannot help wifli- The 
 ing, from the hearty Affeclion and good Will 
 I bear to the Welfare of Religion in general,/ '' '** 
 and to the Profperity of the Church of En- 
 gland in particular j that as we have noble 
 Foundations for the Encouragement of all 
 forts of Learning, and efpecially for Divinity 
 itfelf, in our two famous Univerfities, which 
 are the Wonder of the World for the Num- 
 ber of their Colleges, their ftately Structures 
 and liberal Endowments ^ fo that we had al- 
 fo fome of thefe Foundations entirely fet a- 
 part for the forming of fuch as are Candidates 
 for Holy Orders j where they might be fully 
 inftrucled in all that Knowledge which that 
 Holy Inftitution requires, and in all thofe 
 Duties which are peculiarly incumbent upon 
 a Parochial Pried. Where Lectures might be 
 daily read, which in a certain Courfe of Time 
 fnould include a perfecl Scheme of Divinity } 
 where all particular Cafes of Confcience might 
 be clearly dated, and fuch general Rules laid 
 down, as might be able to allift them in giving 
 Satisfaction to all thofe that repair to.tfiem for 
 Advice in difficult Matters. Where they might 
 receive rigrjt Notions of all thofe fpiritual 
 
 C 2 Rights,
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Rights which are appropriated to the Prieft- 
 hood, and which are not in the Power of the 
 greateft fecular Perfon either to convey or a- 
 boliftr, and yet are of fuch great Importance, 
 that fome of them are not only neceflary to the 
 well being but to the very Being of the Church. 
 Where they might be taught to perform all the 
 publick Offices of Religion with a becoming; 
 Gravity and Devotion, and with all that Act- 
 vantage of Elocution, which is apteft to fecure 
 Attention, and beget devout Affe&ions in the 
 Congregation. Where they might particular- 
 ly be directed how to receive clinical Confef- 
 fionS) how to make their Applications to Per- 
 fons in Times of Sicknefs , and have fuch a 
 Method formed to guide their AddrefTes of that 
 Nature , that they might never be at a Lofe 
 when they are called upon to aflift fick and 
 dying Perfons. Where they might be inftru- 
 ded in the Art of Preaching, whereby I mean 
 not only the beft Method in competing their 
 Sermons, but all thofe decent Geftures and 
 graceful Deportment, the Influence whereof 
 all Hearers can eafier feel than exprefs. And 
 where they might have fuch judicious Rules 
 given them for profecuting their Theological 
 Studies as would be of great Ufe to them in 
 their future Conduct. But above all, where 
 they might be formed by conftant Pradice, 
 and by the Example of their Superiors, to 
 Piety and Devotion, to Humility and Charity, 
 to Mortification and Self-denial, to Contented- 
 
 nefs
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. David'/. 
 
 nefs and Submiflion to the Will of God in all 
 Conditions of human Life ; and more efpecial- 
 ly excited to great Zeal in promoting the Sal- 
 vation of Souls, which is the true Spring of 
 all that Induilry and Application which is re- 
 quired in the Clerical Function. 
 
 It would be a mighty Satisfaction to 
 Governours of the Church, to ordain Per- 
 fons who had palled fome time in fuch Semi- 
 naries with the Approbation of their Superiors. 
 It would be no fmall Comfort to the Candi- 
 dates themfelves to be fo qualified by the Pu- 
 rity of their Intentions, and by their perfonal 
 Endowments, as to find themfelves able to an- 
 fwer with a good Confcience that important 
 Demand in Ordination, Whether they trufi they 
 are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghojl to take 
 upon them that Office and Miniftration. And it 
 would certainly be a great Blefling to the Na- 
 tion , to have fuch Labourers fent into the 
 Vineyard of the Lord, as had been wrought up 
 by particular Application and Study to that 
 Purpofe. That Man knoweth but little of the 
 Dignity and Importance of the Priefthood, that 
 can content himfelf with ordinary Attainments 
 for the Difcharge of fo great and fo facred a 
 Truft, and yet he will find himfelf very 
 much deceived, if he dependeth upon the grea- 
 teft Perfection of humane Knowledge, with- 
 out corjftant and fervent Prayer to God for his 
 Grace to enable him to make a right Ute of 
 it. This is neceflary to fanftifie his Learning, 
 
 C 3 though
 
 * ii The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 though it be of never fo prodigious a Size :, by 
 keeping him within the Bounds of Humility, 
 and by rendring him ferviceable to thofe who 
 are committed to his Charge. But to proceed. 
 tte j spl t The Times being very diftracled when Mr. 
 of Bull was advifed, as I faid, to put himfelf 
 under the Direction of fome eminent Divine j 
 his Guardians and Relations were very much 
 divided in their Opinions, as to the Choice of 
 the Perfon under whofe Care he was to be 
 placed. His Uncle William Bull Efq-, of Shap- 
 wick, and fome others, inclined to Dr. Ham- 
 mond, a moft eminent Epifcopal Divine, whofe 
 Name will always.be mentioned with Honour 
 and Refpeft by thofe, who are true Friends to 
 the Church of England^ for he adhered to 
 her when her Condition was moft deplorable, 
 defended her Doclrines and Difcipline by his 
 learned and judicious Pen, and adorned them 
 by a Conversation ftridly virtuous and pious. 
 But they prevailed who propofed Mr. William 
 Thomas Redor of Ubity in the County of So- 
 merfet, to which Preferment he was advanced 
 by the free and unfolicited Bounty of Thomas 
 Egerton Baron of Ellef trier e, and Lord Chancel - 
 lor of England. This Mr. Thomas was then in 
 great Reputation for his Piety, and efteemed one 
 of the chief Minifters of his time in the Neigh- 
 bourhood where he lived , lie was always rec- 
 koned a Puritan, and clofed with the Preiby- 
 teria'n Meafures in 1642 , and was appointed 
 an Afliftant to .the Commifli oners of Oliver 
 
 Crom-
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V. 13 
 
 Cromwell, for the ejeding fuch whom they 
 then called fcandalous, ignorant, and infufn*- 
 cient Minifters and School-Mafters ^ he lived 
 to be ejeded himfelf for Non-Conformity, 
 though he dyed among his Parifhioners in 
 1667. Mr. Bull comply ed with the Determi- 
 nation of his Guardians, and put himfeif un- 
 der the Diredion of Mt.Tfomas, in whofe Houfe 
 he boarded with fome of his own Sifters for 
 the fpace of two Years j where he had the Ad- 
 vantage indeed of living in a very regular Fa- 
 mily, but he received little or no real Im- 
 provement or Afliftance from him in his Study 
 of Divinity, and would often lament his great 
 Misfortune in that Choice. 
 
 However it muft be owned that there was He con- 
 one Circumftance that made Mr. Bull fome A- * r * Ss .f. 
 mends for the Time he loft under this Di- 
 redor, which was the Opportunity he had by 
 this means of contrading an intimate Acquain- 
 tance with Mr. Samuel Thomas the Son <% advantage- 
 Mr. William Thomas , a Perfon of a very v&- Q "* tohim ' 
 luable Charader for his Piety and Learning , 
 who was afterwards Chaplain at Chrift Church 
 in Oxford, Vicar of Chard in Somerfetfhire, 
 and Prebendary of Wells. The Friendfhip 
 now begun, was afterwards cultivated by ma- 
 ny mutual kind Offices, and when they were 
 at a diftance it was fupported by a frequent 
 Correfpondence. Before this Acquaintance 
 with Mr. Samuel Thomas, Mr. Bull had fpent 
 his Time entirely in reading little Syftems of 
 
 C 4 Divinity,
 
 24 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Divinity, and had arrived at fo great a Perfe- 
 ction in that Method of Study, and was par- 
 ticularly fo thoroughly verfed in Wollebius 9 
 that he was Matter of all thofe Objections 
 and Solutions, which fo frequently occur in 
 thofe Writings. But his Judgment being now- 
 come to a greater Ripenefs, he grew more and 
 more out of conceit with that fort of Divinity, 
 and applied himfelf to the reading of other 
 Books, fuch as he reliflied better, and were 
 more adapted to his Genius, fuch as Hooker, 
 Hammond , Taylor, Grotiw, Epifcopius, &c. 
 with which his Friend Mr. Samuel Thomas 
 was ready to fupply him, though at the ha- 
 zard of his Father's Difpleafure -, for the old 
 Man had a watchful Eye over Mr. Bui/, and 
 never found any of thefe Books in his Study, 
 without giving vifible Marks of his Anger and 
 Refentraent , for being well acquainted with 
 his Son's Principles , and with the intimate 
 Correfpondence there was between them j he 
 eafily guefled from what Quarter he was pro- 
 vided with fo much Heterodoxy, and would 
 often fay, My Son will corrupt Mr. Butt. Thus 
 it pleafed the good Providence of God to cor- 
 rect the Difad vantages of his Education, and 
 by a favourable Circumftance to ftrike fuch 
 Light into his Mind , as preferved him from 
 the bad Principles of thofe Times , and dire- 
 fted his Underftanding in diftinguilhing 
 Truths of very great Importance.
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. David'/. 25 
 
 , 
 
 Soon after that he left Mr. Tbowaf, he en- VI. 
 tertainedThoughts of going into Holy Orders , ^~*- 
 lie had read enough to convince him that & enters 
 meer Prefbyters had no Power to give him a 
 Commiflion to exercife the facred Function , 
 efpecially when the plaufible Plea of Neceflity 
 could not be urged j which yet very feidome 
 hath any great Strength in it , becaufe when 
 pofitive Inftitutions cannot be had whole and 
 entire as God hath ordained them, with fui> 
 miflion I fpeak it, I think they ceafe to be ne- 
 cefTary. In this Cafe Mr. Bull fought out for 
 an unexceptionable Hand, that his Mifiion 
 might be valid, according to the Practice of 
 the Chriftian Church for fifteen hundred 
 Years, which, affordeth not one Inftance of 
 Prefbyterian Ordination, but what was con- 
 demned by the univerfal Voice of the Catho- 
 lick Church. And being thus fatisfied from 
 whence he was to receive his fpiritual Powers, 
 he applied himfeJf to Dr. Skinner -, the ejected 
 Bifhop of Oxford, by whom he was ordained 
 Deacon and Prieft in one Day. This fuffer- 
 ing Prelate had the Courage, even in thofe 
 Times of Ufurpation, to fend many Labourers 
 into the Lord's Vineyard , according to the 
 Liturgy of the Church of England, when the 
 exercifing this his Power was made penal. 
 He lived indeed to be reftored to his See, 
 from whence he was trari dated to the Bi mo- 
 prick of-Watietfter in 1663, an ^ died full of 
 
 Years
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Years in 1670. He had been Tutor to the 
 famous Mr. William Chillingworth^ the Author 
 of The Religion of Proteftants a fafe way of 
 Salvation, Sec. and was one of thofe twelve 
 Bimops that fubfcribed in 41 a Proteftatioifc. 
 againft the Force that was ufed to their Per- 
 fons in attending the Houfe , and againft the 
 immoderate Proceedings of the Parliament in 
 their abfence, for which they were impeached 
 of High Treafon, and committed Prifoners to 
 the Tower, where they remained till. the Bill 
 for putting them out of the Houfe was paf- 
 fed, which was not till many Months after. 
 His Lordfliip , though he was willing to or- 
 dain Mr. Bull, yet refufed to give him or any 
 others, Letters of Orders under his own Hand 
 and Seal, for this prudential Reafon, becaufe 
 he was apprehenfive fome ill Ufe might be 
 made of them, if they fell into the Hands 
 of thofe unjuft Powers which then prevailed, 
 who had made it criminal for a Biftiop to 
 confer Holy Orders , but withal he aifured 
 him , that when the ancient Apoftolicai Go- 
 vernment of the Church mould be reftored, 
 which he did not queftion but a little time 
 would bring about, his Letters of Orders 
 fhould be fent him, in what part fo ever of 
 the Nation he then lived, however it mould 
 pleafe God to difpofe of his Lordfhip; which 
 was accordingly punctually complied with 
 upon the happy Reftoration of King Charles 
 
 the fecond. 
 
 By
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. David'/. 27 
 
 By this Account it appeareth, that Mr. Bull & wast* 
 was but one and twenty when he was made JJ^JJ* 
 Prieft, which is much fhort of that Age which when o r - 
 is required by the Canons of the Church from dAmd - 
 the Candidates of the Priefthood \ but upon 
 his Examination , he acquitted himfelf fo 
 perfectly well , that though the Bifhop was 
 rightly informed as to that Circumftance, yet 
 he was pleafed to fay, that the Church wan- 
 ted Perfons qualified as he was, and that he 
 could not make too much hafte , when his 
 Pains and Labour might be of fuch Impor- 
 tance } that as to the Canons they could not 
 be obferved ftriftly in fuch Times of Difficulty 
 andDiftrefs, and that he did difpenfe with his 
 want of canonical Age as much as in him lay. 
 And it is not to be wondered at, confidering the 
 melancholy Circumftances the Church, was 
 then in, that his Lordihip received with open 
 Arms a Candidate, who was fo well difpofed 
 and qualified to maintain and defend Her Do- 
 ctrines and Difcipline, and had nothing but his 
 Youth to be objected againft him. 
 
 I think it may be fairly inferred from this This F- 
 early Dedication of himfelf to the Service of " ar * ne f* 
 the Altar, in a time when Rebellion and Sa-^n A' 
 crilege rid triumphant, that in his Youth mento f^ 
 and FJower of his Days, he had a true Relifh Zeal ' 
 for Piety, and a Zeal for the Salvation of 
 Souls. The Church of England which i?, and 
 that juftly, the Glory of the Reformation was 
 then laid in the Duft, She was ruined under a 
 
 pretence
 
 2 8 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 pretence of being made more pure and more 
 perfed. .Epifcopacy a divine Inftitution, and 
 therefore in no Cafe to be deviated from, was 
 aboliihed as Anti-Chriftian ^ our admirable 
 Liturgy was laid afide as defiled with the 
 Corruptions and Innovations of Popery , and 
 the Revenues which the Piety of our Anceftors 
 had eftablifhed for the maintenance of our 
 fpiritual Fathers , were ravenoufly feized on 
 by facrilegious Lay-men and alienated to fup- 
 port the Ufurpation. Thefe difcouraging 
 Circumftances did not damp the Zeal of this 
 Servant of God, but he engaged in the Service 
 of the Church when the Arguments from 
 Flem and Blood were leaft inviting. When 
 Men propofe the Glory of God and the Good 
 of Souls as the chief Motive in the choice of 
 their facred Profeflion , as they want not the 
 Profpect of Riches and Grandeur to invite them 
 to undertake it , neither are they terrified 
 with thofe Dfficulties that lie in the way of 
 fuch an important Service. The Pilot is then 
 moft neceffary, when the Ship is expofed to 
 be driven on Rocks and Sands, and not to 
 ihrink from the Exercife of his Skill upon fuch 
 Occafions, diftinguiftieth his Courage and Re- 
 folution, as well as his Zeal to fave thofe 
 who are in the fame bottom with himfelf. 
 
 When he was furnifhed with thofe Sacer- 
 dotal Powers, which are the Charaderiftick 
 o f a Prefbyter, he embraced the firft Oppor- 
 
 tunity
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. DavidV. 
 
 tunity the Providence of God offered for the 
 exercifing of them according to his Commiffi- 
 on. A fmall Living near Brtflol called St. 
 Georges prefenting itfelf,- he the rather acce- 
 pted if, beeaufe the income was very inconii- 
 derabJe j it being very likely, that upon that 
 account he would be fuffered to refide with- 
 out Difturbance from the Men of thofe Times, 
 who would n<y think it worth their pains to 
 perfecute and difpoffefs him for 30 /. a Year. 
 Before he fettled at this Place, he met by ac- 
 cident with one of his Godfathers , Mr. Hall 
 a Clergyman, who acquainted him with the 
 Declaration his Father had made when he 
 was baptized, which gave him no fraall Plea- 
 fure and Satisfaction , in that he had fulfilled 
 the Intention of his Father from the bent of 
 his own Inclination and free Choice, without 
 having ever till that time received the leaft 
 intimation concerning it. When he came to 
 fix at St. Georges , he found the Parifti to 
 abound with Quakers and other wild Sectaries 
 who held very extravagant Opinions , which 
 the People there and in the adjacent Parts were 
 very ready to run into :> but by his conftant 
 Preaching twice every Lord's Day, by his found 
 Do&rine and exemplary Life, by his great 
 Charities, for he expended more annually 
 in relieving the Poor of all forts, than the 
 whole Income of his Living amounted to, and 
 by his prudent Behaviour he gained very much 
 upon the AfFedions of his Parifhioners , and 
 
 was
 
 go The Life of Dr. George Ball, 
 
 was very inftrumental in preferring many, 
 and reclaiming others, from thofe pernicious 
 Errors which then were common among 
 them. 
 
 'A nttic AC- There was a petty Occurrence which hap- 
 c 'i e "f ned a little after he came to this Living, which 
 
 vpfticn con- .. , n , ,.P . . . 
 
 tribute* to contributed very much to the eiiablilhmg his 
 *K Reputa- Reputation as a Preacher, in fo difaffeded a 
 Place as this was :, and fince oftentimes from 
 very little feeming Accidents, fuch as this, 
 there have been, as is known to every ones 
 Obfervation, moft confiderable Effeds wrought 
 out , it is hoped hence that the notice of it 
 will not be thought altogether unufeful, or be 
 unacceptable for appearing at firft trivial. Now 
 the matter was this. One Sunday when he 
 had begun his Sermon , as he was turning 
 over his Bible to explain fomeTexts of Scripture 
 which he had quoted, it hapned unfortunately 
 (as it -was thought) that his Notes contain- 
 ed in feveral fmall pieces of Paper, flew out 
 of his Bible into the middle of the Church j 
 by which means there was inftantly raifed a 
 laughter in many of his Congregation, confid- 
 ing chiefly of wild feafaring Perfons : Thefe 
 concluding that their young Preacher would 
 now, for want of his Materials, be entirely 
 at a non-plus, were not a little plea fed , and 
 prepared themfelves hereupon to fport at him 
 with an Air of Contempt, not confidering him 
 as the Minifter of Chrift to them in the weak- 
 nefs of Flefh 5 but fome were fober, or better 
 
 natured
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. David*/. g i 
 
 natured than the reft, condemning the Levity 
 of thofe Scoffers, with great Concern gather- 
 ed them up and carried them to him in his 
 Pulpit. Mr. Bull took them, but perceiving 
 moft of the Company there prefent to be ra- 
 ther inclined to triumph over him in that 
 furprife, and to infult his Youth which flood 
 in need of fuch Props , immediately clapped 
 his Notes into his Book again and fhut it, not 
 without a great Prefence of Mind, and then 
 gave himfelf the liberty of Difcourfing to 
 them on the fpot, profecuting the Subject 
 which he had begun ; which he performed 
 fo very much to their Satisfaction, that they 
 who at firft were moft inclined to laugh at 
 him, began to grow ferious j and from defpi- 
 fing him, were at length fo affeded with his 
 Difcourfe, that this mightily advanced his 
 Reputation for the future among them, and 
 fecured him the good Will and Efteem of 
 thofe very Perfons who had been fo forward 
 to divert themfelves at that, wltich they appre- 
 hended would have expofed him to be a com- 
 mon Derifion 
 
 For another time, while he was preaching, a 
 certa in Ranter, or Quaker, came into the Church 
 
 _ iin i* t n /!/ 
 
 and made a dmurbance in the midft of his Ser- by a 
 mon, crying out aloud, George^ comedown, tbou^ er ' 
 art afalfe Prophet and an Hireling ^ upon which 
 the Parilhioners, who were for the moft part 
 Seamen, and who loved their Minifter exceed- 
 ingly, for his great Bounty and Hofpitality 
 
 among
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 among them , as well as for his good Preach- 
 ing, fell upon this poor Quaker with fuch fu- 
 ry, as obliged Mr. Bull to come down out of 
 the Pulpit to quiet them, and to fave him 
 from the Effeds of their Refentment. So 
 getting in among them and warding off the 
 blows that were falling very heavy upon the 
 Fellow, he faid to them, " Come Neighbours 
 " be not fo violent againft the poor Man, but 
 * c fpare him, you do not know what Spirit he 
 " is afted by, you cannot tell but that it may 
 " be Phrenfy in him or fome other Diftemper, 
 <f and if fo, the Man is certainly anObjed of 
 " your Pity and Care , however let me pre- 
 " vail upon you to forbear, and hurt him not j 
 " but let me, good Neighbours, a little argue 
 " cooly the Matter with him." After this 
 manner reafoning with them, they were forne- 
 what pacified, and were content to leave him 
 to Mr. Bull's Management, and to hear whe- 
 ther he was able to fay any thing in Juftifica- 
 tion or Excufe of what he had done. So Mr. 
 Bull turned himfelf to the Man, and addrefled 
 himfelf to him after this manner. " Friend, 
 " thou doft call me a falfe Prophet and an 
 Hireling. Now as to thyfirft Charge, Pro- 
 " phecj doth generally mean either preaching 
 and Interpreting God's Word, or elfe fore- 
 " telling things to come. And fo a Prophet ei- 
 " ther true or falfe is underftood in Scripture. 
 " Wherefore if thou doft mean I am a Prophet 
 " in the tirft of thefe two Senfes, I readily 
 
 acknow-
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. David'/. 3 3 
 
 *' acknowledge that I am fo , and a true one 
 " alfo I hope, forafmuch as in all Truth and 
 " Sincerity, I have nowforfome time preach- 
 " ed among this good People what I could 
 " learn to be agreeable to the Dodrine of 
 " Chrift and his Apoftles, not failing to inter- 
 " pret to them the Mind of God in the Scri- 
 e ptures, without any other End, but to bring 
 " them to the Knowledge of the Truth, and 
 " thereby to the Attainment of Life everlaft- 
 ' ing. But Friend , if thou doft call me a 
 c Prophet, and a falfe Prophet, from my * 
 { foretelling things to come, I then appeal to 
 c my Pariftuoners here prefent, whether I 
 " ever once pretended to this manner of Pro- jv- v , 
 " phecy cither in my Sermons or in my Dif- 
 " courfes with them. And fo in this Senfe 
 " I can be no falfe Prophet, having never 
 '* deceived any one by Pretences of this Na- 
 " ture. And as to the other Charge againft 
 " me, that I am an Hireling , I appeal again 
 " to thefe here prefent and that know me, 
 tc whether they can fay that I have preached 
 " among them for the fake of Gain or filthy 
 " Lucre , and whether I have not on the con- 
 " trary been ready on all occafions to ferve 
 " and affift them to the utraoft of my Power, 
 " and to communicate as freely as I receive.'* 
 Upon which the People, being touched with 
 a Senfe of Gratitude to this Minifter of God 
 for his extraordinary Kindnefs and conftant 
 Bounty towards them , but not mindful e- 
 
 D nough.
 
 34 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 sough of that facred Regard which was due 
 to the Place where they were met, and to the 
 Qccafon which brought them together, percei- 
 ving the filly Enthufiaft at a perfeft non-plus, 
 and not able to fpeak a word of Senfe in his 
 own Defence , fell upon him a fecond time 
 with fuch Violence, that had not Mr. Bull 
 buftled very much among them, and by great 
 Intreaties prevailed upon them to fpare him , 
 and to lead and (hut him out of the Church, 
 they would have worried him upon the fpot. 
 After which Mr. Bull went up again into his 
 Pulpit and finifhcd his Sermon, 
 
 VIII Befides the ordinary Duties of his Fun- 
 K^^J &ion, which he conftantly performed , the 
 The Method Method he took in governing this Parifli, con- 
 be twk in tr ib ute( j v ery much to the welfare of the Peo- 
 pie committed to his Charge, and anlwered. 
 extremely the Ends of his Miniftry. He did 
 not content himfelf only with preaching to 
 his Flock on Sundays, and with going to the 
 Tick, when their languiftiing Condition requi- 
 red fpiritual Comfort and Afliftance ^ but he 
 vifited all his Parimioners, rich and poor, 
 without Diftindion, at their own Houfes m 
 a certain Compafs of time j not to gratifie 
 their civil Invitations, or his own Diverfion, 
 but to be ferviceable to them in Matters of 
 the greateft Importance, the Salvation of their 
 Souls. And therefore upon thefe Occafions 
 the time was not trifled away in empty Talk , 
 
 but
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David V. 3 5 
 
 but his Difcourfe was fuited to the feveral 
 Exigencies of thofe he converfed with. Where , 
 he found People negleded in their Education, 
 and ignorant in the Fundamentals of Religion, 
 thofe he inftruded by explaining to them what 
 was neceffary to be believed and pradifed in 
 order to their Salvation. Where the Ground 
 was overrun with Weeds, andfome good Prin- 
 ciples were blended with falfe Dodrines and 
 pernicious Errors, there he difcovered the 
 dangerous Confequences of fuch Tenents, and 
 {hewed how inconfiftent they were with the 
 holy Scriptures, and the belief of all orthodox 
 Chriftians. Where he perceived that Men 
 laid all the Strefs upon a right Faith , and 
 provided they fecured that part of their Duty, 
 were too apt to indulge themfelves in fome 
 unchriftian Pradices -, thofe he admonifhed 
 with all that freedom, which becometh a 
 faithful Paftor, alluring them, That witbottt 
 Holmefs no Man fball fee the Lord. Thofe 
 who laboured under any Afflidion, received 
 from him Advice and Comfort, and were in- 
 ftruded how to bear them, and how to make 
 a right Ufe of them. Thofe who were op- 
 preffed with any Doubts and Scruples in their 
 Chriftian Courfe had proper Remedies applied 
 to refolve them, and to free the Perfons from 
 that Unquietnefs which poflefled them. Where 
 the pleafant Path of Virtue was fteadily pur- 
 fued, thofe were exhorted to perfevere and 
 hold out to the end, becaufe in due time they 
 D 2 (hould
 
 The lirfe of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 ibouid reap, if they fainted not. But whefe 
 Vice and Wickednefs . were become habitual, 
 thofe ureie fharpjy rebuked in order to reclaim 
 tliem from thofe Sins which would infallibly 
 be their ruine, without a fpeedy and hearty 
 Repentance. By thefe means he became ac- 
 quainted with the State of their Souls, and 
 was thereby the better enabled to fuit his Dif- 
 courfes in publick to the feveral Wants and 
 Grievances of his People , and from this Pra- 
 ctice he farther reaped another Advantage, that 
 he thoroughly under flood the Neceffities of 
 thofe that were really poor, whofe hard Cir- 
 cumftances he conftantly relieved, either from 
 his own Charity, or from the Bounty of thofe 
 who fupplied him upon all fuch Occafions. 
 
 There was hardly a Family in his Parifli 
 - w h* c k was not furnifhed with great Store of 
 nomian Antlnoniian Books, fuch Do&rines prevailing 
 Books. very much in thofe Times, which they read 
 often and valued much , and therefore in thefe 
 Vifits he took particular care to examine what 
 Books they were moft converfant in :, and 
 when he found what he had reafon to fufped, 
 he conftantly warned them againft the Poifon 
 they were fo familiar with. By this Method, 
 and the Bleffing of God upon his, Endeavours, 
 he quickly convinced his Parifhioners of the 
 falfe Reafonings that were contained in fuch 
 Ant'momian Books, and how contrary the Te- 
 nents maintained in them were to the holy 
 Scriptures, and how inconfiftent with that 
 
 5" Scheme
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. DavidV. 3 7 
 
 Scheme of Salvation, which the blefled Jefus 
 had propofed to all his followers. There is 
 one Circumftance in thefe Vifits which muft 
 not be forgot, becaufe it is very proper for the 
 Imitation of fuch Incumbents, who have any 
 Parifhioners that keep at a Diftance from their 
 Communion. When Mr. Bull found any Per- 
 fon, that either never came to the Pariih 
 Church, or after having frequented it> with- 
 drew to fome other Communion *, his conftant 
 Pradice was to inquire who had feduced them, 
 and defired to know their Names in order to 
 fummon them to a Conference in the Prefence 
 of the Party who had been prevailed upon to 
 abfent from the Parifh Church. Thefe Chal- 
 lenges were frequently accepted, for Mr. Bull 
 being young, it was not imagined that he was 
 able to maintain and defend a Caufe againft 
 Perfons of riper Age, and who had been long 
 verfed in the Controverfy $ but by the quick- 
 nefs and readinefs of his Parts , and by his 
 clofe way of maintaining an Argument, which 
 was very natural to him, as I have already ob- 
 ferved, he found his account in thefe Confe- 
 rences, and had thereby very great Succefs in 
 recovering his wandring Sheep. As to the 
 younger fort of People his cuftom was to ad- 
 drefs to them in pubiick as well as private , 
 and therefore he would pitch upon fome 
 Week-day to preach to them before he ad- 
 niiniftred the holy Eucharift, that fuch as had 
 not ye.t been admitted to that divine Ordinance, 
 
 D 3 might
 
 38 the Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 might be thoroughly inftruded in the Nature 
 and Defign of the Chriftian Sacrifice, and 
 might be taught what Preparation was necef- 
 fary to qualifie them to appear at the holy 
 Altar. 
 
 The Excel- j t mu ft be allowed that thefe Rules he 
 *3'f&' managed himfelf by in the Government of his 
 thJ. Parifti , were very admirable, and exceeding 
 proper, by the Affiftance of God's Grace, to 
 make his Labours effectual for the good of 
 Souls, and very fit for the Imitation of the pa- 
 rochial Clergy, where their Cures will admit 
 of fuch a particular Application, and where 
 they are not yet fallen into fuch Meafures. 
 But what feemeth wonderful to me, is, that 
 a young Man of one and twenty, for Mr. Bull 
 did not exceed that Age, when he firft became 
 Incumbent of the Living of St. George\ mould 
 be able to frame fo good a Scheme for his own* 
 Condud, and mould have fo much Induftry 
 and Zeal , as to put it in Execution. Such 
 Methods as thefe, and fuch manly Thoughts 
 are ufually the refult of Experience and riper 
 Years, and feldome occur to thofe that juft 
 enter upon the Stage of Bufinefs. By this- we 
 may fairly conclude, that Mr. Bull was a Man 
 x)f no ordinary Capacity, but had a Genius for 
 that facrcd Fundion he had efpoufed, and had 
 flrong Impreffions of his Duly in the Flower 
 of his Youth, and was firmly bent to fpareno 
 pains that were neceiTary to difcharge it to the 
 Honour of God and the Good of Souls. . 
 
 The
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David V. 39 
 
 The Iniquity of the Times would not bear JX 
 the coflftant and regular Ufe of the Liturgy, 
 tofupply therefore that Misfortune, Mtl Stiff The Prayer* 
 formed all the Devotions he offered up in h ^ f i in 
 publick, while he continued Minifter of this 
 Place, out of the Book of Common -Prayer, 
 which did not fail to fupply him with fit Mat- 
 ter and proper Words upon all thofe Occafi- 
 ons that required him to apply to theThroneof 
 Grqce with the Wants of his People. He had 
 the Example of one of the brighteft Lights of 
 that Age, the judicious Dr. Sanderfon, to jufti- 
 fie him in this pradice, and his manner of 
 performing the publick Service , was with fo 
 much Serioufnefs and Devotion, with fo much 
 Fervour and Ardency of Affeftion, and with 
 fo powerful an Emphafis in every Part, that 
 they who were moft prejudiced againft the Li- 
 turgy, did not fcruple to commend Mr. Bull 
 as a Perfon that prayed by the Spirit, though 
 at the fame time they railed at the Common- 
 Prayer as a beggeriy Element, and as a carnal 
 Performance. 
 
 A -particular Inftance of this hapned to him An injianee 
 while he was Minifter of St. George % which i the . t Cl > m ' 
 
 i r n 11 iiiti- w>n-t raytr 
 
 becaufe it meweth how valuable the Liturgy 
 is in hfelf, and what unfeaforwble Prej-u 
 dices are fometimes taken up againit. it, the 
 Reader will not, I believe, think.it utrvorthy 6/^v 
 to be related. He was fcn<- for t6 baptize the 
 Child- $f-a Diffemer in his Parifli upon 
 
 P 4 which
 
 40 7he Life of Dr. George Bull y 
 
 which Occasion, he made ufe of the Office of 
 Baptiftn, as prefcribed by the Church of Eng- 
 land, which he had got entirely by heart j and 
 he went through it with fo much Readinefs 
 and Freedom, and yet with fo much Gravity 
 and Devotion, and gave that Life and Spirit to 
 all that he delivered, that the whole Audience 
 was extremely affeded with his Performance * r 
 and notwithstanding that he ufed the Sign 
 of the Crofs, yet they were fo ignorant of the 
 Offices of the Church, that they did not there- 
 by dicover that it was the Common- Prayer. 
 But after that he had concluded that holy 
 Aclion, the Father of the Child returned him 
 a great many Thanks, intimating at the fame 
 time with how much greater Edification they 
 prayed, who entirely depended upon the Spi- 
 rit of God for his Afliftance in their extempore 
 Effufions, than thofe did who tied them- 
 felves up to premeditated Forms , and that if 
 he had not made the Sign of the Crofs, that 
 Badg of Popery, as he called it, no Body could 
 have formed the leaft Objedion againft his 
 excellent Prayers. Upon which, Mr. Bull 
 hoping to recover him from his ill grounded 
 Prejudices, mewed him the Office of Baptifm 
 in the Liturgy, wherein was contained every 
 Prayer which he had offered up to God on 
 that Occafion , which, with farther Argu- 
 gumems he urged, fo effectually wrought up- 
 on the good Man and his whole Family, that 
 they always after that time frequented the Pa- 
 rim
 
 late Lord Bifbap of St. David/. 4 1 
 
 rifti-Church, and never more abfented them* 
 felves from Mr. Bull's Communion. From 
 whence we may reafonably conclude, that as ; 
 a miftaken Zeal may throw Contempt upon 
 what juftly deferves to be admired -, fo alfo 
 that Gravity, Serioufnefs, and Devotion, in' 
 reading the Prayers, is neceflary to fecure that 
 Refpeft to the Liturgy which its own Excel- 
 lency requireth from us. 
 
 While he remained Minifter of this Parifti An eminent 
 the Providence of God was pleafed to appear 4 "^ r * e 
 wonderfully in his Prefervation, for all thofe 
 fecond Caufes that concur to protect us from 
 any Danger that threatened! us, muft be attri- 
 buted to that all-wife and powerful Hand 
 that over-rules them. The Lodgings he had 
 taken in this Place were contiguous to a Pow- 
 der-Mill, where he purfued his Studies with 
 great Afliduity for feveral Months j 'till the 
 Gentleman of the Parim, Mr. Morgan, a Per- 
 fon of unblemimed Loyalty and Affe&ion to 
 the Church,, and his Lady, Daughter to Sir 
 William Maflers of Cirencefter, making him a 
 Vifit, they obferved to him the Danger he was 
 expofed to by continuing longer in thofe 
 Lodgings, and in a very friendly manner in- 
 vited him to their own Houfe, where they af- 
 fured him of all that Accommodation which 
 was neceiTary and agreeable to him. lie mo- 
 deftly for fome time declined this kind Offer, 
 but their repeated importunity at laft prevail- 
 ed, and he accepted of that obliging Propofal, 
 
 which
 
 42 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 which was the means, under God, of faving 
 his Life -, for not many Days after his Remo- 
 val to Mr. Morgans the Mill was blown up, 
 and his Apartment with it, on fuch a Day and 
 Hour as he had always been in his Study 
 from the time he firft came to that Place. So 
 that he muft inevitably have perimed , if his 
 Deliverance had not been wrought out for him 
 after this unexpected manner.- This fingular 
 Goodnefs of God, which interpofed in his Be- 
 half, was received with all Thankfulnefs^ and 
 a Life thus prefer ved quickened his Endea- 
 vours in purfuingthe true Purpofesof Living, 
 fo During his being at St. George\ and fome 
 nu think for a Year or two before , his conftant 
 jr 'fa u fi- om \v2s to make a Journey once a Year to 
 Sr!X>/; the Univerfity of Oxford, where he remained 
 about two Months to enjoy the Benefit and 
 Advantage of the Publick Libraries. It is a 
 great Misfortune to a young Clergyman , 
 when he is confined to a Country Cure, to 
 be deftitute of fuch Books as are rieceffary to 
 enable him to make any confiderable Advance 
 in his Studies of Divinity , to which other 
 parts of Learning contribute their Aid and Af- 
 fiftance, and therefore confequently are not to 
 be negleded. And if the folid Foundation of 
 ufeful Knowledge is not laid, and the Habit 
 of ftudying acquired , while Men are in the 
 prime of their Days , they feldom make any 
 Progrefs that will be able to diftinguifh them 
 from Perfons^ of ordinary Attainments. But 
 
 Mr.
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David V. 
 
 Mr. Bull being fenfible of what Confequence 
 it was , to feafon his Youth with all that 
 Learning which he was then capable of at- 
 taining, took the Method I now mention to ./ 
 fupply the want of a good private Library 5. 
 and by the great Proficiency he made, it very 
 diffidently anfwered what he propofed from 
 if, for here he nouriihed his Mind with frefh 
 Supplies of Learning, and having nothing to 
 diftraft his Thoughts, or to interrupt his Stu- 
 dies, we may reasonably fuppofe, that the Ad- 
 vances he made in thofe two Months, were 
 much greater than he could attain in double 
 the time at his own Cure, where the conftant 
 Duties of his Parim challenged a large Share, 
 and where the want of Books hindered him 
 from employing his Leifure to the greateft 
 Advantage. ; Befides, he reaped another Be- 
 nefit from this Excurfion, that the Exercife of 
 the Journey contributed to the Prefervatiori 
 of the Health of his Body, which by a con- 
 ftant fcdentary Life is expofed to many grow- 
 ing Infirmities. In his way to Oxford ., and 
 in his Return , % he always made a Vifit to 
 Sir William Mafters of Cirencefter , where he / $<U*^ 
 was conftantly received, as a very welcome 
 Gueft, with great Civility and Krndnefs. He 
 ufually upon thefe Occafions preached for the 
 Incumbent of that Place, Mr. Alexander Gre- 
 gory^ whereby \vas laid the Foundation of fiich 
 an Acquaintance and-Friendftip between th.era, 
 as- was afterwards improi'ed to fo great an Jri- 
 
 2 timacy, _ '
 
 44 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 timacy, that in fome time Mr. Bull married 
 one of his Daughters. 
 
 v- In the Change of his Condition Mr. Bull 
 "^ feemed to have a Regard chiefly to the Chara- 
 r. Bull & er of d 16 P er f n ne chofe for the Companion 
 rries of his Life, and preferred the Qualifications 
 f P* et y an ^ Vertue to thofe temporal Advan- 
 tages which for the moft part influence the 
 Minds of Men upon fuch Occaiions. And as 
 this Method ought to be purfued by all thofe 
 that would build their Happinefs upon a fure 
 Foundation in a married State ^ fo it appears 
 itill more neceffary in a Clergyman , becaufe 
 not only himfelf, but his Family, ought to be 
 a Pattern to the whole Parim. For he hath fo- 
 lemnly promifed in the Prefence of God to 
 apply himfelf diligently not only to frame and 
 faihion himfelf, but his Family alfo, accor- 
 ding to the Doftrine of Chrift , and to make 
 not only himfelf, but them alfo, as much as 
 in him lyeth, wholfome Examples to the Flock 
 of Chrift. Now what means can be fo fitly 
 adapted to this End as a prudent Miftrefs of 
 a Family, eminent in thofe Vertues which are 
 the peculiar Ornament of the Female Sex, 
 fuch as Devotion and Purity, Meeknefs and 
 Modefty, Mercifulnefs and Humility ^ to which 
 may be added, that Gravity of Garb, and De- 
 cency of Drefs, which in a particular manner 
 adorneth theWife of a Clergy man, who will do 
 Honour to her Hufband, and rife in the Efteem 
 
 of
 
 tat e Lord Bifbof of St. David'/. 4 5 
 
 of others, the more (he keepeth at a diftance 
 from the Vanity and Gayety of the Age. 
 
 The Appearance of thefe Chriftlan and pro- 
 per Endowments for the Family of a Prieft, 
 determined Mr. Bull to conclude a Marriage 
 with Mrs. Bridget Gregory , Daughter of Mr. 
 Alexander Gregory, under whofe Care me was 
 educated with great Modefty and Sobriety. 
 They were joyned together in holy Matrimo- 
 ny by Mr. William Majlers, Vicar of Prefton, 
 according to the Form prescribed in the Book 
 of Common Prayer, the Ufe of which was theft 
 forbidden under a great Penalty. But as Mr. 
 Butt had a particular Regard to our excellent 
 Liturgy, in thofe times when it was the Fa- 
 fhion to defpife it -, fo he had not a lefs Efteem 
 for theConftitution of the Church 3 for in or- 
 der to render fo ferious an Action as Matri- 
 mony is, ftill more folemn, he pitched upon Af- 
 cenfwn-Day for the folemnizing of it , which 
 in 1658 was the twentieth of May. 
 
 The Succefs of fuch an important Adion Her 
 anfwered the Care and Caution that was ufed 8n ' 
 in bringing it to pafs, for Mrs. Bull proved in 
 all refpeds a fit Confort for a Clergyman, as 
 being in her own Nature fufficiently provident, 
 and yet well difpofed to all manner of good 
 Works, out of a true Principle of Love to God 
 and Goodnefs. Her Attire was very plain and 
 grave. Her chief Diverfion was the Care 
 of her Family, and her main Ambition was to 
 pleafe her Hufband, to whom (he was always 
 
 a com-
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 a complying and obedient Wife. Yet her Pie- 
 ty was not confined to her own Home , but 
 extended itfelf to the whole Parifti wherever 
 ihe lived ^ for by the Help of her Clofet, and 
 Skill in Surgery, flie made her felf extremely 
 ufeful and neceffary upon all Occafions , and 
 was very much beloved, efpecially by thofe of 
 the meaner fort. Thefe Advantages fhe im- 
 proved to the beft Purpofes, for by thefe means 
 Ihe was highly inftrumental with the People 
 of Aveningi a Living which Mr. Bull was af- 
 terwards preferred to, efpecially thofe of her 
 own Sex, to lay afide their Prejudices againft 
 the Common Prayer, to bring their Children to 
 Church to receive publick Baptifin, which they 
 had not been ufed to do for many Years before, 
 .and to return Thanks to God after Child-birth, 
 which had been difcdntinued for fome time in 
 that PariOi. Such was her Charity, that (he 
 not only diftributed her own Alms with great 
 Liberality and Difcretion, but would frequent- 
 ly put the Overfeers of the Poor in mind of 
 their Duty:, that the Sick and Aged might 
 not want fuch Supplies as they were obliged 
 to furnifh , and the Neceffity of the Indigent 
 required. And fuch was her Concern for the 
 Souls of her Neighbours, that when her Huf- 
 band's Infirmities made him upon Occafions 
 unable to vifit the Sick, and that the Curate 
 was accidentally from home, fhe would pro- 
 cure this Afliftance when to be had from others } 
 and her worthy Son-in-Law Mr. Archdeacon 
 
 Stephens
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. David V. 47 
 
 Stephens well knows, that he feldom went to 
 pay his Duty at her Houfe, but fhe would en- 
 gage him to go along with her to vifit the 
 Sick, and to pray and difcourfe with them. 
 They were Man and Wife above fifty Years, 
 and (he is yet living at Brecknock-^ the People 
 of which Place were fo kind as to fend a Mef- 
 fage to her on purpofe after the Bifhop's 
 Death to fignifie their earneft Delire and Re- 
 queft, that {he would come and fpend the Re- 
 mainder of her Days among them j and 
 though follicited by fome of her Relations to 
 live with them , yet fhe complyed with this 
 obliging Propofal, not fo much from an Incli- 
 nation to live at Brecknock , as to dye there , 
 being determined to be buried near her decea- 
 fed Hufband, who was there interred j and to 
 this Purpofe the Ground remains ftill unpa- 
 ved by her Order, who daily waiteth for her 
 Diflblution, She brought Mr. Bull five Sons 
 and fix Daughters, and fo proved a fruitful as 
 well as a provident and obedient Wife, which 
 exadly anfwered the Prayer of her Wed ding- 
 Ring, which was, bene parere, parere, parare ' 
 det mihl Deus. 
 
 About this Year 1658, he was prefented to X 
 the Reclory of Suddmgton St. Mary, near Ci- ^v 
 rencefter in GMerfiire,- which being a Living Hfv , 
 
 j\ri 1 ^^r /-i OjemeJ 
 
 under Value, was in the Gift of the Keeper Suddin-toa- 
 of the Seals for the time being, and confe- Sc - 
 <juently at the Difpofal of thofe who at that 
 
 time
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 time were no Friends to the Church of Eng* 
 land; and yet Mr. Butt got the Prefentation, 
 not only without any mean Application to the 
 unlawful Powers then in PofTeffion, but very 
 honeftly and honourably :, the manner where- 
 of was thus : The Lady Pool, who at that time 
 lived at Cirencefter , as Lady of the Mannor 
 of Sudd'mgton, claimed a Right of prefenting 
 to that Living, and having a Refpeft for Mr. 
 Gregory, whofe Daughter Mr. Bull had mar- 
 ried, and a much greater for Mr. Bull himfelf 
 afterwards , as appeared by making him her 
 Executor j (he offered Mr. Bull the Prefenta- 
 tion, which he accepted purely upon her Right j 
 but he had certainly loft it if Mr. Stont of Ci- 
 rencejlsr, a particular Friend of Mr. Gregorys, 
 had not taken out the Broad Seal without 
 Mr. Bull's Knowledge or Privity ^ which he 
 did upon this Occafion. A Clergyman, who 
 knew that Mr. Bull had not a good Title, en- 
 deavoured to get the Broad Seal for his Li- 
 ving :, which he had certainly fucceeded in, if 
 Mr. Stone had not been concerned in the Pre- 
 fentations -, for when that Perfon addrefTed to 
 Mr. Stone for that purpofe, he told him that 
 there was a Minifter lately fettled at Suddington 
 whofe Name was Bull, to which the Party re- 
 plyed, that though he was in PofTeflion, yet 
 he wanted the Legal Title. Upon this Mr. Stone, 
 acquainted him , that though he did not per- 
 fonally know Mr. Bull, yet he was not a Stran- 
 ger to his Character, and having heard that 
 
 he
 
 late Lord Bijkof of St. DavidV, 49 
 
 he had married a Daughter of a good Friend 
 of his, if he had not a good Title he would 
 help him to one , and fo took out the Broad 
 Seal for Mr. Bull, and fent it to Mr. Gregory^ 
 and at the fame time gave him an Account, 
 how much Danger his Son-in-Law had been 
 in ^ and all this Mr. Stone fafr gratis, out of a 
 great Regard and Efteem for Mr. Gregory , 
 which the Providence of God made ufe of for 
 Mr. Bull's Security. 
 
 In theYeaf 1659, the Nation began to be very tit was 
 fenfible of theMifery they had long groaned un- 
 der, and were very earneft to relieve themfelvesy^/, O f a ge 
 from that Oppreflion, which had fo long pre- neral l * 
 vailed among them ^ and there was at that time 
 a general Difpofition all over the- Kingdom rp 
 concert Meafures for the King's Reftoration. 
 There were very few Counties in England y 
 where there was not a formed Undertaking 
 by the moft powerful Men of the County to 
 poflefs themfelves of fome confiderable Place 
 that might be ferviceable to fo good a Purpofe. 
 Several Gentlemen in Mr. Bull's Neighbour-. 
 hood, had frequent Meetings to confult how 
 they might contribute their Share of Advice 
 and Strength towards fettling the Nation upon 
 a right Foundation, by reftoring the Heir of 
 the Kingdom to the Throne of his Anceflors , 
 and Mr. Bull was at that time fo well efteem- 
 ed for his Loyalty and Prudence, .that the 
 Gentlemen admitted him into their Secret, 
 and had that Confidence in his wife Manage- 
 
 E menr,
 
 50 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 ment, as well as in his good Difpofitions to 
 the Church of England, and the Royal Fami- 
 ly , that they fixt upon his Houfe at Sud- 
 dington for one of the Places of their Meet- 
 ing. And accordingly we find from the Hi- 
 flory of thofe times , that in July that Year a 
 general Rendezvous was defigned throughout 
 England, of all who would declare for the 
 King, there having been Cpmmiffions in every 
 County, directed to fix or feven known Men, 
 with Authority to them to choofe one to com- 
 mand in chief in that County, till they (hould 
 make a Conjunction with other Forces who had 
 a fuperior Commiflion from the King. But 
 through the Permiflion of divine Providence, 
 this Undertaking was difappointed, and Sir 
 George Booth y who was the only Perfon among 
 many that were engaged, that made a fuccefT- 
 ful Attempt in feizing upon Chefter, was in a 
 few Days defeated, and himfelf made a Pri- 
 foner. 
 
 HIS preach- Upon the Reftoration Mr. Bull frequently 
 ing at ci- preached at Qrencefier* where there was a po- 
 
 rencefter, , , , -L . , . 
 
 and the Oc - pulous and large Congregation ^ and he was 
 of j t . the better able to give this Affiftance to his Fa- 
 ther-in -Law Mr. Gregory, who by his great 
 Age and Infirmities was difabled from perform- 
 ing the Duties of his Function, becaufe his Pa- 
 riih lay in that Neighbourhood. Here his 
 Sermons gave that general Satisfaction , that 
 upon a Vacancy in that Cure, the People were 
 very felicitous to procure for him the Prefen- 
 
 tation
 
 Idte Lord Bifbop of St. David V. 
 
 ration :, but they could not prevail upon him 
 toconfent to the Endeavours they were making 
 to that Purpofe j the Bufinefs of it was fo 
 great, by reafon of the Largenefs of the Parifh, 
 that he was difcouraged from accepting this 
 Teftimony of their Kindnefs and Refped to- 
 wards him. The Choice of the Subjects which 
 he difcourfed upon at that Place, and in that 
 Conjuncture of publick Affairs , were fo very 
 feafonable, that they had a vifible good Effect 
 upon the Congregation, and made fuch a deep 
 Impreflion that they are remembred by fome 
 Perfons even to this Day. His Defign was to 
 convince the People of the Neceflity of a de- 
 cent Behaviour in the Houfe of God, as well 
 as of the religious Obfervation of the Lord's 
 Day, which he explained and preiTed in feve- 
 ral Sermons, from Leviticus xix. ver. 30. Ye 
 fhatt keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my San- 
 Buary^ I am the Lord. How proper fuch Ap- 
 plications were then to the People, we may 
 colled from the Pofture of Affairs in which 
 we then were-, for the Swarms of Sectaries 
 which over-ran the Nation in the Times of the 
 Great Rebellion had carried their Hypocrify 
 fo high, that upon the Reftoration fome Men 
 thought they could not recede too far from 
 the Behaviour and Practice of thofe Perfons , 
 who had made Religion a Cloak for fo many 
 Villanies. This was apt to expofe Men to the 
 other Extreme, and inclined them to think e- 
 very Appearance of Devotion was puritanical. 
 
 E 2 So
 
 5 2 The Life of Dr. George BuIJ., 
 
 So that nothing could be more proper than fa" 
 guard Peoples Minds from the Temptations to 
 which they were lyable, and by proper Argu- 
 ments to enabk them to refift what was urged 
 againft fome things that were ferious and de- 
 vout, under the Pretence of their being fanati- 
 cal. For though Hypocrify and Prophanefs 
 will both prove deftrudive to thofe that in- 
 dulge them in their Pradice ^ yet barefaced Ir- 
 religion is rnoft pernicious to the Publick. 
 
 .;'*-.; 
 
 In the Year 1662 , Mr. Bull was prefented 
 the Vicaridge of Suddington St. Peter , by 
 then Lord Chancellor the Earl of Claren- 
 at the Requeft and Application of his 
 Patron and worthy Diocefan Dr. A 7 z- 
 cbolfon, who was made Bifhop of Glofter upon 
 the Reftoration, and who had all that Merit 
 which was neceflary to fill fo great a Station 
 in the Church to the beft Advantage , if his 
 Steddynefs to her Dodrines and-Difcipline, in 
 her moft afflided State, had not made it alfo . 
 reafonable that he fhould have had his Share- 
 in her Profperity. This Vicaridge , which 
 was but mean in itfelf , for the yearly Value 
 did not amount to above 25/. yet it was of 
 fome Advantage to Mr. Bull , becaufe it Jay 
 contiguous to the Redory of the fame Name * 
 ef which he was then in Polfeffion^ and it 
 was equally convenient to the Parilhioners of 
 both Parifhes to come to either of the Chur- 
 ches in which he thought fit to officiate - y 
 5 fo
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David' /. 5 3 
 
 fo that he foraetimes preached in one and 
 fometimes in the other. The Income of both 
 thefe Livings together did not rife to above 
 ice /. a Year clear of Taxes, fo that if there 
 was not much Addition to his Labour, there 
 was alfo no great Increafe of his Revenue. 
 But Mr. Bull had a farther Profped in the 
 enjoying thefe two Livings , than the grati- 
 fying his own Intercity for by this Means he 
 purpofed to get them united for the future, 
 and to have them put under the fame Grant , 
 which he thought would very well anfwer the 
 Pains he took to compafs it , and might be a 
 very good piece of Service to the Church. 
 For as they were not too large for one Man's 
 Care, both Parilhes not containing above thir- 
 ty Families, fo by this Union it might be 
 reafonably fuppofed, that a Perfon might be 
 expeded better qualifyed for both when they 
 were joyned together, than could be hoped 
 for when they were feparated for either. The 
 Application he made upon this Account pro- 
 ved very fuccefsful, for the matter being fair- 
 ly reprefented to my Lord Chancellor by his 
 Diocefan , the two Livings were united, and 
 were to pafs under the fame Grant for the 
 future. So that he really may be faid to have 
 been a confiderable Benefador to all thofe In- 
 cumbents who fhall fucceed him in that Be- 
 nefice. He marr ' Kf 
 
 ft f^fiijt) ^/* 
 
 When he fir ft came to the Redory of Sud-^tthkiyby 
 dingion, he began to be more open in the Ufe '&* Form f 
 
 .-, c Common 
 
 & 3 Oi Prayer.
 
 54 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 of the Liturgy of the Church of England, and 
 it was next to impoffible but that it (hould be 
 liked and approved by every one that heard 
 him officiate, for he had a mofl excellent Ta- 
 lent in performing the whole Service, and he 
 was to that degree perfect in it, that I never 
 yet heard him equalled by any one. His 
 whole Deportment was grave and ferious, and 
 had withal an Air of that Authority which 
 belonged to his Fundion 5 his Pronunciation 
 was diftind and audible, and yet natural and 
 unaffeded j he went through every part of 
 the Service with that particular Devotion that 
 belongs to it. He read the holy Scriptures 
 with fuch Leifure, and with fuch Exadnefs, 
 in obferving the Stops and Points, that they 
 were much better underftood by the People ; 
 and yet with that Zeal and Gravity as (hewed 
 the Importance of the Meflage which he de- 
 livered, and fixt the Attention of thofe that 
 were to receive it. He offered up all the 
 Prayers with great Warmth and Intenfenefs 
 of Mind , his very Soul feemed to invigorate 
 every Petition, and to give new Life to e- 
 very Prayer 5 which is certainly one good Me- 
 thod to kindle heavenly Affedions in the 
 Congregation. With thefe Advantages he re- 
 conciled the Minds of his Parifhioners to the 
 Common Prayer, before the Ufe of it was 
 publickly reftored by the Return of King 
 Charles the Second, of which he made a 
 Proof, when he was but newly eflablifhed in 
 
 his
 
 . late Lord Bifhop of St. David V. 
 
 his Cure. For being defired to marry a Couple, 
 he performed it on a Sunday Morning, ac- 
 cording to the Form of the Common Prayer 
 Book, in the Face of the Congregation, where 
 the moft of his Parifhioners were affembled 
 together for the religious Obfervation of that 
 holy Day. When he came out of the Church 
 he enquired of the People how they liked 
 that manner of folemnizing Matrimony, not 
 concealing from them how much it was in 
 their Power to expofe him to a malicious Pro- 
 fecution , and mewing at the fame time the 
 Confidence he placed in their Kindnefs and Af- 
 fection^ upon which they all expreffed their 
 unanimous Approbation of his Performance, 
 declaring not only their Readinefs to fubmit , 
 but alfo their Satisfaction in joyning in thofe 
 Prayers which he ufed in publick, with folemn 
 ^flurances that they would not only make 
 no Complaints of him themfelves , but alfo 
 endeavour to prevent them from others. 
 
 It is poflible this devout and decent reading 
 of the Prayers of the Church, may be looked rrwr 
 upon by forae, as a mean and low Attainment,", 
 and by others as a Burthen and Talk to btfatnmetf, 
 impofed only upon thofe that have not Gifts af '^ff reaf 
 
 r i n i AJ'J 'c Ad-vantage 
 
 for the Pulpit. And indeed, if we may have *<> * 
 leave to guefs at the Thoughts of. fome Men? /r - 
 by their Adions, this ran ft be the Language 
 of their Hearts, for either they feldoiu or ne- 
 ver read the Prayers themfelves, and fo depre- 
 tiate the Worth and Excellency of them with 
 
 E 4 the
 
 5<5 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 the People j as if that Adminiftration were 
 below the Dignity of a Parochial Prieft 5 or 
 they provide Perfons of fuch ordinary and un- 
 fkilful Elocution to officiate in their ftead, as 
 apparently tendeth to damp rather than raife 
 the^ Devotion of the Congregation. But Ex- 
 perience Efficiently convinceth us that this Ac- 
 complifhment is not eafily acquired, becaufe 
 we find there are but few that excel this way j 
 and nothing ought to be accounted mean, 
 that is fo inftrumentai in promoting Devotion 
 in the Hearts and Affeftions of Men. And if 
 any one will attempt in earned to make him- 
 fclf Mafler of this Talent, he will find that 
 it will coft him much Labour and Pains before 
 he can compafs it-, for all are not equally 
 bleft by Nature with Strength and Sweetnefs 
 of Voice - 9 and yet they ought not to be difcou- 
 raged if they want thofe Advantages, becaufe 
 Elocution is capable of great Improvement by 
 Study and conftant Practice. But after all , 
 thofe who cannot read as becometh the Ser- 
 vice of God, ought to be rejected as unfit up- 
 on that Account to receive holy Orders , for 
 though a Man hath the Underftanding of an 
 Angel, yet if he hath no Voice, or at Jeaft if 
 it is fo low, and fo imperfed, that it cannot 
 either convey his Thoughts to the People, or 
 officiate to Edification in the Service of the 
 Church, fo far he is unqualified to be admit- 
 ted into the facred Function. What a dread- 
 ful Account then will thofe Governors in the 
 
 Churcfy
 
 late Lord fyfbof of St. David'/. 
 
 Church have to give at the Day of Judgment, 
 who ordain fuch for Deacons as by their Ad- 
 miniftrations quench the Devotion of the Peo- 
 ple, and provoke our Adverfaries to reproach 
 us j and by their Incapacity to read, make the 
 Scripture a dead Letter, and the admirable Li- 
 turgy of the Church a contemptible Perfor- 
 mance. 
 
 But though he thus excelled in difcharging XIII, 
 all the Offices of the Liturgy, yet he did not 
 (hine lefs in the Pulpit , from whence he did **** 
 for feveral Years indraft his Parifti twice eve-JJ 
 ry Lord's Day. The great End and Defign ofqucncy of it, 
 his Sermons, for I have often heard him with 
 great Pleafure and Edification , was to ac- 
 quaint his People with the Knowledge of the 
 holy Scriptures, which were able to make them 
 wife unto Salvation -, and therefore all Subjects 
 which he handled, were always ftrengthened 
 and confirmed by Patfages from holy Writ, and 
 thofe Patfages explained and made eafy to the 
 Capacity of the meaneit Underftanding , and 
 fuch ufeful Obfervations drawn from them, 
 as gave frem Light to his Subjeft, as well as 
 to thofe Texts he had quoted in order to il- 
 luftrate it. And indeed , he was every way 
 qualified for this proper Employment of a Chri- 
 ftian Preacher j for as he had a clear Head and 
 a ft rong Judgment, fo he did with great Accu- 
 racy underftand thofe learned Languages 
 wherein the Bible was originally wrote , he 
 
 hac}
 
 58 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 had taken no finall Pains in his Youth to make 
 himfelf Matter of the Hebrew^ for he did not 
 content himfelf with a flight and fuperiicial 
 Skill in a Language, which he thought fo ne- 
 ceflary for a Divine, and upon which he laid 
 fuch weight, that it was very ufual with him 
 to recommend the Study of it to the Candi- 
 dates of Divinity, as a Foundation for their 
 future Theological Performances. And in his 
 Harnwma Apoftolica^ which was the very firft 
 Book he poblimed, he gave the World a fuf- 
 jficient Evidence of his Knowledge of this kind } 
 and not only of his Acquaintance with the 
 Hebrew Text, and the beft Criticks thereup- 
 on, but alfo of a much deeper Infight into the 
 Jewifli Learning, by his Familiarity with, and 
 accurate Judgment concerning the Cuftoms 
 and Dogmata of that Nation , from their 
 beft Writers. By thefe means he was able 
 himfelf to make a Judgment of the Tranfla- 
 tions of the holy Scriptures, and inftead of an 
 implicite Submiffion to the Criticks, was qua- 
 lified to difcover their Errors, as well as to 
 admire their Perfections ^ which maketh it ve- 
 ry advifeable that all thofe who dedicate them- 
 felves to the Service of the Church, fhould 
 . allow the Hebrew Language a Share in their 
 Studies. To thefe Helps were added a Know- 
 ledge of facred ttiftory as well as prophane, 
 and an Infight into thofe Cuftoms, to which 
 feveral parts of Scripture frequently refer, and 
 without the undemanding of which, it is often 
 2 impoffible
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. DavidV. 
 
 impoflible to difcern the Strength and Beauty 
 of what is delivered. But above all, he was 
 thoroughly acquainted with primitive Anti- 
 quity, and had with great Care and Obferva- 
 tion read the Works of the Fathers and anci- 
 ent Dodors , from whence he was beft able 
 to learn the Senfe of the Catholick Church 
 upon all Matters of Confequence , which 
 is the beft Guide in interpreting thofe Scri- 
 ptures which are not plain in themfelves. 
 
 It was but feldom, and that upon fome ex- 
 traordinary Occafions , that he compofed his 
 Sermon entire and committed it to Writing , b 
 which is the reafon that he hath left fo few 
 finimed Difcourfes behind him. His ufual 
 Method was after the choice of his Text, to 
 mark fome Words that were to be explained, 
 in order to give the true Senfe of that Porti- 
 on of Scripture he had chofe to treat upon} 
 and then he writ down fome Obfervations , 
 which flowed naturally from the Subject, and 
 under each Obfervation hints to illuftrate it , 
 and Texts of Scripture proper to be explained 
 in order to give Light to it, and then drew 
 Inferences from his whole Difcourfe by way 
 of Application. Thus he had only the Scheme 
 of his Sermon before him in Writing, and ha- 
 ving in this manner fecured the Subfhnce of 
 it, he did by Cuftom and Praclice bring him- 
 feif to a great Readinefs and Fluency in ex- 
 prefling himfelf upon all Subjefts :, and if this 
 ipanner of preaching wanted the exacrnefs of 
 
 more
 
 60 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 more ftudied Compofures, it had the Advan- 
 tage of that popular Style, which by good 
 Judges hath been thought the fnreft for the 
 Pulpit , from whence, if Men defign to influ- 
 ence and perfuade the generality of their 
 Hearers, they mud condefcend to ufe more 
 Words than are necefTary in a ftrift Senfe ^ 
 the fame thing muft be repeated often, and 
 turned after a different manner, and inculca- 
 ted with Force, fo that frefh and lafting Im- 
 prefllons may be made upon the Audience. 
 What Mr. Bull delivered of this Kind , never 
 wanted a becoming Fervour, and he enliven- 
 ed his Difcourfes with proper and decent Ge- 
 flures ^ and his Voice was always exerted with 
 fome Vehemency, whereby he kept the Audi- 
 ence awake, and raifed their Attention to 
 what he delivered, and perfuaded the People 
 that he was in Earned, and affecled himfelf 
 with what he recommended to others. By 
 thefe means he laboured many Years in teach- 
 ing the Ignorant, in confirming the Weak, 
 in quieting the Scrupulous, in foftning the hard 
 Heart, in rouzing the Sinner, and in railing 
 the pious Soul to a fteady and vigorous Purfuit 
 ; of eternal Happinefs. And whatever he deli- 
 vered, his Words were generally fixt in the 
 Micds of his Hearers, as they parted from his 
 own full of Warmth and Heat. 
 
 Mr. Bull was too fenlible of the Neceffity and 
 Advantage of Catechifing, to negleft an Infti- 
 turion Which hath fo direft a tendency to pro- 
 mote
 
 late Lord Bijkop of St. DavidV. 
 
 mote Piety and Religion in the Minds of Men. 
 The Inftrudions from the Pulpit very often 
 mifcarry for want of laying a good Founda- 
 tion in the firft Principles of Religion, and 
 from not underftanding^ the meaning of thofe 
 Words and Phrafes which fo frequently occur 
 in fet and formed Difcourfes , and it is a vain 
 Attempt to reform the World, without feafon- 
 ing the Minds of the Youth with that necefiary 
 Knowledge of the Chriftian Myfteries, upon 
 which all religious Practice muft be built. He 
 laboured therefore particularly in this Pro- 
 vince , and did not content himfelf barely to 
 hear the Youth repeat the Words of our ex- 
 cellent Catechifm, but he expounded it to 
 them after a plain and familiar Manner, where- 
 by he did not only fow the good Seed of the 
 Word in young and tender Minds , but alfo 
 enlightned thofe of riper Years, whom he en- 
 couraged and exhorted to be prefent at his ca- 
 techetical Performances, and who were too 
 much afhamed of their Ignorance to overcome 
 it by any other Methods. God was pleafed 
 fo far to blefs his Endeavours of this Kind , 
 that he carried fifty Perfons well inftruded in 
 the Principles of Chriftian Religion at one 
 . time to the Vifltation at Cirencejler^ who were 
 all confirmed by the Bifhop, when his whole. 
 Parifti did not confift of above thirty Fa- 
 milies. 
 
 He adminiftred the Sacraments of our ho- Encharifl t 
 ly Religion with great Reverence and Solem-*?!f d ^ 
 
 . ntjlrea by 
 
 mty j fa
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 nity j The holy Eucharift, the myfterious 
 Rite and Perfection of Chriftian Worfhip, was 
 not performed fo often in this Parilh, as he 
 earneftly defired ^ and yet oftner than is ufual 
 in little Villages , for he brought it to feven 
 times in a Year. But whenever he officiated 
 at the Altar, it was exadly agreeable to the 
 Directions of the Rubrick, and with the Gra- 
 vity and Serioufnefs of a primitive Prieft. 
 He preferved the Cuftom of a Collection for 
 the Poor , when the Prieft begins the Offer- 
 tory, which I the rather mention, becaufe it 
 is too much neglecled in Country Villages. 
 Me always placed the Elements of Bread and 
 Wine upon the Altar himfelf, after he had re- 
 ceived them either from the Church- Warden or 
 Clerk, or had taken them from fome conveni- 
 ent place where they were laid for that pur- 
 pofe. His conftant Practice was to offer them 
 upon the holy Table , in the firft place , in 
 conformity to the Practice of the ancient 
 Church, before he began the Communion Ser- 
 vice -, and this the Rubrick, after the Offer- 
 tory, feemeth to require of all her Priefts , 
 by declaring, " That when there is a Com- 
 " munion, the Prieft mall then place upon 
 " the Table fo much Bread and Wine as he 
 " ihall think fufficient." He was always very 
 unwilling to adminifter Baptifm in private 
 Houfes, except in Cafes of Neceffity, when 
 the Church for a greater Good thinketh fit to 
 difpenfe with her own Laws. And therefore 
 
 he
 
 late Lord Biflbop of St. David V. 
 
 he not only admonifhed Parents to bring their 
 Children to receive publick Baptifm, but ac- 
 cording to the Advice laid down in the Ru- 
 brick, that the Performance might be more 
 folemn, he defired it might be on Sundays or 
 other holy Days, when the greateft Number 
 of People were met together , That the Con- 
 gregation might teftifie the receiving of them 
 that are newly baptized into the Number of 
 Chrift's Church 5 and that every Man prefent 
 in the Baptifm of Infants might be put in Re- 
 membrance of his own Profeffion made to God 
 in that Sacrament. He urged this with the 
 greater Importunity upon his Parifhioners, that 
 the Infant to be baptized might thereby have 
 the Benefit of the united Prayers of a full 
 Chriftian Congregation, which he thought 
 were much to be valued. An Argument 
 which could not fail to have a great Influence 
 upon Parents, who feldome want great Ten- 
 dernefs and Affeftion for their Children ^ 
 though fometimes they are not well inflrucled 
 how to exercife it. 
 
 It is provided by the Kubrick after tbe 
 faying the Nicene Creed on Sundays, " That 
 " the Curate (hall declare unto the People , 
 " what Holy-days or Fafting-days are in the chtacb 
 " Week following to be obferved : " And 
 this Direction is enforced by the (ixty fourth 
 Canon of the Eccleiiaftical Conftitutions made 
 by the Convocation in 1603. Now Mi. Bull 
 did not fatisfie himfelf only with giving this 
 
 Notice
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Notice to his Parifhioners, which he could not 
 well omit without negle&ing his Duty , but 
 he led them to the Obfervation of fuch holy 
 Inftitutions by his own Example. For he had 
 fo far a Regard to thefe Holy-days, as to caufe 
 all his Family to repair to the Church at fuch 
 Times ^ and on the Days of Fading and Ab- 
 flinence , the neceffary Refrefhments of Life 
 were adjourned from the ufual Hour till to- 
 wards the Evening. He was too well ac- 
 quainted with the Pradice of the primitive 
 Ghriftians to negleft fuch Obfervances as they 
 made inftrumental to Piety and Devotion, and 
 had too great a Value for the Injunctions of 
 his Mother, the Church of England, to difo- 
 bey where (he required a Compliance j But 
 above all, he was too intent upon making ad- 
 vances in the Chriftian Life, to omit a Duty 
 all along obferved by devout Men, and acce- 
 ptable to God under the Old and New Tefta- 
 ment, both as it was helpful to their Dsvo- 
 tion, and became a part of it. I muft not 
 here forget to take notice of the particular 
 Regard he always paid to Good-Friday, called 
 by the ancient Fathers, The chief and greatejl 
 of Days, the Miftrefs of all Solemnities, the 
 holy and adorable Day of our Lord's faint ay 
 Paffion. It is very difficult in Country Villa- 
 ges to prevail on People to attend the pub- 
 lick Worfhip upon any Week-day, by reafon 
 of that conftant Application wherewith they 
 follow their worldly Affairs \ but in order to 
 
 perfuade
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David'/. 65 
 
 perfuade his Parifliioners to a ftricl Obfervation 
 of this great Chriftian Faft, he always had a 
 Sermon befides the Service of the Church to 
 bring them together, and as long as he was 
 able, he was no lefs conftant in preaching it 
 himfelf. The Senfe of our Saviour's Suffer- 
 ings were on fuch Occafions warm upon his 
 Mind, and he never failed at fuch Times to 
 work upon the tender Paffions of his Hearers, 
 fince it was the Sins of Mankind that drew 
 upon the blelTed Jefits the painful and fhame- 
 ful Death of the Crofs. And what Preacher 
 would neglect fo favourable an Opportunity, 
 to advance the Love of his dear Redeemer in the 
 Minds of Men, by a lively Reprefentation of 
 thofe inexpreflible Sorrows which he fuffered 
 in his laft bitter Pafiion for the Salvation of 
 Souls. 
 
 If we follow Mr. Bull from the Performance XIV. 
 of his paftoral Duties into his own Family, ^^^ 
 and confider him as the Matter that governs The rdigi 
 it , we-fhall ftill rind him afted by Principles 
 of true Piety 3 and indeed, as the Apoftle ob- 
 ferveth, If a Man know not how to rule his own 
 Hbtlfe, how ftall he take care of the Church of 
 God ? If he hath not a true concern for the 
 Souls of his Wife and Children and Servants, 
 and doth not make ufe of all favourable Op- 
 portunities to inftil the Fear of God into their 
 Minds $ how is it pofTible he mould have Zeal 
 enough to fet forward the Salvation of others, 
 
 F where
 
 66 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 where the Obligations are lefs , and the En- 
 dearments weaker > But in this particular, as 
 well as in many others , Mr. Butt approved 
 himfelf to be a Workman that needeth not to be 
 afiatned i for he cxercifed a pious Care in 
 training up thofe under his Charge in the 
 Worfhip and Service of God. Every Morning 
 and every Evening the Family were called to- 
 gether to offer up their Prayers to their great 
 Creator and Preferver. This is a Duty certain- 
 ly incumbent upon all Matters of Families , 
 becaufe it tendeth fo very much to the Glory 
 of God, and the Welfare of thofe under their 
 Government , but more particularly belong- 
 eth to a Clergyman from the Nature of his 
 Fundion, fo that if he negledeth this Morn- 
 ing and Evening Sacrifice, it is a fhrewd Sign 
 that his Mind hath but a fmall Tindure of 
 true Religion, and that he hath no great Re- 
 gard to his own Fundion. 
 
 Upon thefe Occaiions Mr. Bui/ did not give 
 hirafelf the liberty of ufing Prayers of his own 
 compering, though he was very well qualified 
 for what is called extempore Prayer, if he would 
 have ventured upon fuch a prefumptuous Un- 
 dertaking in publick, for he had great Quicknefs 
 of Thought, and could exprefs the defires of 
 his Soul in a very decent and affeding manner , 
 but he efteemed the praying by a Form, the 
 fafeft and beft Method to fecure Devotion. 
 Thofe he ufed were either compofed by Bi- 
 fhop Taylor > or, of late Years, were taken out 
 
 of
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David V. 6-j 
 
 of the Cowmon-Prayer-Book the b eft Companion, 
 and on Wednefdays and Fridays the Litany 
 Office. A Portion of Scripture was read at 
 the fame time , and when the Nature of the 
 Subjed, or the Difficulty of the Place requi- 
 red it, he would expound feveral PaiTages as 
 they were read , and very often, after Prayers 
 were ended before the Family was difmift, he 
 would make fome Remarks upon them. A 
 Method very edifying, and tending to the Im- 
 provement of thofe under his Care, which by 
 degrees muft enter them into the true Senfe of 
 the holy Scriptures, and give them a right Tafte 
 and Relifh for thofe infpired Writings. Upon 
 Sunday Evenings there was the addition of a 
 Chapter out of that excellent Book, The whole 
 Duty of Man^ than which we have none more 
 fit for general and conftant Ufe , -and this was 
 for the farther Inflrudion of his Family, 
 particularly of thofe , who had been deprived 
 of going to Church , by reafon of the necef- 
 fary Services of the Houfe. 
 
 His conjugal Affedion difcovered itfelf notjb 
 much in fond Words and Expreffions, as in per- 
 forming all thofe fubftantial Duties to which the 
 Vow of Matrimony obligeth j in conjugal Cha- 
 ftity, and in his tender Care of his Wife in times 
 of Sicknefs, upon which Occafions he never fail- 
 ed to exprefs the deepeft Concern , and fpared 
 no Expence to procure her Recovery. His 
 paternal Love difplayed it felf in the religious 
 Education of his Children, he took care to 
 
 F 2 train
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 train them up in the Ways of Piety and Virtue, 
 and brought them into an early acquaintance 
 with the Principles of Chriftianity ', and did not 
 neglect that Correction of them which hisNature 
 .was averfe to, but which his Reafon and Judg- 
 ment obliged him to comply with, as neceiTary 
 to fecure their Education. And therefore when 
 he did not fpare the Rod for the Good of his 
 Child, he was fure to differ more Pain than what 
 he inflided. Befideshe beftowed no fmall pains 
 upon the Inftruction of his Son, Mr. George 
 Bull, who had few Equals for his Piety and 
 Learning, of whom we (hall have a forrowful 
 Occafion to fpeak hereafter , now he had little 
 or no teaching before he went to the Univer- 
 (ity, but what he received from his Father. 
 And though his Wife and Children were his 
 principal Concern, yet his Servants were not 
 neglected, for they were part of his Charge, 
 and therefore he expected to be accountable to 
 God for them. If any in that Rank could not 
 read , he would affign one of the Family to 
 be their Teacher, with Orders to inftruct them 
 in the Principles of Religion , whereby great 
 Good was done to both, fince there is a Re- 
 ward prepared for the Charity of the Teacher, 
 as well as for the Improvements of the 
 Difciple. The neglect of any of his own Af- 
 fairs from his Servants, never provoked him 
 fo much as their abfence from Prayers in the 
 Family -, and nothing but abfolute Necefiity 
 
 was admitted as a juftifiable Excufe, 
 
 J But
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David V. 69 
 
 But the better to judge of the Character offf 
 his Devotion, we muft enter with him into Devotlons 
 his Clofet, and obferve the Frame of his 
 Mind in the common and ordinary Occurren- 
 ces of Life. There is great reafon to believe 
 that he was very frequent in his private Pray- 
 ers, and by his rifing early and going to Bed 
 late, he fecured Retirement fufficient for that 
 purpofe. Befides they who lay near his Study, 
 made difcoveries of that Nature from the 
 Warmth and Fervour and Importunity ufed in 
 his fpiritual Exercifes, when he thought all 
 the Family fafe at reft -, and the way he took 
 fometimes to exprefs the pious and devout 
 Affe&ions of his Mind by finging of Pfalms, 
 made it more difficult to be concealed. It is 
 true indeed, that he hath left no Compofitions 
 jof this kind behind him, which raaketh it 
 reafonable to fuppofe, that in his Clofet he 
 gave the defires of his Soul a freer Vent, and 
 that when he converfed with God alone, he 
 prefented him with the natural Language of 
 the Heart, which he chiefly regards , and how 
 well he was fitted and qualified to perform this 
 after an excellent manner, hath been already 
 declared. And after all , he had fo lively a 
 Senfe of his own Inability to difcharge the 
 important Duties of his holy Function, and fp 
 great a Zeal to promote the Salvation of thofe 
 Souls, which were committed to his Charge, 
 jthat it is not to be wondred if he was very ear- 
 neft with God in private for the continual Sup- 
 
 F 3 .
 
 70 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 plies of his Grace to ftrengthen and invigorate 
 his beft Endeavours, and that all his Flock 
 might be filled with the Knowledge of God's 
 Will in all Wifdora and fpiritual Underftand- 
 ing, that they might walk worthy of the 
 Lord unto all pleafing, being fruitful in eve- 
 rv <*ood Work, and encreafing in the Know- 
 ~ c f God. It is a true Obfervation of that 
 judicious Prelate, Bifliop Sanderfon, * " That 
 6 the Kingdom of God muft fufter Violence , 
 ' and that the People will not ordinarily be 
 brought into it without fome Force : But 
 1 let me tell you, faith that great Divine, it 
 : is not fo much the Violence of the Pulpit 
 4 that doth the Deed, as the Violence of the 
 " Clofet." For though Paul pJanteth, and 
 Apollos watereth, it is God that giveth the 
 Increafe. So that in order to make the fpiri- 
 tual Building perfed, the wife Paftor muft be 
 as inftant with God to fecure^his Flock, as he 
 is importunate with them to work out their 
 own Salvation } he muft without ceafing pray 
 for them as well as inftrud them, whereby his 
 Labours will bring more Comfort to himfelf, 
 as well as more Profit to his Hearers. 
 iom The conftant Frame and Temper of his 
 Fran-..- and Mind was fo truly devout, that he would 
 frequently in the Day-time , as occafion of r 
 fered, life fhort Prayers and Ejaculations, the 
 natural Breathings of pious Souls *, and when 
 
 * Yol. Strm. fol. p. 4^4. 
 
 -
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. Da vid V. 7 r 
 
 he was fitting in filence in his Family, and 
 they, as he thought, intent upon other Matters, 
 he would often with an inexpreflible Air of 
 great Serioufnefs lift up his Hands and Eyes 
 to Heaven, and fomedmes drop Tears. And 
 as a farther Evidence of this true Chriftian 
 Frame of Spirit, he took great delight in dif- 
 courfing of the things of God, particularly 
 of his Love and Mercy in the daily Inftances 
 of his watchful Providence over poor Man- 
 kind, and the right ufe that ought to be made 
 of it. He would often recount to thofe he 
 converfed with the Wonders of divine Good- 
 nefs already vouchfafed to himfelf and his 
 Friends 5 their happy and amazing Efcapes 
 out of feveral forts of Dangers , their unex- 
 pected good Succefs, not without rejoycing in 
 the Lord -, and inviting others to tell what 
 God had done for them , of which he would 
 make a noble Ufe by way of religious Inte- , 
 rence and Exhortation, till he made the Hearts 
 of his Hearers burn within them. And in- 
 deed, they who can pafs all the Hours of their 
 Converfation, which takes up fo great a part 
 of their Lives, without making any Reflecti- 
 ons of this Nature , for fear of the Lam of 
 fome fcoffing Wits, who are apt to call it 
 Canting:, appear to me to want that Senfe of 
 a Deity upon their Minds, which is necefiary 
 to make them ferious. I am fure in all other 
 Cafes where our Heads and Hearts are enga- 
 ged, we naturally difcover it by our Tongues j 
 
 F 4 for
 
 7 * The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 for out of the Abundance of the Heart the 
 Mouth fpeaketb - t and it is difficult not to run 
 into fuch Difcourfe as is ready prepared for us 
 by the conftant Application of our Thoughts. 
 And therefore I think we may fafely conclude, 
 that whoever maketh Religion his main Bufi- 
 nefs, and loyeth God above all , cannot be 
 better entertained in Converfation than by 
 fuch Topicks which tend to cultivate and pro- 
 mote Piety, and every thing that is Praife- 
 worthy , neither will fuch an one readily o- 
 mit any reafonable Occafion that offers itfelf 
 to advance and inftil the Senfe of Religion in- 
 to the Minds of others. 
 ffis rim Before I quit this Head of his private De- 
 
 ofPfjlmsin . r^ n i ur <-1-,^. 
 
 his private yotions , I muft beg leave, to obierve, that 
 Devotions, finging the Praifes of God, made a part of his 
 fpiritual Exercifes in his Retirement, which 
 he chofeto celebrate in the Words of the Roy- 
 al Pfalmift, as tranflated into Meeter for that 
 purpofe. A Duty recommended by St. Paul 
 in feveral of his Epiftles , and yet how few 
 can be prevailed upon to joyn in ^Pfalmody, 
 when it is made a part of the publick Service 
 of the Church? And (till there are fewer who 
 perform it with that Intenfenefs of Mind, and 
 Application of Thought, and Reverence ofPo- 
 fture, as fuch a folemn part of Worfhip requireth 
 from us 5 where the great Majefty of Heaven 
 and Earth is the ObjecT: we addrefs to, _and 
 where the Acknowledgment of his infinite 
 Perfections, and Thankfulnefs for the Mercies 
 
 w'e
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David'/. 73 
 
 we receive , is the Worfljip we defign to pay. 
 It is very fit indeed, that this part of the pub- 
 lick Service ftiould have all the Advantage i- 
 maginable of agreeable Harmony , coniifting 
 both in Voices and mufical Inftruments , be- 
 caufe we ought to offer to God that which is 
 mod excellent in its kind. But however it 
 muft be remembred that thefe are onJy to be 
 ufed as Helps to raife our Souls to* a higher, 
 pitch of Devotion, and are of no Value in the 
 Sight of God , any farther than they exprefs 
 the Gratitude of our Hearts , for if we per- 
 mit our felves to dwell too much upon the 
 Skill of the Performance , and fuffer our 
 minds by the Pleafure of the Ear to be carried 
 away from a ferious Attention to the matter, 
 the religious Wordiip of it will begin to fink$ 
 and though there may be Melody in the Compo- 
 fit ion, yet by this means there will be none in the 
 Heait , which God chiefly regards. But the 
 Generality of thpfe who do not joyn in the 
 Tinging of Pfabtis, and who are otherwife ve- 
 ry ferious , excufe themfelves from the bad 
 Poetry of the old Verfion, wherein there are 
 feveral old Wprds ufed which are now out of 
 date, and feveral odd Piirafes that give them 
 great Offence. Now though this Objection 
 doth affeft only fome parts of r.he Verfion if it 
 fhould be allowed to have its full weight, yet 
 certainly it is no great argument of a devout 
 Mind, to be diverted by little things from a 
 Duty fubftanfially good in itfelf. 
 
 But
 
 74 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 But notwithfta nding thefe Objections, the 
 oi>r- exce ^ eRt Bifhop Beveridge hath defended the 
 defen- Old Verfion in a particular * Difcourfe upon 
 Beve. tnat Subjed -, and after having impartially 
 e. weighed it and compared it with the New, 
 giveth it by much the Preference } as keeping 
 clofer to the Senfe of the original Text, and 
 by being compofed in a plain and low Style, 
 as lying more level to the Capacities of the 
 Common People, who are far the greateft part 
 of the Kingdom. That as to the old Words, 
 they are few, and eafily explained, and purely 
 Englijh^ whereas the Style of the new Verlion 
 Is much more unintelligible to the Vulgar by a 
 great mixture of Words derived from the La- 
 tin, French and Greek, and often rather a Para- 
 phrafe upon the Text than the Text itfelf. 
 And J wifh the Authority of this great Man 
 may prevail as much now he is dead, as his 
 Example did while alive, in this matter which 
 we are now confidering, for 1 have with Plea- 
 fure beheld the Conformity of the whole Con- 
 gregation to his own devout Practice , who 
 conftantly flood with Reverence while he fung 
 the Praifes of God , and when he went into 
 the Pulpit, he neither altered his Pofture, nor 
 forbore to joyn with the Congregation till the 
 Pfalm was finifhed. 
 
 * A Defence of the Book of Pfalms , coilefted into Englifb 
 Metre by Thomas SternhotJ, John ffoptyns, and others, with cri- 
 tical Obfervations on the new Yerfion compared with che old. 
 Printed for R. Smith , 1710. 
 
 And
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David V. 75 
 
 And now I have named this great and good fbe cbara- 
 Man, I cannot forbear acknowledging the 
 vourable Difpenfation of Providence to the 
 Age in which we live, in bleffing it with fo 
 many of thofe pious Difcourfes, which this 
 truly primitive Prelate delivered from the 
 Pulpit : And I the rather take the Liberty to call* 
 it a favourable Difpenfation of Providence, be- 
 caufe he gave no Orders himfelf that they fhould 
 be printed } but humbly neglected them , as 
 not being compofed for the Prefs. But this 
 Circu iftance is fo far from abating the Worth 
 of the Sermons, or diminiming the Character of 
 the Author, that to me it feemeth to raife the 
 Excellency of both , becaufe it fheweth at 
 once the true Nature of a popular Difcourfe, 
 and the great Talent this Prelate had that way. 
 For to improve the Generality of Hearers, 
 tiny muft be taught all the Myfteries of Cnri- 
 ftianiry , and the holy Inflitutions belonging 
 to it-, (ince it is upon this true Foundation, 
 that the Practice of Chriftian Vertues mufi be 
 bui. 1 :, to make them acceptable iirthe fight of 
 Cod. And then all this muft be delivered to 
 the People in fo plain and intelligible a Style, 
 tint they may eafily comprehend it ^ and it muft 
 be addrH y -\ to them in fo affeding and mo- 
 ving a manner, that their Paffiocs may be 
 winded to a vigorous Profecmion of what is 
 t -:.r. If I miltake not, the Sermons of this 
 learned Bithop an fiver this Character 5 and I 
 am confirmed hi this Opinion by thejudgment 
 
 of
 
 7 <5 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 of thofe who are allowed to have the greateft 
 Talents for the Pulpit, as well as for all other 
 parts of Learning. He had a way of gain- 
 ing Peoples Hearts , and touching their 
 Confciences, which bore fome Refemblance to 
 the Apoftolical Age-, and when it fhall appear 
 that thofe bright Preachers, who have been 
 ready to throw Contempt upon his Lordfhip's 
 Performances, can fet forth as large a Lift of 
 Perfons whom they have converted by their 
 preaching, as I could produce of thofe who 
 owed the Change of their Lives, under God, 
 to the ChrifKan Inftructions of this pious Pre- 
 late, I (hall readily own that they are fupe* 
 rior to his Lordfhip in the Pulpit. Though 
 confidering what learned Works he pub- 
 lifhed in the Caufe of Religion, and what 
 an eminent Pattern he was of true primitive 
 Piety, I am not inclined to think, that his 
 Lordmip will upon the whole of his Chara- 
 der be eafily equalled by any one. But tg 
 proceed, 
 
 XV. In the governing this Parifh of Suddington, 
 Mr. Bull obferved the fame Method which he 
 Bull** had prefcribed to himfelf in that of St.Georgis 
 
 nin near Briftol, whicn hath been already mentio- 
 ). ned. And certainly nothing could better an- 
 fwer the End and Defign of his Function than 
 a conftantWatch over the Condud of his Flock ; 
 that the Seed he fowed in fuch Plenty, ? might 
 not be fcattered by the Winds of violent Temp- 
 tations,
 
 late Lord Bifiop &f St. David'/. 77 
 
 tations, nor be deftroyed by the evil One who 
 goeth about feeking whom he may devour. This 
 perfonal Acquaintance of a Minifter with his 
 rarimioners will give him a great Advantage 
 in forwarding their fpiritual Welfare, provi- 
 ded it is chiefly employed to that purpofe* 
 For befides that Profit which redoundeth to 
 them from the thing itfelf, this tender and 
 compaflionate Regard towards the People, will 
 create in them a great Love for his Perfon , 
 and a chearful Attendance upon his Miniftry, 
 which are admirable Difpofitions to prepare 
 the Mind for Inftruclion. And I think no 
 Man ought to be deterred from attempting 
 this, becaufe fome inconfiderate Minds cenfure 
 it as an Affectation of Popularity 5 for to en- 
 deavour to procure the Love and good Will 
 of the Pariftuoners , is fo far from being a 
 Fault in a Parifti Prieft, that I look upon it as 
 his Duty, it being the likelieft means to make 
 his Labours among them effectual. All the 
 Mifchief of Popularity is, when Men betray 
 their Confciences rather than difpleafe Meri^ 
 and facrifice their Duty to the Breath of the 
 People, when by mean and unworthy Arts 
 they court that Applaule which is only due to 
 Merit j and rather than forfeit the Favour of 
 the Lord of a Manner, comply with him in 
 his Follies , and yield to his facrilegioiis Iri- 
 croachments. But there is no Danger that a 
 Clergyman,who underftandeth the weight of his 
 Emplpyment, and hath a Zeal for the Salva- 
 tion
 
 78 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 tion of Souls, will ever vouchfafe to be popu- 
 lar upon fuch Terms. 
 
 But to excite all the parochial Clergy to 
 this Watchfulnefs over the Conduft of their 
 Flock :, they have a Pattern of it in the High 
 Prieft of ourProfeffion, the blefTed Jefus, who 
 with particular Afliduity applied himfelf to 
 form and preferve thofe Difciples which his Fa- 
 ther had committed to his Care. He lived a- 
 mong them , fupporting all their Weaknefs, 
 and compaffionating their Infirmities, he in- 
 Itrufted them in publick and in private, and 
 hid no Truth from them which might be pro- 
 fitable for them, and which they were able to 
 bear He hardly fuffered them out of his 
 fight but when he retired into fome Solitude, 
 and then he remerabred them in his Prayers. 
 This Love and Care of his Difciples appeared 
 not only in thofe his AddrefTes to Heaven, 
 which preceded his Paffion, but when he was 
 delivered into the Hands of his Enemies, he 
 feemed to forget himfelf in refpeft of them, If 
 you feek me, faith he, let theft go their way j 
 as if he had been concerned for nothing fo 
 much as the Prefervatipn of his Difciples^ 
 notwithftanding his Bonds , and the Violence 
 of his Perfecutors, he did not forget his chief 
 Apoflle, but reached -forth his Hand to raife 
 him from his unhappy Fall, fulfilling to the 
 laft thofe Words of Scripture , Having loved 
 his own he loved them unw the end. 
 
 While
 
 late Lord Bi/lop of St. David V. 79 
 
 While Mr. Bull was Reftor of Suddington He cnfrm 
 the Providence of God gave him anOpportu-^^jf* 
 nity of fixing two Ladies of Quality, in that WK / 
 Neighbourhood, in the Proteftant Communi- '? w Reli - 
 
 1 1 J 1_ J J ., & l0n * 
 
 on j who had been Deduced to a very wavering 
 State of Mind, by the Arts and Subtleties of 
 fomelfow/yi&Miffionaries. Their fpecious Pre- 
 tences to Antiquity were eafily deteded by this 
 great Matter of the ancient Fathers j and by 
 his thorough Acquaintance with Scripture, and 
 the Senfe of the Catholick Church, in matters 
 of the greateft Importance, he was able to di- 
 ttinguim between primitive Truths, and thofe 
 Errors which the Church of Rome built upon 
 them. He had frequent Conferences with 
 both thefe Ladies , and anfwered thofe Obje- 
 ctions which appeared to them to have the 
 greateft Strength, and by which they were ve- 
 ry near falling from their Stedfaftnefs ^ for one 
 of them he writ a fmall Treatife, which (he 
 had requefted from him, but no Copy of it is 
 to be found among thofe Papers he left be- 
 hind him j nothing remaineth of it but the Re- 
 membrance that it was written, and th_, he 
 did thereby fucceed in eftablifhing the Lady 
 in the Communion of die Church of England. 
 Both the Ladies always owned with the grea- 
 teft Senfe of Gratitude this fignal Service they 
 received from the Learning and Capacity of 
 Mr. Bull. IS one can well apprehend how grie- 
 vous a State of human Life Doubt is in matters 
 of Confequence, but they who feel it j md 
 2 there-
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 therefore no wonder if they bleft that happy 
 Inftrument, which conveyed frefh Light into 
 their Minds, and cleared up thofe Uncertain- 
 ties they laboured Under in reference to mat- 
 ters of the greateft moment. The Method 
 indeed they took was prudent and Chriftian, 
 to feek for Knowledge at thofe Lips which arc 
 appointed to preferve it, and to bring their 
 Doubts to their own Pallors before they fub- 
 mit to the Authority of others. And I que- 
 ftion not but for this Reafon , among many, 
 God thought fit to give them the Satisfaction 
 they fought for j and if others who are afTaul- 
 ted after this manner would take the fame 
 Courfe, I doubt not but that they would find 
 the fame Sticcefs. 
 
 The only Difienters he had in this Parifh 
 were Quakers, who refilled all the Endeavours 
 
 he madC t0 brill thCm int thC CllUrch ' f r 
 
 they were as obftinate as they were ignorant , 
 who by their impertinent and extravagant 
 manner caufed him often no fmall Uneafinefs. 
 And of this Number was one who was a Prea- 
 chear among them, who would frequently ac- 
 coft Mr. Bull; and once more particularly 
 fa id he, George, as for humane Learning I fet 
 no Value upon it , but if thou wilt talk Serif- 
 litre , have at thee. Upon which Mr. Bull 
 willing to corred his Confidence, and to (hew 
 him how unable he was to fupport his Pre- 
 tenfions, anfwered him, Come on then, Friend. 
 So opening the. Bible which lay before them, 
 4 he
 
 late Lord Bi/hof of St. David'/. 81 
 
 he fell upon the Book of Proverbs $ fee ft thou, 
 Friend, fa id he, Solomon faith in one Place, 
 Anfwer a Fool according to his Folly, and in 
 another Place, Anfwer not a Fool according to 
 his Folly ^ how doft thou reconcile thefe two 
 Texts of Scripture? Why , faid the Preacher, 
 Solomon dont fay fo , to which Mr. Bull re- 
 pi yed , Ay but he doth. And turning to the 
 Places he foon convinced him :, upon which 
 the Quaker hereat being much out of Coun- 
 tenance, faid, Why then Solomon'* a Fool, J 
 which ended the Controverfy. 
 
 As Mr. Bull was intent upon the fpiritual^ 
 Welfare of his Parimioners, by performing thej^j 
 part of a diligent and pious Paftor among gent. 
 them 5 fo he was not lefs concerned to relieve 
 their temporal Wants when the Neceffities of 
 the Poor required his Afliftance. He had not 
 the leaft Tinclure of Covetoufnefs in his Tem- 
 per , hofpitable he was to all his Neighbours, 
 and they never wanted Relief who were 
 known to him to fland in need of it. When 
 he vifited any poor lick Family, his Prayers 
 and his Alms went ever together upon thofe 
 Occafions. He would fend largely to poor 
 Houfekeepers in the time of their Diftrefs , 
 when they were vifited with Sicknefs, or had 
 fuftained any great Lofs. But the Widows 
 and Orphans of Clergymen, who were unpro- 
 vided for, were the conftant Objefts of his 
 Care and Concern j he ufually gave liberally 
 himfelf, and was very a&ive in procuring 
 
 G Charities
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Charities from the Gentry in the Neighbour- 
 hood upon fuch Occafions-, and his Character 
 was fo valued among Perfons of the beft Fk 
 gure, that he feldora foliicited the Caufe of 
 the Poor, but they found the Benefit of fuch 
 an Advocate. His particular Method in doing 
 good for a great part of his time confided in 
 keeping poor Children at School y he was ve- 
 ry feniible of the Advantages which attend 
 that fort of Charity , fo that where the Parents 
 were poor, he became a Father to their Children 
 in the Care of fnch an Education, which was 
 not only of ufe to them in the World, but 
 very inftrumental in promoting their eternal 
 Salvation. 
 
 His ufual Difcourfe upon this Subject was, 
 That when we give to the Poor, we do good 
 to our felvesj not fo much becaufe God is 
 fometimes pleafed to blefs our Charity with an 
 Increafe of our earthly Subftance , as becaufe 
 they who abound in good Works acquire an 
 Intereft in the Prayers and Benedictions of the 
 Poor, which he was perfuaded did prevent 
 them from falling into many Dangers in this 
 Life, and were of mighty Prevalence with God, 
 through the Merits of Chrift, toward their e- 
 ternal Salvation and Ad miffion into his heavenly 
 Kingdom. He would ftrengthen the firftpartof 
 his Propofition with the Authority of$t.jferome 9 
 from the follow ing Paifage*, u I do not remem- 
 
 * A T on memini me legiffe mall mwte mortnum qui Ittenter opera 
 Ckaritatis exenuit ; habet enim multos Inter (cffom, & iifl 
 eft tnnl(Grnm greets non exauttiri.
 
 late Lord Bifbof of St. David'/. 83 
 
 " ber (faith he) that I ever read that any 
 rt one who abounded in Ads of Charity, and 
 w was glad to diftribute , dyed an evil Death 
 " or came to a bad End 5 for fuch a Man hath 
 " many Interceffors, and it is impofiible that 
 " the Prayers of many mould not be granted. 
 The latter part he grounded upon the Words of 
 our Saviour, And I fay unto you, make to your 
 f elves Friends of the Mammon of Unrighteouf- 
 nefs, that when ye fail, they may receive you 
 into everlafting Habitations , Luk. xvi. ver. 9. 
 which he interpreted after ihis manner. " By 
 " the Riches beftowed iri Almfgiving make 
 " the poor your Friends, that when you fail, 
 " i . e. die , they, the Poor which you have 
 *' made your Friends , may receive you into 
 " everlafting Habitations j that is, that God 
 " looking upon the Alms-deeds you have done, 
 " and hearing the Prayers and Bleflings of 
 " the Poor, may reward you with eternal 
 " Life, according to his Promife. He would 
 be very angry with thofe People who pleaded 
 Scripture for ftinting their Charity, abufing 
 that facred Text, i Tim. v. ver. 8. But if any 
 provide not for his own , efpecially thofe of his. 
 own Houfe, he hath denied the Faith, and is 
 worfe than an Infidel. The occafion of wh'ich 
 Words, he would fay, was this, viz. " There 
 " was a Bank of charitable Collections in the 
 " Houfe of the. Biftiop, out of which the A- 
 " poftle appointed the poor Widows to be re- 
 " lieved, when he faith, Honour Widows, that 
 
 G i " are
 
 84 Tfce Life of Dr. George 
 
 " are Widows indeed-, that is, relieve and 
 " maintain them } but he would not have 
 " them caft upon the Charity of the Church, 
 " if they had Relations of their own, who 
 " were able to maintain them, ver. 4. and 
 " faith, that thofe who neglected fo to do 
 " were worfe than Infidels. So that he would 
 " fay this Text made againft covetous People, 
 who were moft apt to negleft their poor 
 <c Relations: That it did require Charity to 
 " poor Relations, but gave no manner of 
 " Countenance to thofe miferable Worldlings, 
 " who did covet and keep all to themfelves 
 " in order to enrich and raife their Families. 
 
 i cannot find that after he entered into Ho- 
 ly Orders, that he was ever addided to any 
 i- j nnocent Pleafure, which is often neceflary to 
 
 i i r i_ri 
 
 unbend the Mind , and to preierve the body 
 j n Health and Vigour. If there was any thing 
 that looked like a Diverlion , it was the En- 
 joyment of agreeable Converfation , the beft 
 that Neighbourhood afforded, he was always 
 Mailer of, becaufe he was a welcome Gueft 
 wherever he made any Vifits. But what he 
 chiefly loved was fo receive learned and good 
 Men at his own Houfe, efpecially thofe of 
 his own Profeflion , and they could never en- 
 tertain him better than by fupporting the Con- 
 verfation with Enquiries into Subjeds of Di- 
 vinity , or of any other part of Learning. 
 For the compafs of his Knowledge was fo ex- 
 ten five,
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. David*/. 85 
 
 tenfive, efpecially in all parts of Theology, 
 that he never feemed to be furprized with any 
 Queftion of that Nature , but could immedi- 
 ately, and upon the Spot, without the leaft 
 Hefitation , give a pertinent and a full An- 
 fwer to it-, his Notions were fo diftind and 
 clear that he could bring down the fublimeft 
 Truths to ordinary Capacities, and fet the 
 moft abftrufe Points in fo good a Light that 
 you might eafily and at once fee through 
 them. Some learned Men, who have been 
 very eminent for their Improvements in all 
 forts of Knowledge, have neverthelefs conver- 
 fed with fo much referve, that they have feem- 
 ed to grudge the World the leaft Fruit of their 
 Labours. But Mr. #*/// better underftood theUfe 
 he was obliged to make of thofe Talents which 
 God had committed to his Truft , and he did 
 gladly communicate his Thoughts to all thofe 
 who had the Happinefs to converfe with him $ 
 for where he could not learn, he delighted to 
 make others wifer and better j and he was al- 
 ways ready to give Light to any obfctire Paf- 
 iage of Scripture:, to confirm any point of 
 Faith, and to reprefent any Truth of theChri- 
 ftian Religion to the bed Advantage. And what 
 farther enabled him to mine in Converfation , 
 was his extraordinary Candor and Modefty, 
 whereby he never provoked thofe to expofe 
 their Imperfect ions who defired Information 
 from him, but took the fir ft Opportunity to 
 
 C remove
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 remove their Ignorance , without feemiag to 
 take notice of it. 
 
 -jfej.ro/e- To- fay the truth, Mr. Bull's chief Delight 
 ntetbis was i n hi s Books, and his Study was the Scene 
 ritbgnat' of his moft cxquifite Pleafure-, and he would 
 ^plication, freely own with great AfTurance, that he tail- 
 ed the moft refined Satisfaction in the Purfuit 
 of Knowledge that the prefent State of hu- 
 man Nature was capable of :, and that when 
 his Thoughts were lively and lucky in his 
 Competitions, he found no reafon to envy the 
 Enjoyment of the moft vojuptuous Epicure. 
 His Courfe indeed of Study proved prejudicial 
 to his Health, becaufe he dedicated the grea- 
 teft part of the Night to that purpofe for ma- 
 ny Years together, and contented himfelf with 
 little Sleep, rifing early and going to Bed late. 
 Put no extraordinaryAttainments are acquired 
 without Labour and Pains, and the reafon why 
 he chofe thefe Hours for that purpofe, was 
 becaufe he fecured thereby, what he could 
 not otherwife promife himfelf, an entire Free- 
 dom from Noife and Difturbance , and from 
 all the Interruptions of Bufinefs and Compa- 
 ny. It is to this conftant Application of 
 Mind that we owe thofe learned and judicious 
 Treatifes which Mr. Bull publifhed in his Life- 
 time -, for during the twenty fevenYears he was 
 Rector of Suddington , he compofed moft of 
 them -, as well as thofe Sermons and Difcourfes 
 which are now offered to the Conlideration of 
 the-Publick, It
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David'/. 87 
 
 It is to be lamented indeed, that fome part several 
 of his Labour is perifhed, and that feveral 
 fmaller Trads which coil him much Pains are loft* 
 entirely loft. It was too ufual with him , 
 from a modeft Opinion of his own Performan- 
 ces, when he had finimed a Work of Confe- 
 quence, to be negligent in the Prefervation of 
 it} and if he lent it out to be perufcd by a 
 Neighbour, he feldom remembred to call up- 
 on him to return it, if the Borrower negleded 
 to bring it back. It is thought , that fevefal 
 Sermons that were rinimed by him are loft af- 
 ter this manner. There was a fhort Treatife 
 which the Chriftian Reader, who hath a Ve- 
 neration for primitive Antiquity, will very 
 much regret, and which was compofed by 
 Mr. Bull in anfwer to this Queftion , viz, 
 What was the Pojiure of Communicating in the 
 bleffed Sacrament before the DoEirine of' Tran- 
 fobftantiation was received in the Cbitrcb ? In 
 his Reply, he proved from Antiquity, that 
 the Practice in the moft ancient Times ivas 
 for the Communicants to draw near to the 
 Betna or Chancel, and there to receive the fa- 
 cred Elements from the Hands of the Prieft, 
 in a bowing or adoring Pofture. This was 
 writ at the Requeft of his Diocefan Bifhop 
 Frampton^ who fat with great Reputation for 
 many Years in the Epifcopal Chair of Glofter 9 . 
 but chofe rather to lofe his Bifaoprick , and 
 the reft of his Preferments, than facritice. the 
 Peace of his own Mind, or comply with fuch 
 
 G 4 Terms
 
 The Lift of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Terms which his Confcience could not digeft. 
 And as it was compofed at the Defire of his 
 Bifhop, fo in Oppofitjon to thofe who have ta- 
 ken the Liberty to afTert, that none befides 
 a Table-pofture was ufed till the Doctrine of 
 the corporal Prefence was firft introduced into 
 the Church -, which is fo contrary to the Pra- 
 ctice of all Antiquity , that it is certain that 
 anciently it was not permitted to any Perfon 
 whatfoever , except the Emperor only when 
 }ie made his Oblation, to go into the Altar- 
 part of the Church during the time of divine 
 Service, which was then termed the Santtna- 
 rwm, and is now by us called the Chancel. 
 And accordingly St. Amlrcfe would not permit 
 the Emperor TbeojbjttH himfelf to communi- 
 cate f in this part, but obliged him to retire 
 as foon as he had made his Oblation at the 
 Altar. 
 
 When Dr. Pearfon was about vindicating the 
 Epiftles of that Apoftolical Bifhop and Mar- 
 tyr St. Ignatius, and fome time before he pub- 
 lifhed his admirable Treatife upon that Sub- 
 jedl, Mr. Eull^ though very young, wrote a 
 iong^ Letter to him in Latin, containing ma- 
 ny excellent Obfervations and folid Arguments 
 to prove that thofe Epiftles were genuine. 
 Dr. Pearfon returned him a large Anfwer in 
 the fame learned Language ^ wherein he gave 
 him ample Thanks for the Pains he had taken 
 
 \J>'ld. Tbeodcr. lib. v. c. 18. Sclent, lib. vii. c. 25. 
 
 upon
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. DavidV. 
 
 upon that Subjed , acknowledged the great 
 Ufefulnefs of his Obfervations , and the 
 Strength of his Arguments. This Anfwer and 
 the former Trad were read by .Mr. Archdea- 
 con Stephens, Son-in-Law to Bilhop Bull, and 
 prefent Redor of Suddington^ many Years ago j 
 a Perfon very confiderable for his Piety and 
 Learning , and it is to him I owe the preced- 
 ing Account of the Contents of them ^ but 
 they are not now to be found. He wrote be- 
 fides this a long Letter to Mr. Glanvil, for- 
 merly Minifter of Bath, concerning the Eter- 
 nity of future Punifhments j and another up- 
 on the Subjed of Popery, to a Perfon of great 
 Quality 5 but nothing remaineth concerning 
 them, but that they were wrote. Many other 
 confiderable Letters of Mr. Bull's, and Anfwers 
 to them, would have entertained the Reader 
 very agreeably, if he had not been too intent- 
 upon his Studies to copy the one, and too 
 negligent to preferve the others. 
 
 In the Year 1669 ^ e ^ r ^ printed that excellent XVII. 
 Piece, \ti&*ApoflolicalHarjnonji&c. which was 
 begun by him, when but young, withaViewto 
 fettle Peace in the Church, upon a Point of the ed h " 
 greateft Importance to all its Members. This 
 Book he dedicated to his Diocefan the Bifiiop 
 ~f Glofter, Dr. William Nicholfon, a very pro- 
 
 * Harm-mitt Apiftvlicu fex bin& differt ationes quarum in priore afj- 
 Urina D.JFacobi rfejuftific>itr>.neexeptfibnsex[>lanjtnracdefenditkr\ 
 in pojleriorf cwfenjitt D. Fault cum Jacobo t'rq'.tido demmfiratur, &c. 
 
 per
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 per Judge and Patron, who had very much al- 
 fo encouraged and fupported him in this 
 Work $ for he was not willing but with the 
 Approbation and Diredion of his Superior 
 under God, to adventure into the World upon 
 an Undertaking fo difficult and hazardous as 
 this did appear. And fince thisTreatife ten- 
 deth fo much to clear the Doftrine of the A- 
 poftles in the fundamental Point of our Salva- 
 tion, and to mew the exaft Harmony betwixt 
 them, as to the manner of obtaining it by 
 Chrift-, ad will alfo be of no fmall Ufe for 
 the reading St. Paul's Epiftles with Under- 
 ftanding 1 fhall beg leave to lay before the 
 Reader a diftinft Plan of the whole ^ as like- 
 wife the Caufes of writing it, and the Treat- 
 ment and Succefs it met with, and the feveral 
 Batteries that have been raifed againft it j that 
 they that are otherwife minded may at lead 
 have no reafon to complain, as if they were 
 not fairly reprefented. 
 
 Though this Piece was not printed till the 
 Year aforefaid, yet it appeareth to have been 
 * written eight or nine Years before , where- 
 by the rirft Rife and Defign of it will be more 
 clearly manifeft, than it could have been, had 
 we not known in what a notable Juncture of 
 our Affairs the fame was compofed. For 
 there having been, during the unhappy Times 
 of the Great Rebellion, a vaft Multitude of 
 
 pro HMmma t fyc. SV5. 8. # 5, 
 
 Book!
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. DavidV. p i 
 
 Books written upon the Subject of Juftific&- 
 lion by the hot Men of the feveral Panics , 
 fome of whom in treating of it leaned too 
 much to Popery or to Judaifm, others to An- 
 tinomianifm and Libertinifm, fome again to 
 Pelagianifm and Socinianifm, and others laftly 
 to Manichaeifm and Fatalifm \ the four moft 
 dangerous Extremes : And abundance of lear- 
 ned Sophiftry having been ufed in perplexing 
 the plain and natural Senfe of the divinely 
 infpired Writers , and feveral Hypothefes 
 moreover invented purely to fer.ve a Turn, 
 which did but the more flill obfcure what 
 they pretended to clear up, and fet at a wider 
 diftance thofe whom they laboured to recon- 
 cile by their drained and metaphyfical Subtle- 
 ties-, they not only difagreeing about what 
 was meant by Jitjlificatwn ,. but even by Faith 
 and by Works, and indeed about every Term 
 that is made ufe of either by St. Paul or by 
 St. James when they fpeak to this Point: And 
 fo feigning one Apoftle to write concerning a 
 frftt and the other concerning a fecond Juftiti- 
 cation :, or elfe one concerning a Juftification 
 before Men only, and the other concerning the 
 fame before Qod\ one concerning a true, the 
 other concerning a falfe Faith -, with a Multi- 
 tude of other groundlefs Inventions, utterly 
 foreign to the Minds of both the faid Apoftles, 
 and many fooliih Contefts about Words that 
 .could have no other End but to raife a Duil^ 
 there could nothing come forth more feafona- 
 
 bly,
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull^ 
 
 bly, if well done, than a Treatife of this 
 Nature. 
 
 W herefore ** having been fuch a fierce 
 Contention railed concerning this Article, by 
 it. the Writers of Controverfy, for about twenty 
 Years of Confufion in Church and State, not 
 to mention what had patted before that time in 
 other Countries ^ our Author having been then 
 about five Years in Holy Orders, according to 
 the Church of England^ when by the Reftau- 
 ration of the Right Heir to fit on the Throne 
 of his Father, the Church with him was refto- 
 red to her former Rights , though he then 
 wanted above three Years of thirty , thought 
 it however time for him now to fix his Prin- 
 ciples , by going up to the very Source, and 
 by taking a fair Review, according to the Ho- 
 ly Scriptures and Primitive Antiquity of fuch 
 a Point, as had evidently contributed to feve- 
 ral great Revolutions, not only in the Church, 
 but alfo in the f Kingdoms and States of the 
 World j and might, he thought , yet contri- 
 bute to more : And a Point alfo which was of 
 the utmoft Confequence to be rightly nnder- 
 ftood for the Guidance of Confcience. 
 
 - T the Conflderation of which he was ftill 
 fau upon in a more particular manner engaged by certain 
 KM to cm- Circumftances of Life; for amon? the firft 
 
 Inzer this - 
 
 . v t i ,-^, 
 
 tnat was committed to his Charge at 
 St. Georges near Briftol, there were not a few 
 
 f Vti. Titll. Epifl. dd. ad Juflifi. Patdj, fa Sleidan Com. &e. 
 
 wandring
 
 late Lord Bi/kop of St. David'/. 9 
 
 wandring Sheep, which had been milled into 
 ftrange Paths, through their not underftand- 
 ing the Terms of the Evangelical Covenant, 
 who by the unwarrantable Confidence of falfe 
 intruding Shepherds were in the extremefl 
 Danger of being loft. Whence the very firft 
 Occafion of this Difcourfe I gather, from his 
 Premonition to the Reader, to have been a Ser- 
 mon preached by him againft the prevailing 
 Antinomian Opinions upon St. James ii. ver. 
 24. by which means he was afterwards led 
 gradually to a deeper Inquiry concerning this 
 Matter. 
 
 Whereupon he read over the New Tefta- Ms 
 ment, but more efpecially the Epiftles, with mi^ 
 this View j confuting the ableft Commen- 
 tators as he went along , and weighing their 
 Arguments indifferently, without Refpect to 
 the Party , or Communion they lived in. 
 And ftill, for farther Satisfaction of what was 
 believed by the Primitive Chriftians , in this 
 great Concern for obtaining a Title to Eternal 
 Happinefs, he omitted not to confult the bed 
 Writers of Antiquity and venerable Lights of 
 the Church. With the fame View was the 
 Liturgy, the Articles, and the Homilies of 
 our Church read by him j and diligently com- 
 pared with their eftabliihed Rule, the written 
 Word of God, together with the truly Ancient 
 and Catholick Interpretations thereof. This 
 let him into feveral other Controverfies, as 
 depending upon this, and particularly obliged 
 
 hi in
 
 94 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 him to a Survey of the Times of Reformation, 
 and of the Methods that were then taken both 
 at Home and Abroad, as alfo of the principal 
 Characters of the firft Reformers^ and bein* 
 thus qualified, he fet himfclf thoroughly to 
 re-examine this Caufe, which gave Birth ttf 
 the Reformation. 
 
 b?* W Up n this Review then of t ! ie Controverfy, 
 as it: ft od both betwixt Papifts and Prote- 
 ftants, and between Proteftants one among a- 
 nother, he for his own Satisfaction digefted 
 under proper Places or Heads, all that he 
 could find material in any of them , relating 
 to this Evangelical Difpenfation. And this he 
 did not only that he might form a right Judg- 
 ment upon them, but that he might be more 
 capable of difcharging the Duty of his place, 
 and of bringing in fome others likewife to the 
 Difcernment and Acknowledgment of the 
 Truth j which was hereby made fo very clear 
 to him. 
 
 But being fenfible that too much had been 
 written in Enejifo upon this Subied; and that 
 
 n. r i ! 
 
 molt of what was written was to little pur- * 
 pofe, except to divide and diftracl: People's 
 Minds , he therefore drew up in Latin a (hort 
 Harmony of the Apoflles as to this Head, that it 
 might be thoroughly confidered by the Men 
 of Learning and Capacity, reafonably fuppo- 
 fing that if they were fet right in this great 
 Article, it would be more eafily propagated 
 among the Vulgar and Unlearned. For this 
 
 End
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. David V. 95 
 
 End he fubmitted his Performance to the Cen- 
 fure of his learned Friends, and (as in Duty 
 he thought himfelf chiefly bound) particular- 
 ly to his worthy Diocefan , which at length 
 after mature Deliberation upon the whole, 
 and thinking it over and over again many times, 
 he put his laft Hand to, being then in the thirty 
 fixth Year of his Age , and fo fent it abroad 
 into the World with their Approbation, that 
 it might ferve as a Manuduclion to the Candi- 
 dates of Divinity, who were to be fet apart to 
 inftruft others. 
 
 t 
 
 This Book confifteth of two Parts or Differ- XVIII. 
 tations , the firft of thefe explained! anddefen- ^~*~^j 
 deth the Doclrine of St. James ^ and the other The genera 
 clearly, I think, demonftrates the Agreement and ^^ 
 Harmony of St. Paul with him, in this funda- 
 mental Point of our Faith and Hope. But 
 more particularly his Aim and Defign in the 
 firft Differtation is to (hew, " That Good 
 ** Works which proceed from Faith, and are 
 " conjoyned with Faith, are a necetfary Con- 
 " dition required from us by God, to the End 
 *' that by the New and Evangelical Covenant 
 " obtained by and fealed in the Blood of 
 ** Chrift the Mediator of it, we may be juf lify- 
 c ed according to his free and unmerited Grace. 
 For it is obfervablethat he everywhere through- 
 out this Treatife openly renounced! all Pretence 
 to any manner of Merit of our own Works ^ 
 even fo far as fcarce to acknowledge that Per- 
 
 5" fon
 
 $6 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 . ion for a Chriftian who mould advance or de- 
 fend Merit properly fo called , and nothing 
 can indeed be more plain , than that in the 
 whole Affair of our Salvation, and Procefs of 
 Divine Juftirication, he attributeth all to the 
 meritorious Obedience of the holy Jefus, as 
 the bleiTed Author and Finifher of it. ' Of 
 which Obedience his moft precious Death is by 
 our moft excellent Harmonift declared to be 
 the Confummation and utmoft Completion r 
 And to it are here afcribed the very greateft 
 and higheft things, that it was even poflible 
 for him to exprefs. More particularly, 
 
 Of this meritorious Obedience of Chrift for 
 us . Sinne rs, he plainly and roundly fays, That 
 Point fl/ju. this alone hath given Satisfaclion to the divine 
 ion - Juftice-, that this alone rendereth the moft holy 
 and moft righteous God propitious to finful 
 Men:, and that this alone is the efficacious 
 Caufe of God's promifing and offering us Par- 
 don and eternal Life upon fo very reafonable 
 and equitable a Condition, as in the Gofpel is 
 fet forth. And he conftantly moreover teacheth, 
 both in the very Treatife and in the Apology 
 for it , " That no Man can without divine 
 6 Grace, and the Afiiftance of the Holy Spirit, 
 " as flowing forth from the precious Side of 
 " the crucifyed Jefus, perform the Condition 
 " of the Gofpel-Covenant. And in a word, 
 he moft ' feverely anathematizes the Pelagian 
 Herefy, as it is revived by the Socmians 'and 
 othersj for derogating from the Grace of God* 
 4 and
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. David'/. 
 
 and afcribing too much to the Power of Man as 
 in his fallen Eftate: 'And moft frequently ce- 
 lebrates the Praife of this divine Grace fo per- 
 fedly according to the Mind of Sr. Paul, and 
 the Declaration of the Church of England, 
 both in her Articles and Homilies, as it may 
 well be doubted whether any one can do it 
 more. 
 
 Notwithftanding all which Caution yet 
 his in the treating of this Point, that 
 been rendred fo abftrufe, more by the 
 rious Difputations of Divines, than by the Na-j, ow . 
 ture of the thing itfelf, or of the Revelation 
 concerning it , there was prefently no fmall 
 Alarm both in th*5 Church and out of it, from 
 Mr. Bull's Performance , as if the Church of 
 England and the whole Proteftam Religion 
 were by it in Danger. For his departing herein 
 from the private Opinions of fome Dodors of 
 our Church, though in Obedience to her Rule' % 
 was by feveral interpreted for no lefs than a 
 departing from the Faith by her delivered j 
 and his Method of reconciling the two Apojlles 
 of our Lord, how plain foever in itfelf, could 
 not be made fo plain, but that many being 
 zealouily affefted for the Names of Luther and 
 Calvin, whom they honoured as the two Apo- 
 ftles of the Reformation, would be ready to 
 take Offence at it ^ as the Event indeed proved. 
 
 Since upon an impartial Enquiry into the The 
 Grounds of this Offence taken, it evidently r * ds of 
 appeared, that this was the very chief Stone thi
 
 98 the L ife of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 of ftumbling, wxs. The Honour of the Firft 
 Reformers. And it feemeth moreover that 
 this EfTay for Union , by taking the middle 
 way, could not pleafe any of thofe zealous 
 Gentlemen, who never dan think themfelves 
 fafe -enough from one Extreme without they 
 run into the other. Some there were more 
 wife and learned than the reft , who yet ap- 
 proved it not , that they might not appear 
 guilty of innovating, as they called it. And 
 it could not be digefted by them either be- 
 caufe it was not at firft fo very perfectly un- 
 derftood by feveral of our own Divines , any 
 more than by the Diffenters from our Commu- 
 nion, as moil of the Prefbyterians, and many 
 Independents and Anabaptifts , or elfe becaufe 
 the Prejudices which a great many worthy 
 Perfons among us had fucked in from the nar- 
 row Syftems of modern 'Divinity or otherwife, 
 who had, during the great Rebellion in Church 
 and State, been educated in the Predeftinarian 
 and Antinomian Notions, were too ftrong for 
 them entirely to overcome, even with the 
 help of the cleared Light. 
 
 Hence in the fame Year there arofe in the 
 meat of the Church no fmall Contention, whether this In- 
 Eniand terpretation of Scripture were conformable to 
 the Articles of Religion, and the Homily of 
 J u ftifi ca ti n therein referred to ^ fome main- 
 tained with our Author that it was :, fome 
 doubted about it, and others downright deny- 
 ed it, and condemned it as heretical. There 
 2 was
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V. p 
 
 was many a hard Cenfure pafTed upon the 
 Book and the Author for fome time, which 
 is not to be wondered at , yea there were not 
 wanting then even Men of fome Eminence in 
 our Church, who with all their Might op- 
 pofed him , probably out of a well-meant 
 Zeal, and would certainly have overwhelm- 
 ed him and his Doclrine, had it been pof- 
 fible. 
 
 But fuch, it appears, was the Strength and The 
 Evidence of his Arguments, after the fevereft bkb this 
 Examination that could be made of them, 
 he daily won more and more Friends to his 
 Side, and the greatnefs of the Oppofition a- 
 gainft him did but the more contribute to efta- 
 blifh the Truth, among all the fober and can- 
 did Enquirers after it j which could be only 
 oppofed becaufe not rightly apprehended and 
 flated. And how fuccefsfully he hath done 
 this, I mail leave the Reader to confider, not 
 from the imperfect AbJlraEi which is here given, 
 but from the Effects they have manifeftly pro- 
 duced, and that general Conviction which hath 
 commonly followed the Harmony itfelf, with 
 the Apology for it. Some of the Effects I may 
 have hereafter Occafion to mention. So that 
 it mall here fuffice to obferve in fhort, that 
 they of the Englifo Clergy, who were the leaft 
 favourable to it , became the greateft Promo- 
 ters of it , while by all their Endeavours to 
 fupprefs it, they made it effectually to fpread 
 the more, when the Matter came to be duly 
 
 H 2 and
 
 10 o Tfce Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 and impartially fcanned without thofe Meta- 
 phyfical Niceties, which have only ferved to 
 perplex a Caufe that might be underftood with- 
 out them. The Opinion of fome private Do- 
 dors was at this time artfully cryed up for the 
 Judgment of the Church of England j and an 
 Expofition was given to fome of her Articles^ 
 even againft her own authentick Interpretati- 
 on of them, to be ftill at a greater Diftance 
 from the Church of Rome. 
 
 The beft of it is, this Contention was of no 
 long Continuance. For not long after this 
 Treat ife was printed and received with much 
 Applaufe on one fide, and Contradiction on 
 the other', the Senfe of the Church of Eng- 
 land, as it is founded upon the Word of God, 
 came to be cleared up , by the Care and Dili- 
 gence of thofe who were excited hereby, 
 much better than ever it had been before : 
 And by the fober manner of treating ' this 
 Controverfy in both thefe Diflertations, and 
 the Author's moft ferious Proteftation and 
 Appeal .to Heaven, it pleafed God to cool by 
 degrees the Minds of fome, which had been 
 heated about this Matter over-much, through 
 the Intemperance of a truly laudable Concern 
 for the Vidory of Faith : And to win over 
 others entirely to the Acknowledgment of the 
 Truth , which is according to Righteoufnefs 
 and Godlinefs, who had been before but too 
 avcrfe to it, out of Jealoufy of making void 
 the Gofpel of Chrift , and of fetting up fn- 
 
 ftead
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. David V. l o I 
 
 ftead thereof a certain Mixture of Judaifm and 
 Chriftianity , for fo this was mifreprefented 
 to be. But the Vanity of the Charge, as al- 
 fo that of Popery, #xras foon made evident to 
 as many as would be content to read with 
 their own Eyes, that which many did labour 
 to affright them from. 
 
 In the Year 1670 there were fome Animad- XIX. 
 verfions of a learned Divine made upon this 
 Treatife j which he, concealing his Name, 
 communicated in Manufcript to feveral of the 
 Biihops j at the fame ftirring them up by Let- 
 ter to make ufe of their Apoftolical Authority 
 in thundring out their Anathema's againft the 
 Dodrines here maintained, as pernicious and 
 Heretical, and contrary to the Decrees 'of the 
 Church of England^ and of all other reformed 
 Churches , who was quickly feconded in this 
 by fome others partly known, and partly un- 
 known, of whom fome that understood but 
 little of the Matter, were, as it often happens, 
 the hotteft of all againft him, and were for 
 pufhing things to the utmoft Extremity , but 
 moderate Counfels prevailed for the mod part, 
 and the Governours of the Church were fo 
 wife, as not to intermeddle farther in this Af- 
 fair, than to keep the Peace of the Church 
 committed to them. * 
 
 There was indeed one great and good Bi- wth from 
 fhop, who forReafons I am not well acquain- ^/7^" 
 ted with , proceeded much, farther than any ; n the 
 
 U 3 of 'Church*
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 of the reft of his Order. This was Dr. Mor~ 
 ley Bifhop of Wmchefler , who, whatever his 
 own private Opinion might be of the Matter, 
 feems to have been utterly againft the revi- 
 ving a Debate of this kind at all , upon any 
 Pretence whatfoever, and not to have been fa 
 well fatisfied, as fome of his Brethren, with 
 this Performance of an Author, who had done 
 nothing before this, to fignalize himfelf, and 
 whofe Youth was too great a Prejudice for ma- 
 ny to get over. But whatever were his Mo- 
 tives for fo doing, this learned Bimop, in a 
 paftoral Charge to the Clergy of his Diocefs, 
 at his next Vifitation , thought fit to warn 
 them againft intruding too rafhly into things 
 above them, and to prohibit them the reading 
 of this Book , or preaching according to it. 
 Some Heads of Houfes in the two Univerfities 
 were alfo of the Biftiop's Mind : And there 
 were fome Tutors too, that thought it incum- 
 bent on them to guard their Pupils from the 
 Danger of what appeared to them, an Innovation 
 in the Church. Dr. Barlow and Dr. Tulfy were 
 among the moft zealous to oppofe the pacifick 
 Method for reconciling the different Syftems a- 
 bout attaining Salvation, by their rigid Ad- 
 herence to certain Tenents by them formerly 
 imbibed, and to fome fcholaftick Terms, unfup- 
 ported either by Scripture or Antiquity. But 
 though the firft of thefe read publick Ledures 
 againft. the Harmonia Apojlolica^ from the Di- 
 vinity Chair ; and though the other made it his 
 
 Bud-
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. David V. 103 
 
 Bufinefs to anfwer it at large from the Prefs , 
 yet it failed not to make its way through all 
 Oppofition and Contradiction, and to gain con- 
 tinually more and more Ground :, as it came 
 hereby to be more read and confidered. And 
 fo in a very few Years the Strife ceafed j for 
 as much as the Victory was at lad fo compleat, 
 as none were found able to rally their Forces 
 in this Caufe againft our judicious Harmonir 
 zer. This now is what is known to have 
 pafs'd within the Church, as to the Eftablifli- 
 ment of the Peace thereof in this Point, even 
 as it is at this Day. As to what parted without 
 in relation to it, there is bur little to be faid 
 here , perhaps there may fomewhat occur in the 
 Progrefs of this Account, which will give fuf- 
 ficient Satisfaction. However, the Weapons 
 of them within, and thofe without, are the 
 very fame $ and by knowing the Strength of 
 the one, we cannot be Strangers to that of the 
 other. 
 
 The Author of the Animadverfwns before And from 
 mentioned, commonly cited under the Name j r ^ 
 of the Cenfura, was the Son of a very lear- conform//?/, 
 ned Prefbyterian , and ftridly educated &%%'* 
 thofe diftinguimiug Doctrines which had late- 
 ly been ratified by the Weflminfter Affembly. 
 And the very firft Man that publickly appea- 
 red in Print for thefe Dodrines, againft the 
 Book of the Apoftolical Harmony, was Mr.Jo- 
 feph Truman^ a Nonconformift Minifter, after 
 whom came out Dr. Tutfy's Anfwer to it. And 
 
 H 4 laft
 
 104 T^be Lift of Dr. George 
 
 laft of all, Mr. John Tombes of Beudly, a fa- . 
 mous Anabaptift Preacher, on the Part of the 
 DifFenters, undertook the fame Caufe , as if 
 the very Foundation of the Reformation were 
 ftruck at by this Attempt. 
 
 v v Now as the Method of our Author was al- 
 ^^_^/ways to feek Truth at the Fountain-head j 
 A Revi^ whatever Refped he might have for our firft 
 of his Me- Reformers, and fome other great Divines both 
 rwn/" Foreigners an ^ Natives, he could by no means 
 the Senfe af take up with their Authority, though never fo 
 $t. James. p om p OU fly fet off: But was for going diredly 
 to the very Originals themfelves, and for con-- 
 fulting the moft ancient and unexceptionable 
 Witnefles, where any Difference might happen 
 to arife concerning them. Accordingly he be- 
 takes himfelf in the very firft Place to the Holy 
 Scriptures, and here he prudently beginneth 
 with that which is obvious and plain, rather 
 than with that which is ambiguous and ob- 
 fcure. And fo findeth in the Simplicity of 
 St. James, a Key to the Auavovnx of St. Paul, 
 thofe hard PafTages of which St. Peter makes 
 mention. At leaft there are fuch Reafons for 
 him to conclude that he hath found this Key, 
 as do bear the greateft Refemblance of Truth $ 
 for there appeareth nothing more fimple and 
 eafy to be underftood, than the plain Propofi- 
 tion of St. James> * 4C That by Deeds a Man 
 
 * Cbap. ii. 24. 
 
 " is
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'/. 105 
 
 *' is juftified, or that jufl Works declare a 
 " Man juft, and not his Faith only, let it be ' 
 " never fo right and orthodox : " It isv alfo 
 that Declaration of St. Paul f himfelf, which 
 he made at Antioch , that is by feme of our 
 learned Men looked upon as the Sum and Sub- 
 fiance of the whole Gofpel : " He thereby 
 ^ teftifying, that through Chrift alone we are 
 " to expeftjuftirication and Remiflion of Sins * 7 
 " and confequently, that by our Submidion 
 " to the Gofpel of Chrift, not to the Law of 
 " Mofes, we are acquitted by him, and placed 
 " in the Number of the Righteous. 
 
 And to make this yet more plain, he ftates T 
 and defends the proper Senfe of the word fames'/ 
 <h>tir, againft the learned Grothu ^ vindica- tber ex- 
 ting herein our Tranflators, by whom it \^ lalned - 
 rightly render'd, to'juflify. And here by ma- 
 ny Teftimonies both out of the Old and New 
 Teftament, he proveth that it muft needs fig- 
 nify fucli an Aci of God as is properly Judi- 
 cial ^ whereby he acquitteth the Perfon accu- 
 fed, and by the Law of Grace in Chrift , re- 
 ceiveth fuch an one to his Favour, as if he 
 were innocent and perfectly juft. So that the 
 principal Caufe of fuch Jollification, is in the 
 Author's words, mera & gratuita Dei Patris 
 tnifericordia , the mere, and free Grace of God 
 the Father -, the meritorious Caufe of it, is the 
 Obedience or Chrift both Attive and fajfive; 
 
 t A<3s xiii. 38, 39. 
 
 And
 
 1 06 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 And Works of Righteolifnefs are according to 
 him , not properly any Caufe at all thereof, 
 but merely a Condition, fine qua non, as tlie 
 Schools love to fpeak, by God required in the 
 Evangelical Covenant. This Observation he 
 draweth from the Ufe of the Particle ^, as 
 it is applied by St. James to Works, and by 
 St. Paul to Faith. 
 
 Expn- Having thus explained the Propofition of 
 c*tio* i;w- this firft DifTertation , according to the Mind 
 ticatedby O f t k e Apoftle, he proceedeth next to eftablifti 
 
 m# fevtral . V , r . . 
 
 Arguments, the Truth thereof by feveral Arguments. 
 The first of which is taken from the exprefs 
 Teftimony of Holy Scripture ^ the Second from 
 the very Notion it felf of Juftification , the 
 TbirJ from the Nature of Faith 5 the Fourth 
 from the Proceedings of God in the Day of 
 judgment j and fastifib from the implicit Con~ 
 feffion of the very Adverfaries themfelves to 
 this Doftrine. 
 
 XXI. Now under the firft Head , which is the 
 Teflimony of Scripture^ he hath two ClafTes of 
 '^ exts ^ ervm g ^ or Confirmation of this Do- 
 drine, as before reprefented. The former is 
 o f thofe Texts and Paffages that fpeak in gene: 
 rd of good Works, or of Righteoufnefs, as of 
 a Condition that tendeth to make us accepted 
 of God, through his Grace. And of this kind 
 there are Abundance of very obvious ones in 
 the Prophets, in the Gofpels, and in the Epi- 
 illes. So that every one that runneth, may 
 
 read
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. David'/. I Oj 
 
 read how acceptable in the Sight of God Ho- 
 linefi is *, and find that Obedience is no Jefs 
 neceffary than Faith to attain this End. The 
 latter Clafs is of thofe Texts, in which fome 
 fpecial Works as absolutely neceflary to Sal- 
 vation or Juftification, are required of us by 
 God. And of this fort there are found alfo 
 many clear and exprefs Paflages , that one 
 would think very fufficient fully to determine 
 this Matter. As particularly all thofe Places 
 deferve to be noted which require Repentance, 
 as a Difpofition, without which none is capa- 
 ble of obtaining the Forgivenefs of his Sins 
 from God : For as much as thefe fo evidently 
 refer to the Evangelical State, as to deny the 
 fame, would be to deny the whole Gofpel. 
 Now under Repentance he will have to be 
 comprehended thefe following good Acls, viz,. 
 A true Sorrow for Sins part, an Humiliation 
 under the righteous Hand of God, an Hatred 
 and Deteftation of Sin, a Confefllon of it, an 
 earned Supplication for divine Grace and Mer- 
 cy, the Fear and Love of God, a Ceafing from 
 Evil, a firm Purpofe of New Obedience, Re- 
 ftitution of what hath been unjuftly gotten, 
 Forgivenefs of all them who may have trefpaf- 
 fed againfl us * ? and laftly, Works of Benefi- 
 cence and Charity. Then he proveth after this, 
 that there is the very fame' Regard had always by 
 God to Faith and Repentance, in the pardonin? 
 of a Sinner. And farther, that the Faith, where^ 
 of in the New Teftatnent there are fo great an<} 
 
 glori-
 
 1 08 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 glorious things pronounced, is not to be taken 
 for a fingle Chriftian Virtue or Grace ^ but 
 for the whole Body and Collection of the di- 
 vine Virtues and Graces, or for a Life accor- 
 ding 10 the Gofpel. Nay he iheweth , that 
 when it is taken in that particular, and limi- 
 ted Senfe it is fo far fr.om being the mflrumen- 
 tal Caufe of our Juftification as forae pretend, 
 that it hath not fo much as the chief Place 
 among thofe Qualifications that concur to 
 make us acceptable to God $ it being ranked 
 even by St. Paul himfelf, but in the third Or- 
 der, as inferior not only to Charity, but even 
 to Hope. However, though Faith be letter 
 than Chanty in one refpecl: , he readily yet 
 grants that in another refpecl: it is greater than 
 Chanty, namely, as it is the Foundation both 
 of that , and of all the reft of the Chriftian 
 Virtues ^ and though Faith doth not neceflfari- 
 ]y beget them } yet that it is apt, and in its own 
 Nature difpofed fo to do. The facred Text 
 of the firft Clafs by him infifted upon for the 
 Proof of his Proportion, are thefe out of the 
 Old Teftament} Jfai.i. v. 16, 17, 18. and 
 Ez>ek. xxxiii. 14, 15, 16. and out of the New 
 Teftament, firft the words of Chrift himfelf 
 in St. John xiv. 21, 23. and xv. 14. and 
 next to him, thofe of his Apoftles in ABs x. 
 34, 35. i Job. i. 7. Heb. x. 8. I Cor. vi. n. 
 and i St. Peter i. 2. befides James ii. 24. So 
 that an Appeal is here made to the Teftimony 
 of two WitnelTes under the Law, Perfons of a 
 
 moft
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. Da vidV. 1 09 
 
 moft eminent Prophetical Character -, and to that 
 of our Lord under the Gofpel , accompanied 
 not only with his Difciples, Peter, James and 
 John, attefting the fame Truth, but alfo with 
 the Apoftles of the Uncircumcifion, and moft 
 zealous Aflerters of Chriftian Liberty. Thefe 
 Texts are all clearly explained and vindicated 
 from the Exceptions of certain metaphyfical 
 Difputants : And to thefe are alfo added feve- 
 ral other by the judicious Annotator^ that are 
 no lefs ftrong. Thofe of the fecond Clafs are 
 above twenty, of which I (hall only mention 
 the firft and the laft, than which nothing can 
 be well more decifive 5 that Atts ii. 38. as in 
 the Name of the whole Apoftolical College , 
 when the Holy Ghoft defcended upon them, 
 and not of St. Peter only -, and this Heb. xiii. 
 1 6. as the undoubted Senfe both of them, and 
 their Brother Paul, and of the whole Chrifti- 
 an Church both Hebrew and Gentile. Upon 
 which he cites a Saying of St. Chryfoflom, 
 that without Works of Mercy Repentance is 
 dead, and illuftrates it by the Practice of the 
 ancient Church at their receiving of Penitents. 
 Which is confirmed alfo by his Explication 
 of Dan. iv. 27. according to the Oriental Cu- 
 ftom of Speech , wherein he followeth Grotius, 
 and prefers here the Interpretation of "the Se- 
 venty to our Englifb Tranflation, as more near- 
 ly approaching the Propriety of the Cbaldee 
 Original.. For the Chaldte Pherak is the fame 
 as the Hebrew Phadah, fignifying to redeem : 
 
 And
 
 1 1 o The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 and the vulgar Latin agreeably renders it, 
 peccata tua Eleemojynis redime. For as nothing 
 is more certain than that he ftall have Judg- 
 ment without Mercy ^ who hath flawed no Mer- 
 cy. So on the other fide it is equally certain, 
 that Mercy rejoyceth agalnft Judgment 5 and this 
 Rejoycing can never be without Juitification. 
 As for the trifling Diftindion of ante and ad y 
 in this Controverfy, by which it is pretended 
 that Works indeed of Mercy and Righteouf- 
 nefs are necefTary before but not neceffary un- 
 to Juftification j it is here fo baffled, both by 
 the Author and by his Annotator, as there can 
 fcarce be a greater Evidence of a bad Caufe 
 than to have recourfe to fuch poor Shifts and 
 ilender Evafions. 
 
 XXII. Under the next Head his Method to efta- 
 ^x-v-N^ blifti this Dodrine, as explained and defended 
 Argument by the Teftimony aforefaid, is from the No- 
 on anc ^ Nature of Jujl'if cation, as exercifed 
 NO- in the Courts of Judicature. Where he ob- 
 ferveth that in every judicial Procefs there 
 muft be thefe three, i.TheJW^*, who is to 
 pronounce the Sentence: 2. The Vrifoner, or 
 Criminal who is called to his Tryal : And, 
 3. The Law, or Rule, according to which the 
 Sentence muft be pronounced , either for or 
 againjl the Prifoner at the Bar. And in per- 
 feel: Analogy to this fort of Proceeding in hu- 
 man Courts, he takes notice, that if any Man 
 be faid to be juftifyed in the fight of God, 
 
 whether
 
 late Lord Bi/kof of St. DavidV. 1 1 1 
 
 whether it be by the Works of the Law , or 
 by Faith in Chrift j in this Cafe the Prifoner 
 that pleadeth at the Bar is Man , the Judge is 
 God $ and the Rule according to which Judg- 
 ment is pa{Ted, is either the Law of Mofes on 
 one fide, or the Law of Chrift on the other, 
 the which is otherwife called the * Law of 
 Faitb ^ (ince no Man can judicially be pronoun- 
 ced Juft, unlefs he be duly acquitted according 
 to the Rule of that Law whereby he is judg- 
 ed, whether that Law be the Mofaical or the 
 Chriftian. Which Jatter he interpreteth to 
 be the very Moral Law of God, as expounded 
 and perfected by Chrift on the'Mount, and ex- 
 prefly ratified by his own divine Sandion, 
 Mattb* vii. 24, &c. And which is diftinguifh- 
 ed from the Mofaical Law of Ceremonial Ob- 
 fervances by feveral Names, as the PerfeB Law, 
 the Royal Law, the Law of Liberty ^ and the 
 like meaning hereby that Law which is per- 
 feftive of human Nature, is a Law given us by 
 the Mouth of Chrift our King^ and is condu- 
 cive to our true Libert)/ , that is, to a Liberty 
 not only from the Yoke of Jewifli Ceremonies 
 and Ordinances, but alfo from the Guilt *and 
 Penalty of Sin, and chiefly from the Domini- 
 on and Tyranny thereof in our Flefh, through 
 the Afliftance of Chrift's Spirit, helping here- 
 in our Infirmities, that we may fulfil the fame. 
 
 Rom. Hi. 1 7. 
 
 Where-
 
 1 1 2 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Whereupon not only the loofe Principles of the 
 Antinomians, Libertines, Familifts, and others 
 of that fort, are by him defervedly exploded j 
 But they who allow their Principles, and yet 
 reject their Conclufion, are fairly warned of 
 the dangerous Confequences which they feem 
 not to apprehend -, and the injudicious Method 
 of fome Proteftant Divines, in their Contro- 
 verfies with the Papifts on this Point, is taxed 
 as it deferves. 
 
 'Argument The third Argument that Juflif cation is not 
 fZm^le' by Faith alone, in the ftrict Acceptation of the 
 Uotkn and Word, is taken from the Confederation of the 
 ?ahh '^ very Nature of //?#&, and of the feveral Ads 
 that are generally affigned to it. And the Sum 
 of his Argument is, That Faith , per fe, or 
 confidered as diftind from the reft of the 
 Chriftian Venues, hath nothing in the Na- 
 ture of it, but what may well enough oonfift 
 with an ungodly and unjuftifyed Perfon. For 
 the Acts of Faith being by Divines generally 
 diftributed into thefe three, i. Knowledge 5 
 i. AflTent-, and ^."Reliapce, he handleth each 
 of thefe diftinctly, and clearly proveth that 
 not one of them hath a natural aptitude to ju- 
 ftifie a Sinner, or a Charafteriftick to diftin- 
 guilh a Reprobate from a Saint. And there 
 being no Aft of Faith nakedly and per fs con- 
 fidered, to which Juftification is neceifarily 
 joined , fince Knowledge without Practice, the 
 AlTent of the Ivlind without the Love of the 
 Heart, and the Reliance upon the Promifes of 
 
 the
 
 tate Lord Bijlop of St. DavidV. 1 1 
 
 the Gofpel, without the iincere Endeavour of 
 performing the Conditions of it , are of ho 
 Worth before God ^ he concluded* that we 
 ought firmly to believe, that no Perfon can 
 be juftifyed in the fight of God by Faith 
 alone, (as it is ftridly taken) without the o- 
 ther Virtues, which Chrift hath required to* 
 gether with it in Order to that End. Parti- 
 cularly he (heweth that the Knowledge of the 
 Gofpel of Jefus Chrift may be had by the 
 Wicked , as well as the moft Righteous. 
 That there may be an Affent alfo given to the 
 Truth of it by Reprobates, yea even by De . 
 vils , and that laftly there may be a Reliance 
 on the Promifes of it , either conditional or . 
 abfolute, by them that are certainly in a bad 
 Eftate : Nay that it is not impoflible to have 
 all Faith, and the very higheft Degrees there- 
 of, and yet to remain (till but in a doubtful and 
 dangerous Condition. And having very folid- 
 ly treated this Matter in all the feveral Bran- 
 ches thereof, the Reverend Author telleth his 
 Reader what the true and Chriftian Reliance 
 by Faith properly is , and wherein confifteth 
 the only AiTurance of our Salvation. This is 
 fully argued from that famous PafTage in 
 St. Johns lirft Epiftle, Chap, iii* ver. 19, 20, 
 21. which is brought alfo as a farther Con- 
 firmation of his Hypothefis, that feemeth 
 hence to be no other than the Catholick and 
 Apoftolical Explication of the divine CEcono- 
 my towards Man. 
 
 I His
 
 1 14 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 His fourth Argument for the Proof of it, is 
 taken from the Nature and Manner of God's 
 proceeding in the ~Day of Judgment. From 
 which he thus reafoneth, that every one fhall 
 be judged by God in the World to come, after 
 
 ! ^ e ^ ame manner as ne is i fl tn i s prefent World 
 juftifyed by him : And that therefore (ince e- 
 very one is to be judged at the laft Day by 
 Works, (according to Mattk. xxv. ver. 21, &c. 
 compared with Chap. xii. ver. 36, 37. Rom. ii. 
 ver. 6, 13. I Cor. iii. s^r. 13. iv. ver. 4, 5.) 
 and not by Faith alone, without Works, eve- 
 ry one that is juftifyed by God in this Life, 
 muft be alfo juftifyed after the fame manner, 
 that is by Works , not by Faith alone. For 
 the Judgment of God is the fame in the one, 
 and in the other, and changeth not. This I 
 take to be the Sum of his Argument , ftill un- 
 derftanding by Faitb, both here and through- 
 out the whole Controverfy, that which is 
 ftri&ly and fimply fo called, and which is 
 comprehended under all the three A&s or De- 
 grees mentioned in the former Argument. 
 Now he takes here the middle way, after Vof- 
 fits and Grotius, in explaining Chrift's folemn 
 and declarative Juftification of his Saints at 
 the great Day :, which ought well to be obfer- 
 ved. For he will not allow this to be by 
 Works, either as to the meritorious Caufe of it, 
 as fome do hotd, or as the Signs of Faith, as 
 others do maintain , the one being in his O- 
 
 pinion,
 
 late Lord Bifbop of 5>. David V. 1 1 5 
 
 pinion too much, and the other too little. 
 Wherefore there muft be fomewhat betwixt 
 thefe two, according to the Principles by him 
 laid down. The Justification of the Righteous 
 in this World and the next, being both of the 
 fame Nature, according to his Proof both from 
 Scripture and the common Senfe (as well as 
 Confcience) of Mankind. He calleth the firft 
 of thefe Confiitutive, and the fecond he calleth 
 Declarative j and evidently fheweth the one 
 of thefe to be the Rule to the other, and 
 both to be fubjed to the very fame Laws and 
 manner of Procefs , and only to differ in 
 this, that the one is privately, the other pub- 
 lickly tranfaded. This is fet in a true Light 
 both by Reafon and Scripture. Alfo ther two 
 Ads of the Sovereign Judge, in his laft and 
 more folemn Juftification of the Righteous, are 
 by him here rightly diftinguifhed. And in 
 this laft, both his declaring them juft, and his 
 appointing them confequently a Reward there- 
 upon, according to what is made appear in 
 that Day, is here proved perfedly to anfwer 
 to the Manner and Conftitution of the firft, 
 which St.Paul * calls his Gofpel, and St.James 
 f the perfett Law of Liberty j according to 
 which, he concludeth that good Works muft be 
 more than merely the Signs of Faith. Foraf- 
 much as a Sign is always lefs than the thing 
 fignifyed, and on the contrary , but Charity 
 
 * Rom. ii. wv 16. f Chap. i. t*r. 25. 
 
 1 2 that
 
 LI 6 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 that performed! thefeG'00J Works, is, if we may 
 believe St. P^w/himfelf, greater than Faith -, and 
 by Works alfo Faith is made perfed, even as 
 it was in Abraham, and in all the Saints. 
 
 Therefore from the Proceeding of God 
 in the Day of Judgment, wherein his faith- 
 ful Servants (hall be publickly juftifyed, not 
 only by their Faith , but by their Works 
 alfo j and wherein both the rlrfl Ad of the 
 fupreme Judge for pronouncing them juft, and 
 the fecond for decreeing them a fuitable Re- 
 ward, according to the Works they fhall have 
 wrought in the Flefh, in Obedience to the 
 New Covenant $ it is evident that the Works 
 of Charity which wake Faith perfeft, are more 
 than the bare Signs of it, as fome Divines 
 would pretend-, and that Charity which is the 
 Root of them , and is without Controverfy 
 greater than Faith, the Holy Ghoft witnef- 
 fing as much, muft be greater for certain than 
 to be a Sign only of Faith. So then Charity, and 
 Works proceeding from it, being more than a 
 Sign of Faith, but not fo much as a meritorious 
 Caufe, it will follow that we may fo avoid both 
 the Extremes, as yet not to deny, but that they 
 are a Condition, without which none can be jufti- 
 fyed by God either in this Life or the next, accor- 
 ding to theTerms of his Covenant. And if there 
 be any Degree of moral Inflrumentality^ as they 
 term it, in Faith for the Attainment of this blef- 
 fed End, the fame cannot be altogether wanting 
 in this moft excellent Gift of Charity, or in 
 
 the
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David'/. 117 
 
 the Obedience which is rooted upon it, and is 
 the fulfilling and Perfection of that Faith 
 which pleafeth God. The Appeal is here 
 made to the Judgment-Seat of Chrift, and to 
 his own exprefs Declaration concerning the 
 Procefs of that great Day. And certainly if 
 his Words have any weight with us, they muft 
 leave no fmall Impreflion upon us in favour 
 of the Doclrine here contended for, and fo ftre- 
 nuoufly defended by this great and good Man. 
 
 His fifth and laft Argument is taken from ^gument 
 the implicite Confent of all Parties, and from}J, n ,' 
 the very Confeflion of Adverfaries to this Do-conceffion of 
 tfrine. And here he juftifies the publick Con- 
 fejjlons of the reformed Churches in this Point, 
 as being all or mod of them on his fide^ fince 
 notwithstanding that they may in Terms de- 
 clare, that a Man is jnftijyed by Faith alone 
 without Works, it is certain if we may allow 
 of their own Expofition , that by Faith they 
 underftand Grace which anfwereth to it -, and 
 that the plain meaning is , a Man u juftifyed 
 by Grace alone, and not by the Merit of Works. 
 For this they muft mean, as he proveth, if 
 the Authors of thofe verv Confeflions may be 
 depended on to underftand their own meaning. 
 So that in writing againft fome odd Doctrines, 
 he is very far from laying them to the Charge 
 of any Chriftian Society : He only fpeaketh 
 of the private Opinions of fome Divines who 
 profefs themfelves to follow thofe Confeffi- 
 ons, but who miftake and mifapply them. He 
 
 I 3 proveth
 
 1 18 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 proveth moreover, that thefe very Divines who 
 underftand not the Confeflions and Articles of 
 their own Body, and thence oppofe the Ca- 
 tholick Dodrine in this Point, do yet as good 
 as confefs it to be the Truth , by certain Hy- 
 pothefes which they have fet up, even to ftiel- 
 ter themfelves from the Force of it. 
 
 XXIV. The firft Hypothecs is, that the Faith which 
 i^^s-^juftifyeth muft be a living not a dead Faith, or 
 The firft a Faith fruitful of good Works ^ whereby they 
 contefflm diftinguifh it from hiftorical and from miracu- 
 
 conctrning A /? . T *ii"t rii ir 
 
 living or o- Ions rait. And here he expofeth handlome- 
 ?Sth VC ty ^ e Weaknefs f f uc h Difputants, as make 
 the whole of the Controverfy to depend hence 
 on a little metaphyfical Subtlety, namely, 
 Whether Faith that is living, or elfe Faith as 
 it is living, be required as neceffary to our Ju- 
 ftification. And he fully demonftrates the 
 Abfurdity hereof, and that it is impoflible up^ 
 on their Suppofition , even to make out any 
 Senfe of St. James at all. For firft this Apo- 
 flle moft exprefly declaring that a Man is ju- 
 ftifyed ^ Ifa* by Works, the Particle e^ by, or 
 out of, muft manifeftly denote fomewhat more 
 than an idle Concomitance. Since if the 
 whole Bufinefs of Juftification could be done 
 and finifhed by Faith alone, or of itfelf, it 
 would be abfurd to aflert that a Man could in 
 any Senfe be juftifyed by Works. And then 
 fecondly , fpeaking of the Faith of Abraham , 
 he declareth how Faith wrought with his 
 
 Works,
 
 late Lord Bijhop of St. David/. i * ^ 
 
 Works, and how by Works bis Faith was made 
 ferfeEl, Chap. ii. ver. 22. The Apoftle hereby 
 both clearly maintaineth the Co-operation of 
 Faith and Works in the Affair of Juftification, 
 immediately before mentioned, ver. 2 1. And 
 moreover that Faith of itfelf is imperfect, and 
 can never be brought through to the End of 
 Juftification , except as it is made perfect by 
 Works. And laftly, after having diftinftly 
 confidered the feveral Objections and Evafions 
 that have been invented againfl this plain li- 
 teral Senfe, he thinketh he may fafely and 
 without Herefy make the Apoftle's Conclufi- 
 on, according to the clear grammatical mean- 
 ing of the Words, his own^ forafmuch as 
 whofoever contendeth that a Man may be ju- 
 ftifyed by Faith only, and that Works do nothing 
 in this Matter, is even as ridiculous and ab- 
 furd, according to the Principles of the Apo- 
 ftolical Age, as he that mould offer to affirm 
 that a Man liveth by the Body only, and that 
 the Spirit or Soul doth contribute nothing to 
 Man's Life-, that is, if the Parallel of this 
 Apoftle, ver. 20. be juft, and his Reafoning 
 be allowed to be good. 
 
 A ftcond Hypothecs therefore to falve up Second cn- 
 this Matter, the former being found fo infuf* ce & con ; 
 
 c . . i , T ,,- , ,>. , cerning the 
 
 ncient, is, that good Works are nece[jary to ob- Necefliry 
 lain Salvation. This is almoft generally re- of good ? 
 ceived by the reformed Divines, that hold t 
 other fide of the Queftion j efpecially by the 
 more moderate^ fort of them ; And fome of 
 
 I 4 them
 
 120 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 them do mightily triumph in it, fuppofing 
 that they have hereby fecured themfelves a- 
 gainft all the evil Confequences and Contra- 
 dictions to Scripture, which are charged upon 
 the Solifidian Do&rine. Which Pofition they 
 explain after this manner, faying, That Works 
 are indeed a Condition necefTary to obtain, 
 acording to God's Promife, Salvation, but not 
 . that any one mould hereby obtain a Right to 
 Salvation^ this Right being freely given to Faith 
 only in Juflif cation. But that this is a mere 
 Evafion is fully fhewn , both by Scripture 
 Reafonings, and by the very Evidence of the 
 Propofition itfelf \ fo foon as the fame is but 
 explained. For he that granteth good Works 
 to be a Condition, which muft neceffarily be 
 fulfilled by a Chriftian for the obtaining of 
 Life eternal, according to God's Promife, doth 
 at the fame time clearly confefs, That the 
 Right to eternal Life is not to be obtained 
 without Works. And again, he that denieth 
 any Right to Salvation to be acquired by Works, 
 doth contradift the clear arid exprefs Teflimo- 
 ny of the Holy Ghoft, who faith, Bleffed are 
 they who do his COMMANDMENTS, that they 
 way have a RIGHT to the Tree of Life, Rev. 
 xxii. ver. 14. There is no Poflibflity of a- 
 voiding the Force of this Evidence, as well as 
 that of feveral others in the New Teftament, 
 more efpecially thefe three, 2 Thejf. i. ver. 
 5, 7. Heb. vi. ver. lo. and 2 Tim. iv. ver. 8. 
 without entirely fubverting the Authority of 
 
 the
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David'/. 121 
 
 the facred Writers j or at Jeaft making of them 
 (as fome have prophanely jefted) a Nofe of 
 Wax. Since undoubtedly if the Reward of 
 eternal Life , called a Crown of Righteoufnefs, 
 be given by the Lord as the Righteous Judge, 
 for what we (hall have wrought, and for ha- 
 ving fought a good Fight ^ there muft then of 
 Neceffity be acquired by what we have 
 wrought a Right to the Reward, according to 
 God's gracious Covenant in Chrift. And ex- 
 cept this Right be given in Juftification to 
 Love as well as to Faith, and the Works there- 
 of, the Word of God is hence plainly made 
 void. Neither can we deny the Right given, 
 but by denying at the fame time God to be 
 righteous , who hath freely given a Right to 
 thofe that love him, and hath actually obliged 
 himfelf to remember in Mercy thofe that work 
 out their Salvation, by virtue of the faid Co- 
 venant. For if we know any thing, this we 
 know for certain, that God is not unrighteous, 
 that he mould forget the Work and Labour of 
 Love, which any of his Saints have {hewed 
 towards his Name : And if fo, then they muft 
 have fome Right by this their Work and La- 
 bour, in virtue of his Promife, to be accepted 
 and juftifyed by him. Wherefore good Works 
 wrought out of a Love unfeigned, and upon 
 Principles purely Evangelical , are not only a 
 necetfary Condition of obtaining Salvation, 
 which is granted :, but alfo of obtaining a. 
 fight to Salvation^ that is, a Difpofition to 
 
 be
 
 122 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 be juflifyed : which was to be proved. 
 An objetiion And whereas it is objected by them that are 
 againft this Right, though it be confefled to be 
 the free Gift of God, that the making of good 
 Works any ways needful to Juftification, doth 
 both detraft from the Merits of Chrift, and 
 contradid the words of St. Paul ^ it is pru- 
 dently and folidly retorted Qpon them , that 
 for the very fame Reafons their own Hypo- 
 thefis muft fall alfo to the Ground. Since as 
 to the Merits of Chrift, our Salvation no lefs 
 than our Juftification is wholly to be attribu- 
 ted to them , we being freely faved and freely 
 juftifyed for bis fake. And as to St. Paul, it 
 is manifeft that the Works which he difputeth 
 in his Epiftles , are by him excluded from 
 Salvation as well as jujlification. Confider 
 particularly Tit. iii. ver. 5. and Ephef. ii. ver. 
 8, 9. which will fet this Matter beyond doubt. 
 Thus endeth his firft Differ ration, and his Ca- 
 tholick Expofition of St. James. 
 
 In his fecond Diflertation, the main Scope 
 is to demonftrate, as the very Title expreffeth, 
 the good Agreement of St. Paul and St. James 
 kno/ P st. in this Matter. And how well he hath per- 
 james dt- formed this, there is not required much Lear- 
 
 %t? nin ? to J ad 5 e ^ but a faithful Comparifon of 
 with the Scripture, with a moderate Stock of common 
 " 
 
 . The Propofition of one Apoftle is , 
 That by Works a Man is juftifyed, not by Faith 
 only: The Propofition of the other Apoftle 
 
 is,
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'/. 123 
 
 ie, That, a Man is jitftifyed by Faith without the 
 Works (vofjw) of the Law. Both thefe Pro- 
 pofitions are moft true in themfelves, and do 
 perfectly well accord. And there could have 
 been no Difficulty concerning them, had either 
 the State of the Controversy in the Apoftle's 
 Days been attended to as it ought, or Perfons 
 had not come with their modern Opinions and 
 Prejudices to read the Apoftolical Epiftles -, 
 not fo much very often to learn what is the 
 Truth, as to eftablifh themfelves thereby, in 
 what they are already, by the Tradition of a 
 Sed prepoflelfed with to be Truth. 
 
 To pafsby now the feveral wrong and unwar- He & e 
 rantable Methods, which have by learned f^ 
 Men been taken, in order to reconcile the true 
 feetnmg Oppofition of thefe two Apoftles, in 
 a Point fo very material as this:, which are par- 
 ticularly confidered in the three firft Chapters 
 of this Difcourfe, and there defervedly explo- 
 ded 3 our Author cometh to the true Solution 
 of the Knot in the following Chapters. And 
 having in the firft Place eftablifhed this one 
 Point for his Foundation, That St. Paul is to 
 be interpreted by St. James, and not St. James 
 by St. Paul, in Confent with many of the An- 
 cients, (and particularly of St. Augufline him- 
 felf) who are of the Opinion that the General 
 Epiftle of St.Jamesy the Firft of St.John, and 
 the Second of St. Peter, with that ofSt. Jitde, 
 were written again ft thofe who, by mifinter- 
 preting St. Paul's Epiftles, had imbibed a fond 
 
 Notion,
 
 124 The Life of Dr. George Bull,, 
 
 Notion, as if Faith without Works were fuffi- 
 cient to fave them. He (heweth whence this 
 Obfcurity and Ambiguity in the Terms of 
 St. Paul, might probably arife, which was the 
 Occafion that Perfons not well grounded came 
 to mftake or pervert the fame. 
 the Now this can be no otherwife he thinks , 
 Term jufti- t h an by not undemanding what this Apoftle 
 
 fication, at J . . ~ n . r . , r> i \ 
 
 fed by st. meaneth by jiijtijicatwn, or by raitb, or by 
 Paul, is to Works. Having then ftated the true Notion, 
 ted* * of the Term Juftification, as a judicial Ad of 
 God abfolving Man , and pronouncing him 
 juft and bleffed, according to what was before 
 by him laid down and proved. He enquireth 
 next into what St. Paul meaneth by Faith , 
 when he maketh it the necefTary Qualification 
 of our being judicially abfolved, or juftified in 
 God's Court. And then laftly he examineth 
 what thofe Works are which are totally exclu- 
 ded by the Apoftle from any Share in our Sal- 
 vation, or in God's Acceptance. 
 tonrtbe As to Faith, by making St. Paul here his own 
 Term hakh Interpreter, he plainly fheweth that in all fuch 
 "wcr/y^k Pl aces where Juftification is by him afcribed to 
 99 tK inter- it, thereby is to be conftantly underftood, the 
 whole Condition of the Evangelical Covenant ^ 
 comprehending in it all the Works of Chriftian 
 Ptety, as grounded upon a firm Belief thereof 3 
 and that inOppofition only to thejewifh falfe 
 Teachers, who preached up Juftification by the 
 Works of the Law^St. Prfz//deli\ r ered his Dodrine 
 of Juftiticatjon by Faith, i. e. by the GofpeL 
 
 Which
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. David'/. 
 Which Notion of the Chriftian Faith, 
 
 . i , A /ii wnr, taat 
 
 as it is even taught by this very Apoitie , Stt 
 
 he folidly explaineth and defendeth, by 
 veral parallel PaiTages fuch as thefe , 
 i fc , Per (to the Hope of Juftification by obedience. 
 Faith waited for ver. 5.) inJefusChrisi neither 
 Circumcifwn availeth any thing, ?tvr Uncircum- 
 cifion , but Faith which worketh by LOVE. 
 Gal. v. ver. 6. 2 d , For in Christ Jefus neither 
 Circumcifwn availeth any thing, nor Uncircumci- 
 fion^ but //NEW CREATURE, Chap.vi.ver.i*}. 
 3' 1 , Circumcifwn is nothing, and Uncircumcifion 
 is nothing, but the keeping the COMMAND- 
 MENTS0/GW is ALL, i Cor.vii. ver. 19. com- 
 pared with the words of our Saviour, John xv* 
 ver. 14. and Mat . xii. ver. 50. And this he doth 
 here farther illuftrate and confirm by all thofe 
 PafTages, where either the Apoftle expounded! 
 Faith by Obedience^ or elfe fpeaketh of the 
 Obedience of Faiths As particularly when he 
 fayeth, they have not all obeyed the Gofpel, 
 Rom.x. ver. 16. there interpreting and applying 
 the words of Ifaiah, who crieth out, Lord who 
 bath believed our Report, oiPreacbing? Ilai.liii, 
 ver. i. which obeying the Gofpel, or Obe- 
 dience of Faith, he declareth in the fame 
 Epiftle to be AO'^ $ epyp> h Word and Deed, 
 Chap. xv. ver. 18. Whence it is plain, that by 
 Faith we are here and elfevvhere , as often as 
 it is fuppofed to acl: inflrumentally for our 
 Juftification, to tmderftand that only which 
 worketh by Charity, and which is the fame 
 
 with
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 with the new Creature, and containeth in it 
 the keeping of God's Commandments : And that 
 believing and obeying the Gofpel do in his Wri- 
 tings (ignify the very fame thing, which is called 
 by him the Obedience of Faith, the Obedience 
 ofChrift, and (imply Obedience, Rom. i. ver. 5. 
 xvi. ver. 19,26. 2 Cor. vii. ver. 1 5. x. ver. 5, 6. 
 compared with^W. i. ver. 1 2. Rom. ii.ver. 1 3. as 
 alfo with the i Pet. i. ver. 2, 22. where topurifie 
 the Soul in OBEYING the Truth, that is, the 
 Gofpel 5 and the SanBification of the Spirit unto 
 OBEDIENCE , which is by cafting down all 
 human Imaginations and Reafonings againft the 
 Truths of God, and bringing into Captivity 
 every Thought 'to the OBEDIENCE of Chritf, 
 muft needs be the fame with purifying the 
 Heart by Faith, and the being fanBifed by 
 Faith, in AQs xv. ver. 9. and xxvi. ver. 18. 
 And forafmuch as it feemed good to the Ho- 
 ly Ghoft to join, both with this fame Obedience 
 to the Faith , and the Sanftification to this 
 Obedience, the fprinkling of the Blood of Jefu* 
 Chrift, which is uncontrovertedly our Juftifi- 
 cation, it will neceflarily follow that the Chri- 
 Jlian Obedience by which the Soul is purified 
 and fanclified through the Spirit and Blood of 
 Chrift, muft not be underftood to be different 
 from that Faith which both purifeth andjufti- 
 fath, according to the Language of the very 
 fame Apoftle, as from Abundance of Places 
 doth appear : And this is that Faith which is 
 properly called Fides formata, being Faith 
 
 formed
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. David'/. 127 
 
 formed and quickened ty Charity. Thus St. 
 Paul's Senfe is from parallel Paffages , to 
 which many more might be added, made 
 clear 5 whence the true Notion of Chriftian 
 Faith and Obedience will be found not hard to 
 be comprehended , this is his firft Argument. 
 
 Another Argument that St.Paul meaneth here SeeonJ AT- 
 no other Faith 5 but fuch as containeth in itObe- f j^f^ 
 dience, and cannot befeparated from Charity, is Paul means 
 
 taken from that famous Paflage of his in i Cor. fuch a f? th 
 , , i 1 i n r**fcfc- 
 
 xiu. ver. 2. where he maketh nothing at all or et h 
 
 Faitb alone * or Faith by it felf, yea of the very erce - 
 higheft Faith, unlefs it be animated and infor- 
 med by Chriftian Love and Obedience. For 
 as to the vulgar Objection, that the Apoftle is 
 here fpeaking only of miraculous Faith, or of 
 fome fuch Faith at lead as is imperfed, or fuper- 
 ficial and counterfeit ^ this he thinks is moft eafi- 
 ly refuted but by a very little Attention to the 
 words of the Text and their Connection. Be- 
 caufe firft the Apoftle fpeaketh here exprefsly of 
 all manner of Faith, as well as of all manner of 
 Knowledge} and thus, uQng the fame Term, he 
 elfewhere fpeaketh of all manner of Afflidion, or 
 <77 Affliction, 2 Cor.L ver.\. Secondly, the Mi- 
 racle-working Faith is the higheft Degree of 
 Faith , there being no other Faith as confide- 
 red in it felf, that is greater and nobler than 
 this : If any will therefore own this Faith to 
 be nothing in the Sight of God, though it in- 
 cludes the higheft Degree of Aflent to the 
 Gofpel of Chrift , they muft confequently 
 y grant,
 
 128 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 grant, that there is no manner of Faith, which 
 nakedly confidered, can avail ought to a Mans 
 Salvation. Thirdly, there can be no doubt 
 made, but that the Apoftle is here writing of 
 True and Evangelical Charity } and not of any 
 inferior fort, which fometimes may be called 
 by that Name : But if one Part of the Com- 
 parifon be true and real, fo muft the other 
 Part be likewife. For if Charity that is true 
 be preferred only to Knowledge that is un- 
 found, and is falfly fo called j or to Prophecy 
 that is pretended^ or to the Underftanding of 
 Myfteries that is imaginary, or to Faith that 
 is untrue or dead , fuch a Comparifon would 
 be as ridiculous, as to compare the Strength 
 of a Child with that of a Lyon, and prefer 
 the Child's Strength in making nothing of the 
 Lyon's, hereby meaning a living Child, but a 
 dead Lyon. Fourthly , it is by all generally 
 owned , that at the End of this Chapter no 
 other but true and perfecl: Faith is to be under- 
 ftood : But and if fo, then alfo muft it necef- 
 farily be underftood at the beginning of the 
 Chapter after the fame manner, the whole be- 
 ing one continued Difcourfe, otherwife the 
 Apoftle would be inconfiftent with himfelf. 
 r&u- A Third Argument for this Acceptation of 
 that t fa wor ^ p a jtb in many Places of St. Paul's Epi- 
 files, not according to the fimple, but the com- 
 ith plex Senfe thereof, is taken from thatremarka- 
 bleText, Rom.ii.ver. 13. (interpreted by Chap. 
 x iii. ver. 10. Grf/.v. ver. 14. and Jam. ii. ver. 8.) 
 
 where
 
 late Lord Eifbof of St. David V. 
 
 where he exprefsly declareth the obferving of 
 God's Commandments to be needful to Juftifi- 
 cation , by determining that it is not the Hea- 
 rers or Believers that are juftified before God, 
 but that the DOERS of the Law fo all ^JUSTI- 
 FIED. Nothing, one would think, can be more 
 plain than this, yet neither is this all j the whole 
 Current of the Revelation of the New Teflament 
 conftantly fuppofing no lefs, as in it is contained 
 a Body of divine Precepts and Rules, wifely ad- 
 apted to perfed human Nature, andtojuftirieas 
 many as are conformed thereby to the Will of 
 ! God. This one PafTage of St.Paul being applied to 
 the perfeEl Law of Chrift, is as good as a thou- 
 fand. Wherefore, to omit others, let itbefuffici- 
 ent to obfer ve here from our Author, that this is 
 parallelled very fitly with that of St. James, 
 Be DoEPvS of the Word, and not Hearers only , 
 and with the exprefs Sayings of Chrift him- 
 felf in Mat. vii. ver. 21, 24. John xiv. ver. 21. 
 and xiii. ver. 17. Now it is plain that Love 
 is the fulfilling of the Law under the new 
 Evangelical Difpenfation :, and that the Law 
 is fulfilled hence in one word. And this he 
 farther corroborates from another Pailage in 
 the fame Epiftle , expounding d^ioavr* by 
 <$V<gwttc-, that the Antithesis may more clearly 
 appear, and fo making the Senfe to run thus : 
 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield your j "elves 
 Servants to obey, his Servants ye are, ixtloetber of 
 Sin unto Death, or of Obedience unto Jufiifica- 
 i\on y that is Life eternal. Chap. vi. ver. \6. 
 
 K Thus
 
 1 30 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 The Ground Thus is St. Paul's Juftification by Faith, 
 manner of and not by legal Works , explained according 
 freaking, to the Analogy of his own Writings , and of 
 the other Scriptures of the New Teftament. 
 Which done, he proceedeth to enquire into 
 the Ground of this manner of fpeaking. And 
 this, without doubt, muft be becaufe Faith is 
 the Beginning and Root of all Evangelical 
 Righteoufnefs , and the firft Principle of all 
 true Religion, Heb. xi. ver. 6. without which 
 rio faving Virtue is or can be in Man j and 
 which not being obftrudled, will kindly draw 
 after it all the reft of the Virtues as they are in 
 Chrift. For if we believe in him, we are 
 thereby led chearfully to obey him , and to 
 fubmk to his Discipline, and to his wife and 
 holy Inftitutions. 
 
 XXVI. But befides this, there are two Reafons why 
 v^^-^ St.Prfw/, in defcribing the Condition required 
 The firft on our part for Salvation , rnaketh ufe of 
 why f a ' lt J And thefe are. i. That he might ex- 
 atb P re ^ s to us tn E^fmefs of the Condition. 
 to Jefcnte 2. That he might thence exclude all human 
 frfriSf" Me** As to the ^/inefs of the Condition on 
 from u^ Man's Part for obtaining Juftification, it was 
 impoflible to exprefs it more emphatically, than 
 by Faith. For what can be more eafy than to 
 believe-^ efpecially when there is all the Rea- 
 fon in the World for our Belief - y anel where 
 not to believe is the greateft Folly and Infenfi- 
 bility imaginable? Or what again can contri- 
 bute
 
 late LordBiJkop of St. David V. 1 3 1 
 
 bute more to deprefs the Merit of all Flefh, 
 and to exclude all Boafting, than to afcribe 
 nothing to what we do, even in that which we 
 do, but to give the fole Honour of all to the 
 Grace of God in Chrift ^ into which we can- 
 not be initiated but by Faith ? So that as the 
 new Covenant is more eafy than the old , if' 
 in the old there might be fome Pretence of 
 meriting, .there can be none at all in the new. 
 Whence both to exprefs how much greater Fa- 
 cility there is of Evangelical, than of Legal 
 Juftification , . and to make void all the Preten- 
 fions of Man , by vertue of his own' Perfor- 
 mances -, there is here given fuch an Interpreta- 
 tion of thofe words of Mofes and St. Paul, 
 Levit. xvili. ver. 5. Deitt.xxx. ver.n, 12, 14. 
 Rom. x. ver. 5, 10. which defcribe theRighte- 
 oufnefs both of the Law, and of the GoJpeJ, 
 and compare them together, as to mew the re- 
 al and diftind Ground of each, and to manifeft 
 wherein the Prerogative of one Revelation a- 
 bove the other , doth properly confift. The 
 Sum of which is this. " The Righteoufnefs, 
 " be faith, which is of the Law, prefcribeth 
 " very many and grievous Commandments, 
 " but containeth no fufficient Promifes to en- 
 " courage a Man to the Obedience of them $ 
 " but that which is of Faith, prefcribeth only 
 " a few and eafy Commandments, fuch as in 
 <c themfelves are highly recommendable, and 
 " fuited to the Perfection of our Natures^ and 
 " exciteth us alfo to the Performance thereof 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 K 2 "by
 
 1 3 2 T/>e L//* of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 " by the greateft and mofl certain Promifes, 
 " and by the AiTurance of all thofe Kelps at 
 c< Hand, that we can even wifh for or defire. 
 And the Foundation of all this he makes to be 
 a ftedfaft Belief, that 'tis pofiible for a Man to 
 afcend into Heaven :, and that even notwith- 
 ftanding that he may have descended into the 
 Deep, he rnuft yet return again. All which 
 is demonftrated to us by the Hiftory of our 
 Saviour's Afcenfion, as is here fhewn : And no 
 lefs likewife by that of his Death and Refitrre- 
 B'wn, being fo convincingly attefted. So that 
 whoever {hall doubt of this Matter , he may 
 even as well think to bring Chriil himfelf dorm 
 from Heaven, who is thither afcended } or elfe 
 to deny that Chrift was ever put to Death in 
 the Flefh, and raifed again from the Dead by 
 the Spirit. Wherefore the Refurreclion and 
 Afcenfion of Jefus Chrift into Heaven, being 
 once firmly believed , the whole Subftance of 
 Chriftian Religion is made thereby moft eafy: 
 So that we may truly then fay, his Command- 
 ments are not grievous , for to him that belie v- 
 eth are all things made eafy. And this is the 
 Victory that overcometh the World^ according 
 as the Holy Ghoft witnefieth, even oitr Faith. 
 .Which Victory is therefore afcribed to Faith, 
 becaufe it is Faith that both encourageth us to 
 theBattel, and affifteth us in it with the whole 
 divine Armor 5 and maketh the Grace of God, 
 the Merit of Chrift, and the Aid of his Spirit, 
 to be herein all in all. 
 
 And
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David V. 
 
 And this Faith expreffing Evangelical Obe- 
 dience doth moreover exclude all Merit $ be- 
 caufe i. it fuppofeth the Revelation, and cal-/w Ba- 
 ling on God's part firft granted to Man out 
 mere Grace, before his performing any Obe- 
 dience to God , and that therefore he doth 
 perform that Obedience, which is exprefTed 
 by the Word of Faith, not by his own Might 
 and Strength, but through God preventing 
 him with his Love and Mercy, and gracioully 
 revealing his Mind to him. 2. Becaufe it not 
 only fuppofeth a divine Revelation , but alfo 
 fuch Promifes as may excite a Perfon to fet a- 
 bout thefe Works, which he would never o- 
 therwife have attempted , had he been never 
 fo much before perfuaded of his Duty fo to do. 
 The Texts now brought by him for Con fir ma- \ 
 tion and Illuftration hereof ; are thefe, viz. 
 i Pet. i. ver. 4. and I Pet. i. ver. 23. compa- 
 red with Jam. i. ver. 8. Alfo St. Peter's Do- 
 xology, i Epift. i. ver. 3. and Abrahams Blef- 
 (ing, Gal iii. ver. 14. which are very exprefs 
 in this Cafe, and may receive farther Light 
 from Heb. xii. ver. 2. 3. Becaufe fo far as it 
 regardeth the Promife , it expefteth no Re- 
 ward but only from ihefree undeferved Grace 
 of God promiiing it. And this he taketh to be 
 the chief Reafon why the Holy Ghoft is wont 
 to exprefs the Gofpel-Obedience by Faith, to 
 (hew that this Obedience which we yield 
 through Faith, doth not obtain Salvation fna 
 vi ant merito, fy its own Efficacy or Merit, but 
 
 K" 3 vi
 
 34 Tfce Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 vipaEli^ by venue of tie Covenant , or Free 
 Promife , which by Faith is apprehended. 
 Texts for confirming and illuftrating this, by 
 him made ufe of, are thefe, viz. Gal. iii. ver. 
 1 8. Rom. iv. ver. 13, 1 6. This for Faith. 
 
 XXVII ^ s to ^ or ^ s -> an ^ tne -Ambiguity in the Ufe 
 of this Term as fometimes oppofed to Faith, 
 he next proceedeth to (hew, from the whole 
 IT tent and Scope of St. Paul, in his Difputati- 
 
 on w ^ t ^ ie J ews an ^ judaizing Chrittians , 
 in both in his Epiftle to the Rowans, and in that 
 tQ t h e Gdatians, that he and St. J^ww are 
 perfectly of a Mind, that thefe are to be reftri- 
 fted by an Hiftory of Fads relating to the Con- 
 tentions then on foot, that the Works exclu- 
 ded by one are alfo no lefs excluded by the 
 other, and on the contrary. In proving this 
 he is very large and clear. And particularly 
 Occafion is taken by him from the divine Ser- 
 mon of our Lord upon the Mount , to ftate 
 this Matter with all Exaclnefs, and to demon- 
 ftr,ate the Conformity of the Defign, both of 
 the Matter and of his Difciples; as proceed- 
 ing upon the very fame Principles, eying the 
 very fame Objections and Prejudices, and car- 
 rying on together the very fame Caufe, even 
 that of Evangelical Righteoufnefs 5 notwith* 
 ftanding fome Difference of Style and Method, 
 and the Diverfity of Appearances occafionally 
 introduced. Hereby is given us a noble Pro- 
 fpecl of the Chriftian Religion : And a moft 
 
 delightful
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. DavidV. 
 
 delightful View withal of thofe bright and 
 gracious Works which follow the BlefTed that 
 dye in Chrift , for their Juftitication is there 
 faithfully reprefented to the Reader. 
 
 But here above all , it is necetfary that the ^ r r ^ f ht b 
 Works which are thus gracioufly received of the Spirit 
 God for Chrift's fake, forafmuch as they are "if <///?/ 
 
 it. i ^ r i r- ' lUtjhtd 
 
 wrought by the Operation of his own Spirit 9 f rgm a uo- 
 be rightly diftinguimed from all other Works,''*' Wsr k> 
 let their Appearance be never fo great and 
 good 5 which, however they may juftifie us 
 before Men , can have no Share in juftifying 
 us before God. And this is done fo' well in ' -".^ 
 this Difcourfe, and in the two Vindications of 
 it , as it will be hard for any to miftake the 
 one for the other , that will mind but a little 
 what is herein fo very clearly delivered. For 
 as there is a living and a dead Faith, fo like- 
 wife there are living and dead Works j which 
 muft by no means be confounded. As to Faith 
 it is certainly dead without Works j and no 
 lefs certainly are Works dead without Faith. 
 The Separation of one from the other is al- 
 moft like the Separation of the Soul from the 
 Body. 
 
 Whence there can be no doubt upon the f*itk and 
 Reafonings of this Treatife, but that Faith and %* ' 
 Works , or the Works ofFaitb, or Faith work- Go/pei-cwe- 
 ing by Love, or Faith and Repentance, are mnt * 
 properly confHfutive of the Evangelical Cor 
 venant, (which is fomething differently ex- 
 preffed) according to which a Man is accepted 
 
 K 4 and
 
 136 The Life of Dr. George Bull ^ 
 
 and juftifyed of God. As to Fairh there can be 
 here no Controverfy, that being a 1 lowed by all. 
 As to Works , if St. Paul again may be al- 
 
 f , . , u .,, , 
 
 .lowed to be his own Interpreter, there will be 
 no great if any Difficulty in the Matter, as our 
 ^^or fully proveth. For the true State of 
 the Cafe, according to him, is this. The Go- 
 fpel of Jefus Chrift did , from its very tirft 
 preaching, labour under this greit Prejudice 
 from the Jews, that it did contradict the Reli- 
 gion and the Law given them of God, by the 
 Hands of Mofes- the Mediator thereof, and con- 
 firmed to them by many and great Miracles. 
 Againft this Calumny, our Lord expreily de- 
 fended himfelf in that moft divine Sermon 
 of his upon the Mount, (hewing how he came 
 not to dilTolve or to defiroy^ but to fulfil and 
 perfect the Law: Both by explaining thofe 
 things in it more clearly, which had never be- 
 fore been explained , and by ftrengthning it 
 with fome mote exact Rules, and then a'lfo by 
 inclining our Minds to the Obedience thereof 
 by the Grearnefs and Certainty of the Pro- 
 mifes , and even by the fealing moreover of 
 the Holy Ghoft. This is for the moral. And 
 as for the ritual part of the Law, that was by 
 Chrift fo confummated, as to ceafe when the 
 Subftance thereof appeared in him. This ne- 
 4 verthelefs the Jews were not willing to under- 
 fland, as not difcerning the End and Purpofe 
 of God in giving the Law , but concluding 
 that It was to be everlafting , and that even.
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David V. 137 
 
 as to all the Ceremonials too therein contain- 
 ed. And he fheweth us how this Prejudice 
 continued, even with them that were convert- 
 ed to the Faith of Chrift : So that there was 
 need of an Apoflolical Council to oppofe it, and 
 to determine for the Cbriftian Liberty againft 
 the Mofaical Servitude. And that which both 
 Chrift and the whole College of his Apoftles 
 did, is but profecuted more at large by St. Paul, 
 as he proveth againft the aforefaid Jewifh Pre- 
 judice, when he writeth of the Law and the 
 Gofpel, or the Works of the Law, and the Obe- 
 dience of Faith, and compareth them together. 
 For which, and for other Reafons, he colle- 
 cteth that St. Paul cannot mean all forts of 
 Works, when he excludeth them from jufti- 
 fyingj but only foine fort of them, as Works 
 of the Mofaical Law. 
 
 Now the Works rejected from 
 by the Apoftle St. Paul, for vindicating 
 moft high Pre-eminence and Prerogatives 
 the Gofpel, are according to our Author , tm ' 
 
 1. The ritual ones, which the ceremonial 
 Law appointed , and which Chrift fulfilled. 
 
 2. The moral ones , before and without the 
 Grace of the Gofpel, whether in the State of 
 the Law or of Nature. 3. All Works of Ju- 
 daical Righteoufnefs, both legal and traditio- 
 nal, as they are delivered by thejewifh Do- 
 dors, and by the ftrideft Pharifees infiftcd on. 
 4. All manner of Works whatfoever not foun- 
 ded upon Chrift as the only Mediator j aad, 
 
 which
 
 1 3 b The- Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 which without refped: to the Covenant of 
 Grace eftabliflied in his Blood, put in any but 
 the lead Pretence to the Attainment of Salva- 
 tion. And none of any of thefe are fet up by 
 his Brother Apoftle, as is evident from his 
 whole Epiftle. And on the contrary, St.Paul 
 is fo far from denying that moral Works, pro- 
 ceeding foom the Grace of the Gofpel, do by 
 vertue of the Gofpel-Covenant effectually con- 
 tribute to a Man's eternal Juftification and Sal- 
 vation - 7 as he is almoft wholly taken up in de- 
 monftrating it , which is (hewn at large in feven 
 Chapters of this Difcourfe. And this is the 
 very thing that is only contended for by St. 
 James. And the Foundation of them both i 
 our Saviour's Sermon aforefaid , which both 
 * beginheth and f endeth herewith j and is 
 throughout a plain demonftration , that there 
 can be no true Juftification under the Gofpel, 
 or Attainment of Bleflednefs, but by Obedi- 
 ence as well as Faith, and by the following of 
 Cbrifl; and that confequently not only Works 
 of Righteoufnefs are required in order to it, 
 but even fuch as furpafs the Righteoufnefs of 
 the very ftri&eft of thofe that are but under the 
 Law. This is the Subftance of the fecond Dif- 
 fertation. In which there are alfo feveral curi- 
 ous and learned Difcourfes for llluftration of 
 the Subject , concerning the Pre-eminence of 
 the Evangelical Difpenfation above the Legal, 
 
 * St. Macth. v. i-er. 5, &( f Chap. vii. ver. 24, tfoc, 
 
 Of
 
 late Lord Bi/lop ef St. David'/. 1 
 
 of the Perfection of the Chriftian Rule, of the 
 Miftakes about it , of the Jewifti Notions of 
 Juftirication, and of feveral other Matters in- 
 tcrfperfed, which will deferve the Attention 
 of a careful Reader. 
 
 About a Year after this Book was printed XXVIir. 
 and publifhed, there was fent a Copy of it 
 with marginal Annotations and Animadverfi- 
 ons to the Author, after it had paiTed through 
 feveral other Hands before. They were writ- /?* to the 
 ten by a certain Divine, who was altogether Atlthor ' 
 unknown to him. As he received them, from j^ 
 his Diocefan and Patron , he fet himfelf ear- 
 neftly to confider them, and to review what 
 he had printed. 
 
 In the Year 1671, or thereabouts, the Ant- TbeAnj- 
 madverfions upon his Harmonia, &c. which he *****]*? 
 had fome time before received by the Hands 3/r.charics 
 of Bifhop flifbdfint were difcovered to him 
 to have- been written by Mr. Charles Gata- 
 ker^ the Son of that learned Critick Mr, Tbo- 
 mas Gataker of London, Author of the Dif- 
 fer tatio de Stylo Novi Teftamenti, &c. who was 
 a Member of that unlawful Afiembly of Di- 
 vines that met at Wefiminfter 1643, and was 
 preparing to publiOi, after another Scheme, an 
 Harmony alfo of the two Apofiks , Janies and 
 Paul, a little before he dyed, with whofe 
 Papers the Son being affifted thought himfelf 
 more than able to deal with our Author, and e- 
 yen to overthrow his whole Foundation.
 
 1 40 ' The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 The sum of How well Mr. Gataker hath fucceeded 
 ' therein, let any one judge, after reading over 
 all the Animadverfions which he hath made, 
 and comparing them with the Book animad- 
 verted upon. After which, if he be not fa- 
 tisfyed enough on which fide the Truth lyeth, 
 he may go on to read the Reply to them j 
 but if he be , he may fave hira.felf that La- 
 bour. Now the Sum of what is contained in 
 thefe Animadverfions may amount to thus 
 
 Aninud. i.much: It is not fit, he thinks, to explain St. 
 Paul by St. Jam^s -, as fuppofing this would be 
 ro make a fingle PafTage in the one the Stan- 
 dard, whereby to interpret a great many in the 
 other. Nor is he willing to allow of any Ob- 
 fcurity at all in St. PWs Expreffions, but 
 contendeth for the Plainnefs and Fulnefs of his 
 Arguments in this Cafe, againft the Dodrine 
 explained and defended according to St. James 
 
 Animad. 2. in our Author's Harmony of the Afoftles. He 
 is not at all pleafed with the Term of fides 
 format a, or animated Faith :, becaufe it feem- 
 eth to make Charity the Soul of Faith, or its 
 conftitutive Form $ and becaufe the faid Term 
 is taken up by the Schoolmen, whom he in- 
 veigheth againft as the great Corrupters of the 
 
 Aaifc.3,4. Gofpel in this Point. He chargeth the Har- 
 monift with confounding the * Terms of Scri- 
 pture, and with not reaching the Senfe of a 
 common f Greek Particle. He will not hear 
 
 of
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. David'/. 141 
 
 of the Imputation of Reward as a part of Ju- 
 ftification ^ nor is he content to have Faith Co 
 far degraded as to be accounted only a Con- 
 dition of the Gofpel-Covenant, for he will 
 have it to be a great deal more , even a real 
 and efficacious Canfe of the Righteoufnefs ob- 
 tained by Chrifl, or a canfal Energy in jufli- 
 fying a Sinner. He diflinguifheth betwixt Animad. 5. 
 the being accepted by God, and being juftify- 
 ed by him ^ and granteth Cornelius to have 
 been indeed accepted, but denyeth him to have 
 been juftifyed, becaufe of his good Works. 
 He alloweth not that Juflification is properly Animad. <>. 
 meant by the fprinkling of Chrift's Blood, but 
 will have Sanftification referred to by it, in 
 i Pet. i. ver. 2. and other Places. He deny- Animad. 7. 
 cth Juflification to be the fame with Remifli- 
 on of Sins ^ and is pofitive that Juflification is 
 no where in Scripture attributed to Repentance. 
 Neverthelefs he denyeth not that Repentance 
 and Faith are the two Conditions of the Go- 
 fpel which Chrifl had joyned together , and 
 which none ought to put afunder. He difputeth Animad. 8. 
 not the Obligation to Repentance laid upon 
 us:, but maintained! however that a Man may 
 be juflifyed by Faith, who fhall want the Op- 
 portunity of bringing forth the Fruits of Re- 
 pentance, being prevented by Death. He de- Animad. $. 
 fendeth the Inftrwnentality of Faith, under- 
 flanding by it, a certain Influence appointed by 
 God for the obtaining of PJghteouJhefs. He A nim. 10, 
 contendeth for tjie Englifh Proteflant Divines, 
 
 that
 
 1 42 7 he Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 that they have not fuffered themfelves to be 
 transported too far in their Difputes with the 
 
 Anira. 1 1. Papifts about this Article. By the Diftindion 
 of a twofold Righteoufafs , the one of Christ 
 imputed to the faithful, and by Faith obtain- 
 ed , the other of ihefiritfymt, by himfelf per- 
 formed, and by Works exercifed and fliewn 
 forth , he laboureth to furmoum the Difficul- 
 ty of Chrift's Sermon on the Mount, as an au- 
 thentick Expofition and Declaration of the 
 Moral Law, and his Eftablifhmem thereof for 
 his own Law, by tempering it with Evangeli- 
 
 Anjm. 12. ca l Grace. Moreover , he diftinguimerh a 
 twofold Law of Chrift , the one the Moral 
 Law of God , the other the Law of f mik : 
 And maintaineth that a true and living i aith 
 is the only Condition of Juftirication ac- 
 cording to the Evangelical Law of Chrift, as 
 
 Anim. 13. contradiftincl: to the Moral. He detineth Sa- 
 ving Faith to be a lively Inclination of the Will, 
 that is direBed by the Underftanding now irra- 
 diated by the Light of the Go/pel, and moved by 
 the Holy Ghott to truft in God through Christ 
 
 Anim. 14. the Mediator for eternal Salvation. He cunten- 
 deth that Chrift's Defcription of the Day of 
 Judgment in Mat. xxv. is parabolical , and that 
 no declfive Argument can thence be brought 
 for the manner of his Proceeding in that Day. 
 Yea he infifteth, that if we are to be juftified 
 in this Life after the fame manner we ihall be 
 judged according to this Parable , we muft 
 confequentlybe juftified by Works alone, with- 
 out
 
 late Lord Bifbof of St. DavidV. 1 4 3 
 
 out Faith. His Way of reconciling St. Paul Anim. 15, 
 with St. James, is by the Diftinction of a two- 
 fold Juftifieation, as refpefting a twofold Accu- 
 fation, according to the different Conditions of 
 the Covenant of Works, and the Covenant of - 
 Grace. For he maintained!, that we are accu- 
 fed before God either as Sinners , or as Unbe- 
 lievers , and that we are juftified againft the 
 firft Accufation by-Faith alone, laying hold on 
 the Grace and Righteoufnefs of Chrift , and a- 
 gainft the fecond by Works, and not by Faith 
 only, as thefe are the Signs and Evidences of 
 our being true Believers. He objedeth againft Anim. 16. 
 the complex Notion of Faith, as inclufive of 
 Hope and Charity with good Works , that it 
 is plainly contrary to St. Paul's Foundation, 
 who acknowledged no other but Faith in the 
 Blood of Chrift without Works : And there- 
 fore without a Contradiction to himfelf, can- 
 not be underftood to fpeak of a Faith with 
 Works. He difputeth about the Perfection of Anim. 17: 
 the Law of Mofes j and faith that the Law 
 which is to be the Rule of the 4aft Judgment, 
 can be no other than a Rule of perfeft Obedi- 
 ence. He derideth the Diftin&ion of Juftifi- Anim. 18. 
 cation in the. Sight of God, and before the 
 World. The only Reafon for which he will Anim. ip. 
 allow St. Paul to deny that a Sinner may be 
 pftified by the Law of Mofes, is the moft per- 
 fecl: and abfolute Righteouinefs which he aiier- 
 teth to be required by it , as a Condition of 
 Juftification 5 which Condition no Man can 
 
 5 perform.
 
 1 44 The ^Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Anim. 20. perform. He is very pofitive, that St. Paul 
 had no Intent to make mention of the Defed 
 of the Law, and that he could draw no Argu- 
 ment from the Weakneis of it againft Juftifi- 
 cation, though he might againft Sandirication, 
 by it. He faith that the Grace of God, for 
 the Observance of the Law , was not denied 
 by the very Pharifees themfelves ^ and that 
 none either Jerez or Gentiles did ever think 
 they could be juftified by Works without God's 
 Grace , even the Heathens being fo wife as to 
 acknowledge * no Man good without a divine 
 Genius ajjifting kirn. And he concludeth that 
 St. Paul doth fpeak only of Abraham, David, 
 and fuch others, who were juftified by the 
 Mercy of God through Chrift, to whom God 
 
 Anim. 21. imputed Righteoufnefs without Works. He is 
 exceedingly difpleafed with thofe who make 
 the Promifcs and Threatnings of the Law to 
 be only temporal j and chargeth this Opinion 
 with downright Blafphemy, and with contra- 
 dicling the exprefs words of Chrift, Luke xvi. 
 v ^ r - 2 9* an d John v. ver. 39. In a word, he is 
 very earneft for the Perfection of the Law gi- 
 ven by Mofes, in Opposition to the feveral In- 
 firmities objeded againft it ^ and argueth for 
 its Fitnefs to produce true and genuine Piety, 
 from the Book of Deuteronomy, and from the 
 . 22. Pfalms. And in' the Clofe of all, he feverely 
 animadvcrteth upon an Appeal of our Author 
 
 tO
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. David'/. 145 
 
 to the Judgment of the Church of England in 
 her XI Article, charging him with interpola- 
 ting her Dodripe, and the Holy Scripture alfo^ 
 whereby he means, corrupting and depraving 
 it by his Additions. This is a moft heavy 
 Charge againft him j and his Proofs ought to 
 be very plain. The beft Caufe in the World 
 may be tun down with Clamour and Confi- 
 dence: But Truth is never better fupported, 
 than by being modeftly and (imply propofed, 
 with the Arguments for and againft it fairly 
 reprefented , without Reflection upon any for 
 not thinking after the fame manner with us. 
 But this is not the Method of the Animad*- 
 verier. 
 
 It were truly much to have been wifhed, The cb*ra- 
 that fo mafterly a Writer as Mr. Rul], had met ffer f the 
 with, upon his firft fetting out into the World, 
 a more confiderable Adverfary to manage, that 
 fo the Caufe might have been carried on with 
 greater Advantages, for advancing the Truth 
 limply, without refped to Perfons or Parties ; 
 and that a great Genius might not have been 
 forced to condefcend to fuch little Matters, as he 
 could exped to receive no Honour from , if 
 he conquered. Mr. Gataker appeareth to have 
 been a Perfon of great Violence in his Tem- 
 per, but one well intentioned, and a very zea- 
 lous Proteftant :, and had he had but more 
 Coolnefs of Thought, and had he withal read 
 more of the Ancients , and fewer of the Mo- 
 derns, he would, I believe, have made no in- 
 
 L confi-
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 confiderable Writer. But he not allowing 
 himfelf time to think fedately, or even to ex- 
 amine fufficiently the Senfe of .an Author who 
 pleafed him not , being fired with a Zeal for 
 what he took for Truth, from the Syftems 
 which he had greedily fuck'd in, as authentick 
 Explications of the Gofpel, entirely loft him- 
 felf hereby , and expofed the very Caufe he 
 undertook to defend. However in this he is 
 to be commended, that he was content to have 
 his Thoughts communicated to his Superiors 
 in the Church, and to the Author of the Book 
 which he attacked, without making them more 
 publick by the Prefs. And Bimop Nicholfan 
 was alfo certainly in the right, not to prefs 
 Mr. Bull to publifh the Anfwer which he had 
 prepared, notwithftanding all the foul Lan- 
 guage and Provocation that was given him. 
 
 XXIX. However becaufe nothing that was more 
 t^x-^rv^ confiderable did yet appear objected againft 
 jifr.Buiiv this Work-, and becaufe he thought there did 
 ft? w / r ^ e on k* m an Obligation both for his own fake, 
 mucWotke and the Truth's fake, to vindicate himfelf and 
 f Mr. Ga- his Book from thofe harfli and uncharitable 
 Cenfures which were call upon him and it^ 
 and to endeavour to put a Stop to thofe loud 
 Clamours moft unjuftly raifed and fomented 
 by others of the fame fiery Zeal againft a Pro- 
 ceeding of the greateft Fairnefs and Ingenuity: 
 As alfo becaufe the very fending him that prin- 
 ted Copy of his }Iarmoma y 5Cc. which came 
 
 from
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David V. 147 
 
 from Mr. Charles Gataker, fluffed throughout 
 with his Remarks and Reflections written on the 
 Margents of it, together with other mifcellany 
 Notes relating to this Controverfy, added both 
 before and after the Book by him, was looked 
 upon by Mr. Bui! when he firft received it, no 
 other than a Command of his fpirittial Supe- 
 rior, who fent it him, to undertake the An- 
 fwering of whatever therein might deferve a- 
 ny Confideration , notwithstanding that this 
 was not preffed upon him at all, forafmuch as 
 the Bifhop would often tell him, that there 
 was no great Matter in thefe Animadverfions,- 
 and that he himfelf made little or no Account 
 of them : He was yet refolved to fteal fome 
 time from his other Bufinefs , that he might 
 ihew the Emptinefs and the Inconfiftency of 
 the Arguments brought againft him by this 
 confident Writer -, which he hath done very 
 largely and fully, and interfperfed a great 
 deal of curious and folid Learning, wherever 
 any Octafion doth prefent it felf : And hath 
 frequently taken the Hint from very trifling 
 Objections to ftrengtheti his former Works by 
 feveral moft material Confiderations ahd con* 
 vincing Arguments. 
 
 He very nervoufly defendeth the Propofition ^ffy^ 
 
 c c <v j / t- r jofbts Exa- 
 
 ct bt. James, and his Explication ot it , and me n Ccn- 
 
 ftieweth by many Arguments , that it is far fur2 '" A * 4 . 
 more convenient and reafonable, that St^P/iw/^. 
 fhould be interpreted by us, according to him, Anfw. to 
 
 than on the contrary. He folidly vindicateth An ' m * '* 
 1 ' , Anfw.
 
 148 The Life" of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 thePhrafe of fides format a ufed by him, againft 
 his Adverfaries Objections } and handles the 
 Queftion with great Accuracy of Judgment, 
 whether Charity may rightly be called the Form 
 ojb/Kfyi*g Faitb? which is decided by him 
 Anfw. to affirmatively. He is full and clear in determi- 
 Anim. 3. ning the Queftion , whether the conferring a- 
 right to the Kingdom of Heaven, be properly an 
 AB of Evangelical Juftication ? And here he 
 ftiews, againft the Cavils of the Animadverter, 
 how the Notion of Juftification, according to the 
 Gofpel doth include in it neceffarily, the Accep- 
 tance of a Man before God to eternal Life and 
 Anfw. to Salvation, or the Imputation of Reward. He 
 Amm. 4. p roves t h e Animadverter to be an Innovator 
 in the Opinion which he would fet up, and 
 that he widely departs both from the Church 
 of England, and from all other reformed Chur- 
 ches, by his attributing to Faith a caufal Energy 
 of Righteoufnefs, diftind from that which is 
 proper to it as a Condition of the Evangelical 
 Anfw. to Covenant. He defends his Paraphrafe of 
 im ' 5 * St. Peter's words recorded in A&s x. ver. 34, 
 35. with much Strength againft the weak and 
 AnfvT. to peevim Efforts made to oppofe it : And his In- 
 Aoim. 6. terpretation of another PalTage of the fame A- 
 poftle, i Pet.i.ver. 2. not only by the Authority 
 of celebrated Commentators upon it $ but even 
 of Calvin himfelf : The other Teftimonies, al- 
 fo of Scripture , which had been brought by 
 him, to evidence that fome certain Works are 
 prefcribed as altogether needful to Juftifica- 
 tion,
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. DavidV. 
 
 tion, as particularly Repentance and the Fruits- 
 of it, are ftrenuoufly vindicated by him againft 
 the Negative of his Oppofer. Whereupon 
 there are four Queftions difcufled by him very 
 diftindly, to fet the whole Matter ia its true 
 Light, viz. i. Whether there be any Condition 
 properly /0 called of the Evangelical Covenant, 
 which is not liketvife a Condition of Evangeli- 
 cal Juftification > This Mr. Gataker affirms, 
 and Mr. Bull denies and proves the contrary. 
 2. Whether even granting that there is not one 
 and the fame Condition of thefe two, it be not 
 yet certain, that Faith and Repentance are the 
 Conditions of jne and the fame Benefit, namely 
 of Evangelical Juftification ? Mr. Bull juftifies 
 the Affirmative hereof, and clears it even to a 
 Demonftration. 3 . Whether Forgivenefs of Sins 
 doth enter into theNotion orDefinition of Evange- 
 lical Juftification ? The Affirmative alfo of this 
 is held by Mr, But/, as the Negative is by both 
 the Gatakers Father and Son : And is defended 
 by many illuftrious PafTages of holy Writ with 
 ,a great deal of Force and Perfpicuity, not with- 
 out fufficient Anfwers to the Objections made 
 by either or both of then). 4. Whether even 
 granting that Forgivenefs of Sins be not necef- 
 farily included in the Notion of Juftification E- 
 vangeltcaly it be not yet certain, that there is 
 one and the fame Condition of both Benefits, 
 namely, ^Forgivenefs W Juftification? And 
 this is determined in the Affirmative by our 
 Author, even from the very Conceflions of his 
 
 L 3 Adver-
 
 1 50 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 Anfw. to Adverfary, while writing; aeainft him. After 
 
 Amm. 8. , i-A- -n i . . , . , 
 
 this he diltinguilheth very rightly betwixt the 
 internal and the external Works of Repentance : 
 And demonftrates that the former of thefe arc 
 abfolutelyneceffary, even to that which is cal- 
 Anfw. to Jed the firjl Juflification. Then he difputeth a- 
 Amm.p. gainfl; hj s Adverfary about his Notion of the 
 Inftrumentality of Faith in this great Affair : 
 And he diftinguifheth alfo here betwixt a fbjt- 
 fical and a moral Inftrument , and maketh it e- 
 vident that Faith cannot with any Proprie- 
 ty be faid to be a phyfical Inftrument of Jufti- 
 fication, or even fo much as a moral one, with- 
 out a manifeft Contradiction to the whole Te- 
 nor of the New Teftament. According to 
 which it is demonftrated by him, that if by a 
 moral Inftrument be meant a Condition , or In- 
 fluence^ for tbe obtaining of Jujiif cation accor- 
 ding to God's Appointment, then the Converfi- 
 on of a Sinner to God, out of the Love of God 
 and Charity, hath as proper a moral Inftru- 
 rnentality to this End, as Faith hath , accor- 
 ding to the divine Appointment, as manifefted 
 in the Gofpel. Upon which Head he hath 
 Jikewife fome curious and ufeful Obfervations 
 concerning the Diverlity of Phrafes and Terms 
 ufed by the facred Writers in this Matter, and 
 Anfw. ^ the reafons thereof. He proceedeth next to 
 c i ear himfelf from the Imputation of having 
 cenfured the Engltfh Divines for their Precipi- 
 tancy or Inadvertency in handling this Subjecl, 
 or at leaf! for their incautious Management 
 
 hereof, 
 
 10.
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. DavidV. 151 
 
 hereof, fo as to give Come Colour to the Ex- 
 ceiTes of the Antinomians, Libertines and Fa- 
 milifts: And not only fheweth the grofsMiftake 
 of his Adverfary, in taking what was meant of 
 fome foreign Proteftant Divines, to concern 
 properly the Divines of the Church of England '5 
 but retorteth clofely upon himfelf, that very 
 thing which he fo warmly complaineth of to 
 him. After this he difcourfeth againft the A- AnfW 
 nimadverter's Opinion of the Imputation 
 Cbrift's Right eoufnefs, and difcovers the feve- 
 ral very abfurd and dangerous Confequences 
 which neceflarily accompany it. And he 
 fheweth in particular, how inconfiftent fuch a 
 Notion is, either with the Remiflion of Sin on 
 God's part, or with Repentance on ours : And 
 how it altogether taketh away the Necefiity e- 
 ven of Faith itfelf in order to Juftification ; 
 yea that this being granted, it will thence ne- 
 ceflarily follow , that a Man's Juftification is 
 even before his Faith, with other fuch like 
 Abfurdities. And laftly, he proveth how this 
 Notion quite fubverts the Catholick Doftrine 
 of the univerfal Propitiation made by the 
 Death of Chrift for the Sins of the whole 
 World, upon which Dodrine the very preach- 
 ing of the Gofpel doth abfolutely depend. Af- 
 terwards he anfwereth alfo the feveral PalTages 
 of Scripture which are ufually brought for 
 fuch a fort of Imputation, by fome fuperficiai 
 Confiderers, in Derogation of the true Terms 
 required of God in the Evangelical Covenant. 
 
 L 4 Then
 
 2 The Life of Dr. George 
 
 to Then he pufhes home his Argument againft 
 12. the s Q ]^dians^ that whofocver is juftifyed of 
 God by Chrift , is abfolved by the Law of 
 Chrift-, but no Man is abfolved by the Law of 
 Chrift by Faith only without Works ^ and con- 
 fequently no Man is fo juftifyed. And in 
 vindicating this againft his Adverfary, he ex- 
 .pofeth the Vanity of all his Arguments to the 
 contrary , and fetteth forth in their proper 
 Colours the fond and erroneous Opinions by 
 him entertained. Particularly he takes a great 
 deal of Pains in refuting a fundamental Error of 
 this Writer concerning the primary Aft of jufti- 
 fying Faith, or the ratio formalis of it, which 
 hemaketh merely toconfift in Affiance, ftriftly 
 fo called, that it is an Ad of Recumbency up- 
 on the Merits of Chrift and his imputed Righ- 
 teoufnefs, and in laying hold of the Evangeli- 
 cal Promifes. Whereupon he treats at large 
 of the Difference betwixt fides and fidueia: 
 And having formed feveral Conclufwns or The- 
 fes concerning thefe, he unfoldeth this Matter 
 very diftindly and clearly. And thus having 
 hereby overturned the main Pillar of Antino- 
 mianifm, chiefly founded in an equivocal Senfe 
 of Words ^ he next proceedeth to maintain his 
 Argument taken from the divine Proceedings 
 at the laft Day, againft the Objections of this 
 Animadverter : And on this occaiion maketh 
 the Emptinefs of his Diftin&ion appear of a 
 Right adrem^ and a Right in re, which he 
 had brought to evade the Force of that Argu- 
 ment.
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. David'/. 153 
 
 ment. For Mr. Bull proves to him, upon his 
 own very Principles, that whofoever hath a 
 Title to any thing, muft alfo have a Title in 
 it} and on the contrary: So that if Charity 
 hath a Right or Title m the Kingdom of Hea- 
 ven, it muft alfo have the fame to it, by vir- 
 tue of the Evangelical Covenant} even as Faith. 
 He examineth after this , both this and his n . fw - * 
 Father's Method of harmonizing St. James and 
 St. Paid, being the fame with that of Placxus. 
 This he doth with great Exadnefs, and upon 
 the Review of the whole,compares their Method 
 with his own, that it might the more evident- 
 ly appear which of them hath the Advantage. 
 Whereupon he defends againft all the fubtle AnfW. t* 
 Attacks of his Adverfary, his own Opinion Anmu l6f 
 concerning Faith being always taken in a 
 complex Senfe, as comprehenfive of Hope and 
 Charity with good Works , whenfoever in 
 Scripture Juftifkation is attributed to it. And 
 argueth that his Method of reconciling thofe 
 Apoftles cannot be new, or of his own Inven- 
 tion, which was approved by fome of the firft 
 Reformers, and fmce that by many eminent 
 Divines of the Reformation. Upon which he 
 produceth a mod noble Teftimony of Zwingli- 
 us to his Purpofe, out of that Reformer's Com- 
 mentaries concerning the true and falfe Religi- 
 on ; and meweth that this Acceptation of Faith, 
 according to the complex Not ion thereof, was 
 fo generally followed heretofore by our Pro- 
 teftant Divines, and fo well known to all, as 
 
 it
 
 1 54 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 it gave Occafion to Ejlhu in his Controver- 
 lies with us to objed, that moil of our Wri- 
 ters did make faith and Charity to be, the fame 
 Anfw.fo thing. And then he maketh his Reader fee 
 Anim - I7< how the State of the Queftion is, by the Ani- 
 madverter, quite miftaken concerning the Per- 
 feftion of the Mofaical Law. Which Law 
 Mr. Bull denies to be a Law of moft perfed 
 Obedience, in the fame Senfe as the Gofpel is 
 fo. Where by a Law of perfeB Obedience, it 
 is plain that he meaneth nothing elfe, but fuch 
 a Law as requireth of Man the moft perfeft and 
 compleat Righteoufnefs, as a neceffary Condi- 
 tion of Salvation^ according to which it would 
 be impofiible for any one Man to be faved. 
 Whence there cannot be a greater Abfurdity, 
 be fays , than to fuppofe the Rule of God's 
 Proceedings in the Day of Judgment to be 
 this Law of perfeB Obedience: As nothing al- 
 fo is more unfcriptural than to fuppofe that 
 there is any one Law which is to be the Stan- 
 dard for all in that Day :, feeing that every one 
 according to St. Paul ihall be then tryed, ac- 
 cording to the Law and Difpenfation under 
 ^nfWfo which he lived. Now he alloweth the Law of 
 Aaim'. 18. Mofss to have had a proper Juftification be- 
 longing to it j and hereupon confirmeth a former 
 Diftindion of his concerning a Juftification in 
 refpect to this Life and that which is to come, 
 or to the things of this mortal State, and of 
 that which is eternal } or before God and be- 
 fore the World 5 after the Authority of St. Am- 
 
 brofe
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. DavidV. 1 5 5 
 
 brofe and St. Augitflin. Yea by many Argu- An f w - t9 
 ments he proveth, that when St. Paul denies a- 
 ny Man to be juftifyed by the Law of Mofes , 
 the true ground of his Argumentation is, that 
 under the Law there is ftridly no manner of true 
 Juftification, or Retniffion of Sins, which rea- 
 cheth beyond this x Life : That is under the 
 Law in that relation wherein it is confidered by 
 the Apoftle. This he proveth to be the very 
 Foundation on which St. Paid in his Epiftles 
 buildethj and anfwers the Arguments for the 
 contrary Opinion defended by his Adverfary. 
 Moreover he defendeth his Explication of this Anfw. to 
 Apoftle's Argument, drawn from the Weaknefs Anim< 2a 
 of the Law of Mofes^ to deliver a Man from 
 the Dominion of Sin, by farther Proofs of 
 that Matter, and anfwers to the Exceptions 
 and Obje&ions made againft what was by him 
 in his Harmony advanced. And whereas Mr. AnfW.fo 
 Bull was accufed of Socinianifm, for maintain- Anim - 2r 
 ing that the Law of Mofts, having not the 
 Promife of eternal Life, was not fo very fit to 
 produce in Man a fervent, conftant, and inde- 
 fatigable Purfuit of Vertue and Piety, he at 
 once fully clears himfelf from that Charge, 
 and proveth alfo that the contrary Opinion fol- 
 lowed by his Adverfary, which makes Life e- 
 ternal to have been promifed in the Old Te- 
 ftament, ftridly taken as fuch, was hereto- 
 fore condemned in Pelagius'by the Catholicks ^ 
 and that tin's was downright Pelagianifm in 
 Opinion of St. Auguftin, that great Afo- 
 
 ter
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull,, 
 
 ter of the Grace of God, as it was fo alfo e- 
 
 Anim' 22 ^ eeme( ^ ty St. Hierom. Moreover, whereas 
 
 he had afferted that this Law, ftriftly confide- 
 
 red as fuch, containing only temporal Promifes 
 
 and Threatnings, was thereby apt to beget in 
 
 Men but low and earthly Thoughts, he ex- 
 
 plains his Opinion fo as to remove all dange- 
 
 rous Confequences from thence, and defendeth 
 
 it by the Authority of St. Augujlin, and even 
 
 of St. Paul himfelf in feveral moft exprefs 
 
 Anfw.fo Paffages to this Purpofe. And in the laft 
 
 im. 23. pj ace ^ mo ^. evidently p rov eth that the true 
 
 and genuine Senfe of the Church of England, 
 in her eleventh Article, was by him acknow- 
 ledged in hisHarmony -, and that the Senfe which 
 the Animadverter afnxeth to it, for being dia- 
 metrically oppofite to the Expofition thereof 
 by the Church herfelf , as alfo to Scripture 
 and right Reafon, ought to be rejected by e- 
 very true Son thereof. This is the Subftance 
 of what he replyed to Mr. Gataker , and 
 which might ferve for an Anfwer not only 
 to him, but to two or three others befides, 
 who "had publickly animadverted on his Book. 
 
 XXX Whether this Mr. Gataker did live to fee 
 Mr. Bu!?s Anfwer to his Animadverfions, lam 
 not a ^ e ro learn. Nor am I certain whether 
 
 - ever any thing was printed by him of his own, 
 f r r ^ s C au fe ^ e appeared fo zealous in, as an 
 Anfwer to Mr. Butt. I know indeed he pub- 
 
 '/lifted a certain poftbitm&u* Piece of his Father's 
 
 a- . f J 
 
 not
 
 late Lord Bifeop of St. DavidV. 157 
 
 not long before, that was left by him imper- 
 fed on this very Subjed, for which he is 
 chaftized * by Mr. Bull, as one who confulted 
 not the Reputation of a Parent , who by his 
 great critical Knowledge and other Learning 
 had made himfelf more confiderable, than to 
 deferve that fuch like Crudities mould be put 
 forth under his Name, at leaft by a Son. It 
 is true Mr. Bull mentioneth a friendly Confe- 
 rence between two confiderable Divines about 
 the Subjed of Juftification, which he faw in, 
 Manufcript , wherein the elder Gataker's 
 Scheme of this Matter was very ingenioufly 
 delineated, and wrought with no fmall Care 
 and Pains :, but which yet , as to the main , 
 proved not fatisfadory to either of thefe lear- 
 ned Men. And it is no lefs true, that another 
 of Mr. BitlFs Adverfaries doth exprefly men- 
 tion a printed Difcourfe of this younger Ga- 
 taker's feen by him , f Wherein he fignifying 
 bis Dijlike of Mr. BullV, propounds a third way 
 to reconcile the Apoftles Paul and James. But 
 that he did only fignifie his dijlike of Mr. Bitlfs 
 way, without entring at all into the Merits of 
 the Caufe > and propofe another way, without 
 troubling himfelf much for an Anfwer. to the 
 Arguments brought for that which he profef- 
 fed to dijlike^ feemeth very probable - 5 both 
 
 * ExAmen Cenfurt: Re(p. ad Animad. j. n. 8. 
 f An Endeavour to reftify fomc prevailing Opinions, <fyc. 
 1671. ' Prefa. 
 
 be-
 
 1 58 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 becaufe Mr. Bull in his Examen never takes 
 the lead Notice of any fuch Difcourfe, which 
 he can hardly be fuppofed to have utterly for- 
 gotten or neglected, had there been found 
 therein but any Appearance of Argument a- 
 gainft the Scheme, that was by him fo lear- 
 nedly and fully defended againft this very Wri- 
 ter , fince he is known to have condefcended 
 fo far , by impofing even a Penance both on 
 his own and his Reader's Patience, as to exa- 
 mine minutely all that he could find urged a- 
 gainft him, whether confiderable and inconfi- 
 derable, even fo as not to flip the mod trifling 
 Objeclions and petty Cavils of this eager Con- 
 trovertift, in as much as he defigned it to be 
 a thorough Vindication of his Harmony, and 
 would not have one Objection whatfoever left 
 by him unexamined and unconfidered : And 
 alfo becaufe the learned Writer, who makes 
 mention of this Difcourfe of Mr. Charles Ga- 
 taker^ not only judges him miftaken in the 
 Interpretation of both the Apoftles, but owns 
 that Mr. Bui/ had faid enough in his Har- 
 monia Apojlolica to make it appear that he 
 hath not given the right Senfe fo much as of 
 one of them. Now it appeareth that Mr.G^ta- 
 ker publimed his Difcourfe of Justification at 
 the fame time that Mr. Bull was writing againft 
 him, or a little before, that is in or about the 
 Year 1 670 -, forafmuch as we find it mention- 
 ed the next Year, by the aforefaid Author, 
 who gives his Character of it, and acquaints 
 2 us
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. DavidV. 
 
 us withal, that it came not forth till after he 
 had finifhed his own Reflections uponMr./W/'s 
 Book. So that it muft needs have been prin- 
 ted feveral Months after the Publication of the 
 Hartnonia^ and yet at fanned in the begin- 
 ning of the Year 1671 : And therefore had 
 there been any thing in it worthy his Notice, 
 it could doubtlefs never have efcaped our Au- 
 thor's mod ftricl: Examination. 
 
 It muft here be confefled , that Mr. Bw! as A Reft- 
 he was a Man, and confequentiy fubjed to 
 hitnian Paflions, being fo highly provoked by 
 the undefervea Treatment of him by Mr. Ga- 'f.w 
 taker, and the unfair Methods which lie made 
 ufe of, doth now and then treat him again 
 with more leverity than I could have wifhed. 
 This, the natural Fire and Vivacity of his 
 Temper, with the Senfe of the Injuftice done 
 not only to himfelf, but to theCaufe of Truth 
 and Religion, feems to have prompted this 
 good Man to, and to have carry ed him a little 
 too far in my Opinion for the fake of a Tri- 
 umph over his Adverfary. For I cannot but 
 think all Controverfies in Matters of Religion 
 are then bed handled, and with the greateft 
 Probability of Succefs, when they are mana- 
 ged calmly without all particular Refentments, 
 and with all the Tendernefs that is poilible 
 towards thofe Perfons whom we are endea- 
 vouring to reclaim into the way of Truth. 
 And that efpecially nothing can be more unbe- 
 coming the Character of Divines, than for 
 
 them
 
 1 6 o The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 them who are to be the MefTengers of Peace to 
 wrangle one with another about the way , and 
 in the mean time thereby to neglect the great 
 things of their MeiTage, and fuch as accompa- 
 ny Peace. But if where the Provocation was 
 fo exceilive, as in this Cafe, and the Goodnefs 
 of his Caufe fo very clear, andfo acknowledg- 
 ed by the beft Judges, the Zeal of Mr. Bull 
 might fometimes happen to tranfport him. a 
 little in the very Conflict with his Adverfary, 
 and caufe him to go beyond the Meafures of 
 a pacifick Writer j he was ftill careful to ad- 
 here moft ftri&ly to the Truth, without Par- 
 tiality or Refped of Perfons j and was ready 
 to alter and expunge any thing in his Wri- 
 tings, that through too much Severity might 
 be apt to give Offence , and fo to hinder the 
 good Effects of his Labour of Love for recon- 
 ciling Perfons to the Truth. This made him 
 fubmit fo freely all what he had Thoughts 
 of publiming to the Cenfure of his learned 
 Friends, that they might not only confider the 
 Argument, but foften alfo what they mould fee 
 fit in the Expreffion. And notwithstanding 
 that the elder G^tofor appeareth to have been no 
 lefs againft the Opinion Mr. Bull defended 
 than his Son Charles, yet Mr. Bull treats him 
 with abundance of Refpect, as often as he hath 
 Occaficn to mention him ^ giveth the Titles of 
 *Do8ijfftmu6 and Pientijfimus to him , allows him 
 
 Reftonf. dd Animad. 7- & 15. 
 
 to
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David'/. 1 6 
 
 to have been really a confiderable Perfon 5 
 and the Scheme which he had formed of this 
 Matter, to be at leaft very ingenious j faying 
 moreover , that he held his Memory in Ho- 
 nour, and would himfelf, were his Son filent 
 in it, proclaim his Praife , and where he dif- 
 fents from him, anfwers his Arguments with- 
 out any Reflection.' 
 
 This Mr. Thomas Gataker when he was 
 young, began to preach upon the Epiftle of Gataker, 
 St. James, in the Reign of King James the^JJ, 
 Firft, this Subjed being about that time much came to be 
 agitated by fome eminent Divines of our en f^ 
 Church : And according to his * Son's Rela- 
 tion, feemeth to have preached it thorough, or 
 to have given at leaft a methodical Explication 
 of the whole Defign thereof, and of the more 
 confiderable Parts relating to his Purpofe. And 
 a little before the breaking out of the Civil 
 Wars, when moft of the Pulpits of London 
 were hotly .contesting and fighting about the 
 Grace of God, and the Method of Man's Jufti- 
 fication by it, he refumed his former Tafk, 
 being fincerely defirous of reconciling their 
 Differences , and of promoting Peace and 
 Truth together -, for which End as he had 
 before preached upon St. James , in like man- 
 ner as Mr. Butt alfo began firft with him, he 
 
 * A. D. 1617. AggreiTus in conciotoibus B. Jacobi Epiftolam , 
 
 cxplicare, quod Dei ope mcchodo accuraciflima percgtc. Animact. 
 15. ad Dijjert. a. cap. 3. 
 
 M now
 
 162 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 now proceeded to preach upon St. PW-, and 
 took alfo the very fame Text for his Dif- 
 courfe which Mr. Bull pitched on for his fe- 
 cond DilTertation. About the Year 1651, the 
 good old Man began to look over his loofe 
 Papers upon this Subject , and the Frag- 
 ments or Heads of his Sermons forharmonizing 
 thefe two Apoftles, with a Defign of fitting 
 for the Prefs, the Subftance of what he had 
 occafionally delivered from the Pulpit. But 
 he being now broken, and very old , was not 
 able to rinifh what he undertook. And all 
 his Papers falling to his Son upon his Death, 
 which followed very quickly , thefe were by 
 him, out of an Over-fondnefs to all his Fa- 
 ther's Performances, publimed with all their 
 Imperfections, to the no fmall Difparagement 
 both of his own, and his Father's Name, as 
 before was hinted. 
 
 XXXI. Not long after this, Mr. Jofefb Truman a 
 i^v^, Man of a cooler Head than the younger 
 The occafi- Gatsiker, and one alfo not unacquainted with 
 thxsfffMr r ^ e anc i ent Fathers, who had before written 
 Truman'/ and publimed a fhort Difcourfe concerning the 
 writing a- Apoftle Paul's Meaning of purification by 
 
 giinfl the' r . , . , jrr i r c i. r\ * 
 
 Harmonia. Faith without Works, tinning lome or his Opi- 
 nions therein advanced, to be not only fhaken 
 by the Harmonia Apvflfilica, but to be in Dan- 
 ger of being perfediy routed -, and perceiving 
 alfo that the Sentiments contrary to his did 
 very much daily prevail by the reading. of that 
 
 Trea-
 
 late Lord Bijkop ofSt, David V. 1 63 
 
 Treatife, fet himfelf to write an .Anfwer in 
 Englifo, to that Part of it which chiefly con- 
 cerned himfelf. Which Anfwer was after- 
 wards publifhed by him under the Title of 
 An Endeavour to reftify fome prevailing Opinions 
 contrary to the DoEirine cf the Church ^Eng- 
 land : By the Author of The great 'Propitia- 
 tion. " In the Preface to which, the Reader 
 " is made acquainted that about half a Year 
 " after that he had publifhed fome Sermons,enti- 
 <e tuled The great Propitiation^ whereto was ad- 
 " ded that fhort Difconrfe aforefaid concerning 
 " Jitftification by Faith in the Senfe of St. Paul'^ 
 " there came forth a learned Book called 
 " Hartnonia Apoflolica^ written by Mr. George 
 " Bull, which quite croffing the Interpretation 
 " he had given of St. Paul, he was occafioned 
 4t by fome Occurrences , which it concerned 
 " not the Reader to know, to write the Sub- 
 " fiance of thofe Reflections upon it for fome 
 " private Ufe." For he telleth us they were 
 written without any Defign of printing them, 
 within three Months after the coming forth 
 of the laid Book 3 but were not publiflied till 
 about two Years after, when he obferved how 
 f aft. fome Opinions got ground in the Church of 
 England, contrary to his Expofition thereof} 
 which was attributed by him in a great mea- 
 fure to Mr. Bull , and more efpecially to the 
 1-atter part of his Performance. 
 
 For Mr. Truman could find nothing to ob- 
 jed: againft the former part of it, nor even a- 
 
 M 2 gainft
 
 1 64 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 gainft feveral Chapters of the latter -, nay he 
 condemned Mr. Gataker for writing againft 
 him in this Point , affirming that he did not 
 give the right Interpretation either of St.Jatnes 
 or St. Paitlj and for the Proof hereof he re- 
 ferred his Reader to his own Difcourfe before 
 mentioned, and even to Mr. Butt alfo, whom 
 he allowed to have written fatisfadorily in ma- 
 ny things, and to have fufEciently refuted his 
 Hypothefis for the Reconciliation of thefe two 
 Apoftles, however ingenious this might pof- 
 fiby appear at firft View. Now nothing could 
 happen more honourable to Mr. Eull than this 
 Teftimony from an Adverfary in his Favour, 
 recommending his Book to be read by all fuch 
 as were willing to have a clear and full View 
 of the Controverfy $ yielding fo great a part of 
 it to contain a fair Explication and Vindicati- 
 on of the Truth -, and preferring his Perfor- 
 mance to that of one who appeared after him, 
 not without feveral confiderable Advantages 
 and Afliflances from the learned Notes of an 
 eminent Divine, and celebrated Critick , that 
 for many Years together had made this his 
 particular Study. \V hether * the 'way to Truth 
 and Peace, which was publilhed under the 
 Name of Mr. Charles Gataker, in Order to a 
 Reco?iciliation between St. Paul and St. James 
 concerningjujljficaticm, were really his own or 
 his Father's is not material to be known : But 
 
 1670. 
 
 it
 
 late Lord Btfbop of St. DavidV. 
 
 it is certain that bdth Mr. Bui! and Mr. Tru- 
 man did agree in this, that it was already an- 
 fwered fufficiently before ever it did appear j 
 and that neither Truth nor Peace could folidly 
 be eftablimed by the way therein taken. 
 
 Thefe two go more than half way together, 
 being perfectly agreed about Faith, and not e ree <* a J 
 difagreeing in the ^xclufion of feveral forts of t{?f!vf.' 
 modern Reconcilers : but they differ about the Bull. 
 Law, and the true Extent of its Notion j or 
 they feem at lead to differ more than perhaps 
 they really do. For that which Mr. Bull calls 
 Ipfijjlmum Evangelium or the very Gofpel, is cal- 
 led by Mr. Truman the Law in the moft per- 
 fect: Senfe of it. And hence according to 
 one the Gofpel may very truly be faid to be 
 a Law of moft perfett Obedience, while accor- 
 ding to the other the Mofaical Law may as 
 truly be faid to be fuc h j that is with different 
 Refpects and Views. The one is very large 
 in (hewing the Defects of the Law, and how 
 it both wanted an external Help for Encou- 
 ragement of perfect Obedience to it, being the 
 Promife of eternal Life*, and an internal One, 
 being the Gift of the Holy Ghoft : And the 
 other is no lefs fo in mewing the Perfection 
 of it, and how it wanted neither one Help 
 nor the other. And as Mr. Bull hath many 
 ftrong Arguments for the Difability of the 
 Law, either to work true Sanctification in Man, 
 or to lay hold on eternal Life : So hath Mr. 
 Truman many others for the Ability of the 
 
 M 3 fame
 
 1 66 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 fame Law, as taken in his Senfe, In order to 
 attain thefe very Ends. It is certain that they 
 had both of them different Views ^ but it is 
 not quite fo certain that they both had always 
 different Opinions, when they exprefTed them- 
 felves after different ways. And of this it 
 were eafy to give Inftances, if it were here 
 neceifary. 
 
 HOW fame But moreover there were befides Mr. Trit- 
 coneurred jnan nor a f ew others, and thofe both learned 
 
 with him in , . , f ,, ,,, , 
 
 the -very of- and pious in Mr. Hull s own judgment , who 
 fence taken, were not able fo perfectly to <lin,e;l the 
 .!" feventh Chapter of his fecond .Uiifertati- 
 bad other- on, which treateth of the twofold Dcfeft of 
 S^ n " the Law of Mofes^ and maintairetii- t! it this 
 Law cannot . abfp]utely and withoi" -.''.y Con- 
 fideration be called a Rule &i perj~ett(jbedience< 
 Some there were more violent than the reft, 
 of whom he complaineth, That they made ve- 
 ry tragical Outcries againft him, as if by fuch 
 an Hypothefis as this, " the whole Syflem of 
 *' Orthodox Divinity fhould be fhaken, yea 
 " broken to pieces, and utterly deftroyed , 
 " and that the very Foundations both of Law 
 " and Gofpel were, hereby at once undermi^ 
 " ned and overturned." As for them that 
 were not fo outragious, but mewed themfelves 
 to be of a true Chriflian Temper, and not far 
 from the Truth, our learned Harmonift was 
 ready and willing to give them all the Satif- 
 fadion that was in his Power:, profefllng at 
 the fame time that he did not infill on this 
 
 Matter
 
 late Lord Bi/Jjop of St, David V. t 
 
 Matter as necelTary for the Reconciliation of 
 St. James with St. Paul^ but that he did fub- 
 rnit it to better Judgments, having only made 
 the Propofal for the fake of Truth and Peace, 
 with a Defire that it might be freely and im- 
 partially confidered. Indeed as he propofed 
 his Opinion to the Learned, not to the Vul- 
 gar, by writing in a Language which none 
 .but the Learned underftood: So he expected 
 that they who fhould undertake to anfwer his 
 Arguments, would follow alfo his Method 
 therein, and not trouble the Heads of the 
 Weak and the Unlearned with doubtful Difpu- 
 tatwns, and Matters above their Reach to judge 
 of with any Exaclnefs, by appealing to them 
 in their own native Language -, and this when 
 the Controverfy was at tirft other wife laid, 
 and brought up from the Pulpit, and confe- 
 quently from the Common People, to be de- 
 bated and decided by the Learned. Therefore 
 he was not at all pleafed that Mr. Truman 
 fhould bring it down again. 
 
 Indeed it would feem very abfurd for any HOW be 
 bne to anfwer a Latin Treatife in Enrlifbi can ! e * 
 
 r . . . r . r . .o'.' write ^ 
 
 and elpecially if it were purpolely written m g a n jtjur. 
 Latin, that it might not fall promifcuoufly in- B Ji/ B E j| 
 
 i TT j c 1 r- TfJ n j glifllfl 
 
 to the Hands or the common bnghjb Readers, f/ wn - m 
 for fear of difturbing their Brains with certain tin, 
 Arguments not fuited to their Capacity ^ as 
 plainly was the Cafe of Mr. Bull But then on 
 the other fide it muft be owned.that Mr, Tru- 
 man had published the very fame Year in 
 
 M 4 which
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 which Mr. Bull's Harmonia Apoftolica appeared, 
 and fome Months too before it , his Treatife 
 of the * Great Propitiation , which had been 
 well received by fome learned Men of the 
 Church of England, and particularly by that 
 great and zealous AiTerter of Primitive An- 
 tiquity Bifhop Gunning^ who for the fake there- 
 of, defired to be acquainted with the Author 
 though a Diffenter. So that he was really the 
 firft of the two in this Controverfy, wherein 
 they were both engaged unknown to each other. 
 And befides this, as the faid Harmonia Apoflo- 
 liea^ was the firft-born of Mr. Bull's Produ- 
 ftions, fo was likewife the great Propitiation 
 of Mr. Truman $ , and both alike favoured by 
 them as fuch. In the Treatife of the former 
 which was laft printed , we have the Sum of 
 what he preached- at feveral Times , fet forth 
 for the Ufe of the Learned, together with a 
 very learned Vindication thereof, from Scri- 
 pture, Reafon, and Antiquity, in a Language 
 and Style proper only to them ^ but in the 
 Treatife of the latter, which was firft printed, 
 there is contained the Subftance of feveral 
 Sermons preached upon that great Article of 
 our Religion , and made publick in the fame 
 Language in which they were preached , for 
 the Ufe of the Unlearned as well as the Lear- 
 ned. Whence having firft published his Opi- 
 nion in Englijb, both from the Pulpit and the 
 
 * London, 166$. 
 
 Prefs,
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. DavidV. 1 6<) 
 
 Prefs, Mr. Truman thought lie had a right to 
 vindicate it in the fame Language, notwith- 
 flanding that the ftrongeft Arguments againft 
 it were delivered in a Latin Treatife, to which 
 therefore a Latin Anfwer was not without 
 Reafon expected. And farther confidering that 
 this Matter had been firft debated by the 
 mod learned and pious Dr. Hammond^ in En- 
 glifb alfo, whom Mr. Bull is fuppofed by this 
 Author to follow , he concluded to write on 
 in the vulgar Tongue rather than in the learned. 
 Befides both which, he feemeth to have had 
 another Motive for writing alfo againft Mr. Bull, 
 and for his writing againft him in Englijb ra- 
 ther than Latin -, which was that by expofing 
 certain Doftrines and Opinions, at contrary to 
 the DoBrine of the Church of England, which 
 were by the moft eminent Divines thereof main- 
 tained at that time, and by Mr. BuU then defen- 
 ded with great Learning and Force in his faid 
 Book, he might under the Pretext of reBify- 
 ing them, and of compojing many Differences in 
 Opinion, to ufe his own Words, add fomc 
 weight to his Reafons for Separation, from 
 the Maintainers of them, and from the Socie- 
 ty whereof they were Members. For it looks 
 as if it were his Defign to mew hereby , that 
 he was no fuch Separatift from the Church of 
 England, whofe DoEirines he would appear as 
 heartily to embrace, as fome who lived in her 
 Bofom:, and that many abiding in her mint/fe- 
 rial Communion were yet greater Non-Conformifts 
 
 than
 
 1 7 o The Life of Dr. George 
 
 than ever he was} while profeffing themfelves 
 to be Divines of the Church of England, they 
 neverthelefs departed, as he thought, from the 
 very Principles on which the Reformation 
 was founded. It was his Misfortune, upon 
 the Aft of Uniformity, not to be thoroughly fa. 
 tisfyed in all that was required of him for his 
 Continuance in the Exercife of his Miniftryj 
 and he was jealous of fome Advances made 
 towards Socinianifm , as well as carrying too 
 high a Controverfy about things in their Na- 
 ture indifferent. But he endeavoured ftill to 
 keep a fair Correfpondence with the Church 
 of England, to fpeak of her with Efteem, to 
 make honourable mention of her Bifhops, to 
 exprefs himfelf as one of her Members, and 
 actually to defend Lay-Communion with her. 
 And therefore he would not be thought to 
 have written againfl her by fuch an Eilay as 
 this , which was very probably intended 
 by him for his own Ju unification : And 
 to infinuate that there might be more Danger 
 to be apprehended by the Church of England 
 from a Non-Conformity to her DoEirines, than 
 from one to her Difcipline. Thefe I take to 
 be the chief Motives of his undertaking to 
 write againfl Mr. Bull and others, and of ma- 
 king this his publick Appeal, not in Latin as 
 Mr. Bull had done, but in Englifb, as proper- 
 ly concerning the Englijh Church. I muft 
 now give fome Account of what he hath per- 
 formed in this Enterprize fo far as our Author 
 
 is
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. David V. 171 
 
 is concerned with him:, without which the 
 Hiftory of this Controverfy, and of the Works, 
 confequently of fo great a Man of our Church 
 would remain but very imperfect. To- pro- 
 ceed then, 
 
 Mr. Truman having published about the be-XXXH 
 ginning of the Year 1669 his great Propitiation 
 aforefaid, wherein the Article of Juftifkation 
 was neceifarily treated of, fora fuller Illuftra- 
 tion of the fame he added an Appendix to 
 concerning the meaning of the Apoffle ^ 
 in treating this Subject j in which he will 
 have the Apoftle to difpute asainft Tuftification ^i?*'*? 
 
 J . . of Mr. Bui 
 
 by perfect (jbedience to the Law , as a thing 
 
 impoflible to Man in this Life } and our Lord 
 not to have added any thing new to the Law 
 in his Sermon on the Mount, but only to have 
 vindicated it from corrupt Interpretations. For 
 without confidering at all the Infirmity of the 
 Law, as being referred to by the Apoftle, he 
 inlifted that not only an outward Obedience 
 to it was required of God, but alfo that which 
 was inward and perfecl ^ and that therefore a 
 Man was bound by it to live perfectly, and 
 free from all manner of Sin, both outwardly 
 and inwardly, looking beyond temporal Pro- 
 mifes and Threats to thofe that are eternal. 
 And befides this he feemed to maintain that a 
 Man might be obliged to do fomewhat, which 
 it was not in his.. Power to do$ and might alfo 
 be juftly puniflied for not doing it, where the 
 
 Difability
 
 172 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 Difability or Impotence was not natural, but 
 proceeded ongnally from his own Fault. 
 
 Now when after this another Scheme for the 
 Interpretation of St.Paul was brought forth by 
 Mr.Bz///,which he found to contradict his in fome 
 material Points, or at leaft not to be eafily re- 
 concileable with it, he fet himfelf hereupon 
 to defend his own Scheme, as the only ortho- 
 dox one, thinking that Mr. Bui/ would make 
 an intolerable Change in the very Subftance of 
 the Body of Divinity. And in this View he 
 publifhed not very long afterward,/^ Difcourfeof 
 natural and moral Impotency, upon the Princi- 
 ples laid down in his former Difcourfej in 
 which fome Chapters of Mr. Bull's fecond Dif- 
 fertation are indireftly attacked. For he look- 
 ed upon this Diftinftion to be of fuch Impor- 
 tance in Diviniry, as that they who fhould 
 fpeak or write of the Controverfies about Ju- 
 ftification, Grace, Free- Will, the Law of 
 Works, Faith, Evangelical Perfection, and 
 fuch like, without keeping clear Notions about 
 this, would certainly fpeak and write like 
 Children concerning them, though otherwife 
 never fo capable and learned : As alfo that a 
 Perfon but of ordinary Understanding , by 
 keeping to this Diftinftion, might competent- 
 ly fatisfie himfelf and others (if willing to be 
 fatisfyed) in fuch Controverfies as have pofed 
 the greateft Wits and Scholars that deviate 
 from it. This he hath treated at large with 
 great metaphyfical Subtlety for the Learned , 
 
 and
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. DavidV. 1 73 
 
 and with fufficient PJainnefs in the pra&ical 
 Inferences for the Ufe of the Unlearned. 
 Notwithflanding which, whatever he might 
 pretend, he appeared to feveral to teach bere 
 a new Divinity, and to deliver ftrange Opini- 
 ons and Doctrines very remote from the common 
 Sentiments of Men , according as he himfelf 
 ivas indeed fenfible of before-hand. Where- 
 fore he prudently abftaineth from mentioning of 
 iNarr-es, that none might hereby be provoked 
 againft him , as he was not without Reafon 
 apprehenfive of. And without telling his own 
 Mame, that he might not either expofe him- 
 felf, or do any Prejudice thereby to a Caufe 
 he was fo fond of j he cared not to let the 
 World know any more of him, than that he 
 lived obfcurely, and was the Author of fuch a 
 Book, as had not been ill received by the Publick. 
 There are two Editions of this Difcourfe, 
 w hich becaufe they afford an Occafion to Mr. 
 Bull of giving us his more mature and accu- 
 rate Thoughts upon fo nice a Subject, will 
 deferve not to be forgotten : The one was taken 
 Care of by himfelf, but the other by a Friend 
 after his Difeafe, with fome Additions left by 
 the Author under his own Hand, and particu- 
 larly an Appendix for farther clearing up and 
 vindicating the fame Difcourfe, in which he 
 declareth his Opinion concerning the Propaga- 
 tion of the Soul and Sin. This fecond Edition 
 had his Name put to it, and his Quality. 
 The Principles upon which he here goeth are 
 5 thefe,
 
 74 ^ e Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 thefe, i. No Man is bound by any Law of 
 God or Man, farther than his natural Facul- 
 ties and Powers reach. 2. A Man is bound 
 by the Law of God , fo far as thefe natural 
 Powers do reach, and his greateft Averfation 
 of Will to obey the fame will not excufe him, 
 but rather add to his Inexcufeablenefs. 3. Such 
 an Averfation of Will in Man doth certainly 
 hinder his Compliance with God's Command- 
 ments, till God takes it away:, or till by forae 
 fttper-efflitence of 'Grace -, which he is not injufticc 
 bound to afford, he overcometh this Reluctance 
 of the Will. Whence this Author inferreth , 
 and laboureth to prove, i. That a Man's cul- 
 pable Impotency lyeth only in a Difabilky to 
 do what he hath a Power to do $ or in his not 
 being able to do in one Senfe, what he can do 
 in another. And, 2. That the Effed of di- 
 vine Grace confifteth not barely in a Man's 
 receiving from God a Power to obey his Com- 
 mands , but in fomething over and befkie, to 
 caufe a Man to do what he is bound to do, 
 and would be to blame for not doing. Thefe 
 Principles and Inferences were afterwards exa- 
 mined by Mr. Butt, both in Latin and Englijbj 
 on occation of his laft Treat ife, which came 
 out foon after to back this, and is direclly le- 
 velled againft our Author, out of whofe Har- 
 monia Apofiolica he hath tranflated feveral 
 Leaves together, and almoft whole Chapters, 
 thinking to overthrow his Hypothefis by fome 
 Arguments whidi .he hath brought againft it, 
 
 and
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. David'/ . 175 
 
 and to eftablifh his own. And in this laft 
 Book, wherein he expreffeth fo much his Con- 
 cern for the Do&rine of the Church of Eng- 
 land^ and his Zeal to corred: the Opinions of 
 fome learned Men in her Communion contra- 
 ry to it \ he frequently referreth to the afore- 
 faid Difcourfe, wherein he had laid down 
 thefe Principles, and drawn feveral Corolla- 
 ries from them to his Purpofe. And of this 
 as particular an Account as is needful, for the 
 perfeft underftanding the Hiftory of the 
 Works of fo great a Biftiop in our Church, and 
 of fo eminent a defender of the Catholick Faith, 
 will not furely be altogether unacceptable ^ 
 (ince it muft needs contribute more than a little 
 to the right fhting of certain Queftions, which 
 the Generality of People are ordinarily for 
 confidering but on one fide only^ and to the 
 giving a fair Profped: of the Arguments on 
 both (ides, without Paflion or Prejudice, that 
 upon fumming up of the whole , it may be 
 more eafy for any one to judge on which fide 
 the Advantage doth lie. 
 
 Now therefore he faith that the learned 
 Author's Defign is very commendable, that An 
 his whole rirlt Differtarion concerning the ^ 
 Senfe of the Apoftle fames, in affirming juiii- Method o 4 
 fication by Works as a Condition, is acute, {o- 
 
 i j i * i i i i 
 
 lid, and cogent: And not only '.his, but that 
 fo alfo is all generally in his fecond Difler- 
 tation to the n'ftli Chapter, and part of it. 
 And he is entirely one with him , fo long as 
 4 he
 
 i 76 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 he explained! or defendeth the meaning of 
 St. James , or difcovereth the Weaknefs and 
 Falfhood of the Attempts of many Writers , 
 defigning to reconcile the feemingly contrary 
 Expreflions of this Apoftle with thofe of St. 
 Paul : Yea he thinketh what is written by 
 our Author hereupon is highly worth the rea- 
 ding of any that have other Apprehenfions of 
 the Meaning of James, or that are not fatisfy- 
 ed that the Apoftle Paul by Faith meaneth the 
 whole neceflary Duty of a Chriftian. More- 
 over he granteth and lamenteth, that many 
 important Doctrines of the Reformed Churches 
 are frequently by too many grofly explained, 
 fo as to have ill Confequences flowing from 
 them , which if rightly underftood, would be 
 found not to patronize but to difown fuch Con- 
 fequences. And particularly in the Proteftant 
 Dodrine of Juftification by Faith, according 
 to St. Paul, he granteth Mr. Bull to have right- 
 ly interpreted what this Apoftle meaneth by 
 Faith , and confequently to have rightly ex- 
 plained the Doftrine of the Reformed Churches 
 therein, while he proveth that we are to un- 
 derftand, not one fmgle Virtue by Faith, but 
 the whole Gofpel-Condition, the whole Duly re- 
 quired for Salvation, as the Obedience of Faith. 
 So that the whole Controverfy of Mr. Truman 
 with him is only about that part of the fecond 
 DiiTertation which undertaketh to prove wlwt 
 St. Paul meant by Works of the Law. And 
 Mr. Bitll is charged with following herein the 
 
 Opinion
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. DavidV. 177 
 
 Opinion of Dr. Hammond, as it is laid down 
 in his praElical Catechifm, very fully. 
 
 Now the firft great Miftakes as he will ^4^ 
 have them, the srpwTo. -\>&^, in that part of charged up- 
 Mr. Bul/'s Book, which he efteemeth the Oc-f ;*/'' 
 cafion of all his other Miftakes, in Relation to Pref. P . 2. 
 the Apoftle Paul's Senfe in denying Juftificati- 
 on by Works, and indeed of the Miftakes alfo 
 of many other learned Authors (as Epifcopius y 
 Bifhop Taylor, &c.) being much of his Judg- 
 ment in the Particulars here difputed of, are 
 made to be thefe: viz. i. His concluding that p> 4- 
 there is no Law which propofeth future Re- 
 wards and Punimments , but the Gofpel or 
 Law of Grace. 2. His not confidering the p 14- 
 Difference between an original. Law and a re- 
 medying Law, or conditional Ad of Oblivion 
 diftind from that firft Law. 3. His not un-P- J 9- 
 derftanding the Difference between natural and 
 moral Impotence. 4. His Notions of the Law p. az. 
 of Mofes , as having only temporal Promifes 
 and Threats annexed to it, and being void of 
 fpiritual and internal Commands. Thefe he 
 fuppofeth to be the fundamental Miftakes of 
 Mr. Butt, and other learned Pivines in the , 
 
 Church of England, which he endeavoureth 
 to confute to the utmoft of his Power, and 
 muft be acknowledged to have faid fome things 
 hereupon that feem not inconfiderable. 
 
 The Princi- 
 
 For becaufe he knew not of any that had fpo- pies tf Mr. 
 ken exadly and fatisfadorily of the Law, in 
 
 N the
 
 S 1 7 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 the feveral Notions and Acceptations of it. 
 nor in all things rightly, at leaft not compre- 
 henfively enough in his Opinion , he thought 
 it neceffafy to write fomewhat largely and di- 
 itinctly concerning it- in order to deftro) 
 both Mr. Butt's Hypothefis, and likewife tc 
 lay a Foundation for the right undemanding 
 not only of the PafTages of the Apoftle in Debate 
 but of other Paffages alfo of the New Terta 
 merit, refpecling the Law , and particularly o: 
 the Epiftle to the Hebrevss, where Law, h( 
 thinks," is to be taken in a different Senfe fron 
 that wherein it is in the Places now in difpute 
 His Thoughts upon the Matter in fhort an 
 thefe : That the Law of Mofes may be confi 
 dered either as to temporal Refpeds only, or a: 
 to the Concerns of the Life to come^ and tha 
 under both thefe Refpeds it ought to be agaii 
 conlidered , either as the original Law itfelf 
 or as the remedying Law to it. And accor 
 dingly he hath four feveral Notions and Inter 
 p. 25. prefations of the Law. Fir ft ^ he confideretl 
 it in the external political Senfe , wherein i 
 had only as temporal Punifhments of Offences 
 fo only temporal Promifes of Peace, Profperit] 
 and long Life in the Land of Canaan , upor 
 Obedience to the Law} and alfo had in thl 
 Senfe no fpiritual or internal Precepts. Howe 
 . ver, he maintained! the Law in this ftri 
 temporal Senfe to be a Shadow both of fotur< 
 Punifhmems to every Tranfgreffion interna 
 and external, and of future heavenly Felicity 
 
 t(
 
 late Lord Bifbof of St. David V. 
 
 to perfect Obedience. Secondly , he confide- 
 reth the fame Law, as comprehending in it a 
 remedying Law as to thefe temporal Severities, 
 or as affording Pardon upon Sacrifice, . for the 
 greateft Number of Tranfgreffions. And fo r 
 he will have it, that this political and tempo- 
 ral Law was a fort of little Gofpel in reality* 
 
 // - - - L\J j J 
 
 being a Law of Paraon, as to the temporal Pu- 
 nimment that was therein threatnedj .and a 
 Shadow alfo, or Pattern and Reprefentatjon qf 
 its ownGofpel-Favour in admitting theTranf^ 
 greffors thereof to Grace and Pardon, with re- 
 gard to eternal Punifhment, on the account of 
 the great Satisfaction to come, that was typi- 
 fied by fuch Sacrifices. Thirdly, he confider- 
 eth it as a Law of Conference ^ effentially re- 
 fpecting the future State, and requiring Obe- 
 dience to all therein commanded , under the 
 Peril of future Death or Wrath to come :, for 
 that otherwife there would be no Pardon or 
 Satisfaction by Chrift, for the Wrath to come, 
 which by this Law is due to Sin. And in 
 this ftrift Senfe he will have St. Paul to ufc 
 the word Law in the moft of thofe Places in 
 Difpute, and which are indited on by Mr. Bull 
 to reconcile them to St. James. And in this 
 Senfe he faith the Law was no Type or Sha- 
 dow, nor to vanifh away, but that it itandeth 
 in Force to this very Day. Laftfy, he confi- p , 
 dereth it as a Law of Grace , revealing that 
 the Puniftiment made due to the Tranfgreifor, 
 by the Law in its firft and ftrid: Senfe, might 
 
 N 2 yet
 
 i8o The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 yet be pardoned $ and he fhould enjoy not- 
 withftanding this, the prom i fed Life to come, 
 on Condition he did repent, and fincerely en- 
 deavour Obedience for the future to all God's 
 Laws, with the whole bent of Heart and Soul. 
 And in- this Senfe he faith the Law was no 
 Type or Shadow at all, but the very Gofpel it- 
 felf, and that Word of Faith which the Apo- 
 ftles preached: And that in this very Senfe 
 alfo David took the Law in inoffc of his En- 
 comiums of it. Whence he concludeth, that 
 Juftirication and Salvation are not denyed to 
 it, or to the Works of it, by the Apoftle, ei- 
 ther to Jews or Chriftians:, forafmuch as it 
 ft ill continued! the fame for Subftance, having 
 the fame Sanction and Condition , or Precept 
 in general', namely, that upon our Repentance 
 and fineere Obedience, God will juftifie and 
 fave us from all our Sins. And accordingly, 
 m inter- He interpreteth both the Threatnings and 
 ZkjiTJs Promifes of the Law, as having four different 
 and prcmi- Significations. Thus concerning that folemn 
 Te/awn' Malediction, Cur fed is every one thai continuetb 
 vith a far- not in all things written in the Book of the Law, 
 foidrefpeti. to J them^ he faith it did notify thefe four 
 diftinft Sanctions, with their diftinct Conditi- 
 ons : viz. i. Every one mall be panifhed with 
 a violent temporal Death, or fuch Death fhall 
 be due to him , that obferveth. not every ex- 
 ternal Precept of the Law. 2. Every one 
 ihall be punifhed with the aforefaid Death 
 without Remedy, that ofFendeth either in the 
 
 5- ^ great
 
 late Lord Bijlof of St. DavidV. i&i 
 
 great Inftances exempted from Pardon , or in 
 other leffer Faults, not obferving the Sacrifices 
 appointed for the Expiation of thefe. 3. Fu- 
 ture Death, or Wrath to come, is due to eve- 
 ry one that obeyeth not every Commandment 
 both internal and external. And 4. This future , 
 or fecond Death (hail without Remedy -befal 
 very fuch Offender againft the Law, he not 
 repenting of his Sins, and fincerely endea- 
 vouring Obedience to every Precept there- 
 of, internal and external And to the like 
 extenfive import he will have alfo the Pro- 
 roife or Blefiing annexed to the Law , to be 
 interpreted. Now he fuppofeth the not under- 
 ftanding this fourfold Diftinclion of the Mo- 
 faical Covenant, and of its Cur (ings and Blef- 
 fings, or Threats and Promiles, to have led 
 Mr. Bull into fome Miftakes, in determining 
 what St. Paul meaneth by VVorks and by the 
 Law -j and confequently in his denying Juftifi- 
 cation by the Works of the Law. 
 
 And whereas Mr. Bull is very particular and &* oph 
 full in diftinguifhing between the Horeb Cove-^ 
 nant recorded in the 2O th ,^2 i fc ,2 2 d ands 5j d Chap-</nrf that ' 
 ters of Exodus, and the Covenant made in 
 Land of Moab, recorded in the 29 th and 30 th Mo 
 Chapters of Deuteronomy -, as having quite dif-Har. 
 ferent Promifes and Precepts, the one carnal caf ' 7 
 and eanhly, the other fpiritual and heavenly : 
 Mr. Truman on the other fide maintaineth , 
 that they are not two but one and the fame 
 Covenant , by many Arguments which he 
 
 N 3 bringeth
 
 -i 8 2 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 bringeth from Hiftory, and the Reafon of Fad. 
 And whereas Mr. Bull alfo , after Epifcopius , 
 Dr. Hammond, Biihop Taylor, and others of 
 great Name, doth affert the Promifes and 
 Threats of the Mofaick Law to be only and 
 P. n 9. to properly temporal:, his Adverfary hath infer- 
 p.202. te d a pretty large DiiTertation concerning the 
 Spirituality of this Law, and the Sanction 
 thereof, even by Rewards and Punifhments in 
 another Life, which containeth fome Obferva- 
 tions not to be defpifed. 
 
 He granteth the Law of Mofes to have no 
 fpiritual Commands, Threats, or Promifes, as 
 it was the Inflrument of the Jewift Polity, but 
 judgeth it cannot be fo meant in thofe PaiTa- 
 ges of St. Paul in Debate, to be reconciled to 
 St. James, according to the Principle 1 he had 
 before laid down and explained. He bring- 
 ctb a great Number of PalTages out of the 
 Pfaltnsi feveral of them being cited and refer- 
 red to in the New Teftament, with a Defign 
 to (hew- that it is notorioufly contrary to the 
 Expreflions of David concerning the judaical 
 Law; to deny that it had fpiritual Commands 
 together with Promifes and Threats, relating 
 to the World to come. He confirmeth this by 
 the Encomiums of the Law given by St. Paul 
 himfelf, calling it fpiritual and himfelf carnal, 
 exprefling his Delight therein after the inward 
 Man , and declaring it to be holy , juji and 
 good. Fie urgeth , that if the Promifes and 
 Threatnings of the Law as fuch , were only 
 
 carnal
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. DavidV. 183 
 
 carnal and temporal , then none would have 
 been bound to true Piety by that Law : But 
 on the contrary , the Jews would have done 
 well in fuffering themfelves to be bound to 
 the Earth by the Profits and Delights thereof ^ 
 and in alienating their Minds from true Piety, 
 by yielding to fuch an earthly and fordid 
 Temper , as fuch a Law was apt in its own 
 Nature to beget. He inlifteth that God would 
 never have been angry with the Jews for not 
 being wrought upon to real Piety by the Law, 
 if that were fo very defective. He faith far- 
 ther, if by that Law no future Mifery be- 
 yond this Life was announced againft the 
 Tranfgreflbr, there would have been no Man 
 bound to fufter it , yea that Chrift could not 
 fuffer any thing by way of Satisfaction as to 
 the Curfe of the Life to come , nor any one 
 be pardoned his Tranfgreffion , as to Punifii- 
 ment after this Life , if no fuch Punimment 
 was ever threatened by it. He argueth that 
 thefe Threats and Promifes, concerning a fu- 
 ture Life, mufl have been fo plain in the Law, 
 as People with the ufe of ordinary means might 
 underftand thorn. He aflerteth, without this 
 were fo, they had been .excufeable before God, 
 and would not have been condemned for not 
 being truly pious. He maintained! that this 
 was the current Opinion of the Jews, and that 
 they did ordinarily believe that the Law pro- 
 ml fed future Life, and threatened future Mife- 
 ry. For the Truth of which he appealed! t<? 
 
 N 4 all ,
 
 184 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 all the eld Jewifh Writers extant, and particu- 
 larly to the Talmud i wherein among three 
 forts of Men that are named to have no Por- 
 tion in the World to come, thefe are efteemed 
 one who lhall fay , The RefurreBion of the 
 Dead is not taught by the Law : And to the 
 ancient Tar gums of Onkelos and Jonathan , in 
 both of which there is exprefs mention of E- 
 ternalLifi. Moreover he urgeth, that the Er- 
 rors of the Sadducees in denying a future Life, 
 was occalioned by their not underftanding the 
 Scriptures , thereby meaning the Old Tefta- 
 ment, and more efpecially the Books ofMofes 
 or the Pentatttub^ which could not be faid, 
 if the Scriptures revealed no fuch thing, as 
 Happinefs to the Obedient, and Unhappinefs 
 to the Difobedient in a future State. Yea he 
 confirmeth this by the very Argument of our 
 Lord himfelf, and by his Command to fearcb 
 the Scriptures, when there were none befides 
 thofe of the Old Teftament, with a View 
 of finding by them Eternal Life : As likewife 
 by the folemn Appeal of St. Paul exprefling 
 his Faith of another Life, both for the Godly 
 and the Wicked, according to what he found 
 written in the Law as well as in the Prophets. 
 And here he oifereth feveral Arguments both 
 from the Old and the New Teftament, to (hew 
 that the Jews had Promifes in their Law of a 
 future BlelTednefs, if they were found obedi- 
 ent to it : Alfo that they had clearer Promi- 
 fes of a future State, than the Gentiles by the 
 
 Law
 
 late Lord Bifoop of St. DavidV. 185 
 
 Law of Nature could have : And that all 
 that they had more of this Hope of Immor- 
 tality, was to be afcrihed wholly to the Cove- 
 nant of Promife, revealed in the Old Tefta- 
 ment, and particularly in the Booft of the 
 Law itfelf. This he faith likewife was the 
 perfe^l Law of Grace con verting the Soul, and 
 giving Life to Men" converted ;, by which Mo- 
 fes, Samuel, and David being under it, were 
 juftifyed and faved: 
 
 He comrnendeth Mr. Bnll for fo interpret- 
 ing St. PW, as to (hew that Abraham had no 
 Caufe to boaft before God of any thing in the 
 Matter of his Tuftification : And that the Re- nt . 
 
 ... If" I J U f TX 1 " Jm 
 
 ward imputed to him could not be of Debt, as material 
 it ufeth to be given to Works , but of mere Polntf - 
 Grace. Nor hath he fo much as one Word to p ' 
 fay againft his Exnofition of the Doclrine of 
 the Church of England in her Elevent h Art icle^ p. 276. 
 but fully agreeth with him, that by the Words 
 of the Article there is not attributed any Effi- 
 cacy or Dignity to Faith, more than to other 
 Vertues, in the Bufinefs of Juftification. Our 
 excellent Author hath taken no fmall Pains in 
 the fecond part of his Harmony 10 fhelterhim- 
 felf from the Charge of Heterodoxy, and to 
 prove in particular jhe Judgment of the 
 Church of England, even in that very Article 
 that eflablimeth Juftification by Faith only , 
 not to be againft him but to make for him :* 
 And his Adverfary here confefTeth as much -, 
 and faith exprefly, / diflike not this at all. 
 
 And
 
 i8<5 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 And indeed there are fo many things in Mr. EuU 
 which he difliketh not, that I know not whether 
 I ought to call him his Adverfary or his Friend. 
 
 XXXIV. And whereas he declareth himfelf not at all 
 fatisfied with what our Author hath faid of 
 iffa- the Neceflity of Grace, and of Man's Difabi- 
 '. " lity to do any Good without the Affiftance of 
 
 ith i TT i o r i 
 
 Dr. Ham- the rioiy Spirit, became he telleth us not ex- 
 mond a*d plicitely enough what he meaneth by this 
 hut their* Grace , and what the Effect of it isj yet he 
 Wotinu of falleth moft foul upon Dr. Hammond, fuppo- 
 fing Mr. Bull to have the fame common Notions 
 with him about it. So that he maketh here but an 
 indirect Attack againft Mr. Bull's Book, com- 
 plaining that his Notions about this Matter 
 did lie more remote from vulgar Apprehenfi- 
 ons than Dr. Hammond's j Mr. EuU fpeaking 
 but little ex frofejfo, to declare what he meant 
 by Grace , fo that he was not eafily or pre- 
 fently underftood. He chargeth however both 
 him and the Doclor with a low and mean O- 
 pinion concerning Grace, which if praBjcally 
 held, would be deftruftive to all Piety, and 
 in particular to the very Conftitution and Of- 
 fices of the Church of England. For he is fo 
 charitable as to grant, that Men may hold Er- 
 rors definitive of Religion, notionally and do- 
 Bnnally , and yet hold the contrary Truth pra- 
 , dically. And this he freely alloweth to be 
 the Cafe here. Now his own Opinion is, 
 " That Grace, whether actively taken for 
 
 " God's
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'/. 187 
 
 ' God's Ad, or paffively for the Effed of this 
 <c Ad, doth not confift merely in God's cau- 
 c< (ing or Man's receiving fuch a Power , as 
 " without which they that enjoy the Gofpel 
 <c cannot be inexcufable in not obeying it, or 
 ". cannot (in culpably; this being a Power that 
 " is given univerfa jly to all that hear and en- 
 " joy the Gofpel : But in God's giving and in 
 tc Man's receiving fomething from God, which 
 " may overcome the Averfation , that is in 
 "Man to Good, and thence caufe him to re- 
 " fufe the Evil and chufe the Good, in Obe- 
 " dience to the Gofpel ^ without which yet 
 " Men would not be wholly excufable from 
 " fuch Obedience." For he maintaineth that 
 the Power, without which Men would be ex- 
 cufable, being properly in God an Effect of Ju- 
 Jlice, is not to be accounted by us an Effed of 
 fupernatural Grace, yea not of Grace or Fa- 
 vour at all. Since it is no Kindnefs or Favour, 
 but Juftice, not to condemn a Man for not do- 
 ing what he hath not the Power to do. And 
 if God require Men, faith he, it is neceffary 
 in JUSTICE, that he give them fo much Ability to 
 thufe the Good and refufe the Evil, as may make 
 them ijwxcufable in not doing it. The Opini- 
 on now which he chargeth upon Dr. Hammond 
 and Mr. Bull, as contrary both to the Do- 
 drine and Pradice of the Church of England, 
 is .their holding that the Eifed of Grace is , 
 .the giving that internal Power or Ability, that 
 Men could not be inexcufable without, in not o- 
 
 beying
 
 1 88 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 keying theGofpel: Or, that God's working in u& 
 to will and to do, is but giving u* Power td 
 iviU and do. And he faith that no Man can 
 even in the Words of the Common Prayer feri- 
 oufly pray or praife God, for the Converfion 
 or Sanftification of himfelf or others, adhe- 
 ring to fuch an Opinion , by which the Grace 
 of God is degraded, according to him, to the 
 very Power or faculty of Tree Will, in aftit fe- 
 14- cundo. This he believeth himfelf to have ir- 
 refragably (hewn in his former Difcourfe of na- 
 tural and moral Impotency } and for its contra- 
 dicting the declared Practice of our Church, 
 he advifeth any that (hall but doubt thereof, 
 to take the faid Book of Common Prayer, and 
 therein read fuch Prayers , and to fee if they 
 can think the meaning of fuch Prayers to be, 
 that God would give them and others that 
 Power to obey without which he could not 
 condemn them for not obeying, (as is apparent 
 of that Power without which Men would be 
 excufable) and confequently a Power which 
 whether they pray or pray not for, God is by 
 himfelf bound in Juftice to give them. 
 
 This is indeed a moft heavy Charge againft 
 Mr. Bidl, if it could clearly be proved : But he 
 deduceth it only conftquentially from his Dif- 
 conrfe, and it refledeth-not only upon him 
 and Dr. Hammond, but upon as many as go 
 the common Remonftrant way, or that main- 
 tain ,the Universality of Grace. It is vain 
 to proteft never fo much that the Holy Spirit 
 
 giveth
 
 late Lord Bifbof of St. DavidV. 189 
 
 giveth us the Power, which all the Good we 
 do is imputable to , or to declare in this Cafe 
 46 That the Grace of God in lapfed Man is . 
 u the * one fble Principle of fpiritual Life , 
 M Converfwn, Regeneration, Repentance, Fahb^ 
 " and every other Evangelical Virtue j and that 
 w all that can juftly be attributed to our Will 
 " in any of thefe, is- the obeying the Motions, 
 " and making ufe of the Powers which are be- 
 <c flowed upon us by that fupernatural Prin- 
 " ciple." For if the obeying the Motions, 
 and making ufe of the Powers, which God be- 
 ftoweth upon Men , may juftly be attributed 
 to our Will, and not to a fpecial Operation be- 
 fides of the Spirit } God only giving us the 
 Power, and wholly leaving it to us to make 
 ufe of it, without doing any more by his Spi- 
 rit to caufe us to make ufe of it -, Mr. Tru- 
 man here argueth that all thefe high Words are 
 but an empty Sound, and that it would be ab- 
 furd for any one hereupon to pray to God, 
 that he would gracioufly caufe him by his Spi- 
 rit to improve his Talent, and make ufe of the 
 Power committed to him, if God do no more 
 than merely give the Talent or Power, which 
 he doth unto all : And if this be the meaning, 
 as he fuppofeth it to be of Mr. Bull, and all 
 the Retnonftrant Divines, God's Grace and 
 Kindnefs towards Men is not at all exalted by 
 any fuch Expreffions , and a Man is no more 
 
 * Dr. Hammond'j Pacific^ Di/courfe. Locd. 1660. p. 51. . 75. 
 &c. Bull Harm. Apoft. 
 
 obliged
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 obliged to fpecial Thankfulnefs and Gratitude 
 for the Work of his Converfion, than if it were 
 faid, God by his fupernatural Grace made us 
 Men, that is, endued us with Underjianding 
 and Witt. And he faith it is all one, whether 
 one call this Power the remote and fundamen- 
 tal, or the proximate Pov/er of Free-will, 
 while there is meant by it only that Power 
 without which they that enjoy the Privileges 
 of the Gofpel have no Sin. For if this be the 
 import of all thefe great Words concerning 
 Grace, and fupernatural Grace, given to all 
 that enjoy the Gofpel of Chrift, that it giveth 
 them only this proximate Power, by which the 
 Will being .emancipated is at liberty to obey 
 the Gofpel, God going no farther by his Spi- 
 rit with any in order to their Converfion , 
 and that this Power, call it what you will, 
 doeth all in Converfion, and in caufing the 
 difference :> and that therefore all the good is 
 done by fupernatural Grace only, and nothing 
 is properly imputable to Man in the whole 
 Work of his Converfion : The learned Refii- 
 fer contendeth, that all this is really nothing} 
 that it manifeftly tendeth to confound fitper- 
 natural Grace and common Providence together : 
 And to argue thus is no lefs illogical, than to 
 fay, Man doth all in improving the Gofpel to his 
 own Converfion : Therefore God doth all. To 
 conclude, he highly commendeth that fober 
 Sentiment of the Great Bifhop Sanderfon, who 
 confeffing his own difability to reconcile the 
 4 confiftency
 
 late Lord Bifbof of St. David V. 191 
 
 confiftency of Grace and Free-will in Conver- 
 fion, and being fenfible that they muft both be 
 maintained, tells us, "* He ever held and ftill 
 " doth hold it the more pious and fafe way 
 " to place the Grace of God in the Throne, 
 " where we think it fhould ftand, and fo to 
 " leave the Will of Man to fhift for the main- 
 " tenance of its own Freedom, as well as it 
 " can 5 than to eftablifli the Power and Liber- 
 " ty of Free-will at its heighth, and then to 
 " be at a lofs how to maintain the Power and 
 " Efficacy of God's Grace. 
 
 Befides thefe there are fome few other Ob- Some other . 
 jedions which he made againft Mr. Bulh r b ^f d m 
 Book, as particularly, that though he gave in- againft 
 deed the true fenfe of many Verfes in the Mr ' Bul1 ' 
 iv rh Chap, to the Romans, yet he feigneth the 
 Apoftle to bring them in too defultorily ^ that 
 he is miftaken in Hating the Cafe of Abraham 
 from St. PJZ//, making that to be before, which 
 was really after the divine Calling, and his 
 believing , that upon his Principles Men 
 might after their Converfion live perfedly, 
 and do as much as they are required to do by 
 the Word of God ^ and that his Inference from 
 the defended and received Opinions amongfl 
 the Jews, about the nature of Obedience to 
 their Law, is not well fupported. And where- 
 as Mr. Bull hath fpent a whole Chapter in 
 citing out of fome Authors certain Sayings of 
 
 * See Dr. Hammond'* Letter to Dr. Ssnderfon, concerning, God's 
 Grace, &c. . 90,91. 
 
 the
 
 Ip 2 The Life of Dr. George 
 
 the Jews, in defence of the Power of Free-will, 
 without the a (lifting Grace of the Spirit, he 
 will have it that many of the n 'my be capable 
 of no ill Conftrudion : and . jy poffibly 
 
 mean no more than that Men hav^ the natural 
 Power of Free-will, without which they can- 
 not be Men, from God's common Providence ; 
 and not that the Will is not in a moral Senfe 
 infuperably wicked without Grace. 
 f As to what Mr. Bull had written concerning 
 
 the Ritual and Ceremonial Law, and the Works 
 
 manj Con- . 
 
 cefliws. thereof,>asCircumci(ion, Sacrinccs^and the like 5 
 or concerning the Jewifl Interpretations of 
 the whole Body of the Mofaick Law, contain- 
 ing under it the Moral Law -, or concerning 
 humane Inventions and additions to it, and the 
 feveral erroneous Opinions of many of the 
 learned Jews in refped: to it $ or concerning 
 the mod pernicious Solifidianifm of the Gno- 
 ftick Hereticks -, or, laftly, concerning the fe- 
 veral contrary Errors and Miftakes of fome 
 Chriftian Seels, which are with great Judg- 
 ment confidered by him in his Epilogue j Mr. 
 Truman, with all his Metaphyiical Subtilty, 
 cctild find nothing herein to condemn : Yea, 
 he expreily commendeth him for having fhewn 
 out of the Jewijh Writers, that it was a vul- 
 gar Errour among them, to imagine that they 
 perfedly fulfilled God's Law, and did all that 
 was required by it, though they did but fome 
 few Externals only} as thinking that thofe 
 Commandments which require the obedience 
 
 of
 
 Itte Lord Bifhof of St. David'/. 
 
 of the Heart or internal Righteoufnefs and 
 Holinefs, were only matter of Ccunfelanft not 
 ftrictly of Precept -, and inftead of bringing up 
 their Lives to the Law, maintaining fuch Opi- 
 nions as brought the Law down to their Lives. 
 Upon the whole, he thinketh it improbable 
 that every Chapter of both Dictations < 
 
 ,'_ iii_ *r i i 11 
 
 Mr. Bull, mould be reviled and approved by 
 fo able a Divine as Dr. Nicholfon, Bifhop of 
 Glocefter : and fufpedeth, that he had great 
 Temptations to pretend his Approbation of the 
 whole and every part of it, to gain repute to 
 his Opinion, by the great Name offo Reverend 
 a Prelate and fo Learned a Writer. And con- 
 cluding, that he had faid enough to mew the r- 
 Danger and Inconfiftency of fome prevailing 
 Opinions concerning the nature of Grace and 
 the Mofaick Difpenfation -, he infinuateth nc- 
 verthelefs, that he might probably write more 
 hereupon, if urged to it \ and did accordingly 
 begin foon after a Treatife upon the Covenant 
 ofGrace^ which he lived not to finifh : for faith 
 he, My great Averfation to fucb Principles 
 (common to Dr. Hammond and Mr. Bull) will 
 much incline me upon an eafy Call to oppofe the 
 prevalency of them 5 till I jhall fee fome fitter 
 Man of our own Church and Language where 
 they prevail (as I doubt not but that there are 
 many t whofe Abilities and Circwnjlances make 
 them far mare fit,) willing to undertake it, and 
 fave the Labour of my weak Endeavours. From 
 which it appeareth, that Mr. Truman was very 
 4 O far
 
 1 94 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 far from the Sentiments of the rigid Diffenters 
 and that he did not totally leave our Churc 
 upon the A& of Uniformity -, but did confide 
 himfelf ftill as a Church of England Man, fom 
 lefTer matters only excepted. 
 
 XXXV. Mr. Bull, not long after, wrote an Anfwe 
 ^-v^~ in Englifh to Mr. Truman, which yet was ne 
 Bul! ver publifhed, wherein we are told his Hypo 
 thefis was fully examined, and all his Obje 
 dtions replied to^ not without the confentier 
 Teftimony of all the Catholick Doctors of th 
 Church, both before and after the rife of Ft 
 lagiw , and of the Ancient Jewifh Rabbin; 
 For out of a fear that Offence might be givei 
 to the Common People, by handling certaii 
 abftrnfe and profound Queftions, to the treat 
 ing yet of which he was neceffitated by th 
 exceeding great Subtilties of this Writer ^ hi 
 was willing that what he had thus writtei 
 fhould not come abroad, but only be commu 
 nieated to a few Friends, whofe Teftimony h< 
 appealed to herein. In this Anfwer to Mr 
 Truman he fet himfelf to overturn his Funda 
 mental Diftinftion of Natural and Moral hnpo 
 fence, and to (hew the many abfurd Confequen 
 ces flowing from fuch a Pofition, and how thai 
 at the bottom, it was neither more nor lef; 
 than downright Pelagianifm. In it he endea- 
 voured to prove, that the Lav ofNetitre, a< 
 
 * Jftendix ad Exa. Ccn. An'mad. \ 7. . 6. 
 
 eon-
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David V. 1 $> 5 
 
 confidered in it felf, or the Moral Law pre- 
 fcribeth not a moft perfed and abfolute Righ- 
 teoufnefs, but is contented with that which is 
 much inferiour to that which is required by 
 the Gofpel : And moreover, that Eternal Life 
 was not due at all to the Obfervation of that 
 Law. Alfo he maintained!, that Man, even 
 in the ftate of Innocence, had not a Natural 
 tower or Ability of obtaining by the per- 
 fect Obedience of the Law an Heavenly Im- 
 mortality : And that befides the Perfection 
 and Integrity of Nature wherein he was made, 
 he was likewife endowed with the Divine Spi- 
 rit, as with a Principle of the Divine Nature ^ 
 by which his natural Faculties, otherwife in- 
 fufficient, were improved and exalted to the 
 attainment of the Superiour Paradife^ whereof 
 the Inferiour was a Type. This he faith is a- 
 bundantly made out in his Englifh Papers a- 
 gainft Mr. Trutnan, though not in a Style fo 
 very fit for vulgar Readers : And having re- 
 prefented the Strangenefs and Inconfiftency of 
 his Hypothefis, which he faith was borrowed 
 from Amyraldut) he (heweth how from one* 
 Abfurdity a multitude of other Abfurdities 
 cannot but flow , how upon his Principles it is 
 poffible for every Man, if he hath but his Na- 
 tural Faculties found, perfeftly to fulfil the 
 Law of God, when fufEcientlymade known to 
 him, without the Afliftance of any inward 
 Grace j how it is naturally poflible, biit at the 
 feme time morally impofiible : How God may 
 
 O 2 law-
 
 j 9 6 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 lawfully require of fallen Man moft perfe& 
 Obedience, without either giving him, or be- 
 ing ready to give him any Grace, by which 
 that Obedience may be wrought -, how the 
 Law of Nature, to thofe that (hall keep it, 
 can give Life everlafting -, how the Evangelical 
 Law doth not convey together with it Grace 
 and Power, to perform the Obedience which 
 it requireth , and that this Grace is only given 
 according to the good Pleafure of God, tofome 
 few thereunto ordained j but that all the reft 
 are juftly damned, becaufe they might have 
 lived well if they would, but that they had 
 not Power to will it. This by thofe hints 
 which he himfelf hath given of it, feemeth to 
 have been the Subftance of what was written 
 by him in Englifh on occafion of Mr. Tru- 
 man s two mentioned Books, his Difcourfe of 
 "Natural and Moral Impotency, and his Endea- 
 vours to reftifie fome prevailing Opinions. 
 But Mt con- But Mr. Bull being engaged^ as he thought, 
 JSji?* to vindicate himfelf againft Mr. Charles Ga- 
 fo&s him taker's Animadverfions upon his Harmony , 
 ^'." l thought it alfo convenient to anfwer Mr. Tru- 
 
 LatJs, 9 , . ,~ t . . 
 
 man in Latin -, as to the principal Objections 
 made againft him, Dr. Hammond, and Bifhop 
 Taylor ', thereby to render his Reply more foil 
 and compleat. And this he hath done, both 
 in his Appendix to the Examination of the 
 xvii th Animadverfion, and in his Anfwers to 
 the xix th , xxi ft , and xxii d Animadverfions of 
 Gataker, relating to the two-fold Defcft of 
 
 the
 
 late LordBifbop of St. DavidV. 197 
 
 the Mofaick Difpenfation. Where he learn- 
 edly and ftrenuoufly defendeth what he had 
 advanced in his former Book, concerning the 
 Grounds of the Impoffibility of Juftitication by 
 the Law, for which he is fo feverely handled 
 by Gataker, Truman, and others ^ and labou- 
 reth to prove that the Opinion of his Adverfa- 
 ries therein is ftriclly and properly Pelagian ^ 
 and that his only is the true Catholick Do- 
 drine, fupported by the Authority of St. An- 
 guflin and other Orthodox Fathers. 
 
 He is very large in difcuffing the Quefticn, The Sub- 
 whether there was any Law or Covenant, di-P a et> f h 
 flinft from the Gofpel, requiring perfecl: Righ- 
 teoufnefs of fallen Man, with the Promife of 
 Eternal Life if he did perform it, and under 
 the Penalty of Eternal Damnation if he did 
 not. And having explained the State of the 
 Queftion, he proceedeth and defendeth the 
 true Catholick Opinion thereupon in the fol- 
 lowing Thefes. i . The Covenant of Life made 
 with Adam in his State of Innocence, was by 
 his Tranfgrefiion of the fame, made void not 
 only for himfelf, but for his Pofterity alfo ^ 
 fo as now all the Children of Adam, as fuch, 
 are the Children of Death, that is, are excluded 
 wholly from all Promife of Immortal Life, 
 and are fubje&ed to the neceflity of Death, 
 without any hopes of a Refurreclion. 2. All 
 thofe of the Pofterity of fallen Adam, who are 
 altogether deftitute of Divine Revelation, and 
 to whom the New Covenant of Life hath not 
 
 o
 
 1 98 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 yet been manifeft, are under the Obligation of 
 no Law but that of Nature. 3. The Law of Na- 
 ture, (which is the dictate of Reafon) fo far as 
 it is confidered in fallen Man, as deftitute of 
 the Spirit, and of Divine Revelation, doth not 
 prefcribe the mod perfeft and abfolute Vir- 
 tue, nor is an Immortal and Heavenly Life 
 due to the Obfervation of this Law. 4. God 
 never entered into any Covenant of Eternal 
 Life with the Pofterity of fallen Adam^ but 
 what was confirmed and eftablifhed in our Sa- 
 viour Chrift ^ and muft confequently have 
 been the very Gofpel it felf, according to that of 
 the Apoftle, The Gift of God is Eternal Life 
 through Jefus Chrift our Lord. 5. The Gofpel, 
 or the Law of 'Chrift , though it prefcribe a Re- 
 ligion that is inoft excellent and perfect, efpe- 
 cially as it is mod fully revealed in the Books 
 of the New Teftament, doth not command a- 
 ny thing to Man in his fallen State, but that 
 which is pofiible to be fulfilled by the Grace 
 which it promifeth. 6. Though according to 
 the Gofpel, or Law of Chrift, all thofe de- 
 grees of Righteoufnefs, which are poflible for 
 us by the Grace of the fame Gofpel to be per- 
 formed, are binding to us , yet they are not 
 all binding ftrffify and precisely under the 
 Penalty of Everlajling Damnation, For as 
 much as the Evangelical Law doth not for eve- 
 ry Default whatfoever, yea, though by Grace 
 it could have been avoided, denounce againft 
 Man, Exclufion from the Kingdom of Hea- 
 ven,
 
 late Lord Bi/kop of St. David' /.J "" 
 
 ven, and much lefs doth it threaten Hell Tor- 
 ments for this ^ but only for fuch Sins- as are 
 repugnant to the very End of the Law, the 
 Love of God above all things, and do more 
 immediately refift the Divine Loving-kindnefs, 
 7. The extraordinary Indulgence of the Gof- 
 pel, doth herein eminently mine forth, that it 
 promifeth Forgivenefe of all, even of the moft 
 grievous Sins, committed cither before or after 
 the Grace of it (hall be received ^ upon con- 
 dition of Repentance : But then this Repen- 
 tance, fo far as it relateth to the more grievous 
 Sins, which are called deadly ', muft be moft 
 exact and perfectly practical. Thefe are the 
 feven Pillars upon which his whole Super- 
 ftruclure, concerning the Difference of the Firft 
 and Second Covenant, and his Comparifon of 
 the Law and the Gofpel doth fubfift. And he 
 concluded! againft Mr. Truman, that if the 
 Covenant of Life made with Adam was annul- 
 led by his Sin, both for himfelf and hisPofte- 
 rity -, if the Pofterity of Adam^ to whom the 
 New Covenant of Life hath not been revealed, 
 are only bound to the Obfervance of the Moral 
 and Natural Law, which cannot of it felf give 
 Eternal Life ^ and if there be no other New 
 Covenant of Life entered into by God with 
 fallen Mankind, then certainly there is no Co- 
 venant or Law, prior to the Gofpel, and di- 
 ftinguifhed from it, which doth require of 
 lapfed Man, the moft abfolute Obedience, and 
 moft perfect Virtue, with regard to Eternal 
 
 O 4 Re-
 
 700 T/je Life of Dr. George Bull^ 
 
 Rewards and Punifliments in another Life. Al- 
 fo againft him he difputeth both from the 
 Scriptures and Fathers, that the Gofpel is a 
 Miniftration of Spirit, fo that the Spirit of 
 Ghrift muft be individually conjoined with his 
 Law, that commanding nothing which his 
 Grace is not fufficient to perform. And he 
 difputeth againft him, that it was not on- 
 ly the common Opinion of all the Catholick 
 Dodors who lived before Pelagius, that a Man 
 might by the Grace of Chrift fulfil all his 
 Commandments : but that it was the very 
 Sentiment alfo of the greateft Enemies of the 
 Pelagian Herefy, and moft eminent VVriters a- 
 gainft it, as particularly of St. Aitgnflin^ and 
 St. Hierom^ with our venerable Eede* 
 
 XXXVI. The Hypothefis of Mr. Truman^ as efta- 
 ^r^r^, blifhed in both his Difcourfes, being this , 
 An//#9- " That the Reafonings of St. Paul againft Ju- 
 'vi?Tru- " ftifi cat J n ty the Mofaical Law, fuppofes 
 ex- " that Law to require an impoffible Condition 
 o f Juftification, or fuch an abfolute Righte- 
 " oufnefs as no Man through his Moral Irnpo- 
 " fence can ever difcharge. Our Author en- 
 deavoureth to demonftrate, that the Reafon- 
 ings of that Apoftle in his Epiftles, both to the 
 R.omanszndthzGalatians, go upon quite ano- 
 ther Foundation $ and that they fuppofe that 
 in the Mofaical Law, as underftood according 
 w the Letter^ there was no true Justification at 
 all, or RemiiGon of Sins reaching beyond this 
 
 Life,
 
 late Lord Bijhop of St. David'/. 201 
 
 Life, ever fet forth. And truly if this be not 
 demonftrated by thofe many Arguments and 
 Teftimonies which he hath brought , it muft 
 at leaft be confefled, that fo much is here faid 
 againft the contrary Opinion, as to render it ve- 
 ry highly improbable. And as for his Objection 
 of the Spirituality of the Law, about which he 
 hath faid indeed fo many fine things, Mr. Bull 
 here diftinguiftieth, and faith it was generally 
 the Opinion of the Ancients, that the Word 
 Law is taken in Scripture in feveral Senfes j 
 that in St. Paul's Epiftles it is taken, either ac- 
 cording to the Letter, or elfe according to the 
 Spirit : and that this laft is no other than the 
 very Gofpel it felf, as being hid under ancient 
 Figures, and covered over with the Veil of 
 Ceremonies, firft explained by Mofes himfelf, 
 as well as the time could then bear, next by 
 the-fucceeding Prophets more clearly manife- 
 fted, and laft of all, by Chrift and his Apoftles- 
 moft fully revealed as the Sun at Noon-day : 
 That thofe Encomiums which are attributed to 
 the Law, of being Spiritual, Holy, <$cc. are pro- 
 perly applicable to it, as taken according to 
 the Spirit, or for the Gofpel it felf : That 
 whenfoever St. Paul detradeth from the Law, 
 or denieth Juftification to be by the Works of 
 it, he then always underflandeth it as taken ac- 
 cording to the Letter. And, laftly, That the 
 Apoftle doth very fitly take the Law either in 
 one Senfe or in the other, either Spiritually or 
 according to the differing Sentiments 
 
 of
 
 202 The Life of Dr. Ceorge Bull, 
 
 of thofe to whom he wrote his Epiftles. And 
 p. i32,&c. whereas Mr. Truman had objeded againft Mr. 
 Bull, that his degrading the Laws of Mount 
 Sinai fo low as he had done, was in effed a 
 Refledion upon God himfelf, the Author of 
 it j and that he had rnifinterpreted St. Paul, 
 by making him fay, That the Law did not 
 promife fuch things, as that a Man had need of 
 Faith, which is the Evidence of things not 
 feen, to believe them 5 but promifed only 
 things of Senfe not of Faith : And alfo by 
 fuppofing the Apoftle's meaning, Gal. iii. ver. 
 21. to be, that the Fault was in the Law, 
 not in the Men , becaufe if the Law promifed 
 it, Men would have attained Life by that 
 Law : and fo making an Excufe thereby for 
 the Carnal and Servile Genius of the generali- 
 ty of the Jews, as fuited to their Law , if 
 the Law of Mount Sinai was indeed fuch a 
 Difpenfation of Servitude, and fit to beget in 
 Men a mean and fervile Difpofition of Mind : 
 Mr. EuU anfwereth, that it would be very un- 
 juft to charge God herewith, feeing that by 
 his wife and gracious Providence, fufficient 
 care was taken that the Jews might not (tick in 
 the Letter of the Mount Sinai Law^ but might 
 look beyond it. For he fheweth how God 
 provided the Tradition of Life to come, deri- 
 ved down from the Patriarchs, either imme- 
 diately from himfelf or otherwife, might flou- 
 ri(h under the Law, and be both expounded 
 and confirmed by the Sermons of the Prophets, 
 
 whom
 
 la t e Lord Bifbop of St. David'/. 203 
 
 whom he raifed up in their feveral Ages for 
 Inftrudion and Condud to his People. He 
 faith, the Patriarchal Condition is clear, both 
 by the Prophecy and Example of Enoch , and 
 that the Subfiftence of the Soul, after the 
 Death of the Body, was hence believed by the 
 moft ancient Jews who lived after the de- 
 livery of the Law by Mofes. And this he efpe- 
 cially gathereth and confirmeth, from the Hi- 
 ftory of KingS^M/ confuiting the Pythonefs of 
 Endor, and feeking of her, that he might have 
 fome Difcourfe with Samuel that was then 
 dead } which he would never certainly have 
 done, had he not believed the Soul of the de- 
 ceafed Prophet to furvive. He argueth alfo 
 to the fame Effeft from the Original ofNecro- 
 money, the moft ancient of all Divinations, 
 founded upon this feparate Subfiftence of the 
 Soul j from the Gofpel of Mofes, or his Ser- 
 mon in the Plains of Moafr, wherein he calleth 
 the Jfraelites off from the outward Ceremonies 
 of the Law which he had taught them, to in- 
 ward Godlinefs ^ and from the Circumcifion of 
 the Flefh to the Circumcifton of the Heart : 
 andexpreily admoniiheth them, that the whole 
 bufinefs of their Salvation did turn upon this 
 one Precept of loving God with all their 
 Heart : And from the Prophetical Te/limony, 
 more efpecially inftancing in fuch Paflages of 
 * Samuel and David, of Ifaiah, Jeremiah, of 
 
 * i Sam. xv. v e -r. 22. Pial. L ver. i, to 17. fa li. w, id, 
 17. Ilai. i. MIT. 10, tozi. Jcrcm. vi; vcr. 21 23 2 g. Hof. 
 vi. ver. 6. Mic. vi. vcr. 6, 7, 8. 
 
 Hofeah
 
 a 04 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Hofeab and Micab as are herein mod clear and 
 exprefs. Whence he concludeth, that the Jews, 
 who in St.P^tt/'s time ftuck to the bare Letter 
 of the Mount Sinai Law ^ whether they were 
 Pharifees, who acknowledged indeed a Myfte- 
 ry in the Letter of the Promife, but could not 
 fee beyond the Letter of the Precept j or whe- 
 ther they were Sadducees, who underftood 
 both thePromifes and Precepts of the Mofaical 
 Law, according to the Letter only j to be 
 without excufe. So that after all, the diffe- 
 rence betwixt Mr. Truman and Mr. Bull, will 
 be found very inconfiderable. 
 
 The chu- This Mr. Truman was indeed a Perfon of a 
 rafter of deep and fearching Genius, but perhaps too 
 Metaphyfiqal : Candid in fully reprefenting 
 the Argument of his Adverfary without dif- 
 guife, and commending whatever'he thought 
 worthy of Commendation j but fevere alfo in 
 his Animadverfions, where he believed he 
 4 wanted not fufficient Grounds for fo doing : 
 Generous very often, in his manner of treating 
 thcrfe he duTented from 3 but fometimes yet 
 unreasonably fufpicious and fcrupulous : 
 Cool and moderate in the Management of his 
 Caufe, with very little appearance of Paffion 
 and Prejudice , but vigorous yet and zealous, 
 for the rectifying of fome certain Opinions, 
 which he took to be contrary to the Doctrine 
 of the Church of England, for which he ftill 
 continued to profefs an Efteem. This made 
 him refpeded by feveral eminent Divines of 
 
 our
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. David* /. 205 
 
 our Church j and even by fuch alfo of them, 
 who did not agree with him in his darling 
 Notions. His Knowledge was not confined to 
 his own Profeilion, for he had a good (hare of 
 Skill, not only in the Statute and Common Law, 
 but alfb in the Civil : He was a good Critick 
 in the Learned Tongues, particularly in the 
 Greek, where by the great Strength of his Me- 
 mory his Head would fupply the Place of a 
 Lexicon j and though he was ejefted for Non- 
 conformity, yet during his Recefs from his 
 publick Station, he commonly attended the 
 Worfhip of God in publick. 
 
 While Mr. Bull was bufied in this Contro- X xxvn. 
 verfy, with Mr. Gataker and Mr. Truman, and ,^-v- 
 was defigning to have a fair Copy tranfcribed, Bifkop Ni- 
 he loft his very good Friend and Patron the ^ gjf r 
 Bifhop, who had hitherto directed and a (lifted X,m>n, 
 him. For the good Prelate having at Heart the-^'* *j j 
 Good of the Church and the Honour of his Cler- 
 gy, and being a great Encourager of Learning 
 and Learned Men, within his Sphere and Di- 
 ftrift at leaft, had a great Satisfaction in Mr. Bull, 
 and failed not upon all proper occafions to ex- 
 prefs his Efteem for him : And on the other 
 fide, Mr. Bull took no final I pleafure, as in fee- 
 ing himfelf fo favoured and honoured by his 
 Diocefan, fo alfo in making all futable Returns 
 of Duty and Gratitude on his part. He was . 
 always a fingular admirer of that Condefcenli- 
 on and Familiarity, of that truly paternal Care 
 
 which
 
 no 6 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 which he found in this good Bifhop, who by 
 his Learned Writings, had defended and main- 
 tained the Church of England againft her Ad- 
 verfaries, when (he was under a Cloud , and 
 after that (he had rid out the Storm, did not 
 omit to da all that became an excellent Pre- 
 late, for fupporting the Catholick Faith and 
 Difcipline profefled in her Communion, both 
 by himfelf and by others. He died at Glocefter, 
 having fat in that Chair above Eleven Years, 
 in the 82 d of his Age, upon the 5 th of Febru- 
 ary , 1671. with the Reputation of a truly Pri- 
 mitive Bifhop. His Works fhew him to have 
 been a Perfon of great Learning, Piety, and 
 Prudence , particularly his Apokgy for the 
 Difcipline of the ancient Church, printed the 
 Year before the Reftauration ^ and hisExpofiti- 
 on oftheApoftle's Creed, the Year fucceeding it j 
 with his Expofition of the Church Catechifm, 
 that hath had many Editions. And as he was 
 not only for his Knowledge of the Fathers and 
 Schoolmen confulted by Mr. RuU, but alfo for 
 the great mare of Critical Learning whereof 
 he was Matter: fo his fingular Affability, Mo- 
 defty and Candour, made his Lofs in an efpe- 
 cial manner to be regretted by him, 
 
 A worthy Gentleman, Owen Brigflock, Efqj 
 of Carmarthen/Jure, Grandfon to Bifhop 2$- 
 chotfons Lady, out of refpeclto his Lordfhip's 
 Memory, did, at his own Charge, ereft a ve- 
 ry handfom Monument, in a Chapel of the 
 Cathedral Church of Glocefler, in order to 
 
 per-
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. David*/. 207 
 
 perpetuate it. The care of the Infcription was 
 left to Mr. Bull, whereby he had an Opportu- 
 nity to draw his Patron's Characler in fhort ; 
 and becaufe it is at the fame time, a. Proof 
 how capable Mr. Bull was even of fuch a Per- 
 formance, the Reader I believe will not think 
 it improper to be recorded in his Life, and is 
 as followed! , 
 
 JEternitati S. 
 
 In fpe Beatag RefurrecUonis, 
 Hie Reverendas Exuvias depofuit 
 
 Theologus Infignis, 
 
 Epifcopus vere primitivus 
 
 Gulielmus Nicholfon. 
 
 In Agro Suffolciano natus 
 
 Apud Magdalenenfes Educatus, 
 
 Ob Fidem Regi 6c Ecclefiae Afflidse preftitam, 
 
 Ad fedem Gloceftrenfem merito promotus. 
 
 Anno MDCLX. 
 
 In concionibus frequens, 
 
 In fcriptisNervofus, 
 
 Legenda fcribens, & faciens fcribenda. 
 
 Gravitas Epifcopalis in fronte Emicuit, 
 
 Pauperibus quotidiana charitate Beneficus, 
 
 Comitate erga Clerum & L .iterates Admirandus. 
 
 Glorias ac dierum Satur, 
 
 In palatio fuo ut vixit pie deceflit 
 
 Febru. 5 Anno tatis LXXXII. 
 
 Dora. MDCLXXI. 
 
 5 1 Eliza-
 
 o8 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 i 
 
 Elizabetha conjux prsivit, in hoc Sacello 
 Sepulta Ap.XX. An. Dom. MDCLXIII. 
 
 Owenus Brigftock de Lechdenny 
 In coraitatu Caermarthen Ariniger, 
 
 Praedids Elizabeths Nepos 
 Hoc Grati Animi Monumentum 
 
 (Executore recufante) 
 Propriis fumptibus erexit, An. MDCLXX1X. 
 
 a flop Upon the death of this excellent Bimop, 
 
 x? we are told b y M ' Ml hi^felf, that he laid 
 , o/perfedly afide the Papers which he had drawn 
 vindicating U p j n Defence of his Harmonia, againft the 
 
 fomeCatho-* 1 . -, c , , 
 
 lick DO- Strictures or the younger uataker, with a de- 
 flg n they (hould have been communicated to 
 hisLordlhip, had he lived longer, and fo have 
 been fubmitted wholly to his Cenfure and Dif- 
 pofal. But as the Bimop did not much iniift 
 to have Mr. Bull's Anfwer, when he had con- 
 fidered Mr. Gatakers Animadverfions , and 
 found fo little Matter in them deferving one : 
 And a&Mr. //, when he had finiftied his An- 
 fwer, which was in a few Months after he 
 had received it, began to grow more cool and 
 indifferent, the Zeal of his Spirits being now 
 a little evaporated -, and did not care, as he 
 confefTed, to take the Pains of Reviewing and 
 Tranfcribing it for the Bifhop's Perufal and 
 Examination : The faid Anfwer was dropped 
 for the prefenr, and the Bimop dying in the 
 mean time, was hereupon condemned to lie 
 
 buried
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'/. 209 
 
 buried in his Study, among his neglected Pa- 
 pers, having no farther thoughts of letting 
 them fee the Light, (ince he was now dead 
 whom he entirely depended upon for his Fa- 
 therly Direction in this Matter -, and by whofe 
 Advice and Afliftance his former Book had 
 been publifhed to the World, which gave oo 
 cafion for this. Whereof there is this Account, 
 that prefently upon his receiving his own 
 Book from the Bimop's Hand, withthofe Ani- 
 madverfions interfperfed, he fet himfelf with 
 all his might, to expofetheWeaknefs of them, 
 and more fully vindicate theCatholick Truths, 
 which he had before fo publickly maintained 
 in his firft Book, againft all that is common- 
 ly brought for the fupport of modern Notions 
 contrary to them. * And he acquainted! us, 
 that his Papers againft Mr. Gataker, were writ- 
 ten only at his leifure Hours, in the midft of 
 much other Bufinefs continually interrupting 
 him : and with fo much hafte, that they were 
 not to be read by any body befides himfelf, 
 and hardly by himfelf neither, except with the 
 help of his Memory. The reafon for his fo 
 haftily fetting about this Reply, was, befides 
 that mod terrible Complaint preferred againft 
 him, by his moft paflionate and unfair Cenfu- 
 rer, who was in hopes of getting his Book 
 condemned, and the Author filenced, and 
 thought, no doubt, he mould hereby do God 
 
 * Pref. Ad EXAOI. Cenfur*. 
 
 P good
 
 2 i o The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 sood Service i a DifFatisfaclion in fome, that 
 
 & * 
 
 were otherwife hearty Well-wiftiers both to 
 the Church and him, who were yet of the 
 Opinion, that he had written fomewhat too 
 freely in fome parts of his Harmony. And 
 though thefe Animadverfions were not in- 
 deed printed, yet having been addreffed in 
 a folemn manner to the Governours of the 
 Church, and ftrenuoufly aifo infifted upon 
 in Letters to feveral of them , as a Matter 
 of the utmoft Confequence to the Church , 
 and great Means being alfo ufed to hinder 
 his Preferment by fome very Eminent Men 5 
 he thought his Silence might be interpre- 
 ted by fome as a tacite Acknowledgment of 
 his Guilt, and that even his Delay might 
 be mifconftrued alfo, and give an Advan- 
 tage to his Adverfary. Upon this, he con- 
 cluded not to wait for a fet Anfwer to hi? 
 Book, as fome would have had him, but im- 
 mediately fell upon his Animadverter , and 
 meeting by the way with an Endeavour of a 
 more moderat Adverfary , could not altoge- 
 ther pafs him by. But the Bifhop's Death 
 intervening, as was faid, put a (top to 
 what he had defigned , fo that he had no 
 farther thoughts about it , till the Matter 
 was revived a-frem by a Book of the Learn- 
 ed Dr. Tully , levelled direclly at him , of 
 which there will be occafion to fpeak more 
 hereafter. 
 
 4. About
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. DavidV. 2 1 1 
 
 About the fame time Dr. Barlow, then Mar- ffo ? P ub 
 
 tiret Profeflbr at Oxford, and afterwards 
 ifliop of Lincoln, in fome of his Ledures be- 
 fore that Learned Body, is faid to have treated 
 Mr. Bull very roughly, even fo far as to give 
 him opprobrious Names ^ an account of which 
 was fent him by his learned and pious Friend* 
 Mr. Thomas, at that time Chaplain of Chrijl 
 Church, and refident in that Univerflty, who 
 was then prefent, and took Notes of all that 
 related to his Friend in thofe Ledures. This 
 Treatment brought Mr. Bull to Oxford, who 
 with Mr. Thomas, waited upon the Profe/Tor, 
 told him with what inhumanity he had been 
 treated by him, and offered to clear himfelf from 
 thofe Imputations by a publick Difputation, but 
 this would not be accepted of. Mr. Bull and his 
 Friend thought this very hard j feeing that to 
 have Lectures read againft him in the Univerfi- 
 ty by fo great a Mali, as if he were not only to 
 be held for an Heretick by the Church, but 
 even for an Herefiarch too 5 and not to have 
 liberty after all granted him to purge himfelf 
 from fuch a publick Charge of Herefy, in the 
 ordinary way of Difputation, and before the 
 fame Auditory to whom he, for the fake of his 
 Book, had been thus repreiented in fuch grofs 
 Colours } they could not believe fuch a Pro- 
 ceeding, was by any means Equal or Juftifia- 
 ble in the Profeflbr. A Difputation was all 
 that Mr. Bull defired for himfelf j but was 
 prudently enough declined by this Dodor of 
 
 P 2 th*
 
 312 The 'Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 the Chair, not knowing what might have been 
 the Confequences thereof. He excnfed him- 
 felf therefore to Mr.,Bitll as well as he could, 
 and endeavoured to avoid owning; the Fad, till 
 Mr. Thomas positively affirmed it to his face, 
 offering to produce the Notes which he had 
 taken, to which the ProfefTbr had no more to 
 fay : And they parted with no other fatisfa- 
 clion to Mr. z///, than that the Perfon who 
 had been fo forward to defame him in his ab- 
 fence % durft not make good the Charge to his 
 face. 
 
 xxxviir. Th lls Mr. Bull having got the better of the 
 ^^^^ Profeflbr, and hearing no more after this from 
 TuHy tne Divinity-Chair, had fome reft for a time, 
 came Dr. and an Opportunity therewith, of examining 
 SeSi f me ot ^ ler Controversies of another Nature. 
 gtir.frMr. But though Dr. Barlow was filent after this Vi- 
 BttU - fit made him, and cared not to meddle more 
 with Mr, Bit!! , yet a Friend and Collegue of 
 his was found willing to undertake the Caufe , 
 and carry on the Charge of Heterodoxy and 
 Innovation againft Mr. Bull, which in hisLe- 
 clures he had begun, but wanted Courage to 
 maintain. This was Dr. Tutty, formerly Fel- 
 low tf. Queens-College , and then Principal of 
 St. Edmnnd^-HaU^ adjoining : who was indeed 
 an Eloquent and Learned Writer : Nor muft 
 it be denied, that he was a very valuable Per- 
 fon, for other Reafons, and that he did much 
 good in the Univerfity. He had i r ome timebe- 
 1 fore
 
 late Lord Bifhop, of St. David'/. a 1 3 
 
 fore printed a fort of * Syftem in Divinity, 
 for the ufe of young Students, which had 
 been well received, it having had feveral Edi 
 tions. But his Notions being partly different 
 from thofe of Mr. Bull in his Harmonia, the 
 Do&or was prevailed oirto appear againft him 
 and his Book in Latin ^ and thereby to vm<^ 
 cate both himfelf and his Friend,, who had 
 been in fuch a manner challenged as hath been 
 related. And whereas no Anfwer had yet ap- 
 peared to Mr. Bull's Book, but one in 'Englifa < 
 and that written too by one that was throwft 
 out by Ad of Parliament from the Exercifeof 
 his Miniftry ; And as this might be matter of: 
 Applaufe to Mr. ?/tf and his Friends, that no 
 one yet of the Church of England had under- 
 took to anfwer him from the Prefs , and that 
 a famous ProfeiTor, and he reputed no fmajl 
 Mafter in the polemical part of his Profeflion 
 more efpecially, thought not fit to venture, 
 when nearly attacked, to maintain the Caufe 
 againft him, but feemed rather to retract the 
 Charge of Herefy, which had been by him io 
 liberally beftowed *, it was therefore concluded, 
 that this Charge could not, with any modefty, 
 be kept up longer againft the Harmonia and us 
 Author, without there was a thorough An- 
 fwer to it, written by fome learned Divine of 
 the Church of 'England; and one againft whom 
 
 * Prscipuorum Theory * Capitum Encbiritian 
 , &ic, 
 
 P o " there
 
 214 Th* Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 there could lie no Exception } who fhould 
 therein endeavour to make out, that Mr. Bull's 
 Explication of the Doctrine of Justification 
 was properly Heretical, as being contrary in a 
 Fundamental Point to theTeftimony of Scrip- 
 ture, and againft the Opinion of the Catholick 
 Fathers, the judgment of the Church of En- 
 gland, and the Determinations of all the Fo- 
 reign Reformed Churches. 
 Thefitnefs Now there could not be any one fitter for 
 ^ r ^ an ^ e l earne d Perfon already menti- 
 oned, being of a Life and Character unexcepti- 
 ona ^ e 3 but who had early imbibed other Sen- 
 timents than thofe which Mr. Bull had publi- 
 from him. fhed, and thence had read both the Scriptures, 
 and the ancient Church Writers, with quite a- 
 nother view: And, be fides, he being benefi- 
 ced in the Church, for the Doctrines of which, 
 againft all Innovations and Innovators, he ex- 
 prefled an extraordinary Zeal ^ and Governour 
 at the fame time of an Houle in the Univerfay, 
 which was by his Diligence and exact Difci- 
 pline made to flourifh ^ and Chaplain alfo in 
 Ordinary to the King : All this could not but 
 mrike it to look fomevihat more like a Battery 
 from the fide of the Church of England^ as it 
 was intended, than any that had yet been; 
 and there would thus want one Objection at 
 l^aft againft him in Mr. Bull's favour, which 
 was too obvious not to have been taken notice 
 of, in the cafe of one , if not both of Mr, 
 Bull's former Adverfaries. An Anfwer there- 
 fore
 
 late Lord Bijhop of St. David /. 2 1 5 
 
 fore was accordingly undertaken by this learn- 
 ed Dodor, with no fmall contidence of Suc- 
 cefs. 
 
 Some neverthelefs of his Friends would Some En- 
 feign have difTwaded him from engaging iw $25 
 this matter, being of opinion, that he would 'MM in th 
 but hereby create hirafelf an unneceflary La- c ** rc * * 
 bour, without ferving the Church, according Kcon- 
 as he purpofed : and they plainly told him, tenth**. 
 that the Point difputed was not of all that Con- 
 fequence which he took it to be , and that thenc$ 
 it would be more advifeable, to drop the Con- 
 troverfy for the fake of the Church's Peace, 
 than by this means to revive and keep it up $ 
 efpecially considering, that probably in the 
 end , this would turn to a mere ftrife about 
 Terms. They who gave him this Advice, 
 whofoever they were, had not hitherto decla- 
 red themfelves on either fide, as it appears, 
 but expreifed themfelves with much Candour 
 and Moderation towards both : and would 
 gladly have allayed the Heats of one againii 
 the other, and amicably have compofed their 
 Differences. But Dr. Tully was not able to 
 bear this their Lukewarmnefs and Indifferency^ 
 as it appeared to, him to be : and fo far was 
 their fober Admonition from working upon 
 him, that this did but the more raife his Zeal, 
 and quicken him to perfift the more fledfaftly 
 in his '< Refolution , of defending what he 
 
 * Epijl. DfJica. fo Prcf. N. ? , 4. fuMf. r.iulina. 
 
 P 4 lookr
 
 2 1 6 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 looked on, as the very Palladium of the Refor- 
 mation. And fo deep was this Notion im- 
 printed on his Mind, that he was amazed 
 any one mould think otherwife : nor could 
 he tell how to pardon them, who charita- 
 bly advifed him not to intermeddle in this 
 Caufe, which Bimop Sanderfon declined, be- 
 caufe he was not for entring into a Contro- 
 verfy, whereof he could never exped to fee 
 an 'End. Yea, the more he was convinced, 
 that thefe were ivtfe and learned Men , and 
 lovers of the Truth, his Admiration grew 
 the greater ^ and he could not forbear break- 
 ing out into the higheft Aftonimment, 
 that fuch as thefe mould be fo far carried 
 away with the Gallionifin of the Age , as 
 to confider the mofl noble and momentous of 
 all Controverfies ( in his Opinion ) as lit- 
 tle better than a fquabble about Words. Thus 
 there were feveral Endeavours ufed to quafh 
 that inteftine Strife in the Church. But no- 
 thing it feems was able to divert the Do- 
 lor's purpofe of engaging Mr. Bull, when 
 he was once refolved of the matter, and 
 fo he purfued on his Defign, being born up 
 xxxix. with an immoderate afiurance of the good- 
 *^V^N~> nefs of his Caufe, even fo far as to fan- 
 wbat Mr. cy the Light or Evidence thereof to be clearer 
 
 Bull did -V Li. ' o i f \c 
 when he t " an tne Sun himfelf. 
 beard Dr. 
 
 - A S reat w ^^ e before it went to the Prefs, 
 im. the Book, which Dr. Tully had been fet to 
 
 write.
 
 late Lord Eifbop of St. David'/. 217 
 
 write, for the-Reafons already fuggefted, was 
 difcourfed of at Oxford : and thus coming to 
 the knowledge of the worthy Perfon, againft 
 whom it was principally directed, he thought-U; 
 his Duty to confult, as much as in him -layt 
 the Peace of the Church , that fo the Advert 
 faries thereof might have no occafion rd trit 
 umph. And therefore he refolved to offer the 
 Dodorall reafonable Satisfaftion in the firft 
 place, entreating him , for that end, the favour 
 of a friendly Conference betwixt them : that 
 fo, before he mould publiili what he was pre- 
 paring againft him for the Pref? , they .might 
 come rightly to underftand each other } and 
 not lofe in the Combat what rhev were both 
 equally contending for. Whence he prelfed 
 him much, that the Truth might be fo amica- 
 bly and candidly examined by them, as became 
 Chriftiaris and Divines, that no caufe of Scan- 
 dal might remain } but that on the contrary, 
 every Offence might be removed fo far as was 
 poflible. And if any had been jultly given, 
 by his Differtations upon Justification, or by 
 either of them, or any Errour or Miftake by 
 him therein committed, he faid, it fhould free- 
 ly be owned and confeffed by him, fo foon as 
 ever it could be made to appear , this however 
 was denied him , of which he afterwards com- 
 plained :, and it was thought he had reafon io 
 to do. For, 
 
 While this Treatifc of Dr. Tally was yet, - 
 according to his own ExpretTion, flickmg in 
 
 &
 
 2 1 8 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 the birth, there was brought about a Meeting 
 of him and Mr. Bull, for this very End. At 
 which, Mn Bull telling him how he heard 
 that he was writing agairift him, did very ear- 
 neftly befeech him, " Above all things to con- 
 " fider well the Peace of God's Church, and 
 " to take diligent head , left by publick Dif- 
 " fention between two Divines of the fame 
 " Communion , the Enemies of our Church 
 w might take occafion of upbraiding and re- 
 " proaching Her -, or, befides the Schifma- 
 tc ticks, fome even of Her own weak Members, 
 " might happen to be offended hereby alfo. 
 " And did therefore intreat him, that he 
 " would, for preventing this Evil, be pleafed, 
 " as a Friend, but to communicate to him his 
 " Papers 5 upon this Condition, that if by thefe 
 " he could make it out, that he had written 
 " any thing againft found Dodrine, he would 
 " not refufe publickfy to retratt his Errour. 
 This Propofal appeared then fo very reafona- 
 ble, that Dr. Tully feemed to agree to it : and 
 anfwered, " That he might in a very little 
 " while, fend him perhaps a Copy of thofe 
 " bis Papers. But after this, Mr. Bull never 
 once heard from him } nor had any reafon gi- 
 ven him for the Alteration of his Mind. 
 Tully At length, about the beginning of the Year 
 
 l Anfoer l6 74> there was P ublimed at Oxford, after 
 tfr. Bull, ffiuch expedation , PernnJJu Superior urn, ac- 
 cording as the Title Page exprefTeth it, a La- 
 tm Treatife, which was infcribed, Juflificatio
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'j-. 
 
 Paulina fine operibus, ex mente Ecciefia? Anglica- 
 nx,omnhmiq^ retiquarum qua Reformats audtunt 
 Ajjerta & illuftrata contra nuperos NO V ATO- 
 NES: Author e Tho. Tullio, S. T. P. 5tc. 
 That is, Juftification, as delivered by St. Paul^ 
 without Works, ailerted and illuitrated accord- 
 ing to the Senfe of the Church of England, and 
 of all the reft of the Reformed Churches, againft 
 the late Innovators : by Thomas Tii/ty, D. D. 
 and Principal of Edmond-Hall in Oxford, &c. 
 with the permiflion of Superiors, in 4 to . To 
 this was alfo added, another ihort Tract at the 
 end x in anfwer more particularly to the ninth 
 Chapter of Mr. Butt's fecond Differtation of 
 his Harnwma, without ever mentioning his 
 Name under the Title of Dijfertatiuncula dc 
 Sententia Paulina, Rom. 7. a com. 14 ^ in qua 
 oftenditur Paulum de fe loqui regenito, non au+ 
 tern in psrfona homlnis nondum regenhi. i. e. A 
 (hort DifTertation, concerning the meaning of 
 St. Paul in the vii rh to the Romans, from the 
 14 th ver. wherein is (hewn, that St. Paul 
 fpeaketh not in the Perfon of a Man Unregene- 
 rate, but of himfelf as Regenerate. Now 
 notwithftanding that the Author was encou- 
 raged to the Publication of this Book, by Bi- 
 fhop Morley , * who read it over in Manufcripr, 
 not without fome Ihew of Approbation ; the 
 Appendix aforefaid only excepted, which we 
 are told, was revifed and approved by another 
 
 ;/,/?. Dedic. p, 8. 
 
 learned
 
 220 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 karned Prelate of our Church, whofeName is 
 not indeed expreiTed^but whom I fuppofe to have 
 been the then Bifhop of Lincoln^ even his good 
 Friend Dr. Barlow, lately advanced to that See j 
 It is yet .-fa id, he met with no fmall Obftru- 
 djons in the bringing it forth, and was forced 
 at laft to make ufe of an Artifice, before he 
 could obtain leave to have it printed : whence 
 he caller h this his Book, * Infalicis Horofiopi 
 foetus, as if it were born under an unfortunate 
 Planet :, and fo heavily complaineth of the hard- 
 nefs of its Parent's Labour, as alfo of his be- 
 ing threatned with a fmart Anfwer. Of the 
 Occafion and Motives for his engaging; in this 
 Controverfy, enough hath been faid already. 
 Of the Contents and Method of his Book, fo 
 far at leaft as Mr. Bull was there in concerned, 
 it remains now to give fome account , for the 
 affording a Light to the Hiftory of this Con- 
 troverfy, and to fome part of the Life of fo 
 eminent a Writer in our Church, as this that I 
 a.m now employed in. 
 
 The manner-- He ftateth then the Queftion after this man- 
 cfhisft.it,' n er. There is no Difagreement, faith he, be- 
 tvyeen them about the Senfe of the Word Juftifi- 
 - cation :, and he ailoweth thefe Four things, viz,. 
 
 ni- l - That the Failh which J ufti fi eth is not barren, 
 and frnitlefs of Good Works. 2. That the ra- 
 dical Seeds or Habits of the other Virtues, are 
 alto infufed together into the Soul along with 
 
 * Prcf. p. 7- 
 
 Faith.
 
 late Lord Bi/hop of St. DavicF/. 
 
 Faith. 3. That Good Works are iieedft.il to 
 Salvation $ fo that without them it cannot 
 be attained. 4. That Juftitication may, in a 
 declarative Senfe, be attributed to Works of 
 Righteoufoefs , all this he freely yieldeth to 
 Mr. Bull. But the TD v.&vbp.svov in this Con- 
 troverfy, according tahim, " isTto, forthd 
 " fake of which God may receive a Sinner to 
 " Grace, may acquit him from the Curfe of 
 " the Law, and may make him an Heir of 
 " everlafting Life. And it is here agreed, that 
 on God's part this muft be the Merit ofCbrift, 
 and that alone , the only difference arifeth 
 from the Application of this Merit -, that is, 
 whether it be by Faith and Works toge- 
 ther, or elfe by the former alone. This lat- 
 ter Opinion is by him maintained to be the 
 Dodrine of the Church of England, and the Ca- 
 tholick Church , and particularly of all the 
 Churches that are called Reformed : And the 
 other he accufeth of great Singularity and No- 
 velty, which he undertaketh to prove, but 
 with what Succefs, is left to the learned and 
 candid Examiner to judge. For he * chal- 
 lengeth all the Fathers,' both before and after 
 St. Auguflin^ to be of his Opinion j moft hea- 
 vily charging, at the fame time, the contrary 
 one, as unfupported by any one Chriftian 
 Writer. He readily yieldeth indeed, that 
 there are different Ufes of the Word Juftif ca- 
 tion found among the Holy Fathers ^ butcon- 
 
 ~~ Cap II. p. i;. 
 
 tenderh,
 
 222 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 tendeth, that they all univerfally agree in the 
 thing it felf, and ftand up agamft the Righte- 
 oufnefs of Works , for the Righteoufnefs of 
 Faith , in our Acceptance with God. And 
 thus having claimed the Judgment of the Ca- 
 tholick Fathers, without fo much as one of 
 them excepted , to be unanimoufly for him $ 
 and triumphed over Mr. Bull, as he thought, 
 on this Head, where his greateft Excellency 
 was generally efteemed to lie -, he proceedeth 
 to * explain the Dodrine of the Church of 
 England, from her Articles and Homilies, in- 
 fifting very much upon the literal and gram- 
 matical Senfe of them, and from the Teftimo- 
 ny of fome of her moft learned Writers, fuch 
 as Mr. Hooker and Bifhop Andrews :, and then 
 f paifeth on to the Judgment of the foreign 
 Reformed Churches , inftancing in the feve- 
 ral Confeffions of the Proteftants of Germany , 
 France, Holland, Poland, Hungary -, Bohemia, 
 and Switzerland, befides the Oriental Confef- 
 fions of Faith by Cyrillus Lvcaris. All which 
 he hath endeavoured to bring over to his fide, 
 not without fome appearance of Truth, and 
 appealed to as Witneiles for him, againfl the 
 Harmomfl. 
 m t account Now* having laboured to eflablifh his own 
 
 of the Rea- ~ . . 1-11 r r i i i r> i 
 
 fans why all Opinion, which he luppoieth to be the taith 
 
 are not of O f t | ie Church of England, and to fortify it by 
 
 "' the Authority of Fathers and Synods, and by 
 
 * Cap. iii. p. 20. f Cap. iv. p. 28, 
 
 the
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. DavidV. 
 
 the whole Strength of the Reformation , his 
 next Endeavour, is to enquire how Mr. Butf, 
 or any other, the Matter appearing to him fo 
 very plain, could poffibly fall into the contra- 
 ry Opinion. Wherefore the far greateft part 
 of his Book, is taken up in difcovering what 
 he is pleafed to call,- the Fountains of this Er- 
 rour. The i ft of thefe is, according to hitB, 
 the * Abufe of the Dodrine concerning 
 Juftification, as by him explained, or the Fear 
 of Antinomianifm , and upon this he fpends a 
 whole Chapter. The 2 d is the f Diftindion 
 between juftifying Works and the Merit of 
 them j upon this he hath alfo another Chap- 
 ter, and is large in difcuffing the Meaning of 
 that Diftindion, ex operibm and propter opera. 
 The 3 d is the || Exclufion of fome Works, 
 and the Admifiion of the reft, contrary (as he 
 will have it) to the exprefs Mind of St. Paul. 
 The 4 th is the |||| imputattve Righteoufnefs of 
 Chrift, either exploded or not rightly under- 
 ftood *, which he maintaineth to be a very 
 great caufe of Error in this Matter. The 5 th 
 is the manner of arguing from the f Concomi- 
 tance of Works with Faith, for the Juftin'cati- 
 on by Works. The 6 th is the mifunderftanding 
 the j| "Nature of Juftifying Faith. The 7* 
 and laft, is the |||| fymbolt&ing with Popery. 
 
 
 
 . * Cap. v. p. 39. f Cap. vi. p. 44. fy p. 157. |) Cap. 
 vu. p. 52. mi Cap. viii. p. 7*. f Cap. ix. p. 96, & 
 A70. I! Cap. x. p. 104. I) Cap. xi. p. 115. 
 
 Thefe
 
 224 the Life of Dr. George Bull;, 
 
 Thefehe maketh tins, feven Sources, or CaufeS 
 of departing from the Unky of the Churches 
 Doclrine, concerning Juftification, as the fame 
 is ftated by him , and to make this out he 
 hath fpared no labour } and hath faid fome 
 things that are not amifs. This Inquiry be- 
 ing finimed, the Lift Chapter was referved by 
 him, for the f Reconciliation of St. Paul and 
 St. James. But he thinketh there was no need 
 of it, and condemned! the Harmonift and o- 
 thers, for being at fo much pains, where there 
 was fo little occafion for it $ there being no 
 Difagreement at all, faith he, between them, 
 feeing that they fpeak not of the fame Faith 
 or Juftification, and fo cannot differ. How- 
 ever, hecommendeth Mr. w//'s Induftry, and 
 wifheth only, that he might employ his Parts 
 for the Caufe of Truth, and of the Chriftian 
 Faith. This Treatife, Dr. Tulljr was willing 
 fhould be thought to have been written by 
 him , in defence of the XI th Article of the 
 Church of England. It was learnedly writ, 
 and with fome Spirit, and by many at firft it 
 was approved of, who concluded, that he had 
 the better of the Harmonift, efpecially in his 
 2 d , 3 d and 4 th Chapters, where his chief 
 Strength was thought to confift, and in the 
 Conchtfwn. 
 
 f Cap. xii. p, 131. 
 
 As
 
 late Lord Bijhop of St. Da vid '/. 335 
 
 As Dr. Tula's Treatife of Juftification was XL. 
 fretendedto be written in Defence of the ^7 th , ^^^ 
 ibwashisDiffertationofOr;ftf/Sm, which isrfe Veftg 
 his Commentary on the Seventh to the Rowan&f h '' s Di f- 
 
 i r 11 i T\ / -courts. De 
 
 no leis pretended to be written in Defence 0/,ser.cemia 
 ibelX^ Article of our-Religion. The principal Paulina. 
 Defign whereof, is to explain and defend thefe 
 following Propofitions, and more particularly 
 the laft of them, viz. i. Original Sin is the- 
 Depravation of Nature, propagated from Adam 
 to every Man. 2. By this Depravation M;m 
 is very much departed from Original Right e- 
 oufnefs, and hath a natural Propendty to Evil, 
 the Flefli lufting always againffc the Spirit. 
 5. This very Depravation and Corruption of 
 Nature, is not only at firft in every Perfon 
 born into this World , but doth remain even 
 in them that are Regenerate. 4. The perma- 
 nence of fuch Depravation in the Regenerate, 
 isconfefTed and avowed by St. Paul, and that 
 even in his own Perfon : And this hath of it 
 felf the Nature of Sin, and is thence no lefs 
 thanfeven times, called by the Name of Sin in 
 this very Seventh to the Romans, Here he 
 mightily triumpheth over the Harmonift ! , as 
 he every where calls him, for underfhnding 
 St. Paul no better, and for not attending e- 
 nough to the Dodrine of his own Church. 
 He chargeth him with too much Precipitancy 
 and Magifterialnefs in judging, with Atfeftati- 
 on of Novelty, with not rightly numbring the 
 
 Q/ Votes
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 Votes of the ancient Chriftian Writers, with 
 reviving a. Calumny of Pelagius againft them, 
 and with miftaking the Senfe of the Apoftle 
 feveral times, and wrefting it with vain and 
 groundlefs Criticifrns. And he endeavoureth 
 to (hew, how among the Fathers, Auguftin and 
 Hierom are flatly againft the Harmomji , tho' 
 they were at firft, before they had examined 
 into the Matter, of another Opinion j How 
 Hilary alfo, Naz-ianzen and others, before the 
 Difputes between Pelagius and Auguftin, had 
 the fame Sentiment -, how a probable Reafon 
 may be given, why Origen, Chryfoflotne and 
 Theodoret were of another mind } that Aqui- 
 nas, Salmero, Perer'rw, A Lapuie and Ejliw 
 among the Rowan Writers, and even the Ca- 
 techifm of Trent it felf, are againft his Inter- 
 pretations ^ and how the Arguments which he 
 hath brought for the Defence thereof, are not 
 able to bear up his Hypothefis, which feemeth 
 to him grounded upon a Pelagian bottom, or 
 upon the great Diana, (as he will needs have 
 it) of free-Witt. It feems that Dr. TuUy was 
 perfwaded, that if he could but overthrow 
 Mr. Bull's Interpretation of this Place in St. 
 Pmil y he fhould thereby be able to overturn at 
 once the whole Fabrick of his Harmonia 3 and 
 indeed, Mr. Buff himfelf had before given the 
 hint * : therefore he is fo long on this Point, 
 confidering it as the inoft Fundamental one in 
 
 * Harm. Apoft. Difiert, II. Cap. p. N. 27. 
 
 the
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. David V. 227 
 
 the whole Building j to fubvert which, he 
 was hence for leaving no Stone unturned. 
 This DifTertation is by fome looked on as the 
 moft confiderable Part of the Doctor's Perfor- 
 mance in this Caufe : and is more than once 
 taken notice of by " c Mr. Bull, as that which 
 deferved his moft particular Anfwer, and fur- 
 ther Confideration. For he thought there was 
 little elfe befides in what Dr. Tullj had writ- 
 ten againft him, but what he had already an- 
 fwered, in examination of Mr. Gataker's angry 
 Animadverfions : and that this only had the 
 face of any thing like a dired Anfwer to 
 that part of his Book, which was referred to 
 by it. 
 
 Soon after Dr. Tully had publifhed his Ju-Dr.Tuiiy 
 Jlifcatjo Paulina, with the mentioned Differ- ^' ej > his 
 tation, De Sententia Paidina } he had, by the Chara3er - 
 intercft of his Friends at Court, the Deanry 
 of Rtppon given him 5 which yet he enjoyed 
 not long ^ for he hardly lived out a Year af- 
 ter he had this Preferment, being broken quite 
 with his controversial Studies: fo that he 
 lived not to fee himfelf anfwered by Mr. Bull, 
 though he heard of it, his Apology againft him 
 being in the Prefs, and almoft printed off when 
 the good Doctor departed this Life. This Dr. 
 Thomas Tidly had merited the Reputation of a 
 very pious and learned Man -, but as fome that 
 
 * Pref. ad Exarocn; N, 3. Prcf. ad Apal. N. 2. Apol. Scdt 
 ix, N. i. 
 
 2 
 
 per-
 
 228 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 perfonally knew him have obferved, it was 
 his great misfortune that he betook himfelf 
 to write Controverfy -, and efpecially, that he 
 engaged with fo briflc a Writer as Mr. Bull 
 was, even then when he was well-nigh worn 
 out. Had he kept to practical Divinity, few 
 could have exceeded him : and as he was Ma- 
 fter of an excellent Latin Style, with a good 
 Degree of vivacity of Thought, and eafinefs 
 of Method, it is very probable, by thofe Spe- 
 cimens he hath given the World of his Ability 
 that way, that had he but followed herein the 
 true biafs of his Genius, he could not have 
 failed to make himfelf famous. Some indeed 
 feem to have had an other Opinion concerning 
 him, and to think he had a Genius alfo well 
 enough turned for Controverfy. But no won- 
 der if they were difappointed , by expecting 
 too much of him, and beyond what the Caufe 
 could really bear. And happy had it been for 
 him, in the Judgment of his beft Friends, 
 had he never intermeddled in thefe theological 
 Wars. For neither in Body, nor in Mind, 
 fay they, was he fitted for them. Since he 
 was a Ferfon but of a weak Conftitution, and 
 the many bodily Ills and Infirmities which he 
 laboured under, efpecially in his later Years, 
 tended much to difcoinpofe his Mind for that 
 intenfe Application, which is here required, 
 and to render him a little too hafty in deter- 
 mining Matters, before they could be tho- 
 roughly confidered and weighed. Otherwife 
 3 he
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. David V." 
 
 he was noted for being a good Difputant, as 
 well as a good Preacher and Orator. But the 
 natural Severity of his Temper being heated 
 with the ftrift Calviniftical Dodrines, bound 
 him fo ftreight up , that he v/as made hereby 
 not very capable of managing an Argument, 
 with all that Succefs "which might have been 
 expeded from him, confidering his Parts 
 and Learning. 
 
 In the Year 1675, f on a ^ ter tne Death of XLI. 
 Dr. Tully, and about the end of the Year, was ^v^ 
 publilhed by our Author, * An Examination of Mr. Bull 
 the Cenfure y or an Anfwer to certain Animad- ^f s ll ^* m 
 verfions-, never before -pnblifoed^ upon a Book, menCen- 
 
 entituled, Th'e Apo ft olical Harmony , &c. 
 
 r> D 11 ha c i r& > CT? 
 
 Oeorge Dull, a rrejlyter of the Lbrtrch of Ln- g j a 
 
 gland. With which was joined alfo this other tier. 
 Book of his, entituled, f An Apology for tbe 
 Apoftolical Harmony, and the Author thereof a- 
 gainft the Declamation o/Thomas Tully, D. D. 
 in a Book lately fet forth by him, under the Title 
 of, Juftificatio Paulina. There is a fufficient 
 Account, given in the Prefaces to both thefe 
 Difcourfes, of the Reafon why they were 
 both publilhed together, and why fo late alfo: 
 
 * Exsmen Cenfurz five Refpanfio ad quafdam Animadverfio- 
 nes atnehacinediras, in Librum cut ciculus Harmonid Apoftoli- 
 cj, tfy'c. per Gcorgiurti Bullum, Anglicanz Ecclcfiae Presbycerum. 
 
 f Apdlogia pro Harmonia cjufq; Auchore centra Dedarrutio- 
 ncmThomxTuIlii, S. T. P. in libro nuper typis cvulgato quern 
 Jyftificatio I'auliqj, &c. infcripfu. 
 
 and
 
 2 3 o The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 and therefore it would be very foolifh to ob- 
 jed, that it is an eafy matter to fight againft 
 dead Men j for it was not Mr, Bull's fault, 
 that both thefe Replies were not printed while 
 his Adverfaries were yet alive. And he is 
 certainly to be commended, that as foon as he 
 heard of Dr. Tullfs Death, he took immediate 
 care to have feveral PafFa?,es blotted out of the 
 
 o 
 
 Sheets remaining to be printed, becaufe they 
 contained fome pretty (harp Reflections upon 
 him, though they were true in facl, and by 
 fome of Mr. Bul/'s Friends, thought too necef- 
 fary to be omitted. Mr. Eutt alfo profefTeth, 
 as a good Chriftian, that he would willingly 
 have flruck out a great deal more, if it was 
 poffible to have been done without a very great 
 injury to the Truth j for as to what he might 
 fuffer in his own Perfon through fuch an O- 
 miflion, he was not felicitous. This upon fe- 
 veral occafions he repeateth -, and certainly he 
 may deferve to be believed in it, when he 
 maketh fuch a Profeflion of his Sincerity before 
 God and the World. 
 
 jnotfcrva- So far as Gataker and Truman are concerned 
 tion on hit m the firft of thefe Treatifes, there hath been 
 #tlriri* enough faid already : but there remaineth ftill 
 ttitates bis one Obfervation to be made concerning it, 
 sincerity whkh re f pe aeth the Author himfelf. And 
 this I cannot but here mention, becaufe I look 
 upon x it as a greater Vindication of our Au- 
 thor, both againft them and all his other Ad- 
 verfaries, than any one that hath hitherto been 
 
 men-
 
 late Lord Bifbof of St. DavidV. 231 
 
 mentioned 5 and as a greater inftance of his 
 Candour and love of Truth, than is to be met 
 with in raoft Writers at this Day. I obferve 
 therefore, that his Examen ought not to be 
 confldered, barely as an Anfwer to his Adver- 
 faries Objections, but moreover as a fuller Ex- 
 plication of his own 'Sentiments. For * he 
 very folemnly aflureth us, that when he was 
 above forty Years of Age, he read over again 
 his Harmonia feveral times , that he did this 
 with as much Serioufnefs and Impartiality as 
 it was poffible for him } and that he earneftly 
 prayed to God in the firft place, that he would 
 vouchfafe to enlighten his Mind with a Beam 
 of his heavenly Light, and to difcover unto 
 him every Error of his whatsoever, againft the 
 divine Truth , that for this End, he did his 
 utmoft to drip himfelf of all Self-love, and of 
 Fondnefs for his own Work , yea, that he 
 made alfo a f Vow, and moft folemnly and 
 facredly bound himfelf to God, that upon the 
 difcovery of his Errors, he would openly and 
 publickly before the Church renounce them, 
 without the leaft regard had therein to his own 
 Reputation. Upon which Review of his Work, 
 fo accurately and fo religioufly performed, he 
 declareth, that there were fome things in it 
 which might have been explained more, clear- 
 
 * Apolog. Scft. viii. N. 5. 
 
 f Quibus [precibus] lanftc quoq; Vovi & fpofpondi, me 
 oftcnlos Errores, fufc^ deq^ habita exiftimatione mea, pa- 
 Jam & pubiice corara Ecclcfia abrenuntiaturum. Ibid. 
 
 Q.4 iy
 
 Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 ly and fully, and which indeed, ought to have 
 been fo, for the fake at lead of younger Rea- 
 ders 3 and that therefore he had endeavoured 
 to fupply this Explication as well as he could 
 in his Exameti. Moreover he confeiTes, that 
 he had cjifcovered his Interpretation of a diffi- 
 cult Place or two in St. Paul, not to be fo cer- 
 tain as he at firit thought , but that he could 
 not learn any that was more certain. Where- 
 fore alfo, he is not for infifting at all, upon 
 what is in its nature obfcure and difficult, or 
 what requireth an Exadnefs of critical Skill, 
 or what is only incidental and circumflantial j 
 but only upon the main of the Argument, 
 which he * fuppofeth he hath fufh'ciently 
 cleared. And however , he may poflibly be 
 miftaken in fome lefTer Matters, he protefteth, 
 that as to the Subftance of the Doctrine of 
 Man's Juftiftcation, which is by him defended 
 according to the Mind of both Apoftles, he is 
 not without the higheft degree of Certainty 
 of his being in the right. To give fome few 
 Inftances of Matters, explained by Mr. Eull in 
 this latter Piece, which wanted to be more di- 
 ftinftly and fully ftated, it may be fufficient 
 to mention the f Form of Justifying Faith, 
 rhe imputative Righteoufnefs of Chrift, the 
 Quefiions about the mvjaical Law, and the 
 Nature of the frft Covenant with Man in his 
 State of Integrity. 
 
 * Exam. Cenfu. Epil. Apol. f Exam, Cenf. p. 8, 35,74, 
 7 5, 88, ctf. 
 
 And
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. DavidV. 233 
 
 And as to the other Treatife, written in an- 
 fwer to Dr. luUy, the fame Obfervation will 
 alfo hold good. For there are abundance of gy, 
 Pafiages in this up and down, which do clear- 
 ly confirm the great Sincerity and Ingenuity of 
 our Author, in the Management of this Con- 
 troverfy. And if this be not a fair and full 
 Apology, both for himfelf and his Harmoma, 
 againft what was objected by that Reverend 
 Dodor and his Revifors, there never was a 
 Caufe in the World fairly and fully defended. 
 And I muft needs fay alfo, that he hath made 
 the beft Apology for his Adverfary too, that 
 could be made, in one Article, wherein he is 
 contrary to him, ancj which by parity of Rea- 
 fon may be extended to the reft of the Arti- 
 cles in like manner, wherein they do not a- 
 gree. For with much Ingenuity he confefTeth, 
 " That * Dr. TiiHy had not a few Divines of 
 " the Church of England^ and thofe of fome 
 " Eminence alfo in it, who had led him into 
 " the Error:, but that thefe learned Men lived 
 " in thofe Times, when by the Arts of fome 
 " certain Perfons that were extremely wedded 
 * to the Geneva-Divinity, matters were come 
 ' to that pafs, that it was hardly fafe for a- 
 ' ny one to interpret either the Articles of 
 " our Church, or even the Holy Scriptures 
 " themfelves, otherwife then according to the 
 " Standard of Calvin s Inflitutions, whofe Er- 
 
 * puio. Sett. N. u, 7,
 
 23 4 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 * c ror therefore, faith he, ought not fo much 
 <c to be imputed to them, as to the Age where- 
 " in they lived. Since almoft in every Age, 
 " as one hath well obferved, there is as it 
 " were a certain Terror of Opinions proper to 
 " it, againft which, whofoever (hall go to op- 
 u pofe himfelf, he will certainly either be 
 " carried away with the Violence thereof, or 
 <c be quite overwhelmed. This is an Obfer- 
 vation that is very juft -, and the Candor of 
 Mr. Bull, in the Application of it, ought not,, 
 I think, to be quite panned over in filence. Nay, 
 did I know a .better Excufe for Dr. Tully, and 
 other good and learned Men, who were edu- 
 cated in fuch Times , and according to fuch 
 Principles, and fo were carried on by the Zeal 
 of what was called Orthodox } I would be as 
 willing to do him and them right, as the wor- 
 thy Perfon whofe Life I am writing. But I 
 know no better than that which this judicious 
 Apologift hath made himfelf on -their behalf. 
 There are not a few Inftances befides in this 
 very Treatife, which prove him a fincere as 
 well as a learned Writer, but which cannot be 
 here infifted on. It is much to be lamented, 
 that fo good a Man as Dr. Tully was generally 
 efteemed to be , (hould fo unhappily be en- 
 gaged in a Controverfy of this nature, but 
 efpeciaiiv, that he mould be fo far tran- 
 f ported in the Management of it, as not to ex- 
 amine with a du care, the Arguments and 
 Authorities of his Author, whom he propofed 
 
 to
 
 late Lord EifJoop of St. DavtdT; r a 35 
 
 to anfwer : and fo thereby to lay himfelf too 
 open to a juft Cenfure, and to hurt his Repur 
 tation fo far, as even so render himfelf bt 
 this means fufpeiled of fome Infincerity. Yet 
 it is to be feared, that this hath been the Cafe 
 of many an honeft Man, who by the ftrength 
 of Prejudice and an impetuofiry of Zeal; ma^ 
 h?.ve been carried much farther than ever was 
 defined , to the no fmall Prejudice of the 
 Truth. But for Mr. Bull, it muft needs be 
 acknowledged, that with a very laudable Di- 
 ligence he fpared no Pain?, that he might tho- 
 roughly and impartially examine all that e- 
 ver his Adverfary could bring againft him : 
 neither mult it be denied, that he hath made 
 fuch juft and reafonable Concefiions, as ren- 
 der his own Caufe tjie ftronger, while they 
 yield to the oppofite that which it might law- 
 fully demand. And indeed, this his Apology 
 is written with fo much mailerly Strength 
 and Judgment, that a very learned Foreigner Dr. Grabc. 
 called it, the Trhitnpfacf the Church of England 
 in this Caufe. 
 
 Now whereas the Authority of certain fo- XLII. 
 reign Divines, had been made ufe of in this ^^^^ 
 Controverfy by Dr. Tully and others , againft The prefer- 
 the Catholick Tradition of this Article, as ex- r '"&^ rn 
 
 ,-, , - -j-irr Authorities 
 
 plained and maintained in the Harmoma -, our before ca- 
 Apologift affirms it to be moft unreafonable, 
 and againft the Principles of the Church of 
 England, to prefer the Authority of any Mo-
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 dern Dodor, or Doftors whatfoever, before a 
 Truth grounded upon Scripture, with the 
 unanimous Confent of the Catholick Church. 
 Upon this occaGon, he taketh notice of what 
 Bhhop Jewel had urged before, in his Apo- 
 logy for our Reformation, that it was founded 
 purely upon Catholick Principles, and upon 
 the Model of the Primitive Church :, by which 
 means the new Difcipline introduced by Calvin , 
 being rejected, the Order of Epifcopacy. was 
 retained, and the moft ancient Forms of pub- 
 lick Prayers, and facred Rites, and feveral Pri- 
 mitive Doctrines , not in the leaft agreeable 
 with Calvin 9 Notions, which are by him there 
 particularized, were eftablimed and confirmed. 
 And as for the Judgment of the Church of - 
 gland upon this Point, he appealethtoa Canon 
 made in full Convocation, A. D. 1571, and 
 afterwards confirmed by Queen Elizabeth, 
 whereby it is ordained, that all Preachers fiall 
 chiefly lake heed^ that they teach nothing but 
 what is agreeable to the Doctrine oftfye Old and 
 New Teftament, and what the Catholick Fathers 
 and Primitive Btflops have thence colle&ed. And 
 moreover he cites a Conftitution of King James 
 the Firft, requiring ail Candidates ofDivinity, 
 not tofpend much of their Time in Syftems and 
 CompendiumSjbutto apply themfelves ferioufly 
 to the ftudy of fuch Books , as are agreeable 
 to the Doctrine and Difcipline of the Church of 
 England y and particularly, to the reading of 
 the Fathers, Councils, Schoolmen, Hiftories : 
 
 Arid
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'/. 237 
 
 And to this he adds, the Teftimonies of many 
 eminent Writers in our Church, to the fame 
 purpofe-, profefling themfelves moft readily to 
 embrace, next to the facred Books, the i con- 
 fentient Teftimony of the ancient Fathers -, and 
 that they were not willing to admit any thing, 
 either in the Dofirine~or Government of the 
 Church, which fhould not be agreeable to it. 
 
 Upon which, the moft learned and pious 
 Editor of his Works, could not forbear expref- 
 (ing his moft hearty Wiflies, that there were 
 many more of the fame Opinion, who would ' tbe 
 not refufe to fubmit their private Thoughts 
 and Interpretations of Scripture, to be deter- 
 mined by primitive and univerfal Tradition ^ 
 hoping that this might be a Means of reftoring 
 the Church to a better State. Our Author 
 now hath clearly given his Judgment in this 
 Matter, and hath declared himfelf in more 
 than one place, that this is the beft, yea the 
 only way of ending our moft unhappy Contro- 
 verfies, which have rent the Church of Chrift 
 at this day into fo many parts, if next to the 
 Scriptures, we would receive and reverence the 
 moft pure and primitive Antiquity, and per- 
 fwade others to the fame practice, and religi- 
 oufiy follow the agreeing Judgment of the an- 
 cient Dodors approved by the Catholick 
 Church, and efpecially of them who were near- 
 eft to the Apoftolical Age, wherefoever this 
 can be found , which he afTerteth, is to be 
 found in all thofe Points that are of any great 
 
 moment :
 
 238 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 .moment :, And as for the reft, his Advke is, 
 that every one be left to the liberty of his own 
 Judgment, but fo as not to difturb the Peace 
 of the. Church. 
 
 * 
 
 XLIII. And whereas Dr. Tully had among other 
 i^v^s things * objected alfo againft him, his being 
 Mr. Bull but little acquainted with the ancient Fathers 
 f the Church, when he publifhed his Earmo- 
 of ma^ and that therefore he mould not have at- 
 tempted to write when his Skill in Antiquity 
 
 r r , TV T r 77 -i m i * J 
 
 Fathers was to moderate $ Mr. Bull modeitly acknow- 
 when he ledgeth omnia mea mod'ica, that he had no great 
 Harmonia. Matter indeed to boaft of in any Part of Learn- 
 ing : But however he gives him to understand, 
 that for no lefs than five Years before he wrote 
 his Harmonia, he had addicted hirafelf to the 
 Study of the Fathers, next to the Holy Scri- 
 ptures 5 and more efpecially of the Writers of 
 the three tirft Centuries , and likewife ac- 
 quainteth him, that he had been advifedto this 
 Method of Reading, by a very great Man in 
 the Church, who had admonifhed him to lay 
 the Foundation of his Theological Studies af- 
 ter that manner, and fo to read downwards } 
 whofe Memory was had in great honour by 
 him. He leaves us to guefs who this great 
 Man was, becaufe he doth not name him 5 
 tho' 'tis probable , that it was either Biftiop 
 Pearfon or Bilhop ~$icbolfon^ but whoever gave 
 
 * Apol. Seft. iv.
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. David'/. 23? 
 
 the Advice, he reckoneth it the happieft he e- 
 ver did receive $ and he wimeth that he might 
 be but worthy to prevail on the Candidates of 
 Divinity in Oxford to follow the fame Me- 
 thod. 
 
 Then he giveth the Hiftory of the Confent 
 of the Fathers, both Greek and Latin, in fa- 
 vour of his Interpretation down to St. Augu- 
 ftin ^ and fheweth, that if any of thefe fpeak 
 of Juftification as by Faith alone, they never *"* atlc 
 once take it for Faith (imply and abftracledly 
 confidered, but only as it is perfectly formed 
 and animated $ and fo not feparated from in- 
 ward Contrition and Charity -, and as the fame 
 is oppofed either to external Works in general, 
 and the aclual Righteoufnefs of fuch j or to 
 the Works of the Law of Nature, performed 
 before and without the Knowledge, Faith and 
 Grace of the Gofpel , or to the Works of the 
 Mofaical Law j or to any others wrought from 
 a Principle of Merit in the Creature. And be- 
 caufe Dr. Tully profefleth fo high an Efteem 
 for St. Auguflin , as to prefer him to all An- 
 tiquity, our Apologift concludeth his Cata- 
 logue of the Fathers with him, and clearly 
 proveth, that Father to be of his, and not of the 
 Doctor's Mind -, and this not only from fome 
 fcattered Pafiages in him, but from the whole 
 defign of his Book, De fde & operibut, where- 
 of an account is here given. Thus having done 
 with the Fathers, 
 
 S He
 
 240 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 His Anfwer fj e proceedeth next to examine the * Judg- 
 7irt raent f tne Church of England, and howtru- 
 ofthe ly this is rcprefented by his Adverfary. And 
 Engiandf tnou h he had abundantly before explained 
 and the ' himfelf on this Head, yet this being a very 
 
 &&*'" tenc ^ er Pi nt > afi d f eagerly prefled by every 
 one that had appeared againft him, but moft of 
 all by this laft Anfwerer, Mr. Bull found him- 
 felf under a Neceffity, of omitting nothing that 
 could tend to clear him from that Afperfion, 
 which was likely to prejudice Peoples Minds 
 moft againft him , and moft fenfibly to affed 
 him and his Miniftry* Wherefore he is very 
 large and particular in defending the true Do- 
 clrine of the Church of England, and in refelling 
 the Dodor's Allegations againft him, from the 
 Articles and the Homilies. After which, he ex- 
 amineth alfo with great accuracy, the Judgment 
 of the foreign Reformed Churches, by their fe- 
 veral Confeffions : and he is very full in vin- 
 dicating the Confedion of Aujburgh, which he 
 had ftiled the no ft Foble of all the Reformed 
 Churches , and ihewing how it was followed 
 by our firft Reformers, and particularly by 
 them in compiling our Articles. Nor doth he 
 omit any thing confiderable, that could be 
 faid upon the Head of all the reft of the Con- 
 feflions, to prove that they taught, that be- 
 fides Faith, true Repentance was moreover ne- 
 ceflary for the obtaining Remiflion of Sins and 
 
 * Apol. Scft, v. 
 
 Jufti-
 
 late Lord Bifbof of St. David'/. 
 
 Juftification. Where the Words of the Noble 
 Confeffion of Strasbourg}) , which had been 
 mifinterpreted by his Adverfary , are by him 
 challenged , and fome PaiTages which had 
 been cited from others very much illuftrated* 
 
 And having fully juftified the Conformity XLV, 
 of his Doftrine to the Determination of the 
 Church of England , and to that of the other Dr. 
 feeformed Churches , he goeth on to jhcw 
 that his learned Adverfary hath in feveral Errors. 
 Points contradicted both. By which he is led 
 into the Confideration of feveral other Matters 
 of the greateft moment , which are here di- 
 ftinftly and fundamentally handled :, and the 
 true Catholick Doclrine ftated and vindicated, 
 in oppofitiori to certain novel Opinions. More 
 particularly, he chargeth his Adverfary with 
 maintaining thefe four Heterodoxies among o- 
 thers, i ft . That * Repentance is no ways ne- 
 ceiTary for obtaining the firft Juftification, or 
 Pardon for Sin. f 2 d . That our Juftification, 
 being once obtained by Faith alone, the Con- 
 tinuation of it doth not depend upon the Con- 
 dition of Good Works , to be performed by us 
 for the Time to come. 3 d . || That a Man 
 being once endowed with Justifying Faith, 
 can never afterwards fo far fall from it as to be 
 loft for ever. 4 th . ||||That Chrift did only fa- 
 
 * Apol. 8eft. vii. N. i. f N. 5. II Apol. vii. N. 7-24. 
 !P| N. 24-, &c. 
 
 R tisfie
 
 042 The Life of Dr. George Bujl, 
 
 tisfie and offer himfelf upon the Crofs for the 
 Sins of theEleft. All which Petitions he pro- 
 veth to be repugnant to the clear and exprefs 
 Definitions of the Church of England, and of 
 other Reformed Churches, and indeed of the 
 whole Catholick Church. 
 
 The Anchnt And whereas Dr. Tully had pretended, that 
 A!'? Buiiv riie Harnicnift had but very few of the Ancients 
 opinion,^, of his Opinion , as to his Interpretation of the 
 jCto?^ Seventh to the K00WHJ ^ and that after the Life 
 mans. of Pelagiw, all, or almoft all of the Fathers 
 were exprefs againft him, and that of modern 
 Divines, he had not above one of two of any 
 Eminency for him , Mr. BuU hath proved, 
 that befides Iren&w, Ttrtullian, Cyprian, Ma- 
 car his, Origen, Bajil, Cyritt^ Cbryfoftom, Tbeo- 
 dorer, and as many more that had been cited 
 by Voffiut and other learned Men, for this In- 
 terpretation of his , there were fix other illu- 
 ftrious Teftimonies, which he himfelf had dif- 
 covered, viz,. Juftin Martyr^ Clemens Alexan- 
 dfinw^ Mar cits Eremita , Dorotheus , Pad anus 
 and Ennodius. Then he fheweth, that the In- 
 terpretation of fome of the Moderns, efpoufed 
 by his Adverfary, is very far from the Senfe 
 and Mind QtSt.AuguJlin himfelf, whom they 
 fo much feem to depend on : As alfo that the 
 Greek Fathers and Doctors, even after St. Au- 
 guflin and Pelagius , did conftantly adhere to 
 the Interpretation received and approved in 
 the Catholick Church ; yea, that even all the 
 Latin Fathers after that time, did ftill perfift 
 
 in
 
 Lord Bifhof of St. David'/. 245 
 
 in the ancient and primitive Expofition of St. 
 Paul. And among the Moderns, Mr. Bull 
 produceth both of the Romanifts and of the 
 foreign Proteftants, that were eminent, a confl- 
 derable Number for his Opinion, befides Dr. 
 Jackfon, Dr. Hammond, Bifhop Taylor , and o- 
 thers of our own Countrymen : Afterwards 
 he anfwers feveral Objections of his Adverfa- 
 ry, particularly that his Interpretation was not 
 conformable to the Doftrine of our Church. 
 And whereas it was urged, that there was a 
 great Agreement between the Harmonift's and 
 the Romania's Doftrine of Juftification , that 
 Objection is retorted in this Apology upon the 
 Accufers: and it is herein (hewn, that the 
 Dodor's Opinion doth perfectly harmonize 
 with the Popifh one, eftabliftied in the Coun- 
 cil of Trent , which will not have true Contri- 
 tion of Sins to be neceflary for Juftification^ 
 and which is contended for in oppofition to the 
 Decree of that Council by our Apologift. 
 
 In the Year 1676, there was published 
 an Anfwer to Dr. JW/r, by Mr. Richard Bax- 
 ter, under the Title of, A Treatift ofjuftify- Mr. 
 ing Righteoufnefs : in two Books j the iirft re- * l f 
 lated to Imputed Right eoufnefs , and with an 
 Anfvoer to Dr. TullyV Letter -, the fecond con- 
 tained, A Friendly Debate with the learned and 
 worthy Mr. Chriftopher Cartwright , contain- 
 ing^ i. His Animadversions on my Aphorifms, 
 with my Anfwen 2. His Exceptions again/} 
 
 R 2 that
 
 244 1b* Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 that Anfwer. 9. My Reply to the Sum of the 
 
 Controverfies agitated in thofe Exceptions. All 
 
 publifted inftead of a fuller Anfwer to theAffaults 
 
 of Dr. Tully'j Juftificatio Paulina, Lond. 8. 
 
 Of which Treatife of Dr. Tutiy he fticketh not 
 
 to give this Character, that it is * defective in 
 
 point of Truth, Juftice, Charity , Ingenuity and 
 
 Pertinency to the JVf^r^r.Nevertheleis he feveral 
 
 times acknowledged the Doftor to be a very 
 
 worthy Perfon,and consequently one,that could 
 
 not willingly be guilty of any fuch Defed as 
 
 he is. here charged with. And indeed, it was 
 
 the Unhappinefs both of Mr. Baxter and him, 
 
 that they gave but too much reafon for the 
 
 Imputation, under which they both equally 
 
 lay, of being Angry Writers. This Treatment 
 
 of him by Mr. Baxter I the rather mention, 
 
 that if fome things in Mr. Butt's Apology may 
 
 appear a little too fevere upon this Writer, 
 
 the Reader may eaiily think there was fome 
 
 occafion for it more than could have been wifti- 
 
 ed. For the good Man it feems had repre- 
 
 fented to himfelf thofe three, Bull, Bellarmin 
 
 and Baxter^ as the three great Adverfaries of 
 
 the Faith, which was protelfed by him , and 
 
 fyhich he verily believed to be no other, than 
 
 that of the Church of England : And thence 
 
 he falleth fo very foul upon each of thefe, as 
 
 if they were in a Triple League together, and 
 
 layeth about with all his might, to overthrow 
 
 Part. I. Chap. 6. 
 
 what
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. David'x. 245 
 
 what he fuppofeth to have been defigned by 
 them , againft that which he efteemed as the 
 very Ckri/lian Palladium, and is by him * fo 
 called. The firft and laft of thefe pleaded their 
 ownCaufe, as we have feen , and not without 
 fuccefs, efpecially the firft j fo only Bellarnrin 
 is Jefttofhiftfor himfeif, who after all, wrote 
 notwithffanding on this Subject with more 
 Moderation than moft of his Communion, or 
 he himfeif who formed the Charge againft 
 him, and who for certain was dragged into 
 the Controverfy, only for the fake of the o- 
 ther two. 
 
 There was alfo another Anfwer, about the ;jj 
 fame time, to Mr. Bull's Harmoma, written in animael 
 Latin by John Tombes, B. D. who hath been^ 
 before mentioned :, of which I find very little * 
 notice to have been taken, though fome f will 
 have it, that there were few better Difputants 
 in his Age than he was, and it is certain,' 
 that he had ftudied this Controverfy for fome 
 time before, both in his Debates with the An- 
 tinomians, and thofe which he had with the 
 || greateft Oppofer of them among the Prefby- 
 terians. For he had, near about twenty Years 
 before, written alfo in Latin |!]| fome Animad- 
 verfions upon Mr. Baxter'* Aphoriftns concerning 
 Jit/ltf cation ; andjiad on the other hand,- 
 
 ' 
 
 * Juftif. Paulin. f A the. Oxon. || Ed. Ca.'am. Abridg- 
 ment rf Mr. Baxter'* Life, chap. ix. |||| Ar.imadverfiones quaj- 
 damia AphorifmosAJc^rrfi Baxteridc Juftificatione, 1658. 
 
 R o preached
 
 246 Tfe Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 preached likewife in London, before an emi- 
 nent Congregation, feveral Sermons againft 
 Dr. Crifp^ and certain dangerous Miftakes and 
 Mifapplications of the Proteftant Doctrine of 
 Jujlification. Mr. Baxter it feemeth printed 
 thefe Animadverfions of his Adverfary, but 
 without acquainting him firft therewith , and 
 replied to them- This dealing Mr. Tonibes^ 
 being thereby prevented from explaining him- 
 felf farther as he had intended , hath * com- 
 plained of as hard , even as Mr. Baxter hath 
 done of Dr. Tully : And hereupon he drew 
 out all his Artillery againft Mr. Bull, whom 
 he conlidered as an Enemy of greater weight, 
 and one from whom he might expeft alfo other 
 Treatment -, and therefore was refolved to 
 make his laft Effort now upon one, that was 
 efteemed the moft perfect Matter in Controver- 
 fy , and who had brought together the whole 
 Strength of the Caufe in which he was en- 
 gaged, with all the Management and Learn- 
 ing that could fet it off to the beft Advantage. 
 Befides, he took this occafion of farther clear- 
 ing and juftifying what he had written againft 
 the Apkorift, before Dr. Tully entered the Lifts 
 againft him : And of giving the World his 
 fecond, and more correct Thoughts upon thefe 
 ice Points, fo controverted by Proteftants and 
 Papifts among themfelves. It is alfo very pro- 
 bable, that he did not find that Satisfaction in 
 
 * Epift. Dcdi. ad Animad. In Lib. G. Bulli, &c. 
 
 Dr,
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V. 247 
 
 Dr. Tull/s Anfwer to Mr. Bull, this having 
 been out then above a Year, which he rirtt 
 looked for : And that he wasftiil more difTa- 
 tisfied with the Anfwer of Mr. Truman, whofe 
 Principles were not a little different from his. 
 As for the Animadversions of the younger Ga- 
 taker, he could not have feen them, they not 
 being printed, till his own were in the Prefs : 
 And if he had feen and read them, it cannot 
 be thought, that he would have been diverted 
 by any thing in them, from undertaking a La- 
 bour which lay fo near his heart, and whence 
 he promifed himfelf fo great a Triumph. But 
 he was now grown old , and not the Man he 
 formerly had been, whatfoever he might think 
 of himfelf, or what aflurance foever he might 
 have of Victory as an Advocate for the tirft 
 Reformers, as he would be thought to be. For 
 it was evidently a Weaknefs in him at Three- 
 fcore and Twelve Years of Age, when he was 
 quite worn out, and juft ready to drop into 
 his Grave, to begin a new Combat unprovoked : 
 And becaufe about twenty or thirty Years be- 
 fore, when he was in the full vigour both of 
 Body and Mind, he had been fuccefsful e- 
 nough in engaging with an Adverfary vifibly 
 inferiour in Strength, to undertake now in his 
 latter Days, to grapple with an Enemy every 
 way his Superior, an exacl: Matter in the Arts 
 of this fort of War, and one fo extraordinarily 
 accoinplimed befides, both by Experience and 
 Study, for maintaining and defending this par- 
 
 R 4 ticular
 
 248 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 ticular Caufe dependent betwixt them, as our 
 Mr. Bull was, even beyond fome who other- 
 wife might be his Rivals in Learning , he be- 
 ing then alfo in the very prime and fulnefs of 
 Strength, and every way qualified for fuch La- 
 bours as thefe of the Mind. The old Man, 
 zealous however for his Caufe, publifhed at 
 London his Book againft Mr. Bui/, juft at the 
 very fame time, that Mr. Bull s Juftification of 
 himfelf, and his Work againft Mr. Gataker and 
 Dr. Tulfy came forth. But this did him no 
 harm at all ^ for he had fo fully already re- 
 moved all the material Objections of Mr. 
 Tombes, in his Anfwers to the Strictures of 
 thofe two learned Calvinian Divines, and fo 
 clearly demonftrated the Weaknefs of their 
 Foundation,that there needed no farther Apolo- 
 gy to be made, for his Book and himfelf, againft 
 fuch an Hynothefis as could be no better de- 
 fended, by the great Learning of its Suppor- 
 ters. Mr. Tombess Book was called, * Animad- 
 verjions "upon a Book of George BullV, which 
 he hath entituled, the Apojlolical Harmony. Ac- 
 cording to the Title Page, it mould have been 
 publimed in 1676, but Mr. Bull had feen a 
 printed Copy of it before the End of 1675, 
 when he was concluding his general Preface to 
 his two Apologetic al Treatifes aforenamed, fo 
 that the Edition of it, muft have been in Mt- 
 
 * Anirmdverfjones in Lihrum Georgii Bulli cui titulum fecit 
 
 Harmonia Apoftolica, &c. 
 
 - s * 
 
 cvacltnas
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'/. 249 
 
 ehaelmas Term of this laft Year, and about 
 half a Year before the Author's Death. 
 
 This Mr. Tombes^ our Author's laft Adver-X 
 (ary, as to his Caufe, were it not for fome No- ( '*"""" 
 
 1-11 r 11 n i ^ L i- .\Ammiid- 
 
 tions which he fell into againft the CatholickWer .*<* 
 Pra&ice, and Doctrine of the Church, fuch as*j* cbAr *-. 
 Men of Learning in the feveral Communions 
 could by no means approve of, and which par- 
 ticularly Mr.#w//was averfeto in the hiehefl 
 degree, he might poflibly have preferved a Re- 
 putation among the Learned, not inferior to 
 many of his Age. He was educated atCfor/W, 
 in Magdalen Hall, under the famous Mr. Wil- 
 liam Pemble^ Author of VmdiciA Gratia, and 
 of feveral other learned Treatifes, whom he 
 fucceeded in the Catechetical Ledure of the 
 faid Hall : and approved himfelf an excellent 
 Difputant, and no bad Divine upon the Prin- 
 ciples of the Anti-Remonftrants, which were 
 then much in famion. It cannot be denied, 
 but that he was efteemed a Perfon of incompa- 
 rable Parts : and therefore was chofen Leclu- 
 rer in this Hall, upon his Tutor's Deceafe, 
 when he was yet but one and twenty Years 
 old, and of fix Years {landing only intheUni- 
 verfity. Which Lefture he held for about fe- 
 ven Years :, and then left Oxford, and went to 
 Worcefter firft , and after that to Lewfler iti 
 Herefordshire :, at both which Places he made 
 himfelf very popular by his Preaching. But 
 having no Preferment beftowed upon him, as 
 fpme will have it, fuitable to his Merit, 'it 
 
 * is
 
 350 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 is thought li became uneafie to fee himfelf fo 
 much neglecled : and thence made himfelf to 
 be fufpefied as a Perfon inclined to the Puri* 
 tans -, or not fo rightly affefted at leaft to the 
 Church eftabliihed, as by his Education he 
 ought to have been. Which Sufpicion increa- 
 fed more and more concerning him, as the 
 Fadion againft Church and State grew ftron- 
 ger : And having acquired no fmall Reputati- 
 on in the Places where he lived, for a more 
 powerful way of Preaching than ordinary 5 as 
 all profped of Advancement in the Church 
 was now taken from him, he was the more 
 difpofed to follow the Stream of the Times, 
 and the growing Intereft of a Party, pretend- 
 ing to a. greater Purity of Reformation, both 
 in Faith, and Worfhip, and Manners 5 and 
 more efpecially, fince by fuch as thefe, he was 
 chiefly crowded after and applauded. It was 
 about the Year 1650, that he began to be fa- 
 mous in the City of Vforcefter^ and in 1641, 
 he had the 'Living of All-Saints in Briftol given 
 him by fiennes, who managed that City for 
 the Parliament, where he continued to 1645, 
 when the City was furrendred to the King's 
 Party , fowing in that time the Seeds of fome 
 of thofe Opinions wherewith that City fo a- 
 bounded , when Mr. Bull firft came into the 
 Neighbourhood of it. Afterwards going to 
 London , he became Mafter of the Temfk j 
 where he preached againft the Antinomians, 
 as- he fays in his Epiftle Dedicatory before his 
 
 Ani-
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. DavidV. 251 
 
 Ammadverfions upon the Harwonia , with a 
 defign to fhew how their Errors did proceed 
 from a wifunderftanding of the Dodrine cf the 
 Juftification of a Sinner. He continued in this 
 Place about four Years , when he was fup- 
 planted by one Jobnfon. After this he went 
 to Beudly in Worcefterfoire^ . at which time Mr. 
 Baxter was Minifter of Kidderminfler, another 
 Market Town, about three Miles diftant from 
 that place, being very much followed. They 
 preached againft one anothers Doftrines, and 
 publHhed Books againft each other. Tonibes 
 was the Head of the Anabaptifts, and Baxter 
 of the Prefby terians : the Viftory, as it is ufu- 
 al, was claimed by both (ides : but force of 
 the Learned, who were affeded to neither of 
 them, yielded the Advantage both of Learning 
 and Argument to the former, while yet they 
 were as far from approving his Caufe, as even 
 Mr. Baxter himfelf could be. Certain it is, 
 that his Dodrine did fpread mightily in a lit- 
 tle time, a conliderable Number both of Pres- 
 byterians and Independents being brought o- 
 ver by him. In 1653, being in London, he 
 was appointed one of the Tryers of Publick 
 Miniiters. About the fame time he got like- 
 wife the Parfonage of Roffe, and the Mafter- 
 0iip of the Hofpital in Ledbury^ both in Here- 
 fordjhire-^ which he kept with Lemfter and 
 Beaudly. At the Reftauration of King Charles 
 the Second, when he faw and confidered to 
 what a woful Condition this poor Kingdom 
 
 had
 
 2 $2 The Life of Dr. George 
 
 had been brought, under the Pretext of Re- 
 ligion and Liberty , by reftlefs Spirits , being 
 willing to take this for a providential Deter- 
 mination, he quietly and readily fubmitted 
 himfelf to the Royal Party, and refolvedto live 
 peaceably for the future, under the Z>gw/Efta- 
 bMiment of the Church, by conforming him- 
 felf to it as a Lay-Communicant : but would 
 never accept either Benefice or Dignity, which 
 was offered him. And to juftifie his Confor- 
 mity, and to excite others to follow his Ex- 
 ample, he writ a Book, called, Theodutia, or 
 ajuft Defence of hearing the Sermons and other 
 Teaching of the prefent Miniflers of the Church 
 of England , again/I a Book, unjuftly Intitule d^ 
 (in Greek)ACbriftian Tejlimony again/I them that 
 ferve the Image of the Beaji. Lond. 1 667. Never- 
 thelefs, he continued in his Judgment as much' 
 an Antepasdobaptift as ever.The 0#/WBiogra- 
 pher, who is never to be fufpecled of Partiality 
 for any Perfons Puritanically, inclined, faith of 
 him, " That fet afide his Anabaptiftical Pofitions, 
 " he was conformable enough to the Church, 
 " would frequently go to Common Prayer, 
 " and receive the Sacrament at Salisbury , and 
 " often vifit Dr. Ward, Bifhop of that Place, 
 " who refpecled him for his Learning. And 
 the Abridger of Mr. Baxter's Life, notwith- 
 flanding that he created Mr. Baxter the moft 
 trouble of any, or all his Adverfaries, yet re- 
 prefenteth him under the Charafter of one, 
 whom all the World muft own " to have been
 
 late Lord Bijbap of St. David'/. 253 
 
 " a very considerable Man, and an excellent 
 " Scholar , .how difinclined foever they may 
 " be to his particular Opinions. The moft 
 learned and judicious BHhop Sanderfon, had a 
 great Efteem for him :, as had alfo one of his 
 SuccefTors , Bifhop Barlow. It was his good 
 fortune to marry a rich Widow in Salisbury^ 
 not long before the King's Return , by whom 
 enjoying an Eftate, he lived chiefly there till 
 his Death, which hapned at that place in 1676^ 
 aged 73 Years. 
 
 In the Year 1 680, Dr. Lewis du Moulin, XLVII, 
 Son of the famous Peter du Moulin, a violent ^-w^ 
 Independent, came forth with a virulent Pam- rt charge 
 phlet againft the Church of England, called, ^"f D '' u , s 
 
 n i ^ i r i A t du Moulin, 
 
 port and true Account of the jeveral Advances brought a- 
 the Church of England bath made towards 6*< tt ft **. 
 Rome : or a Model of the Grounds, upon which 
 the Papifts, for thefe hundred Tears, have built 
 their Hopes and Expectations, that England 
 would ere long return to Popery. Lond. 1680. 
 4 to . In which Pamphlet, he falleth ha'rd up- 
 on the Principles and Opinions advanced by 
 Mr. Bull, and other eminent Divines of the 
 Church of England, efpecially Dr. Stillingfleet, 
 afterwards Biffiop ofWorcefter, and Dr. Patrick^ 
 afterwards Bimop of Ely : and greatly com- 
 mendeth the induftry and Zeal of Dr. Tulty, 
 and Dr. Barlow at Oxford, as the two principal 
 Perfons, who did keep that Uuiverfity from 
 being poifoned with Pelagianifen , Socinianifm 
 
 and
 
 2 54 T4* L*/e 0f Dr. George Bull, 
 
 and Popery. This was defpifed as it deferred 
 by Mr. Bull. But foon after, there came out 
 an Anfwer to this Book, with the Title of, A 
 lively Piftttre of Lewis du Moulin, drawn by 
 the incomparable hand of Mr. Daille. And 
 Dr. du Moulin not long furviving after this, re- 
 traded upon his Death-bed all the perfonal Re* 
 fleElions, which in his Book he had made up- 
 on any Divine of the Church of England, and 
 ordered this his Retractation to be made publick 
 after his Death. Which was accordingly pub- 
 lifhed, under this Title, viz. The loft Words 
 of Dr. Lewis du Moulin, being his RetraBation 
 of all the perfonal Reflettions, he had made on 
 the Divines of the Church of England, infeve^ 
 ral of his Books : Signed by himfelf, on the 
 5 th and 17 th of Ottober, 1680, London. Ne-> 
 verthelefs, without the Knowledge of his Wife, 
 or other Relations (as is faid) there was pub- 
 Jifhed after his Death, a continuation of the 
 aforefaid Libel, entituled, An additional Ac- 
 count of the Church of England^ Advances to- 
 wards Popery. For it feems, that the Solifidi- 
 an Dodrine was by a great many looked on as 
 the main Pillar of the Proteftant Religion, 
 which being once fhaken, they thought there 
 could be no pofiibility for it to bear up its 
 Head againft Popery, or to juftify the Pro- 
 ceedings of Ltaber 9 and the other iirft Refor- 
 mers. This was plainly inlinuated in feveral 
 Books about this time publifhed , and none 
 flood more .expo-fed to this Cenfure than the 
 
 Trea*
 
 late Lord Bi/kop of St. David'/. 255 
 
 Treatifes of our Author, which continuing to 
 prevail more and more, it is no wonder fome 
 angry Books were written by the hot Calvi- 
 nifts, tending to create a fufpicion of the Cler- 
 gy, and Univerfities of this Kingdom, as if 
 they were advancing apace to Rome , while 
 they were for paying a greater Deference to 
 the firft Writers of Chriftianity, than to any 
 of the Sixteenth Century whatsoever. Mr* 
 Bull was looked upon, to have mainly contri- 
 buted to infeft theUniverfitjofO*/W, by his 
 Writings, with fuch Doctrines : But he had 
 fo fully, yea fo abundantly vindicated himfelf, 
 by his learned and judicious Apology againft 
 Dr. IW/K, that nothing could be more unfair, 
 than an Accufation of fueh a nature as this, 
 after he had been fo well juftified from it. 
 
 Thus I have endeavoured, to prefent the The Co 
 Reader with an impartial Account of this whole f' on tf tbis 
 
 ^ r T n-r - - Cwtrwer- 
 
 Controveriy concerning Juftincation, as it was/), that re- 
 managed betwixt Mr. Bull and his learned Ad- la * ed *\ v 
 verfaries : Wherein I have recited, Matters 
 and Arguments on both (ides as an Hiftorian, 
 and have not willingly concealed any thing, 
 which might make for them or againft him. 
 This hath infenfibly drawn me out, by the 
 great variety of Incidents, much further than 
 ever I could have imagined at firft. But if 
 hereby the Truth (hall appear, to indifferent 
 and unprejudiced Perfons, to be fet in its juft 
 Light, it will be Satisfaction enough for the 
 Pains that have been taken, to make fuch a 
 r tho-
 
 256 The Life of Dr. George Bull^ 
 
 thorough Search as was neceiTary, in order to 
 this. The Schemes of the feveral Writers have 
 been for this End here reprefented } the 
 , Grounds, Occafion and Method of their Wri- 
 ting, hiftorically related j an Abftraft given 
 alfo of the moft Confiderable of their Pleas, 
 whether from Scripture, Reafon or Antiquity, 
 with foine account of their Perfons and Cha- 
 racters. This was in a manner necefTary, that 
 a clear and full View might be had at once of 
 fo intricate a Difpute, about thefe arduous 
 Feints : And that the Sagacity and Solidity 
 of Mr. Bull, might more confpicuoufly be dif- 
 played, by allowing to his Enemies all the 
 Ad vantage that could fairly be done :, and that 
 the invincible Strength of Reafoning, where- 
 with the God of Truth had endowed him, 
 might break forth with more luftre, through 
 the many and fierce Oppofitions which for a 
 time were made againft him. For the Names 
 of Gataker^ Truman and Tutty, have by their 
 imfuccefsful Attacks, ferved but to render that 
 of BULL the more celebrated. And as to this 
 laft Animadverter, for as much as his Princi- 
 ples were, as to this Head, the fame as thofe 
 with Dr. TK//X, his Method with that of Gata- 
 ker, and his Arguments with thofe, of one or 
 the other of thefe -, and for as much, as Mr. 
 J5z///did not think his Book confiderable enough 
 to deferve any Anfwer, after he had fo fully 
 replied to the other two j there was no need 
 to infift at all upon what was urged by him 
 
 over
 
 late Lord Bijhof of St. David V. 257 
 
 over again. I mall alfo pafs over what feve- 
 ral excellent Writers, and eminent Preachers 
 in our Church have taken up, both in their 
 Writing and Preaching on the Covenant of the 
 Gofpel, and the Methods of arriving at eternal 
 Happinefs,, from the rich Treafury of our Au- 
 thor, who feemeth indeed to have exhaufted 
 this Subjed :' And mail proceed. 
 
 >; v , f *>, .4 - 
 
 Now at the very fame time that this Contro- XLVIII. 
 verfy was agitated in the Church , it was car- ^XN^XJ 
 ried on alfo among the DifTenters, with none fame 
 fmall Warmth. By which Means the State ofJJSSS 
 the Cafe became fomewhat altered from what carried on 
 it would other ways have been, had Mr. But? 
 alone been confidered as Principal in it. And ters. 
 there were three chief Heads of difficulty in 
 determining this Matter, which mightily puz- 
 zled them , which fide foever they took j 
 namely, the Reconciliation of Divine Prefci- 
 ence, with the Liberty of Man's Will in his 
 Converfion, and fubfequent Juftification -, the 
 Determination of the Manner and Meafure of 
 the Operation of God's Grace, with and upon 
 the human Will , And the way how to attri- 
 bute all our Good to God, and all our Evil to 
 our feives. Mr. Baxter and Mr. Truman^ who 
 went both the fame way, thought they were 
 able' eafily to folve thefe Difficulties by the 
 help of their Method : But others of the Dif- 
 fcnting Minifters, would by no means fubfcribe 
 to what was advanced by thefe 5 and thought 
 
 S the
 
 258 .Tie Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 the Difficulties (till to remain as great as they- 
 were at firft. And there was a Book of Apho- 
 riftns, written by Mr. Baxter, which made as 
 much ftir among them, as the Harmonia writ- 
 ten by Mr.w#, did among us : wherefore the 
 Name of Aphorifla is always given to the firft 
 , of thefe, as well as that of Harmonifla to the 
 fecond, by Dr. Tully, in his Cenfure of both 
 thefe Writers. The Aphorifms of Mr. Baxter, 
 had been excepted againft at their firft coming 
 out by feverai learned Men : they were an- 
 fwered by Mr. John Crandon, of Fowley in 
 Hampshire, in a Book which he infcribed, Mr. 
 BaxterV Aphorifms Exorcifed; and by Mr. Wil- 
 liam Eyre, of Salisbury, in his VmdiciA Juflifi- 
 cationis Gratuit*. Befides which, they were 
 occafionally Animadverted upon, by Dr. John 
 Watiis, Mr. George La&fon, Mr. John Warren, 
 Mr. Chrtftopher Cart-wright, and laftly, by Dr. 
 Thomas Tulfy. Some of thefe wrote upon the 
 Motion and Defire of the Author himfelf ^ 
 upon which he publimed his Sufpenfion of 
 thefe Aphorifms ^ then his fuller Explication 
 and Defence of them in his Apology^ and after- 
 wards, an additional Explication and Defence 
 'of them, bothinhisConfeffioti of Faith, and in 
 his Difpntations of Jujlif cation. Many Pa- 
 pers paiTed between Mr. Cartwright and him, 
 concerning thefe Aphorifms : which were alfo 
 defended by him againft the other Animad- 
 verters, but more particularly againft Crandon 
 and Eyre, long before ever he was fallen up- 
 on,
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. DavidV. 
 
 on, together with Mr. Ruti, byDr.Tulty. This 
 Controverfy was Jong afterwards kept up a- 
 inong the Difienters, fome taking the part of 
 Mr. Baxter, but others violently condemning 
 him, as a favourer of the JSocinian Principles, 
 for the very fame reafon, that Mr. Bull was 
 fufpecled by fome, even becaufe he exerted 
 himfelf, in laying open the pernicious Confe- 
 quences of the Antinomian Scheme. 
 
 Some time after this, Mr. Dtiniel Williams, The ctfeef 
 now a Dodor in Divinity , and an eminent Dr - wili 
 Preacher and Writer in this City, among thc^Dj^n- 
 Prefbyterians, made himfelf famous for ma- ters > ab ut 
 naging the Controverfy againft the Antin 
 an Principles, when they were breaking 
 with great impetuofity among thofe of hisPer- 
 fwafion ; and who hath thereby been very fer- 
 viceable, in reclaiming great Numbers from 
 their abfurdand fa Ife Notions, concerning the 
 Gofpel of our Lord, and the Terms of Salva- 
 tion, and bringing them to aright Senfeofthe 
 Nature of his Satisfaction, and our Juftificati- 
 on 5 even as Mr. Bull had done. Dr. Williams 
 may be faid to have fucceeded Mr. Baxter, in 
 the Management of thefe Difputes, as he alfo 
 incurred thereby, the fame hard Cenfure from 
 fome of his own Brethren , as if he were a 
 maintainer of Opinions inconjiftent with the 
 Dottrine of Ckrift's Satisfaction^ and fo had gi- 
 ven up the Caufe to the Socinians. And as 
 Mr. Bull and Mr. Baxter, had before fuffered 
 in this Caufe, fo it fell alfo to the lot of this 
 
 S a laft
 
 Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 laft Advocate for the Truth, to fuffer in like 
 manner , and as many as were of his Judg- 
 ment alfo, to be charged together with him, 
 for abetting Pelagianifm, Socinianifni and Ar- 
 minianifm. 
 
 The occAfi- The Occafion now which engaged him in 
 ontha *. this Controverfy, after that it feemed to have 
 
 engaged him . n > ,. ~ ,, . , n . 
 
 in this con- been laid afleep, was this :, Ur. Cnfps Book, 
 fa Q Fountain of all thefe Errors, was by his 
 Son, Mr. Samuel Crifp, reprinted in or about 
 the Year 1690, when the Socinian Controver- 
 fy was here very hotly agitated, with Additi- 
 ons, and with the Names of feveral of the 
 Preibyterian and Independent Minifters pre- 
 fixed, as approving the fame. By the means 
 of this Book, thus recommended and authori- 
 zed, the Poifon of Antinomianifm foon fpread, 
 not only in the Country, but infeded this great 
 City to that degree, that the more fober of 
 the Prefbyterian Minifters were fcarce able to 
 preach a Sermon, wherein either Hope was af- 
 ferted by conditional Promifes, or the Fear of 
 Sin was prefTed by the Divine Threatnings, 
 but they were immediately cenfured and con- 
 demned, as Enemies of Chrift and of Free- 
 Grace 5 and efpecialiy, were cried out againft 
 violently by many of the Anabaptifts and In- 
 dependents. Yea, one of them preaching at 
 Dinners-Hall^ that Repentance was neceflary to 
 the Remiffionof Sins, that Pulpit was foon fil- 
 led with the hardeft Cenfures againft the 
 Prefbyterians, At the Requeft of many of the 
 
 * Mini-
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. Da vidV. a 6 1 
 
 Minifters of that Perfwafion, Mr. Williams un- 
 dertook therefore to confute that Book, which 
 was the chief Source of this Evil. This he 
 did, firft by a Sermon at Pinners.Hall, and 
 afterwards by a Book called, Gofpel Truths 
 flated and vindicated : Wherein fome of the 
 more dangerous of Dr. Crifp's Opinions were 
 confidered , and the oppofite Truths plainly 
 flated and confirmed. 
 
 His Method is always to ftate the Truth and 
 the Error upon each Head, then to prove that 
 this laft was the Opinion of Dr. Crifp 5 after * 
 that, to fhew wherein the Difference is not y 
 and this being done, to declare what the real 
 and proper Difference is. And having thus 
 explained and ftated the Cafe, by preventing 
 feveral Miftakes, and determining wherein the 
 real Difference confifteth between the conten- 
 ding Parties , his way is, to confirm the Truth 
 oppofed to fuch a particular Error , by that 
 which is owned on both fides for the Rule of 
 Faith , then to produce corroborating Tefti- 
 monies from the approved Catechifms and 
 Confeilions both of the Prefbyterian and Inde- 
 pendent Body, as of the General Affembly at 
 Wejlminfter, the New England Synod, and the 
 Congregational Elders at the Savoy, befides 
 Uaofe of fuch particular Writers as are by them 
 generally etteemed moft Orthodox -, and laft- 
 ly, to give the Ground of the Dodor's Miftake. 
 This he hath done in about twenty feveral 
 Points, with much plainnefs : and it cannot be 
 
 S made
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 made appear after all, that hig""Adverfaries 
 have been able to fay, that he hath in any of 
 them mifreprefented Dr. Crifp's Opinions, or 
 miftaken his Senfe ^ there being no fairer Me- 
 thod than that which he hath chofen. 
 
 This Book was firft publifhed in May, 1692, 
 with the Approbation of Dr. Bates, Mr. How 9 
 Mr. A\fop t Mr. Showers, and a dozen more of 
 the Diffenting Minifters : And to the Second 
 Edition of it, were added the Names of dou- 
 ble the Number. After which came forth a 
 "Third Edition of the fame, with other Names, 
 and a large Poftfcript for clearing fundry 
 Truths, added to it. But Dr. Cbauncy , and 
 others of that fort , wrote againft that Book 
 in vindication of Dr. Crifp , denying Gofpel 
 Threatnings with the reft. To all this, the 
 Reply of Mr. Williams, called, A Defence of 
 Gofpel Truth, was, by theableftjudges, thought 
 fufficient. Notwithstanding, Mr. Mather, a- 
 nother Independent Preacher, publifhed a Ser- 
 mon about Jitftification, wherein he alTerted, 
 That Believers were as righteous as Chrift 
 himfelf, that the Covenant of Grace was not 
 conditional, with other dangerous Opinions of 
 the like Stamp. Him alfo this Author anfwer- 
 ed, by a Book called, Man made Righteous ^ 
 wherein he treated of the Gofpel Law, the 
 mediating Suretyfliip of Chrift, his imputed 
 Righteoufnefs how confident with Faith and 
 Repentance, as Conditions of Juftification ^ 
 (inccre perfevering Holinefs and Obedience, 
 
 as
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'/. 
 
 as Conditions of cpnfummate Salvation, and 
 this by the Gofpel Constitution. To this Book 
 none replied. 
 
 There was alfo a Paper (igned by Mr. Grif- 
 fith, and feveral others of the eminent Inde- 
 pendents, wherein, they excepted againft feve- 
 ral Paffages in GofpelTrnthftated, befides forae 
 general Charges againft the whole. Which 
 Paper was examined by the Author, in his 
 Poftfcript to the Third Edition thereof, and all 
 their Objeftions fully confidered. 'But whe- 
 ther any manner of Anfwer was returned by 
 them, to this Reply of his, I do not know *, 
 certainly it is, that they were hard put to it. 
 Hence Mr. Stephen Lob, who long after Two 
 Editions of this Book, had fo acquitted it in 
 print, as to adventure to tell the World, that 
 there was no Difference between Mr. Chauncy 
 and Mr. Williams, when afterwards, for cer- 
 tain Purpofes, he turned an Objector againft it, 
 thought fit to wave all the former Exceptions 
 of his Brethren, in that Paper contained, fave 
 one or two. So fenfible was he, that the Au- 
 thor of Gofpel Truth had been too haftily char- 
 ged by them, and that they would never bea- 
 ble to make good their Objections : and there- 
 fore he thought it convenient and prudent, to 
 drop them all but the firft and the laft, which 
 he judged more defenfible than the reft, as be- 
 ing general Charges, of not having always 
 rightly ftated Truth and Error, or rightly in- 
 terpreted the Scriptures, 
 
 S 4 Mr- Lob
 
 264 fhs Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 'Mr. Lob Mr, Lob then, though no 
 
 w CM. an -> Y et wiling to uphold the Independent 
 trow!)-. Party, endeavoured to fave their Reputation, 
 by flatting a new Controversy about Commu- 
 tation of Perfons, betwixt Chrrftand Believers. 
 His pretence was, that Mr. Williams muft deny 
 this, which by all the Orthodox had been ge- 
 nerally acknowledged, and hardly by any dif- 
 liked, but by the Socinians, and other Here- 
 ticks near a-kin to them :, becaufe he had de- 
 nied what Crifp called , a Change of Perfon, 
 (not Verfons, in the Plural) that is, a Change 
 of Condition and State between Chrift and a 
 Sinner $ Chrift thereby becoming as Sinful as 
 we, and we as Righteous as he. And he ai- 
 led ged , that Dr. Stillingfleet , the Bifhop of 
 Worcefter, had in his moft learned and judici- 
 ous Difcourfe, concerning the Doclrine ofChrift's 
 Satisfa&ion, with Grothu, exprefly affirmed a 
 Commutation of Perfolis , and irrefragably 
 proved it with the common Sentiment of Pro- 
 teftants. 
 
 Mr. wilii- Upon which, a Letter was fent by l&r.Wil- 
 
 t^B'^dp" h am to t^ 6 & m Pi defiring his Judgmentas to 
 
 Stilling- thefe three Queftions , i. What was his Senfe 
 
 of Commutation of Perfons ? 2. Whether the 
 
 Author of G ofpel Truth ft ated, was chargeable 
 
 with Socinianifm ? and, 3. Whether Dr. Crifp's 
 
 Senfe, concerning the Change ofPerfon, or Per- 
 
 fons, were true or falfe? His Anfwer to which 
 
 he therefore infifted on, becaufe his Lordfhip's 
 
 Book was pleaded againft him. After this, 
 
 Mr. Lob
 
 late Lord Bifbof of St. David'/. 265 
 
 Mr. Lob wrote to the Bifliop, acquainting him, 
 that there having been a Controverfy among 
 the Diflenters, about the Dbclrine of Chrift's 
 Satisfaction, feme of the mod eminent among 
 them, fuch as Dr. Bates, Mr. How, <3cc. did in 
 a Paper fent to fome other Brethren for Recon- 
 ciliation, mention his Lordfliip's Senfe about 
 the averting a Commutation of Perfons be- 
 tween Chrift and Believers, as necefTary to a 
 due Explanation and Defence of the faid Do- 
 drine : and there being on the other hand, 
 another Perfon of Efteem among them [mean- 
 ing Mr, Williams'] who was for cafting off the 
 Phrafe, of a Change of Perfon between Chrift 
 and us j and for allowing only a Change of 
 Perfons in the Senfe underftood by his Lord' 
 (hip, namely, a Subftitution in the room and 
 place of another ^ his Lordfliip's Judgment be^ 
 ing therefore referred unto, it would be in him 
 a moft Chriftian part, if he would condefcend 
 to give them his impartial Thoughts of this 
 Point, as being likely on both hands, to be fo re- 
 ceived*, as to cowpofe the Differences between 
 them, 
 
 But before this Letter came to the Biftiop, 
 he had already anfwered Mr. Williams, as to 
 the three Queftions propofed, and had with 
 great Freedom and Impartiality, as well as 
 with (ingular Candour and Judgment, after he 
 had perufed the Papers on both fides which 
 came to his hands, given his Senfe of the 
 Things which are mentioned in both their 
 
 Let-
 
 2 66 The Life of Dr. George Bull ,, 
 
 Letters. This Letter of the Bifhop's, where- 
 by Mr. Williams was fully vindicated, was 
 printed for his Juftification againft Mr. Lob, 
 in his Anfwer to the Report , <Scc. which the uni- 
 ted Miniflers appointed their Committee to draw 
 up. And Mr. Lob could not but declare him- 
 felf, upon reading it, to be abundantly fatisfied 
 with what the Bifhop had writ in his Letter to 
 Mr. Williams, about a Commutation of Per- 
 fons, the Guilt of Sin, and his Confutation of 
 Dr. Crifp $ only he wifhed the Bifhop's Infor- 
 mation had been more full. The Bifhop ha- 
 ving anfwered Mr. LtfA'sfirft Letter, and there- 
 in juftified again Mr. Williams from the heavy 
 Imputations againft him, and exprefled his 
 iincere and hearty Endeavours for preventing 
 all needlefs, as well as dangerous Controver- 
 (ies, among thofe who did truly own the Do- 
 drine of Chrift's Satisfaction , Mr. Lob repli- 
 ed to him in a fecond -Letter, thanking him 
 for the favour of his Anfwer, and informing 
 him of an Appeal directed to his Lordfhip, 
 which he was preparing for the Prefs. 
 
 The defign of which Appeal was, that the 
 Biftiop might have a fuller ftate of Matters in 
 vvorce- controverfy among them, and fo might be more 
 
 )b.* ; Mr ' a ^^ e to P ut an ^ n ^ to ^ ie ^ r ^iff erences i n a 
 Point fo perfectly ftudied by him. The Bifhop 
 
 was therefore made acquainted by Mr. Lob, 
 that fome Sheets of his were almoft ready for 
 the Prefs, giving the true Reafons of the Dif- 
 fatisfadion of fome among them with Mr. Wil-
 
 late Lord Bi/kop of St. David V. a 67 
 
 liatns, which were intended by way of Appeal, 
 to be addreffed to him ^ becaufe he had fo 
 truly ftated their true Senfe about Chrift's 
 Satisfaction : withal begging to know his 
 Lordihip's pleafure, whether he fhould fend it 
 to him firft in Manufcript, or not till printed. 
 The Bilhop anfwered Mr. Lob's fecond Letter 
 without any delay, telling him, that he {hould 
 be glad to fee the Papers he, made mention of 
 when they {hould be printed, but that he would 
 not have him give himfelf the trouble to fend 
 them before , for fince they related to Matters 
 of Fad, he could be no competent Judge of 
 them. And as to the wifhing he had received 
 fuller Information of fome Matters, the Bifhop 
 told him, it was a thing out of his Power -, and 
 that he could only judge of what he had feen. 
 At the fame time the Blfhop juftified Mr.ZFz/- 
 liams afrem, as to his Orthodoxy in the con- 
 troverted Points , and declaring himfelf very 
 well pleafed, to find that Mr. Lob did difown 
 Dr. Crifp's Antinomian Principles , he gave 
 both him and his Brethren to underftand, that 
 they would do themfelvesa great deal of right, 
 to condemn the Proportions which they infift upon. 
 As foon therefore as Mr. Lob had printed his 
 Appeal, he fent it to the Biftiop of Worcefter, 
 to be by him confidered, complementing him 
 in the beginning of it with his Thanks, not on- 
 ly for what related to the Article of Satisfacti- 
 on, but for his Confutation of Dr. Crifp, and 
 intimating, that whereas the Bifliop had fufpe- 
 
 cled
 
 2(58 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 cted a fondnefs for that Doctor's Notions lay 
 at the bottom of all thefe heats, the condem- 
 ning the Propofitions by bi& Brethren, (as was 
 propounded by the Bimop) would evince the 
 contrary. But then this was deferred, till Sa- 
 tisfaction fhould be given them, as to what Mr. 
 Williams was charged with. 
 ne Appeal This printed Appeal of Mr. Lob, was confi- 
 dered b y that rcat and Darned Prelate, with 
 an amazing exadnefs, as one who was a per- 
 fect Matter of the Caufe 5 but he lived not to 
 finifh his Anfwer to it, which he undertook 5 
 being invited both by the Appeal and by thofe 
 Letters, in order to compofe thofe Differences 
 among the united and difTenting Brethren 
 which related to the Antinomian and Socini- 
 an Controverfies. However, he hath given 
 the World a true State of both thefe Contro- 
 verfies , in perfecl agreement with the Princi- 
 ples advanced and defended by our Mr. Bull, 
 as well as the true occafion of the late Diffe- 
 rences among the DilTenters about thefe. Then 
 he hath fo laid open the Myftery of Antinomi- 
 anifm, from the Writings of Dr. Crifp, as if he 
 had ftudied thefe for feveral Years together. 
 Moreover he hath fo explained the State of the 
 Socinian Controverfy, with refpecT: to the Dif- 
 ferences at that time of the Ditfenters about it, 
 for which he was appealed to ^ and hath fo 
 fully vindicated both Mr. Baxter and Mr. Wil- 
 liams , from the Charge of yielding too much to 
 the Sociniano , as that Reader mult be very 
 
 par-
 
 late Lord Bt/hop of St. David'/. a 6$ 
 
 partial indeed, who will not own that he hath 
 done Juftice to the Caufe which was referred 
 to him, and fet Matters in a much clearer 
 Light than ever they were before in. Now 
 Mr. Lob had expreffed a very great Earneft- 
 nefs to have the Bifhop's Judgment, becaufe he 
 faid, fome were labouring to make Chrift's Staf- 
 fer ings fo merely voluntary, as not to be Penal, 
 or not properly Penal, but improperly and mate- 
 rially fo, and our Sins is not to be the impulfive 
 meritorious Caufe of them. The Bifhop there- 
 fore, in anfwer to him, hath treated diftind- 
 ly and clearly about Chrift's Sufferings, being 
 a proper Punifliment for our Sins, and about 
 the Change of Perfons between Chrift and us, 
 and his fuffering in our ftead. 
 
 The fame Queftions that had been fent to The 
 the late Bifhop of Worcefter, were 1 ike wife fent ons P r P 
 Dr. Jonathan Edwards, the late learned and stilling- 
 worthy Principal of Jefus College in Oxford j fleet, * 
 becaufe Mr. Lob in his Remarks , pretended j^nathf 
 that Mr. Williams' a Opinion, concerning a Edwards 
 Commutation of Perfons, was by him con- 
 demned, in his Prefervative again ft Socinianifm. 
 Whereupon Dr. Edwards, in a Letter to the 
 faid Mr. Williams, juftified him alfo againft 
 his Accufers $ fully acquitting him from gi- 
 ving any Countenance to the Errors of Soci* 
 vu* , and telling him, that he had very right- 
 ly, and in an Orthodox manner, ftated the 
 Dodrine of Chrift's Satisfaction ^ and that as 
 to the Doftrine of Dr. Crifp, and others of that 
 
 Seel:,
 
 270 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Seel, concerning the Permutation of Perfon be- 
 tween Chrift and the Sinner, he could not but 
 look upon it to be, " not only falfe, abfurd 
 <l and impofiible, but alfo an impious and blaf- 
 " phemous Opinion, as being highly dimonou- 
 " rable to our Saviour, repugnant to the Wif- 
 " dom and Jufticeof God, and tending plain- 
 " ly to fubvert the whole Defign of Chriftia- 
 " nity. So that it was impoffible for any one 
 to be more fully vindicated than Mr. Williams 
 was, againft the Charge of his Adverfaries, by 
 thefe two eminent Divines of our Church } 
 to whofe Writings and Perfons, an Appeal had 
 been laid in from his zealous Accufer. The 
 Bifhop abundantly acquitted him, and con- 
 demned the Proceedings as:ainft him as hard 
 
 o o 
 
 and unreasonable : the good Dodor, who had 
 made himfelf famous for writing againft the 
 Errors c>l>ocmus, honourably discharged him 
 in like manner from the Imputation of Socini- 
 anifm, by declaring to him, / mean no more 
 than what you affirm. 
 
 Thus the new Impreffion of Crifp's Sermons, 
 with twelve Names in great Letters appearing 
 
 - . c i n i 
 
 the beginning of the Book, to honour it, na- 
 ving awakened fome of the more zealous a- 
 mong them, called the United Brethren^ to 
 conlider of fome proper Expedient to obviate 
 the Growth of thofe Errors, the Revival 
 whereof, they concluded would make their 
 Mini/lrj itfelefs, and Unity impodibie -, This 
 Controverfy, which had been before fo fully 
 
 and
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. DavidV. 271 
 
 and unanfwerably determined, by the excel- 
 lent Writings of our Author, efpecially in his 
 Anfwer to Gataker, broke out afre(h with the 
 utmoft violence, but not in the Church. For 
 the whole was carried on among the Diffen- 
 ters only, till this Reference was made, when 
 they began to be weary of difputing, as feeing 
 no End thereof-, andBifhop Stittingfleet there-. . 
 upon took the Caufe into his own hands, and 
 upon a full Examination of both Parties, fet- 
 led the juft Bounds between the Antinomian 
 and Socinian Extremes, fo far as thefe related 
 to the Differences on foot among them 5 
 which was the occalion of the Second Part of 
 his Difconrfe concerning the Dottrine ofCbrift's 
 Satisfaction -, which he left the Chriftian 
 Church for his Legacy of Peace. So Dr. Crifp's 
 Book was that which awakened this whole 
 Controverfy, by its being publiflied in fuch a 
 manner , and was the occafion of Ms.Wtlltatris's 
 Examination of his Opinions, to which he was ' 
 foiicited and encouraged by feveral of his Bre- 
 thren ^ whofe Atteftation to his Book, was 
 not merely to the right flaring of Truths and 
 Errors therein, but as a confider'able Service to 
 the Church of Cbrift, and as a Means for the 
 reclaiming ofthofe, who have been mfted into 
 . fitch danger out Opinions, and for the ejlablifbing 
 any that waver in any of thefe Truths. But 
 upon the coming forth of this Book it was ob- 
 ferved , that fuch a furious Zeal againft the 
 Author and his Book broke out, as had almofl 
 
 over-
 
 272 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 overfet the iiftfled Brethren with their Union. 
 For in Ottober following, a Paper was deli- 
 vered in to the faid Brethren, fubfcribed by 
 fix Diffenting Minifters, importing an high 
 and heavy Charge againft the Author and his 
 Work : but the Objections were looked upon 
 either as frivolous or groundlefs, and fome of 
 the Citations to be quite contrary to the Letter 
 of his Expreffions, pretended to be cited, and 
 fo not deferving to betaken notice of. 
 
 Notwithftanding which, Dr. Chauncy, one 
 of the Subfcribers, in a Meeting of the united 
 Minifters, declared that he would break off 
 from their Union, becaufe they had taken no 
 cognizance of the Paper of Objections againfl 
 Mr. Williams** Book -, fome confiderable time 
 after this , when other ways had been found 
 unfuccefsful, a Perfon was appointed more nar- 
 rowly to examine Mr. Williams?, Books, and 
 to colled: out of them what Errors he could 
 difcover -, and accordingly another Paper of 
 Objedions was drawn up againft him -, and 
 whereas in the former Paper there was not one 
 Word tending to the Charge of Socinianifm, 
 upon this frefh Examination, that was now 
 thought fit to be added to the weight of the 
 other Exceptions againft him , and was wifely 
 put into the hands of fuch a Perfon to ma- 
 nage, who could not be fnfpeBed for Antinomia- 
 nifm\ he having not only refuted to fet his 
 Name to the new Impreflion of Dr. Crify's Ser- 
 mons, becaufe it looked, as he faid, likegiving 
 
 too
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. DavidV. 273 
 
 too much Countenance to tue Notions in 
 them, but had written alfo againft Come of 
 them with great Indignation, and rebuked 
 feverely, fuch as feemed to trim in favour ofAn- 
 tinomianifm. But thefe Papers were replied 
 to by Mr. Williams: but notwithstanding all 
 he could fay, or write for himfelf, the Charge 
 of Socinianifm was carried on againft him 
 with no fmall vehemence. He foJemnly pro- 
 tefted, 4< That he owned Chrift's Eternal Ge- 
 " neration as the Son of God, and of one Ef- 
 " fence with the Father :, that he believed the 
 " Dodrine of Satisfaction by the Sufferings of 
 " Chrift in our flead y and that his Sufferings 
 " were Punishments fatisfaftory to Divine Ju- 
 " ftice for our Sins , that Chrift was a proper 
 " Sacrifice, and himfelf the Prieft, that offered 
 w it upon Earth , that his Obedience is pro- 
 " perly meritorious of all our faving Benefits, 
 " and himfelf a proper 'Axr^Xijfc^ in his 
 " Death. All this was not fufficient to clear 
 him : it was urged, he ufed fome Phrafes and 
 Expreffions as the Socinians did, and that per- 
 haps he might be a Socinian and not know it, 
 and more to the fame purpofe. But all the 
 Objections of this nature, are demonftratively 
 anfwered by that moft learned Prelate, to 
 whom the Matter was on both fides refer- 
 red. 
 
 * Mr. Williams'* Anfwer to Mr. HV Letter, p. 7. 
 
 T When
 
 274 T! }e Lift of Dr. George Bull, 
 nth* VVhen Mr. Lob and his Brethren now 
 WWOT- found they could not gain their Point, but 
 ed. that his Party became fufpefted of Dr. Crifp's 
 Errors, by that time much exploded through 
 the prevailing of the oppofite Truths 3 they 
 thought fit to draw up a fort of Confeffion, 
 wherein they cleared themfelves of the in oft 
 dangerous of Crffis Opinions, according to 
 the repeated Advice of the late Bifhop viWor- 
 wfter, though not fo fully and clearly as he 
 had propofed : And Mr. Lob being now bet- 
 ter reconciled, defired Mr. Williams to put the 
 beft Senfe on that Confeffion, that fo a period 
 might be fet to thefe Debates ^ Mr. Williams 
 readily confented, and wrote thereupon, and 
 printed a few Sheets, called, An End to T>if- 
 cord^ wherein he ftated the Orthodox, as al- 
 fo theSocinian and Aatinomian Notions, as to 
 Ohrift's Satisfaction , and reprefented the 
 Confeffion of thofe more fober Independents 
 as Orthodox, as their Words with the moft 
 charitable Conflrudion could bear. Thus 
 ended then this Controverfy among the Dif- 
 fenters. 
 
 The Number of Antinomians among the 
 - Diffenters, were fo reduced at length by the 
 Methods which had been taken, that I am cre- 
 ditably informed by a confiderable Man, who 
 cannot but know the State of this Affair, that 
 there are not now left above three or four 
 Preachers of that fort, (at leafl known to him) 
 and thofe of no Efteem. So that Men, he 

 
 l*te Lord Bifbop of St. DaVidV. 
 
 faith, can without Clamour now publifh the 
 Truth : yea, and moft of the Independents 
 and Anabaptifts in this City, efpecially the laft, 
 do preach as I am informed againft Antinomi- 
 anifm. Which great Change for the better, is 
 to be afcribed in a great meafure under God, to 
 the indefatigable and zealous Pains of Dr. Wil- 
 liam, for promoting the Truths of the Gofpel, 
 concerning Cbrift's SatisfaBion and our Juftifi- 
 cation, according as they are both moft folidly 
 dated and explained, tirft by our excellent 
 * Author, and then by BiftiopStillingfaet^ not 
 without a particular refpeci to the true Senfe 
 and falfe Notion of Commutation of Perfons, 
 which was the Caufe of fo great Difcord. As 
 he hath been among the Ditfenters, an Inftru- 
 ment for putting a ftop to thofe pernicious Er- 
 rors, and as hisConvidion that the Etfentialsof 
 Chriftianity were ftruck at by hisOppofers, to- 
 gether with the Aptitude of an Evangelical 
 Miniftry, for promoting practical Holinefs^ 
 which appear to have been the Motives prin- 
 cipally inclining him to contend with a ftrong 
 Party, who would leave nothing unattempted 
 to crulh him if poflible } his Name I think 
 ought to be mentioned with refpeci, and this 
 (hort Account of the Controverfy, wherein he 
 was engaged for many Years, is but a piece of 
 Juftice that is due to him, for the good Ser- 
 vice he hath done in the Caufe of Truth. It is 
 
 , , 
 
 " "-* 
 
 * Examcfl Ccnfurs, Rcfp. ad Aniraad. >i. Apol. Sc&. vi. 
 
 T 2 aimeft
 
 Life '*f'r; George Bull, 
 
 almo'ft incredible how rrmch he was a Sufferer, 
 in and for the Defence of it, from Tome who 
 were too apt to aEl their Principles againft fuch 
 as oppofed them. But he had counted the Coji, 
 as he writeth in a Letter to me, even though 
 his Life had been facrificed. And indeed his 
 good Name, which to many is more pretious 
 than Life it felf, was attacked hereupon in the 
 rnoft defperate manner ^though it did but all tend 
 to his fuller Juftification, before all good Men, 
 and his greater Triumph over hisAdverfaries. 
 For after about eight Weeks fpent in an Inqui- 
 ry into fris Life by a Committee of the united 
 Minifters, which received all manner of Com- 
 plaints and Accufations againft him, it was de- 
 clared at a general Meeting , as their unani- 
 mous Opinion , and repeated and agreed to in 
 three leveral Meetings fucceffively , that he 
 was * intirely clear and innocent of all that was 
 laid to his Charge. Thus both his Book and 
 his Perfon were vindicated in theampleft Form, 
 after the ftrifteft Examination that could be 
 made ; and his and the Truth's Adverfaries 
 put to filence. But to return to Mr. Bull. 
 
 [LIX. Upon the Publication of the Harmonia Apo- 
 X->T-NJ fiolifa, Mr. Bull's Reputation, which was be- 
 fr. Bull fore confined to the narrow bounds of his own 
 'wiafyef Neighbourhood, began to extend it felf among 
 beefier the Learned, not only in this Kingdom, but 
 
 the E*rl _ * & 
 
 Netting- " 
 jrn. * Pj/t&jpt to Gtfpel Truth, p. 301, to 308. 
 
 5" in
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. DavidV. 277 
 
 in foreign Parts. Some Prejudices indeed at 
 firft were raifed againft him by his Adverfaries, 
 who attacked him with great vehemency, and 
 fome great Men were made to believe, that 
 through want of Orthodoxy, he was not fit to 
 be preferred. But when he made his Anfwers 
 to thofe Objections, which were preft upon 
 him ^ and publimed his Exanien Centura, and 
 his Apology for himfelf, and the Treatife he 
 had wrote ^ the World quickly faw how lit- 
 tle he deferved the Calumnies which were 
 thrown upon him , and he began to (hine the 
 brighter for having been under fome Ecclipfe. 
 And this was nrther confirmed, by thofe who 
 were in the Sediments of his Adverfaries, for 
 they wer^ r!c-j1 themfelves, who were (ilenced 
 by what he offered in his own Defence, and 
 never pretended to make any Reply. 
 
 The knowledge of his Character, .thus clear- 
 ed by his own nervous Pen, quickly reached 
 the then Lord Chancellor, who having been 
 made Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in 1673, 
 was fhortly after that advanced to the .degree 
 of a Baron of this Realm, by the Titkof Lord 
 Finch of Daventry^ and in 1675 was made 
 Lord High Chancellor of England ; and farther 
 in teftimony of his many faithful Services, 
 which his LordQiip had rendred the Crown, he 
 was in 1681 created Earl of Nottiaghfttti His 
 Lordlhip was juftly efteemed the great Oracle 
 of the Law in his time, and fo perfed a Ma- 
 iler in the Art of Speaking, that he palled for 
 
 T 3 the
 
 3; 8 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 the Englifh Cicero , yet his great Underftand- 
 ing, his Eloquent Tongue, and his Titles of 
 Honour, did not give his Name fo lading a 
 Luftre, as that Piety and Virtue wherewith 
 he adorned his high Station, which is but too 
 often ftarved in fo rich a Soil, and thriveth 
 beft in a private Life. 
 
 Earl of Among the many very commendable Qua- 
 ^^ es f tn ^ s S reat Mar)* his Zeal for the Wei- 
 fare of the Church of England, uas not the 
 leaft confpicuous , which particularly ihewed 
 it feif, in the care he took in difpofing of thofe 
 Ecclefiaftical Preferments, which were in the 
 Gift of the Seal. He judged rightl), in look- 
 ing upon that Privilege as a Truft for the 
 good of the Church of God, of which he u T as 
 to give a ftrid Account , and therefore being 
 fenfible that thefeveral Duties of his great Poft, 
 as firft Minifter of State, as Lord Chancellor, 
 and as Speaker of the Houfe of Lords, would 
 not allow his Lordmip time and leifure to 
 make that Enquiry which was necelfary to 
 know the Characters of fuch as were Can- 
 didates for Preferment, he devolved this parti- 
 cular Province upon his Chaplain, whofe Con- 
 fcience he charged with an impartial Scruti- 
 ny in this Matter 5 adding withal , that he 
 would prefer none but thofe who came recom- 
 mended from him , and that if he led him 
 wrong the blame Ihould fall upon his own 
 Sot*. 
 
 I!
 
 late Lord Bifbof of St. David/. 279 
 
 It is true that this was a great Teftimony Tbe 
 of my Lords intire Confidence, in the Upright-^' York* 
 nefs as well as the Capacity of his Chaplain '*&& 
 but the World will quickly be fttisfied with^'""' 
 what Caution and Judgment his Lordmip took 
 his Meafures, when they (hall know, that his 
 then Chaplain was DT. Sharp, the prefentLord 
 Archbifhop of Tork, who fills one of the Archi- 
 Epifcopal Thrones of the Church of England^ 
 with that univerfal Applaufe, which is due to 
 his Grace's diftinguifhing Merit , whofe Ele- 
 vation hath not deprived him of his Humility, 
 but he exercifeth the fame Affability andCouf- 
 tefy towards all Men, which he praftifed in a 
 lower Sphere. And that Learning and Piety, 
 that Integrity and Zeal for the Glory of God, 
 which influence his Grace in the Government 
 of his Diocefs and of his Province, were pecii- 
 liarly ferviceable to the Earl of Nottingham, in 
 the Charge his Lordmip laid upon him with 
 fo much Solemnity. From a Lord Chancellor 
 fo well difpofed to fecure the Welfare of the 
 Church, by preferring Men of unblemiflied 
 Characters, and who was bleft with a Chap- 
 lain, faithful and difcerning to diftinguifh 
 them , Mr. Bull received a Prebend in the 
 Church of Glocefter, in which he was inflalled 
 the 9 th of Oftob. 1678. And as a Teftimony 
 of his Gratitude, he defigned a publick Ac- 
 knowledgment of his Lordlhip's Favour, in de- 
 dicating to him , his Fidei Ricen* Defenjio , 
 which was the next Book he publiflied , but 
 
 T 4 be*
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 before it appeared this great Man died, in, 
 whom the Church loft a faithful and zealous 
 Friend , and Learning and Piety a generous 
 and conftant Patron, 
 
 L. In the Year 1680, Mr. Bull finiftied his De~ 
 >_/-V-N^ fenfio Yidei Nicenx, whereof he had given an 
 Mr. Bull fi- hint five Years before in his Apology , which 
 *$f"f exc i te d tne Curiofity of feveral learned Men, 
 tbt Niceneto defire that he would put his laft hand, to 
 a Work fo very ufeful and neceiTary, as .this 
 did appear to them. For having been obliged 
 to clear himfelf from the Charge of Socinia- 
 nifm, which had been brought againft him 
 without any ground to fupport it , he was un- 
 der a fort of neceflity of telling, " how he 
 " had been for fome time before, drawing up 
 4 * certain Hifiorico-Ecclefiafiual Tbefes, con- 
 " earning ^Godhead of the Son, wherein he 
 " trufted , that he had plainly demonftrated 
 " both the Confiibftantiality and the Coeternity 
 " of the Son of God, from the Confent of the 
 ' ancient Doftors of the Church , who lived 
 " before the Council of Nice, with the Nicene 
 " Fathers, by a Tradition derived from the 
 " very Apoftolical Age it felf. ^ 
 
 Ar'iMAnd . ]v[ow about the fame Time, and for fome 
 Writer" in Y e ars before , there were feveral Arian and 
 Holland, SociiiJan Pieces publifhed in Holland, and dif- 
 perfed in England, written by fome learned 
 Men, that were fled thither out of Prnffia and 
 Poland, who had fallen into one of thof? 
 
 Schemes,
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. David'/. a 8 1 
 
 Schemes , and prefumed themfelves able to< 
 maintain one and the other of them, againft 
 the received Catholick Doclrine. And though 
 the Socinians. indeed were generally for having 
 the Controverfy decided by Scripture and Rea- 
 fon only, without regarding the Teftimony of 
 the moft ancient Chriftian Writers } yet the 
 Arians were herein of another Mind , and had 
 fome Difputations with the Socinians in Hol- 
 land upon their fingular Tenets, condemniBg 
 them., for condemning the Life of the Primi- 
 tive Fathers 5 and making a very high boaft of 
 tbefe, as if almoft all of them, who lived be- 
 fore the firft Council of Nice, were of their 
 Party and Sentiment. 
 
 Some learned Men alfo, who had undertaken A Fault fa 
 to defend the Dodrine of the Trinity, while (^jjj 11 
 they owne4 the Meaning of the Primitive Fa-e^ or- 
 thers, to be generally moft found and ortho- f^ w 
 dox as to this Point , but confeiTed their Ex- and t 
 preffions not to be fo very cautious and exad ReafonaUe- 
 before, as after the faid Council, did give an ne 
 Occafion thence for the Adverfaries to triumph, 
 as if the Caufe were therefore prefently their 
 own. So that nothing in the World could be 
 in$re feafonable at this time, than fuch a Trea- 
 tiie, to put fome Check to the exceeding Con- 
 fidence of fome certain Writers, and to vindi- 
 cate the ancient Truths of Chriftianity fo vi- 
 olently attacked. Upon thefe Confiderations 
 Mr. Bull thought , that he could not better 
 employ his Labour, efpecially at his leifure 
 
 Hours,
 
 282 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Hours, than in this moft important Work for 
 the Service of the Church : But he complain- 
 ed , that both through the ill State of his 
 Health, and through the great variety of other 
 Cares and Bufinefs lying upon his hands, he 
 had not been able to perfect: it for the Prefs as 
 he had defigned, when he printed his Reply 
 to Dr. Tully , neither could he for fome Years 
 afterwards, meeting with continual Obftacles 
 and Impediments. 
 
 ButJiis Friends not failing to challenge the 
 Treatife, Performance of what he had now fo publick- 
 
 vhen fitted . , , r , . r . , 
 
 for the Jy mentioned, and representing to him with- 
 , what danger there was in letting fome 
 er- Books ofSandiw, which did openly defend 
 the Arian to be the true Catholick Doftrine, 
 and that by the Tradition of the Ante-Nicene 
 Fathers, pafs among young Students of Divi- 
 nity without a proper Antidote , Mr. Bull 
 with great Earneftnefs refumed the Work, 
 read over all thofe Fathers again, and finifhed 
 it as now it is. After which he offered the 
 Copy to a Bookfeller, and he refuting it, to a- 
 nother , and after him to a third -, and none 
 being found willing to undertake the Impref- 
 fion, or to venture the Charge of it , he brought 
 it home, and laid the thoughts of printing it 
 wholly alide. For being but in low Circum- 
 flances, and having a large Family of Chil- 
 dren to fupport, it was not poflible for him to 
 furnifh out the Expence himfelf for printing, 
 
 as he was inclinable enough to have done had 
 
 * 
 he
 
 late Lord Bt/hop of St. David V. 283 
 
 lie been able. And fo this excellent Book might 
 have lain buried for ever , and never fo much 
 as once been heard of after this, had not a cer- 
 tain worthy Friend of the Author's, fome few 
 Years after, advifed him to put his neglefted 
 Copy into the hands of Dr. Jane , the Jtegitd 
 Profeflbr then of Divinity, in the Univerfity 
 of Ox fir d, and to fubmit the fame to his Gen* 
 fureandDifpofal. 
 
 Accordingly Mr. EuU took his Papers, he By 
 fays, as it were out of the Grave, and committed 
 them to the Profeflbr to do with them as he 
 (hould think fit. Who having carefully read &5 
 them over, was pleafed, not only to declare 
 his Approbation of them , for the fake of the 
 great Learning therein contained, but alfo ef- 
 feclually to recommend this Work, which had 
 afforded him fo much Satisfaction, to the Fa- 
 vour and Patronage of that great promoter of 
 Learning and Piety , Bifliop Fell. This great 
 and good Prelate, being not a little glad to hear 
 that the Holy Catholick Faith, in the moft fun- 
 damental Point of it, was fo learnedly defen- 
 ded againftfcme modern Pretenders to Antiqui- 
 ty, was prefently for encouraging the printing 
 of it, for a general Benefit , nor had he need 
 of Solicitation, to print a Book of this nature 
 at his own Expence, which fo highly tended 
 as he was fully perfwaded, to vindicate the 
 Honour of our Bleffed Lord, and the Veraci- 
 ty of his faithful WitncfTes in the earlie/l Ages 
 of Chriftjanity. 
 
 Thus
 
 284 The Life of Dr. George Bull,, 
 
 T nusm tne Year 1685 , there was publi- 
 from the Theatre in Oxford, the Bifliop 
 Pxford. thereof taking upon him the Charge of the Im- 
 preffion, this moft noble Defence of the $z- 
 tene Faith, out of the Writings of theCatholick 
 Dodors, who flourifhed within the three firft 
 Centuries of the Chriftian Church : Wherein 
 alfo the Conftantinofolitan Confejfion, concern- 
 ing the Holy Gboft, is incidentally confirmed 
 by the Testimonies likewife of the Ancients. 
 For whereas in the ancient Creeds and For- 
 mularies of Faith, the Deity of the Son is 
 principally and more largely declared, but 
 that of the Holy Ghoft is for the moft part on- 
 ly hinted at, and in a few Words : The lear- 
 ned Author made it his chief Care in thisTrea- 
 tife, to defend that rather than this, as confi- 
 dering, that if he could beget and confirm in his 
 Readers, the true Faith concerning the Son of 
 God, they might with eafe then be brought to 
 receive and continue in a right Confeflion, 
 concerning the Spirit of God alfo. 
 
 
 LI. The learned Petaviix had been at prodigi- 
 o*-v-xj ous pains indeed , in collecting all that the 
 what Peta- Chriitian Writers have faid, both before and 
 ZStaL after that Council, upon this Subjed: But af- 
 thtt sub- ter all, this moft laborious Work of his was fo 
 
 ifJLn'jf. far from giving Satisfaction, or advancing: 
 pgpeacaey . . & _ r , . ' . 
 
 Cacho- much the Caule tor which he undertook to 
 licks and Wr jte ^ as on the contrary, fome even fufpe- 
 Arians/ & Q & r he Author to be himfelf all the while no 
 
 better
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. DavidV. 
 
 better than a Covert Arian, and to have writ- 
 ten, even on purpofe to betray the Caufe for 
 which he appeared, than which nothing can 
 be more falfe : As any one may fdon convince 
 himfelf , that will be but at the pains to ex- 
 amine, what he hath written : Wherefore the 
 great Reviver of Arianifm in the laft Age, is 
 by our Author mod defervedly exploded, for 
 his mod confident AfTertion, that it was ina- 
 pofiible but Petaviw, muft have been firmly in 
 himfelf perfwaded, that the Trinity of the A- 
 rians, and not that of the Homooiifians, was an 
 Article of the Catlfolick Faith : Notwithftand- 
 ing on a double Account he was carried to de- 
 clare himfelf, though againft his Mind, for 
 the Homooufians rather than for the Arians } 
 namely, that he might both efcape all thofe 
 Mifchieis and Perfecutions, which he had rea- 
 fon to fear from the Church of Rome, in cafe 
 it could have been proved againft him, that he 
 had revolted from her Faith, to embrace Ari- 
 anifm 5 and that alfo the Arians might be a- 
 ble thence to bring a better Proof of their Do- 
 ftrine from a profefled Adverfary, and to 
 build even upon his Ground their own Su- 
 perftrudlure^ as that Writer hath endeavou- 
 red to do in his much boafted Book of Church 
 Hiftory , which by this very learned De- 
 fence of the Faith, as it was in the Council of 
 Nice declared and eftablilhed, is raoft fubftan- 
 tially confuted. 
 
 For
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Petamus was a Member of tl 
 Society, which is moft of all hated among us, 
 jan- and of whom nothing almoft can be faid fo 
 black, which will notprefently be believed by 
 vaft Numbers -, yet Mr. Buff was not for tak- 
 ing any advantage of this popular Odium, or 
 for charging a Perfon of his great Character in 
 the learned World, with the moft flagitious 
 Treachery, either from general Prejudices a- 
 gainft the Order whereof he was a Member, 
 or from particular Conjectures about his Me- 
 thod of managing this Controverfy. On the 
 contrary, he condemned Sandius for hisRaih- 
 nefs in paffing fc/ fevere a Cenfure, thinking 
 his Sufpicion groundlefs altogether, and that 
 it could proceed from nothing but an extreme 
 Partiality for his own Sect. 
 
 ais conje. If any Conjecture may be allowed of in fuch 
 a Cafe, there is I think none more probable, 
 'the than that which he hath advanced concerning 
 this learned Jefuite and this he did after a 
 nice and thorough Examination of his Work: 
 
 thers. it is, That Petavius muft have confulted in it 
 the Caufe of the Pope, rather than of Arius - r 
 and the Support of the prefent Church of Rome, 
 than of any one Sect : For fuppofing that the 
 Catholick Writers of the three firft Centuries 
 were almoft all of the fame Opinion , which 
 was afterwards condemned in Arius for Here* 
 lie, by the Council of Nice ^ or that they writ 
 after fuch a manner, as they might at leaft be 
 thought to hold the fame Opinion which he 
 
 did,
 
 late Lord Biftop of St. David's. 287 
 
 did, by their loofe way of exprefling them- 
 felves : It will thence eafily follow, as lie 
 hath truly * obferved, that there is very little 
 regard to be had to the Fathers of the three 
 firft Ages, to whom the Reformed Catholic!^ 
 generally do appeal, if fobe that the chief Ar- 
 ticles of the Chriftian Faith were not yet fuffi- 
 ciently inanifefted : And alfo , that general 
 Councils have a Power of making new Arti- 
 cles of Faith, or of nianifeflmg and declaring 
 them , as that Writer would rather have it 
 worded $ and confequently that all the Addi- 
 tions which have been tacked to the Primitive 
 Faith , by the pretended general Council of 
 Trent, ought to be received without exami- 
 ning. Now Petavtus, as well as fome other 
 great Men of his Order, may be fufpected by 
 the Proteftants, as having had fome fuch Biafs 
 as this in their Writings, without much breach 
 of Charity. Mr. Bull however, in oppoling 
 him, was very tender as to this Charge againft 
 him, not determining any thing in the mat- 
 ter, but leaving it to be decided by the Sear- 
 cher of all Hearts ^ and is not unwilling to 
 think, that poffibly he might have no Delign, 
 by his writing with fo little refped for the 
 Authority of the Ante-^lcene Fathers, to pro- 
 mote ^he Intereft either of Arianifm or Pope- 
 ry j but that it proceeded purely from a cer- 
 tain Boldnefs and Raihnefs in Cenfuring the 
 
 Proem*. . 8. 
 
 Anci-
 
 a88 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Ancients, which was familiar to him. But 
 howfoever this might be , moil certain it is, 
 that the modern Arians found themfelves not 
 a little gratified by his Labours ^ and the Or- 
 thodox on the other hand complained, that he 
 had wronged both the Nicene and the Ante- 
 Fathers. 
 
 LII. Now the very fame thing which was charg- 
 o^v-vj ed upon Petavius a Popifti , was unhappily 
 BOW Pcca- Jikewife charged upon Curcell&us a Proteftant 
 jwludedin Writer : And it cannot be denied, but that 
 thit contra- the Arians made their Advantage of boththefe 
 *. l earne d Authors, and endeavoured to perfwade 
 the World, that they were really of their fide 5 
 howfoever, for prudential Reafons, they might 
 think fit to difguife a little their own Senti- 
 ments. His Preface to the Works of Epifcopi- 
 wj, made him firft to be fufpeded, and Mare- 
 pus, an hot Calvinift, and one who had alfo a 
 perfonal Pique againft him, took thence occa- 
 fion of accufing him publickly of Herefy in 
 the Points of the Trinity and Incarnation. It 
 is true, that CurcelUus * complained, that 
 Mare/ins had injured him in a very unchrifti- 
 an Manner , and that his Accufation of him 
 was utterly falfe and ungrounded : And Ma- 
 refiut, in his Anti-Tmmts, having frequently 
 called him, an Jkti-Trintiarian, he made an- 
 
 Stephani Curcellai Quatcrnio Differ ugonumTheologicarum 
 rfus Samuclfm Marelium. Opus pofthurnum. Amflel. 1689. 
 
 fwer,
 
 late Lord Bi/hop of St. DavidV. 
 
 fwer, that he was very far from deferving that 
 Name, for as much as he could be no Antitri- 
 nitarian, or Enemy of the BleiTed Trinity, who 
 acknowledged the Doftrine thereof, as laid 
 down in the Holy Scriptures. He challenged 
 his Adverfary to (hew, that he had any ways 
 deviated from the Faith which was delivered 
 from- the Apoftles of Chrift, or even from the 
 Explication thereof, by the moft ancient and 
 approved Writers of the Church : Loudly af- 
 ferting, that the orthodox Doclrine concern- 
 ing Father, Son and Holy Ghoft, was by him 
 believed and maintained, according as it was 
 revealed to the Church} and that it was a 
 grofs Falfehood and Injuftice therefore to pre- 
 tend, that he was an Adverfary to it, or had 
 exprefled any manner of diflike to it by Word 
 or Writing. He pleaded moreover his Bap- 
 tifm in the Common and Catholick Form with 
 all Chriftians, and his folemn Profeflion when 
 grown up with the Church univerfal " That 
 " he believed in One God, the Father Almigh- 
 " 7, the Creator of Heaven and Earth , and 
 " in his only begotten Son, Jefus Chrift, in 
 " whom, befides the Humane Nature, there 
 " was alfo the Divine Nature, which not on- 
 u ly exifted before his Birth of the Virgin Ma-. 
 " j% but even from Eternity } and in theHo- 
 " ly Ghoft, who proceedeth from the Father, 
 " and is fent by the Son. 
 
 This is the Summary which he hath given us 
 of his Belief of the Holy Trinity, and which he 
 
 * T 
 
 4 U ex-
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 explaineth and defendeth by Arguments and 
 Teftimonies from Antiquity 5 to which he was 
 not fuch a Stranger as his Matter Epifcoptus, 
 having taken a great deal of pains to fift this 
 Matter as well as he could, and to run it up 
 to the head. For though he every where de- 
 clareth himfelf for flicking clofely to none but 
 the Scripture Account of this Article, and is 
 for difcarding thence the Ufe of Scholaftical 
 Terms in this whole Controverfy^ he is ne- 
 verthelefs bufied much to prove, that his Ex- 
 pofition thereof is conformable to that of the 
 Ancients, and no ways difagreeable to the 
 true Senfe of thofe very Terms, concerning 
 the Ufe whereof he had fome Scruples upon 
 him. 
 
 Thus if you take his own Account, there 
 would be no Man more Orthodox and Catho- 
 lick than he is in the Doctrine of the Trinity, 
 as alfo in that of the Incarnation of Chrift. 
 And he infifted, that both from the Pulpit and 
 from the Chair^ he had always taught and vin- 
 dicated that Faith, into which he had been 
 baptized, and which he had publickly profef- 
 fed in the Congregation , according to the 
 Form generally received j And did even teach 
 and vindicate the fame at that very time, when 
 the Charge of Anti-trinitarianifm was brought 
 againft him. Yea, he expretfed fo great a 
 Zeal for the Orthodox Doclrine in this great 
 Fundamental, as he would feem forward to 
 feal the Truth thereof, even with his Blood j 
 
 if,
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. DavidV. 
 
 if, as he faid, Godfbauld vouchfafe him this Ho- 
 nour. Not with (landing all this , it is notori- 
 oufly known , and that from his own very A- 
 pology, that he was no lefs an Enemy to the 
 firft Council of Nice than his Matter before 
 him, ifj not more than he , that he was nb 
 Friend at all to the Ufe of the Word Trinity j 
 that he fo explained himfelf concerning that 
 Myftery, as to aflert no more than a Specifical 
 Unity in the Divine Perfons j that he defended 
 the Caufe of Valentinits Gentilis, beheaded at 
 Bern in Switzerland, for Tritheifm, maintain- 
 ing his Dodrine to have been the fame with 
 that of the Primitive Fathers , particularly of 
 Ignatius, Jttjlin Martyr, Iren&us, Athenagoras, 
 Tertullian, and Clemens Alexandrinits , that 
 he impeached the Common (which he called 
 the Modern and Scholaftical) Doftrine of the 
 Trinity, for approaching fo very near Sabelli- 
 anifm, as hardly to be diftinguimed from it, 
 and charged it to be a thoufand Yeaf s younger 
 than that which was taught by Chrift, and his 
 Apoftles , that he exploded the Notion of Con- 
 fubflantiality^ in the Senfe in which it is no\V 
 generally taken, when applied to the Father 
 and Son, that he was very much afraid to have 
 his Mind perplexed with the divine Rela- 
 tions, or with the manner of Generation 
 and Proceffion in the Deity, or with Modes 
 of Subfiftence and Perfonalities, or with mu- 
 tual Conftiotifnefs, and the like^ and there- 
 fore was for difcarding at once, all fuch Terms 
 
 U 2 and
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 arid Phrafes as are not expfftjty legitimate 
 the facred Writers , that he fully believed the 
 Godhead of the Father to be more excellent 
 than that of the Son , or of the Holy Ghoft, 
 even fo far as to look upon this Superiority as 
 a thing unquestionable , and to appeal to the 
 confentient Teftimony of the Primitive Church 
 for evidence ^ and laftly, that he took care to 
 recommend Petavius, and the Author of Ire- 
 nicum Irenuorum, a learned Phyfician ofDant- 
 z,ich , whom I (hall have an occafion feveral 
 times hereafter to mention , to the perufal of 
 his Readers , for the fake of that Collecti- 
 on of Teftimonies which is to be found in 
 them, as wherein they might eafily find an 
 Account of the Primitive Faith, concerning thefe 
 great Articles. 
 
 The Defign of CnneUxus was evidently dif- 
 wus f erent f rom tnat f VrtWiw^ the one was to > 
 cur- reconcile the Differences about the Myfteries 
 us. o f our Religion, among the feveral forts of 
 Chriflians , the other was not to reconcile 
 them, but to put an End to the Controverfie 
 a fhorter way, by endeavouring to (hew the 
 neceffity of an abfolute Submiffion to Autho- 
 rity , for the determining Articles of Faith : 
 The one was to make the Scriptures the fole 
 Rule and Standard for Ecclefiaftical Communi- 
 on in this great Point -, the other was to make 
 the prefent Church of Rome the fole Arbiter 
 and Judge in this Caufe, and her Decrees de- 
 cifive, how little foever agreeing with the Lan*
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. Da vid V. 29 3 
 
 guage of Antiquity, and of the facred Writers 
 themfelves. But Mr. "Eull was not fatisfied at 
 all with the Defign either of the one or of the 
 other } for as much as he apprehended from 
 them both the like dangerous Confequences, 
 and the fame Ufe to be made by the Enemies 
 of the Catholick Faith. He thought Epifcopi- 
 us and CurcelUus attributed too little, and Pe- 
 tavius, and others of his Church too much, 
 to the Power and Authority of Ecclefiafti- 
 cal Synods, for the declaring of Articles of 
 Faith. 
 
 ' | 
 
 And it is hence plain, that the late Bifhop L1IL 
 of Meaux y with whom I had the honour to 
 be acquainted, and who is known to have had 
 a particular Efteem for our Author, is mifta- 
 ken, in fuppofing him to hold the Infallibility Meaux, 
 of this Council of Nice; for had the Bimop but 
 proved this once, all that Mr. Eull hath writ- 
 ten in defence of the Faith there eftablimed, 
 would have been altogether fuperfluous. 
 
 He had, it is true, a very great Regard for - Vo , 
 
 r* , ^ < - & c mm for the 
 
 Councils truly General, and in particular, tor ln f a ijjbj]i. 
 the Nicene and the Conjiantinopolitan^ not tee- ty of Gene- 
 ing any fufficient Reafon to objed againft their ^ ' m 
 Teftimony : Whence, allowing them to be the 
 competent Witneffes of the Faith and Practice ^ 
 of the Church at that time, as in the feveral that f 
 Parts of it acknowledged and received, he con- Nlcc - 
 eluded, that the folemn Atteftation of above 
 three hundred Witnefles at once, muft needs 
 
 U 3 be
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 be more authoritative, than the (ingle AfTeve- 
 tion of here arid there one occafionally, and 
 perhaps not accurate! y expreffing himfelf. For 
 having in his Proaemium taken notice, that the 
 Matter treated of in this firft general Council, 
 was the capital Article of the whole Chriftian 
 Religion *, namely, the Divinity of our Savi- 
 our's Feribn, as whether he were truly God, 
 or only a Creature , he addeth, " If in a 
 " Queftion offovaft importance as this, we 
 " can imagine, that all the Governours of the 
 " Church could fall into Errour fo prodigi. 
 " oufly, and deceive the People under them, 
 " how (hall we be able to vindicate the Vera-. 
 " city of our bleiledLord, promifing to be 
 " with his Apoftles, and in them with their 
 " Succeffbrs to the End of the World > A 
 " Promife which could not be true, feeing the 
 " Apoftles were not to live fo long , unlefs 
 " their Succeflbrs be here comprehended in 
 " the Perfons of the Apoftles themfelves. 
 Which he afterwards confirmeth, by a PafTage 
 out of Socrates * concerning fome of the de- 
 vout Fathers of this Council, which faith, that 
 even the unlearned ['fcTiwrat] of the Council 
 were Illuminated by God, and the Grace of the 
 Holy Ghojl, fo as they could not depart from the 
 Truth. Whereupon the late Bifhop of Meaux 
 f reciting this and the former PalTage , doth 
 
 * Lib. r. cap. 9. f Hifloire des Variations des Eglifes Pro- 
 teftaaces. Liv, xv. , ciii. Tom. ii, p. 593, 594. 
 
 tri-
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. David V. 
 
 triumph over his Adverfary not a little, whom 
 he fendeth to be inftruded by our Author, in 
 the Infallibility of the Council of Nice, in or- 
 der to bring in that of Trent. For the Bifliop 
 concluding it to be our Author's Opinion, that 
 it wasimpoffiblefor the Fathers of that Councii 
 to fall into Error, becaufe they were enlightned 
 with the Light of God's Spirit , without at- 
 tending as he ought to what went before, and 
 to what followeth afterwards, which might 
 have undeceived him, he inferreth, " Hence 
 " he [Mr. BuJi~\ (hews at once the Infallibili- 
 " ty of general Councils, both by Scripture 
 ' c and by the Tradition of the ancient Church: 
 " God blefs (continueth he) the learned Eutt^ 
 " and reward him for this fincere Confeflion, 
 " as alfo for the Zeal, which he hath made 
 " appear in defending the Godhead of Jefus 
 " Chrift : May he be delivered from thofe 
 " Prejudices which hinder him from opening 
 *' his Eyes to the Lights of the Catholick 
 " Church, and to the neceffary Confequences 
 " of the Truth by him confelfed. Thus far 
 the BiQiop. 
 
 Now the plain Truth of the Matter is noApiahjc 
 more than this, the aforementioned Author ^"""'ff' 
 the Irenuum Irenicorum, had the confidence to t h* mat- 
 call the Nicene Fathers, ~$ov&fidd conditores 
 and by fuch other Names ^ and by a great num- 
 ber of Paifages collected out of the more anci- 
 ent Fathers, had undertaken to make good his 
 Charge \ Curcell&us writing his Qiiaternio im- 
 U 4 me-
 
 Jbe Life of Dr. George 
 
 mediately after him, had therein declared that 
 thefe Teftimonies did feem to him unanfwe- 
 rable, as to the Preheminence at leaft of the 
 Father above the Son $ Sandius had gone yet 
 much farther, labouring to heap up all the 
 Scandal that was poflible againft this Council j 
 and imny others of inferior Name , borrow- 
 ing their Weapons from thefe Authors, had 
 been pelting at it as hard as they could : All 
 which our Mr. Bull knew not how to digeft, 
 he faith, but as often as he confidered the in- 
 credibility that fuch a Number of the Paftors 
 of the Church, met together from all the Parts 
 of the World, where Chriftianity was planted, 
 could in a Matter of the greatefl moment, even 
 in the very Foundation it felf of Chriftian 
 Faith andWorfhip, be either deceived or decei- 
 vers -, or that Chrift mould not fo far remem- 
 ber his Promife, as by his Spirit to abide with 
 the Apoftles and their Succelfors to the End of 
 the World, fo as to guard them at leaft from 
 laying another Foundation, than what he him- 
 felf had laid , But reflecting hereupon, could 
 not forbear exprefiing a fort of Horror and In- 
 dignation , for their ftupendous Ignorance , or 
 rather impious MaJnefs, who were not afraid 
 furioujly to rail at thofe venerable Fathers in 
 publkk* as if they had either malicioufly or ig- 
 norantly corrupted the Catholick Dotfrine con- 
 cerning Chrift, which was taught bythe Apojlles, 
 find conftantly profejfed in the Church for three 
 'Centuries , and had impofed a new Faitlp upon 
 
 the
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David'/. 
 
 the Chriflian World. This was fo very (hock- 
 ing to all pious Ears, in the Opinion of Mr. 
 Bull, that he could not bear the thoughts of it 
 with any patience , and thence he falleth 
 fometimes into Expreflions, that to fome will 
 feem to have more of fire in them than they 
 ought to have, when he is fpeaking of thefe 
 Men , whom he confidereth as the profefled 
 Adversaries to the Dignity and Prerogative of 
 our Saviour, and are treated accordingly by him 
 .every where as fuch. And whereas Sabmus the 
 Macedonian, had anciently attacked the Credit 
 of this Council, by difpa raging the Fathers that 
 fate in it, fora Company of rude and illiterate 
 Perfons, who underftood not what they came 
 thither about , though by the Account which 
 Eufebius hath given, we may be certain, there 
 were not wanting in it Men of Senfe and Ca- 
 pacity, Mr. Bull thought it not amifs to an- 
 fwer Sabinus and his Followers, in the very 
 Words which the Hiftorian Socrates had done 
 before y thereby implying, that notwithftand- 
 ing they might be fin] pie and plain Perfons, 
 without much Learning, yet they were never 
 the worfe WitnefTes for that, and efpecially 
 (ince it was pioufly credible, that God would 
 alfo readily aflift their honeft Endeavours after 
 the Truth , and preferve them by his Grace 
 from falling into any pernicious Miftake, 
 wherein the whole Church would neceffarily 
 t)e involved. 
 
 Neither
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 n ^either did Mr. Bull fay, that he was of the 
 en here- Opinion ofSocrates, but only did declare what 
 to the he took to be his meaning, which yet doth 
 not come up at all to that of the Bifhop of 
 Meaux : And having told this, Mr.?/#then con- 
 cludeth j " but if any be not willing to admit 
 " this Hypothefis, [of the illuminating Grace 
 " of the Holy Spirit, aflifting a Council of 
 " Bifhops that is truly univerfalm the neceffa- 
 " ^Articles of Faith] the Argument of So-. 
 " crates may be put into this Form following $ 
 " fuppofe the Ficene Fathers to have been lie- 
 " ver fo ignorant and unlearned, yet the great- 
 " eft part of them were pious Men : And it 
 " is unreafonable to believe, that fo many ho: 
 " ly and approved Men, being met together 
 " out of all parts of the Chriftian World, 
 " could wickedly confpire together to innovate 
 " the publickly received Faith , in the very 
 M principal Article of Chriftianity ^ it being 
 " not pofiible to fuppofe , that the fimpkft 
 <c there, could be fo very ignorant, as not to 
 " underftand the veryfirft Rudiments concern- 
 * c ing the Holy Trinity, which were wont to 
 <c be delivered to the very Catechumens, or 
 " not to know what they themfelves had re- 
 " ceived concerning it from their Predecef- 
 " fors. Since how defective foever they might 
 be in any other part of Knowledge, he con- 
 cluded it impoflible for them to be uninflru- 
 fted in the firft and moft fundamental Dodrine 
 of their Religion. This was then, and con- 
 tinued
 
 late Lord Bijlop'of St. David V. 2 <? a 
 
 tinued afterwards, to be the true Senfe of <ur 
 Author, concerning General Councils , and in 
 particular concerning this of A T /c* .- Let the 
 Advocates of the Church of Rame make the 
 beft of it they can. And if this be not thought 
 a fufficient Vindication, taken from the very 
 Book it felf by the Bimop appealed to, let the 
 Reader farther coniider, that it is the whole 
 Scope of his mpft learned Defence of the firft 
 general Council, to (hew t that the Fathers 
 thereof did not Err, in the Determination of 
 the Article by them examined $ both becaufe 
 this their Determination was fupported by the 
 more ancient Teftimonies of their Predecef- 
 fors, and becaufe it vas morally impoflible 
 for them, under their Circumftances, to have 
 erred therein j and much lefs for them to have 
 confpired amongft themfelves, to change and 
 new model the Faith, which had been univer- 
 fally received in all the Churches. All which 
 would have been perfectly needlefs, had he 
 defigned to prove the Infallibility of this 
 Council $ for this once proved , all the reft 
 mnft have been a fuperfluous Labour, and 
 confequently his whole Book would have been 
 to no purpofe. Nay, even fuppofing that he 
 was fully of the Opinion , that there is an in- 
 fallible Affiftance of the Holy Spirit, which 
 attendeth every Council that is truly General, 
 fo as to keep them from erring in Matters of 
 Faith , yet could he not for this be ever the 
 nearer to the Church of Ronie y or to the Com- 
 munion
 
 300 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 munion of the Galilean Biftiop, as the fame is 
 at prefent limited by the Council of Trent 5 
 fince in the very fame Premonition he after- 
 wards faith exprefly, * That the Trent-CoN- 
 VENTION is to be called by any other Name, 
 rather than hy that of a General COUNCIL , 
 and greatly complaineth of fuch Romift Wri- 
 ters and Advocates for the Decrees thereof, as 
 make no Confcience of building up thereby 
 their Pfeudo-Catholick Faith, upon the Ruins 
 of the truly Catholick Faith. Nothing in the 
 World can be more exprefs than this, efpeci- 
 ally all things being laid together. But if 
 to any one this be not yet fatisfaftory , let 
 him but for his farther Information carefully 
 read over his whole Introduction, and our Au- 
 thor's Anfwer to the Bimop of Meaux\ Que- 
 ries, printed in the firft Volume of Dean 
 Hickes's Controverfial Letters. 
 
 LIV. Now it is no wonder that a Bifhop of the 
 Church of Rome, writing a Hiftory of the Varia- 
 tionsoftheProteftantChurches, fhould be very 
 glad to take all Advantages againft a learned 
 Proteftant, writing a Defence of the Faith 
 Writers, w^ifa was Synodically declared by a general 
 Council : But it may well deferve to be won- 
 dered at, that there fhould be any who pretend 
 to receive the Faith, and yet at the fame time 
 
 * Tridcntina conventio quid vis potius quam Generate Conci- 
 lium diceada eft. Pimm . 18. 
 
 ftick
 
 late Lord Bi/hop of St. DavidV. 30 1 
 
 ftick not to vilifie the Council wherein it was 
 eftabliftied, or rather more properly declared. 
 Some fuch however among Proteftants there 
 are. It is plain Epifccpiu* was far from being 
 a Socinian, as our Author truly obferveth, 
 having expresfly written againft, and folidly 
 overthrown the fundamental Article of Soci- 
 nianifm , and endeavoured from the Teftimo- 
 ny of Scripture, to (hew his Orthodoxy in the 
 Doclrine of the Blefled Trinity $ but the De- 
 fender of the ~$icene faith is, it feems, more 
 than a little difpleafed at him, for his courfe, 
 and moft unhandfome Treatment * of the $*- 
 cene Fathers : And the Theological Inftituti- 
 ons of this learned Remonftrant, being about 
 that time generally in the Hands of our Stu- 
 dents of Divinity in both Univerfities, as the 
 beft Syftem of Divinity that had appeared, Mr. 
 Bull had reafon to fear, that many by reading 
 a Book fo well approved of, might fuck in 
 thence a very mean Opinion of thofe venera- 
 ble Fathers , and not only of them, but of 
 moft, or all of the Primitive Writers and Wit- 
 nefles , both preceding and fucceeding them } 
 and thought it incumbent upon him to wipe 
 off the Calumny which he faw caft upon them, 
 at the fame time that he defended the com- 
 mon Faith, as by them delivered and ex- 
 plained. 
 
 * Epifcop. Inftic. Theolog. Lib. 4. cap. 54. Bull. Proam 
 defcu. fid. Nic, . 5. 
 
 This
 
 s o 
 
 502 ^be Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 This was the more necefTary, becaufe the 
 fy^ocini" Rernonftrant Writers, among whom there 
 an .md were Men of excellent Learning and Parts, 
 now ac q u i r d a confiderable Reputation in 
 of our Univerfities, by the means of fome great 
 amon us : A n d therefore (ince Grot'ius, 
 fhts, Curce\l&us> and others of them, 
 they were willing to appear as Orthodox 
 a any in the Article of our Saviour's Deity, 
 did yet fet fail feveral things, which the Ad- 
 verfaries thereof greedily catched up, as making 
 for them , Mr. Bull was much in the right to 
 prepare an Antidote againft the lurking Poi- 
 fon, which might fecretly inftill it felf into 
 the Minds of unwary Readers. This he hath 
 done in his excellent Defenfe of the Faith of 
 this Council ^ and yet more in his Judgment 
 of the Catholtck Church \ 3tc. as hereafter will 
 be (hewn. Of the firft of thefe, which was 
 written defignedly and diredlly againft Petavi- 
 H-rtheJefuit, Dr.Zuickera. Socinian, and&77z- 
 *#*, or Sanden an Arian, there are fo many 
 things to be faid, mould one fet about the 
 giving an exad ftate of the Controverfy, with 
 refped: to the different Interefts and Views of 
 thefe three learned Men, as they are confidered 
 by this our very learned Defender of the Ni- 
 cene Faith, that it is thought better to cut the 
 Matter (hort between them \ leaving the criti- 
 cal Examination of the whole, to them that 
 will take the pains to Scrutinize the Jefuit by 
 the Fathers, the Socinian by the Jefuit, the 
 
 Arian
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. DavidV. 303 
 
 Arian by the Socinian , and all three by 
 their Anfwerer, and the original Authori- 
 ties. 
 
 Now the four principal Pillars of the Ca- LV. 
 
 tholick Dodrine concerning CHRIST, main-\^v~^j 
 rained and defended in this Book, are his ^ re ^^fr 
 xijlenc6j his Divine Substantiality ^ his Eterni- t f }e C a t b> 
 ty, and his Subordination as Son. For againft llc k f**tk 
 the Socinians he proveth, that the Son of God chrift!"^ 
 di-dpreextfl before he was born of the Virgin, 
 and even before the World alfo was, by many 
 great Authorities. And againft the Arians, he 
 fheweth how this Son of God is not of any 
 created and changeable EiTence, but of the ve- 
 ry fame Nature with God his Father : and fo 
 is rightly called, very God of very God, and of 
 one Subftance with the Father. Alfo againft 
 the fame he demonftrateth, how this Confub- 
 ftantial Son of God, muft have had a Coeter- 
 nal Exiftence with the Father. And laftly, 
 againft the Tritheifts and SabelJians, he argu- 
 eth the neceflity of believing the Father, to be 
 the Fountain, Original, and Principle of the 
 Son, and that the Son is hence Subordinate to 
 the Father. 
 
 Which four Articles being eftablifhed in this And con- 
 Treatife, the Heads of the Catholick Dodrine, ia * tbe 
 concerning the HOLY GHOST, do thence eafi- choft. 
 ly alfo unfold themfelves ^ and are thefe ac- 
 cording as he hath explained them here, 
 2 though
 
 304 The Life of Dr. George 
 
 though but incidentally. I. * The Holy Ghofl 
 is not a mere Energy of the Father, but a di- 
 ftind divine Perfon. II. This divine Perfon 
 is of the fame Nature and Eflence with the Fa- 
 ther and the Son. III. He not only preexi- 
 fted before the World, but is Eternal as the Fa- 
 ther is Eternal. Yet> IV. He is not felf ori- 
 ginated, but proceedeth from the Father eter- 
 nally as his original, and is fent by the Son. 
 Thefe are the four capital Points, concerning 
 the Faith in the Holy Ghoft, as defended by 
 our Author, which fuppofe the Proof of the 
 fore-going Articles concerning the Son-, about 
 which therefore it was necefTary he fhould be 
 very large. 
 
 'An Account Now that we may the better comprehend his 
 EdTj* The- whole Defign in this elaborate Work, it will 
 fa con- not be unufeful to fet down the entire Plan at 
 Preexl^ once an ^ to ^ a Y together the feveral Thefes 
 ftence of which he hath undertaken herein to defend, a- 
 chrift. gainft both Arians and Socinians on one hand, 
 as alfo againft Sabellians and Tritheifts on the 
 other. His frfl Thefts is this : The Perfon 
 called Jefus Chrift before ever be had that 
 Name, or was born of the Bleffed Virgin Mary^ 
 ka d a real Exiftence in a far more excellent Na- 
 ture than the Hitman, and therein did appear to 
 the Holy Men of old, as a Fore-token ofhisfu- 
 
 *Seft. i. Cap. 2. N. 4. Seft. 2. Cap. 3. N, 13. N. i<?. 
 Cap. 4. N. 8. Cap. 5. N. 9. uiq, ad finem. 
 
 tUfff
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David'/. 305 
 
 iure Incarnation, and did prefide over, and bad 
 care of the Church, which was to be redeemed 
 with bis Blood, fo that from the beginning of the 
 World, the whole order of the divine QEcono- 
 my was through him all along tranfa&ed : Tea, 
 that even before the very Foundation of the World y 
 be was adually prefent with God his Father , 
 and that through him all this Univerfe was cre- 
 ated. This he faith, is the unanimous Do- 
 ftrine of all the Fathers of the three firfl Cen- 
 turies, nor is the Truth of it denied by the 
 Arians, But againft the Socinians, he pro- 
 veth firft, That all the divine Apparitions in 
 the Old Teftament, are by thefe ancient Wri- 
 ters generally explained, concerning the Son 
 of God. For Proof of which, heappealeth to 
 Jujlin Martyr, Irenxus, Theophilus Antiocbe- 
 nus, Clemens Alexandrinus, Tertullian, Origeri, 
 Cyprian, and the very ancient Author of the 
 Book de Trinitate. And, that this continued 
 to be the Doclrine of the Catholick Church 
 after the Council of Nice, he citeth Atbanafi- 
 itf, Hilary, Phtlajlrius, Chryfoftome, Ambrofe, 
 Auguflin, Leo the Great, and Theodoret. After 
 which, he proveth alfo, the aclual Exiflence 
 of the divine Logos before the World was 
 made, and the Creation thereof by him, from ^ 
 the Teflimony of the Apoftolical Fathers and 
 others. And laftty, he proveth * againft the 
 Arians, that they herein betray their own 
 
 * Epilog. Opcr. Univ. p. 291. 
 
 /- ^O i f 
 
 X Gaule,-
 
 306 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Caufe, by granting the Father to have made 
 all things by his Son out of nothing ^ fince no- 
 thing is more abfurd, than to fuppofe that a 
 Creature, which is itfelfmade out of nothing, 
 fuch as by them the Son is conceived to be, 
 can have fuch a Power communicated to it, as 
 is not lefs than Infinite, even to the producing 
 other Creatures inflrumentally out-of nothing-, 
 and fince nothing alfo tendeth more to revive 
 the Primitive Her'efy, or rather Blafphemy of 
 the very word fort of Gnofticks, who fancied 
 the World to have been created, at lead inflru- 
 mentally, by certain Angels, and inferiour De- 
 miurgick Powers : But more efpecially, for 
 as much as the primitive CatUolick Writers, 
 even before the ftirs about Arius, have from 
 the Work of Creation common to the Son with 
 the Father, inferred the common Divine Na- 
 ture of them both, and efpecially averred, 
 that God created the World by nothing that 
 was without him, but by his Word only, which 
 was with him and in him, 
 
 
 
 LVI. His fecond Thefis is this, That it is the con- 
 ^^^^^flant and unanimous Opinion of the Catholick 
 ffbfsTh 1 * W r ' tters * f or f b? three fir ft Centuries, that the 
 fa concern- SonofGod is Coiifubftantial to God the Father ^ 
 ing the not ofjtny created or mutable Effence, but of the 
 ftantislity very felf fame Divine and Incommunicable Ra- 
 f the ture with his Father, and fo he is true God of 
 vitbGtf true God. This z^rticle of the Confubftdnfiali- 
 
 - ty of the Father and the Son, being that up- 
 j . -> * 
 
 oa
 
 late Lorcl Bifbop of St. DavidV. 307 
 
 oh which the whole Controverfy of the Ca- 
 tholicks with, the Arians doth turn j our Au- 
 thor thought it worth his while to treat the 
 fame more largely and diftindly, than thefor- 
 mer,, which is granted by the Arians to the 
 Catholicks, After therefore the * Explicati- 
 on of his Thefis, and Vindication of the Term 
 made ufe of By the Nicene Fathers, he begin- 
 neth with the Ecclefiaftical Writers of the A- 
 poftolical f Age, and fheweth, the Senfe of 
 St. Barnabas, St. Hermas, and St. Ignatius in 
 this Matter, and || vindicateth St. Clement of 
 Rome, and St. Pofycarp 9 from the Mifrepre- 
 fentations of Z&ttkeru* and Sdridiris. Then 
 he proceedeth lower to |||| Jitflin Martyr, out 
 of whom he bringeth abundance of Teflimo- 
 nies, too hard for the Arians as well as Soci- 
 nians ever to get over. After whom, he calleth 
 inforWitneiFes, Atbenagoras, TatianandTbe- 
 ophilus of Antioch. His next Evidence, for the 
 Sons being of the fame, divine Nature and Ef- 
 fence with God the Father, is * St. lren&ns y 
 who is a very clear one. f Clemens Alexan- 
 dnnus, who followeth him, may not feem per- 
 haps fo clear altogether , neverthelefs, he is 
 vindicated againft the Exceptions of Ituettus^ 
 Petavitu, and Sandius. And fome Teftimo- 
 nies are brought out of his Works, for the 
 Confubftantiality of the whole Trinity, which 
 
 * Scft. ii. Cap. i. f Cap. ii. || Cup. iii. |!'| Cap. iv. 
 * Cap. v. f Cap. vi* 
 
 X 2 are
 
 308 The Life of Dr. George Bull, * 
 
 are plain enough. After thefe Witnefles for 
 the Truth of his Thefis, he examined* 
 * Tertullian> and after him f Cams and Hip- 
 folytus, concerning what Tradition they had 
 received as to this Article : and then is very 
 ftdl in his Vindication' of || Origen, from an 
 Imputation commonly caft upon him, proving 
 out of his undoubted, and moft accurate, and 
 uncorrupted Work againft Celfus, that his Do- 
 ftrinc, concerning the true and proper Divi- 
 nity of the Son of God, was moft Catholick, 
 and altogether according to the Nice?ie Faith. 
 That the holy Martyr ||| Cyprian, that -Nova- 
 tion, or the Author of die Book de Trmitate, 
 among Tertttllians Works, that Tbeognojlus 
 the Alexandrian^ that * DionyfitM of Rome, 
 and the other of Alexandria, were of the. fame 
 Sentiment with the Ritene Fathers as to this 
 Point, he hath likewife endeavoured at large 
 to (hew. Which he hath farther confirmed, 
 by the Profeffion of Gregory , called f Thau- 
 wiaturgus, and by Arguments drawn from the 
 j| Synodical Epiftles of fix Bifhops to Paulus 
 Ssiffiofatenjis^ notwithstanding what is objected 
 by Petavius and SanJius j and from the Rela- 
 tions concerning St. Pieriits of Alexandria^ and 
 St. Vamphilus of Cefarea, with St. Lucianus of 
 Antioch, and St. Methoditt* of Tyrus ^ and from 
 Obfervntions upon fome PafTages of |||| Arnobius 
 
 * Cap. vit. f Cap. viii. || Cap. ix. Hli ^P- x * 
 * Cap. xi. f Cap. xii. {} Cap. xiii. |,ij Cap. xiv. 
 
 A and
 
 lare LorjP'Bifhop of St. David V. 309 
 
 and La&antius. And thus the Doftrine of 
 the Son's Confubjlantiality^ being eftabliftied by 
 the conferment Suffrages of the Ante-lsicene 
 
 ^^ o 
 
 . Fathers, taken either from- their Works or 
 Fragments that are preferved, his Coeiernity 
 with God the Father, is by necefiary Confe- 
 quence inferred, which is the Subjed of the 
 following Sedion. 
 
 Now whereas the ancient Church Writers And con- 
 did differently exprefs themfel ves on this Point, c " 1!n ? h .' s 
 while yet he will have it, that there was noi 
 difference in their Meaning ^ he hath proved, 
 I. That the better ami greater part of the Chri- 
 flian Doffors, who lived before the Council of 
 Nice, did openly , clearly , and perfpiawufty, 
 without any windings, teach and prof efs the TO ' 
 ffwctthof of the Son^ that is^ his Coeternal Exi- 
 flence with God the Father. II. That fame Ca- 
 tholic k Writers , more ancient than the Niceae 
 Council, feem to attribute a certain Nativity to 
 the Son of God^ as God, whicfc fumetime began^ 
 and jiifl preceded the Creation of the World : 
 But that thefe notwithftanding were very wide 
 from the Opinion of Arms. " For if (faith he) 
 " their Sayings are accurately weighed, it will 
 " appear, that they {pake of a Nativity not 
 " Real and properly fo called , whereby the 
 ' Son received a beginning of his Subftance, 
 '* [uTroVa^s] and Subfiftence ^ butofa^7/r^ 
 " live and metaphorical one : That is, their 
 " meaning was only this, that the Logos^ or 
 " divine Word, which from before all Ages 
 
 X 3 " (or
 
 3 1 o The Life of Dr. George BuU 5 
 
 " (or rather from all Eternity) did, as being 
 " nothing but God, exift in and with God the 
 " Father , as the Coeternal Offspring of his 
 " Eternal Mind, then when he was about to 
 c; create the World, came forth unto operati- 
 " on [KO.T inpyeiav] or effectually, and fo 
 " proceeded to the Conftitution (and For mat i- 
 " on) of all things therein, for the manifefling 
 " himfelf and his Father to the Creatures : 
 *' And that by reafon of this Pro^redion \v&*- 
 " tevni] he is in Scripture called, the Son of 
 *' God, and his fa ft Begotteii. III. That fome 
 of the Cathclick DoBors, who lived after the 
 Arian Controversy was fprung up, and flrenuoufy 
 oppofed themfelves to the Herefy of the Ariomani- 
 tes, neverthelefs refufed not to exprefs themselves 
 according to r#tfSentiment,0r rather according to 
 the manner of explaining their Sentiment, held 
 by thofe primitive Fathers jujl before mentioned. 
 For thefe alfo, as he evidently iheweth, have 
 acknowledged that Progrejfion out of the Fa- 
 ther of the Logos , that; exifted always with 
 the Father, to create all this Univerfe j which 
 fome of them have called by the Name ^uy- 
 KOLTd&aais , that is, his Condehenfion : And 
 
 j * B 
 
 have confefTed, that even with refped to this 
 ProgreJJion, the Word was born as it were of 
 God the Father, and is called in Scripture, the 
 Fir ft begotten of every Creature. IV. That 
 Tertullian indeed, had the boldnefs to write in 
 exprefs terms, FuifTe tern pus, quando filius 
 Dei non eiTet, that there was a Time when the
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David /.* 3 1 1 
 
 Son of God was not. But then, firft it is plain 
 that this Writer, though otherwife of a great , 
 Geivns, and no Ids Learning, fell away from 
 the Carholick Church into Herefy . and it is 
 very uncertain, which Books he writ when he 
 was a .Catholick, which when he was inclin- 
 ing towards Herefy, and which laftly, when 
 he was a downright Heretick. Then again 
 Tertitllian feems to have brought forth that 
 Saying only problematically, or by way of 
 Difputation, [ayuvirixw] and in the Conflict 
 with his Adverfary, as it were playing about 
 the Word Son : fo as though he may feem 
 absolutely to deny the Son's Eternity, yet all 
 the while he doth mean no more at the bot- 
 tom, than thofe other Fathers, that have been 
 before mentioned * ^ namely, that that Divine 
 Perfon, who is called the Son ofGod^ notwith- 
 Itanding that he never but exifted with the 
 Father, was yet then firft declared to be the 
 Son, when he proceeded forth from the Father, 
 in order to make or conftitute the Univerfe. 
 Certain it is, that the fame Tertttllian elfe- 
 where, in many places philofophizeth altoge- 
 ther as a good Catholick, concerning the Sons 
 Coeternity^ the Supereminency of the Subject 
 conlidered. And as for LaBantius^ who fome- 
 where not obfcurely afcribeth, a beginning of 
 Existence to the Son of God, his Eiteem and 
 Authority in the Church of God is but very 
 
 * Seft. ii. Cap. 5,6,7,$. 
 
 X 4 fmall,
 
 3 1 2 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 faiall, for as much as he was uninftru&ed in 
 the Scriptures, and was furnimed with but a, 
 fmall Share of Chriftinn Learning. But more- 
 over, we muft neceffarily conclude, that ei- 
 ther thofe places in the Writings of Lan&an- 
 ?z5, which feem to make againft the Son's E- 
 ternity, were corrupted by fome Manicbean 
 Heretick, or elfe that Laftanthts himfelf was 
 certainly infeded with the Herefy of Manes. 
 And after all, it muft be owned, that even he 
 too hath yet fomewhere delivered a founder 
 Opinion concerning the Eternity of the Logos. 
 All which Particulars, our Author hath di- 
 tfindly confideredtin the laft Chapter of this 
 third Seclion. The firft of thefe Articles he 
 hath illuftrated and confirmed, by a very noble 
 Paifage out of St. Ignatius ., as alfo by feveral 
 plain and exprefs Teftimonies of Jnjlin Marty r, 
 Iren&us , Clemens Alexandrinus and Origen ^ 
 and likewife by many other concurring Suffra- 
 ges of the Fathers, Greek and Latin, of the 
 third Century, or thereabouts. The fecond 
 Article he clears up, by a rnoft accurate Expli- 
 cation of the Opinion of Athenagoras^ concern- 
 ing the Sons Eternity and ProgreJJion ^ as alfo 
 ofTatian a nd Theopbilus Antiocbenus, whom he 
 proveth as to the main, to have been Sound and 
 Catholick in this Point. The fame he hath 
 made out alfo, concerning St. Hippcfytus the 
 Martyr : and hath fully reprefented the Sen- 
 timent hereupon of the ancient Anonymous 
 Author, concerning tfo Trinity, afcribed to No* 
 
 vatian
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David'/. 313 
 
 vatian and Tertullian. The Third Article he 
 hath eftablifhed and illuftrated pretty largely, 
 by Testimonies from the Catholick Fathers, 
 who flourifhed after the rife of the Arian Con- 
 troverfy , as particularly from the great Ettfe- 
 bius of Cefarea, from Socrates, from Athanajius 
 himfelf, from an Epiftle of fome Arian Pref- 
 byters, and Deacons, extant both in him and 
 in Hilary^ from Zeno^ Bithop of Verona, be- 
 fides the E^piftle of Conjlantine the Great, to 
 the l^i comedians, againft Eufebius and Tfegras, 
 and other confiderable Materials out of the 
 fore-cited Attiantfms. The Fourth Article be- 
 ing no lefs folidly and perfpicuonfly proved by 
 him ; he concluded! with an Epilogue ground- 
 ed upon a Saying of Sijlnmw^ reported by * So- 
 cratffs. That the Ancients did ftiidioufly take; 
 beed^ not to attribute any beginning of Exigence 
 to the Son of God, because they conceived 
 bim to be COETERNAL with the Father. For 
 it appears by him , of the fix Ante-Nicene 
 Writers ( Lafitantius not being reckoned) that 
 fpeak in the moft fufpicious manner, no lefs 
 than fve of them, namely, Athenagoras, Ta~ 
 tian, Theophilus, Hippolytw, and the Author 
 of the ancient Book, dt Trinitate, have open- 
 ly profelFed , that the divine Logos was with 
 God the Father from everlafting. And even 
 Tertullian himfelf, who is the Jixtb, after a 
 great deal of round-about Work, is found to 
 
 Hid. Ecclef. Lib. r. Cap. 10. 
 
 fit
 
 3 f 4 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 fit down at laft in the common Opinion, as 
 he calls it, that is, in the Githolick or Ortho- 
 dox Notion, and there to acquiefce : accord- 
 ing as he hath expresfly aiTerted againft the 
 Talent inians , who were the Fore-runners of 
 Arius. No doubt but that there were alfo 
 many other monuments of Antiquity, which 
 were feen and read by Sijinnins, who was 
 known to be a Perfon of great Learning * in 
 the Ecclefiaftical Writers, as particularly of 
 Oiiadratus^ An (tides, Melt'tades, Melho^ &c. 
 which now are loft , but might have ferved not a 
 Jittle to the farther clearing up of this Theiis, 
 had their Works come down to us. From this 
 Determination of the Eternal Exigence of the 
 Logos, or Word in and with the Father, he 
 proceeded! in the laft place, to confider his Su- 
 bordination, and dependence upon the Father, 
 whofe Word he is. 
 
 LVII. Now concerning the Subordination of the 
 Son, as to his Original from the Father: Mr. 
 ftull hath laid down and proved thefe three foi- 
 a lowing Thefes, viz. i. " f That Decree of the 
 to the " Ricene Council, by which it is declared, 
 
 " is generally approved of by the Catholick 
 " Dodors , both by them that lived before, 
 " and them that lived after that Council : 
 
 Sozom. Hifl Ecckfiaft. Lib, vii. Cap. 12. f Seft. iv. 
 . i. 
 
 ^ For
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V. 315 
 
 fc For they all with one confent have taught, 
 ct that the divine Nature and Perfections do a- 
 e gree to the Father and Son, not Collaterally 
 " or' 'Co-ordinately r , but Subordinate!? : That 
 " is, that the Son hath indeed the fame divine 
 " Nature common with the Father, but hath 
 " it communicated from the Father, fo as the 
 ," father alone may have that divine Nature 
 " from bitnfslfi or from no other be fides, but 
 *' the Son from the Father-^ and confeqtiently, 
 " that the Father is the Fountain, Original 
 " and Principle of the Divinity, which is in 
 " the Son. 2. * The Catholick Writers, both 
 " they that were before, and they that werp 
 " after the Council of Rice, have unanimoufly 
 " declared, God the Father to be greater than 
 " the Son , even according to his Divinity : 
 " yet this not by Nature indeed, or by eflential 
 " Perfection, which is in the Father,and is want- 
 " ing in the Son ^ but only by Fatherhood, of 
 e his being the Author and Original , for as 
 " much as the Son is from the Father, not the 
 " Father from the Son. 3. The Dodrine of the 
 " Subordination of the Son to the Father, as to 
 " his Origination and Prmcipiation, the Ancients 
 " thought to be moft ufeful a and even alto- 
 " gether necellary to be known and believed, 
 " that by this means, the God-head of the Son 
 *' might be fo alferted, as the Unity of God 
 f c neverthelefs, and the divine Monarchy might 
 
 Cap. if. 
 
 ftill
 
 3 1 6 The Life of Dr. George Bull y 
 
 <c (till be prefer ved inviolate. For as much as 
 " notwithftanding the Name and Nature are 
 " common to Two, that is, to the Father and 
 * to the Son, yet becaufe one is the Principle 
 " of the other, from whom he is propagated, 
 " and that by internal not external Produ- 
 * c ftion , it thence followeth, That God may 
 w rightly be faid to be but one God. And 
 " the fame Ancients believed moreover , that 
 " the very fame Reafon did hold like wife as 
 " to the Godhead of the Holy Ghoft. This 
 is the Sum of his Dodrine, of the divine Mo- 
 narchy and Subordination in the Blefled Tri- 
 nity, fo as not to Men either the Confubftan- 
 tiality or Coeternity of the Son and Spirit with 
 the Father. For though he maintained that 
 there are in the Deity Three really diftincl 
 Hypoftafes or Perfons, he no lefs ftrenuoufly 
 infifteth, that there is and can be but Ons 
 God -, firft, becaufe there is but one Fountain 
 or Principle of the Godhead, viz. The FA- 
 THER, who only is ^AuTo'Gg-] God of and 
 from bimfelf, the SON and HOLY GHOST de- 
 riving from him their Divinity : And then 
 becaufe the SON and HOLY GHOST are fo de- 
 , P^ rived from the Fountain of the Divinity, as 
 
 ftrineofthenot to b&feparate or feparable from it, but al- 
 ways to exift therein moft intimately united. 
 
 Under each of thefe three hfrTbefes, there 
 are fome coniiderable Obfervations made by 
 * our Author, from the Catholick Dociors of 
 
 Ancoche- the Church, both before and after the rife 
 
 r of
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David'/. 317 
 
 cArianifm , without athoroughUnderftanding 
 of which, it will be impofiible ever to fettle 
 this Matter to Satisfaction. In treating the firft 
 of them, he hath learnedly and folidly confu- 
 ted the unreafonable and uncatholick Notion 
 of the Moderns, which maketh the Son afelf- 
 dependent Principle of Divinity (and by con- 
 fequence another God) by averting and de- 
 fending, that he may properly be called 'Aufo- 
 fig., as well as the Father is, and that he is 
 truly God of himftlf, and not God of God, as 
 the Nicene Fathers confefs him. This Opi- 
 nion was firft of all ftarted by *Calvin, againft 
 the Judgment of the Catholick Church to this 
 very Day, and even of the firft Reformers, 
 Luther and Melanchton, as Petavhts and our 
 Author have fufficiently fhewn. It was after- 
 wards drefTed up and vindicated by f T)an*us 9 
 and after him by feveral others of the Cafoi- 
 niftical School , whofe main Argument was 
 this, that Chrift muft have been God of bim- 
 felfc or elfe he could not be God at all j be- 
 caufe to be God, fuppofeth Self-exi/lence. This 
 Opinion was very much oppofed about the End 
 of the XVI th , and the Beginning of the XVII th 
 Century by Armirims in an epiftolary DifTerta- 
 tion on this Subjeft, to one Vyienbogard^ in 
 his 'Declaration made before the States of Hol- 
 land, in his Apology againft the One and Thirty 
 
 * Infti. Theol. LiU I. Cap. 13. . 19. f I^gog- Chrif. Lib. i. 
 Cap. 23. 
 
 Articles
 
 3 1 8 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Articles , and laftly, in a Letter to the Prince 
 Palatine?, Envoyee to the States General. But 
 the Prejudices which many entertained againft 
 him, were fo violent, as none of his Arguments 
 could get to be heard by them, who were fo 
 bigotted to their Mafter, and to his private 
 Opinions, as not to be able to bear any Thing 
 which might grate but never fo little upon the 
 Efteem they had for him, and for Thefes, 
 which were looked upon by them as fo many 
 evangelical Difcoveries. This feems to be the 
 true State of the Matter , whence this Con- 
 troverfy was ftill kept up by fome of the more 
 zealous Anti-Remonftrants, notwithstanding 
 the great Weight of Evidence brought for the 
 old catholick Doftrine againft them in this 
 Article. 
 
 Some went fo far, as even to ridicule the 
 Isicene Creed upon this Account, and to call 
 the Fathers who compofedit, a Parcel of *Fa- 
 naticks, for ftyling therein Chrift GodofGod^ 
 Light of Light, cVc. And fome ran alfo hence 
 into f Sabellian Explications of this Myftery, 
 even to the taking away of all Diftindion of 
 Hypoftafes in the Godhead, as by our Author 
 hath been well obferv'd : Eettarmn and Peta- 
 vius have been too fevere however, upon Cal- 
 vin for this Miftake, but || PoJJevin ftill more 
 
 * Vid. defen. Fid. Nic Stft. IV. Cap. i. .8. f Ib. . 7. &?. 
 & Epift. i. Armin. ad J. Vytenbog. || Lib. de Athcis, H*r. Cap. 
 6, p, 14, Edit. Colog. 1 58^ 
 
 fo,
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. DavidV. 3 19 
 
 fo, by whom it is named the Herefie of the 
 Autctheans ; and the Founder of it, the nert 
 Trtikeift. But there is none, after all, to be 
 compared with a certain * Auftrun Jefuite, the 
 Author of a Book call'd Symbola tria, who hath 
 been at the Pains to colled: feveral PafTages 
 out of Calvin's Inftitutions , and his FxpK'wfe 
 lion of the Perfidioufnefs of Valentinus Gentilis, 
 that he might compare them with foine Paf- 
 fages of the Alcoran, afTerting God to be a Be- 
 ing of himfelf necefTarily exifting, to whom it 
 is impoflible to receive or borrow his Eflence 
 from another. And thence mofl uncharitably 
 concludeth, that Mahomet and Calvin muft 
 both have had the fame wicked Defign. Epif- 
 copius and CurctiL&u have been much more 
 modeft and candid in animadverting on this 
 novel Opinion, and eftablifhing the Comnnmi- 
 c ability of the divine Nature and Eifence from 
 the Father to the Son, according to the Faith 
 of the Catholick Church. 
 
 And even the Zeal of Mr. Bull, hath not Ms candid 
 here hindred him from treating, with Efteem, JSj^T 
 the Author of fo dangerous an Opinion, while on tbu AC- 
 at the fame time he is confuting it, for the cj '""' 
 fake of fome laudable Qualifications which he 
 difcerned in him, and was endeavouring to ex- 
 
 cufe him as well as the Matter could bear, 
 
 
 
 *SymboIa rrla CATHOLICUM, CALVINFANUM, 
 LUTHERANUM omnia ipfis corum veibis cxprtlia. Quiri- 
 nus Cn Jglcrus Auitrius rcceniuit St nocij u.'uituyiu Ck)loa. K-a^.
 
 320 The Life of Dr. George 
 
 againft the Infults of the moft learned Writer 
 of his whole Order, fo famous for Learning. 
 This deferveth the more to be taken notice 
 of, becaufe fome of the Exprefiions of that 
 Author are fo very harm, with refpecl to the 
 prefent Point, and did feem to border fo nearly 
 upon what his Enemies haveaccufed him of, as 
 made Mr. Butt's Ears almoft to tingle, and 
 caufed him to break out after this manner, 
 Horrefco h&c referens, &c. that is, * " While I 
 " am telling thefe Things, I have an Horror 
 1 upon me j and therefore I moft ferioufly 
 " exhort the pious and ftudious Youth, that 
 " they take heed of that Spirit from which 
 u fuch Effeds as thefe have proceeded. We 
 <c owe much indeed to that great Man, for his 
 " excellent Service in purging the Church of 
 " Chrift from popifh Superftition. But far 
 1 be it from us, that we mould receive him 
 " for our Mafter, or that we fhould fwear to 
 " his Words } or laftly, that we fhould be 
 " afraid freely to remark, as there (hall be 
 " Caufe for fo doing, his manifeft Errors, and 
 " his new and (ingular Determinations, againft 
 " the Catholick Confent of Antiquity. In 
 which Words our Author hath fo fully and 
 , clearly exprefs'd his true Senfe, and a gene- 
 rous Liberty of Mind, and given withal, fuch 
 a prudent Caution and Advice to all young 
 Students in Divinity, as nothing farther need, 
 
 * Seft.IV. Cap. i. . 8.
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. David V. 3 2 1 
 
 1 fuppofe be added, to clear him from an Im- 
 putation, which fome have injurioufly caft up- 
 on him, of having infamoufly broken the Cartel 
 of Honour and Civility, by his Treatment of 
 them of the oppofite fide. 
 
 In his handling the fecond Thefis, Mr. Bull 
 hath (hewn, that he had examined the Holy 
 Fathers of the Church, both before and after He defends 
 the Determination of the Council of Nic e, an 
 with a more than ordinary Application, Dili- 
 gence and Observation, (as his very * Enemies fo i 
 cannot deny) and hath proved it to have been 
 the general Belief, that the Father was greater orditwti 
 than the Son as to his Original * and the Son on * 
 equal to the Father as to bis Nature , [>&'**> 
 yuaV)~] and f anfwered at large the principal 
 Objection againft the natural Coequalhy of the 
 Father and the Son, taken from fuch PafTages in 
 the Ante-Nicene Writers, as feem to deny the 
 Immenfity and Imnfibility of the Son , vviiich are 
 here reconciled with other PafTages in them, 
 which are exprefs for thofe Attributes, being 
 common to him with the Father. 
 
 Under the third and laft Thefis he hath Tbt A.tvan. 
 made appear, the Ufe and Advantage of this ^/* 
 Dodrine^ concerning the Subordination of the fa* !>> hm 
 Son to the Father, notwithihnding the Equa- #fM**< 
 iity of their Nature 5 and hath many judicious 
 Obfervations, about the Diftindion and Uni- 
 
 of the FAtbtrs. p. 17. t Cap. ii!. 
 
 Y
 
 322 . The Life of Dr. George Bull,, 
 
 on of the Divine Hypoftafes or Perfons -, about 
 the Confent of both the contending Sides, in 
 laying a Principle of Unity in the Father, 
 (whether that be Confubftantial or not Con- 
 fubftantial 5) about internal and external Pro- 
 duction :, and about fome other Matters for the 
 farther Explication, both of the Monarchy and 
 the Trinity in the Godhead, from the princi- 
 pal Fathers both Greek and Lathi. There are 
 various Opinions it is true, concerning his 
 Performance of this laft Part : and different 
 Ufes have been made thereof by different Par- 
 ties, which is not much to be wondred at. To 
 come to our prefent Times, 
 
 The ingenious and learned Dr. Clarke in 
 particular, hath in his Scripture DoElr'me of the 
 Trinity, printed this very Year, no lefs than 
 this Tre* thirty Citations out of this very Treatife -, and 
 JfoT^ almoft all of them are reprefented in a very dif- 
 ciarke ferent View from that which our Author had 
 Hfrcred . certa j n iy j n writing thofe PaiTages : as are alfo 
 the Citations out of the Fathers themfelves , 
 which Dr. Clarke here met with, and hath ac- 
 commodated to his own purpofe, and that fre- 
 quently, without fo much as the lead notice 
 taken of the Explications and Anfwers, given 
 to them by this our Author. And here be- 
 caufe fome have thought Dr. Clarke's Scheme 
 of the Trinity, to be in fome meafure agree- 
 able to that which is delivered to us for the 
 C^tholick Dodrine in this moli learned Trea- 
 tife,
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. David V. 333 
 
 tife, from the Teftimony of the three firft 
 Ages of Chriftianity , and that it is fomewhat 
 fupported by the Authority of two fuch great 
 Names amongft us, as PEARSON and BULL ; 
 I (hall here fet it down, as well as I can in a 
 few Words , that the Reader may compare it 
 with the foregoing Thefes, and thence judge 
 for himfelf. 
 
 The learned Defender of the TSlcene Faith, Mtfe 
 having vindicated at large, as we have already s c ^ 
 feen, both the. Confubftantiality of the Soil, and with 
 his Coeternal Existence with the Father, gave 
 occafion for different Reflections, by his main- 
 taining, that though the Son be Co-Equal with 
 the Father, as having the fame Divine Nature 
 with the Father without any Change or Dimi- 
 nution, yet he is fubordinate to the Father, 
 as receiving the Divine Nature from him. This 
 is infhortthe very Sum of his Dodrine, which 
 hath been excepted againft by fome, and mif- 
 applied by others , as if fuch a Subordination* 
 which he teacheth were in it felf inconfiftent 
 with a natural or efTential Coequal ity of Per- 
 fons. But not to trouble our felves here with 
 any others , let us proceed to take a View at 
 once of the Doctrine of the Trinity, which 
 Dr. Clarke hath advanced for the true Scripture 
 Doftrine of it -, which is this, viz. " There is 
 " one firft and fupreme Caufe, the Author of 
 " all Being, and fole Origin of all Power and 
 " Authority, who alone is Self-exiftenr, Un- 
 ** derived, Unoriginated, Independent, mads 
 
 A Y2 " Of
 
 324 Tfce Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 " of none, begotten of none, proceeding from 
 " none , who is called the Father , and is ab- 
 " folutely Supreme over all, and the 0/w or 
 " only God in the Scripture Language. With 
 <e whom there hath exifted from the Begin- 
 c< ning a Second divine Perfon, who is called 
 <c his Word or Son, deriving his Being or Ef- 
 " fence, and all his Attributes from him, as 
 " the fupreme Caufe ^ but whether by the 
 " ~NeceJpty of Nature, or the Power of his Wilt 
 only, the Doctor will not be pofitive : No 
 more than he will be, whether he exifted 
 from all Eternity, or .only before all Worlds j 
 " and whether he was begotten of the fame Sub- 
 '* fiance and EfTence with the Father, or made 
 <c out of nothing ; becaufe of the Danger of 
 prefuming, to be able to define the particu- 
 lar metaphyfical Manner of the Son's deriv- 
 ing his EiTencefrom the Father. With whom 
 " alfo a Third Perfon hath exifted, deriving 
 " his Efience in like manner from him, through 
 " the Son $ which Perfon hath higher Titles 
 " afcribed to hi n than to any Angel, or other 
 " created Being whatfover, but is no where 
 " called God in Scripture, being fubordinate 
 " to the Son, both by Nature and by the Will 
 " of the Father, This is theSubftance of the 
 Doclrine of the Trinity, as defended by this 
 Doclor, and from which he inferreth, " That 
 " abfolute fupreme Honour is due to the Perfon 
 * of the father fingly, as being alone the fu- 
 " premeAuthor of ail Being and Power, and 
 
 " that 
 
 <c 
 
 (C 
 
 cc 
 ct
 
 late Lord Eifbop of St. DavidV. 325 
 
 " that whatever Honour is paid to the Son, 
 " who redeemed, or to the Holy Spirit, who 
 " fandifiethus, muft always be underftood, as 
 " tending finally to the Honour and Glory of 
 u the Father, by whofe good Pleafure the 
 " Son redeemed, and the Holy Spirit fandi- 
 " fies us. According to this Dodrine, it ap- 
 peareth that the Son muft not be God, ftridly 
 and properly fpeaking, much lefs ftill the Ho- 
 " ly Spirit, but that God the Father alone is 
 the true andfufreme God : And therefore he 
 aflerts exprefly, that the Scripture, when it 
 mentions God abfolutely, and byway of emi- 
 nence, means the Perfon of the Father , as 
 like wife when it mentioneth the one God, or 
 the only God j though he could not after having 
 read the Defence of the Nicene Faith, be ig- 
 norant that this was contrary to the Mind of the 
 Catholick Fathers. Neither could he, of what 
 the learned Author of the Confiderations on Mr. 
 Whiilon'j- Hijlor'ual Preface, whom he cites, 
 hadfaidto tliisPurpofe^ though he might not 
 poffibly have obferved or remembred, that there 
 is a whole Chapter in St. * Irenxii*, purpofely 
 to (hew, that Chrift is in Scripture, expresfly 
 arid abfolutely called God, and that he is the 
 one and only God in the Unity of the Father's 
 Subftance or Eflence ^ and very God, in oppo- 
 fition to all thofe that are improperly called 
 God in the facred Writing?. However this 
 
 * Lib 2. Cap. vi. 
 
 Y 3 might
 
 326 The Life of Dr. George 
 
 might be, certain it is, that Dr. Clarke, who 
 had fo ample a Collection of Teftimonies con? 
 cerning the Trinity before him in this Treatife, 
 as well as in Petavhts, hath not made that ufe 
 of them, which this indefatigable and judicious 
 Collector did, or which might have oeen ex- 
 peeled from a Perfon of fo great a Chara- 
 cter in the Church and learned World as Dr. 
 Clarke. 
 
 For the plain and confeffed Truth is, that we 
 #nfui way are no tto depend much upon the Quotations by 
 
 of citing 1-1 i /- i i /<> T i 
 
 him brought, for knowing the Opinion or J udg- 
 ment of any Writer : fince this was never fo 
 much as defignedby him. Wherefore the Reader 
 mitft not wonder, as he himfelf fairly warneth, 
 if many Paffages not confident izxth (nay per- 
 haps contrary to} thofe which are cited by him 
 in this Book, foall by any one be alledged out of 
 the fame Authors. o we muft not wonder if 
 in above thirty Citations, out of our Author, 
 according as this ingenious Writer hath extra- 
 cited and applied them, we can hardly find one 
 in ten of them cited with any Confidence with, 
 or Subfervience to that, which we know for 
 certain to have been our Author's fixt Opini- 
 on, and well weighed Judgment. For whofo- 
 ever will be at the pains to compare the feveral 
 PafTages cited by Dr. Clarke, as they ftand in the 
 places whence they are taken, with other clear 
 and exprefs Paffages of our learned Author , 
 and with the whole fcope and purport of his 
 Reafonings for the Truth of the Nicerie Do- 
 
 drine.
 
 late Lord Bifbof of St. David V. 327 
 
 ftrine, muft evidently perceive, that thefe are 
 all placed in quite another Light than in the 
 Book referred to ^ that fome are diredly con- 
 trary to the Author's true Meaning, and to his 
 Defign in writing, and moft of the reft incon- 
 fiftent at leaft with the fame, as the Doftor very 
 well knew. And indeed he minceth not the 
 matter, but frankly and ingenioufly acknow- 
 ledgeth , that he doth not cite Places out of 
 thefe Authors^ (^meaning them who have writ- 
 ten fince the Council of Nice~] fo mitcb to fliew 
 what was the Opinion of the Writers tbemfelves, 
 as to fljew how naturally Truth fometimes pre- 
 vails by its own native Clearnefs and Evidence, 
 even againfl the ftrongeft and moft fettled Pre- 
 judices. Nothing therefore would be more 
 vain , than to exped to learn from him the 
 Opinion of any Chriftian Writer whatfoever, 
 later than the Council of Nice, becaufe quoted 
 by him : And as for the Writers before, and 
 at the time of that Council, he tbinketb, that 
 the greateft part of them were really of that 
 Opinion, which he hath endeavoured to fet 
 forth in his Propofitions, which make the Second 
 Part of his pretended Scripture Dofir'we. But 
 though this be h,is Thought , he cannot but 
 own neverthelefs, that they do not always fpeak 
 very clearly and confidently. By which I fup- 
 pofe he meaneth , that they do not always 
 plainly fupport his Scheme. This Charge how- 
 ever, I do not find laid by him againft our Au- 
 thor, who hath fpoken his Mind clearly enough 
 
 m
 
 328 Tfo Life of Dr. George Bull,, 
 
 in the great Points before us, and who will ap- 
 pear to have never contradicted his own Af- 
 iertions or Thefes concerning thefe myfkri- 
 ous Truths. 
 
 Mare parti- One would indeed be almoft tempted to be- 
 cutariy, the lieve, that he had, from many Paifages that 
 fidei NU this Darned Doctor hath picked up out of him 
 with much Art, in order to fupport his own 
 Scheme , been altogether of his Mind , or 
 that at lead his manner of Writing muft have 
 been very perplexed, without any Connexion 
 or Confiftency with Principles, and as holding 
 forth frequently a double Meaning. But that 
 this is no part of his Character, the very Paflages 
 appealed to by the very Doctor himfelf , to 
 exemplify how naturally Truth can prevail, as 
 he will have it, ly its own-native Evidence, are 
 more than fufticient to prove , for which Rea- 
 fon, I have drawn Up a * Lift of them, that 
 
 * Clarke's Scrip. Dcftr'me. BuliV Def. F idei Nice. 
 
 P. I. C. i. . 3. T. 340. p. 52 Sea. II. C. 9. . 13, 
 P. 1. C. 2. . 3. T. 6\6. p. 1 17 Sea. I. C. i. . z. 
 
 Ibid. p. 118 Seft. IV. C. 3. . 15. 
 
 P. I. C. 2. . 5. T. 850. p. i5i Sett. II. C. 9 12. 
 P. I. C. 2. . 5. T. 954. p. 177 Sett. II. C. 3. . 4. 
 
 Ibid. 0.4. 7- 
 
 P. II. . 9. p. 257 . Proem. . 4. 
 
 P. If. . ii. p. 266 Scft. II. C. 9. . 8. 
 
 P. II. .11. p. 269- ibid. . 12. 
 
 P. II. . ii. p. 270 Seft. IV. C. i. . 2. 
 
 P. II. . 12. p. 171 Sett IV. C. i. . 7. 
 
 Ibid. ibid. . 8. 
 
 P. II. . 17. p. 282 Sea. III. C. 8. . 8. 
 
 P. II. $. 23. p. 295 Seft. II. C. 13. . i. 
 
 Ibid.- _ Sea. III. C. 9. .8', 
 
 P. II. 24. p. 311 i Seft. I!. C, 8, . 5.
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V. 
 
 the equal and impartial Examiners may be ful- 
 ly informed in the Matter, as it mail be 
 thought worth their while ^ p.nd fo be enabled 
 topafs a right Judgment, according as the Evi- 
 dence (hall clearly caft the Balance for the one 
 or for the other of thefe Writers. The very 
 firft PafTage of all, is a Remark of our Authors 
 upon the Words of Qrrgen, commenting on 
 our Lord's Anfwer to the Perfon who called 
 him Good, which the learned Huefivs, in his 
 Qrigeniana, had charged with Herefy. Thefe 
 Mr. Bull hath fully vindicated, againft that 
 heavy Charge, and (hewn how Httetitts mi* 
 flook this Father, fpeaking of Chrift as an Ex- 
 
 * ClarkeV Scrip. Drfr'me. Bui IV Def. Fidti Nice. 
 
 jhid. --- Seft. IV. C. i. ^. 7, 
 
 P. H. 34' P- 31 -- Seft. IV. C 2. $. 3. 
 
 P. II. 34- P- 3 1 * --- Seft. IV. C. 3. .4. 
 
 P. II. 35. p. y.6 - Seft. If. C. 6. . 5. 
 
 Ibid. ---- P- 539 Seft. H. C. 5. 6. 
 
 MJ. --- p. 350 Sett. IV. C. 3. 4. 
 
 P. H. . 59- p. 34$ -- Scft. II. C. 8. . $. 
 
 . HI. c. 5. 5.4. 
 
 p. 347 Seft. IV. C. 4. . 2. 
 Wd. -- - P- 348 Seft. IV. C. 4. . 7. 
 P. II. . 44. p. 3*7 ---- Seft. II. C. 9. . 15. 
 /M. !J!-! -- P- 358 Seft. II. C.9- 8, 
 jbld. --- p. ?59 Ssft. H. C.p. i$. 
 j w< /. ---- Seft. IV. C.i. .7.' 
 p. 5^0 Seft. IV. C 4. $. 5- 
 Seft. H, C. 3 . .<5. 
 p. 3 5i Seft. II. C. 5. . 15. 
 
 P H. .45- P- 3*3 -- /i ' J '- 
 
 ,fc/JJ_i- -- p. 5 5 4 Seft. If. C. ,. . 6. 
 
 Seft. II. C. 9- 
 
 . 
 
 P. II. 45- P. 3*4 --- feft. IV. C. 4. |. 5. 
 t, 1II.C. H. p. 458 --- Seft. IV. C 4. $. 1. 
 
 mplar 
 
 1 
 
 em
 
 3 3 o T/J<? L//<? <?/ Dr. George Bull., 
 
 <?w/?/^ in his humane Nature, and according 
 to the (Economy of God, [Ad Ghrifti o/jcow/xiW 
 in afliimpta natura humana fufceptam] as if 
 he had fpoken of him with refpeft to his di- 
 vine Nature : And not the lead Word is faid 
 that can juftly be interpreted of the Son's In- 
 feriority to the Father in Nature, but rather 
 on the contrary. For he there (heweth, that 
 Qrigen did hold and teach the Son to be very 
 God, Uncreated, Immortal, Immutable, Impaffi- 
 ble, Infinite, Omniprefent, and abfolutely Blef- 
 fed and Perfett, HQ lefs than the Father, by clear 
 and undoubted Teftimonies, taken from his 
 Book againft Celfus j and anfwereth all the 
 Objections or Sufpicions of Huetius, againft 
 the Soundnefs of his Faith in that Article. 
 The next Paflage cited by Dr. Clarke, is no 
 more for an Inferiority of Nature in the Son, 
 than the firfl is : The plain Meaning of it 
 being no other than that , according to the 
 conftant Doftrine of all Catholick Fathers, 
 Chrift did actually fubfift before his Incarna- 
 tion, in another and more excellent Nature 
 than that of Man , and that appearing to the 
 holy Men under the Old Teftament , he re- 
 ceived from them divine Honours, and was 
 manifefted to them by the moft high Name of 
 God. Mr. Bull fir ft proveth his Pre-exiftence, 
 and his Apparitions in an human Form , as a 
 kind of Anticipation of his taking on him our 
 Flefh : and this being proved, he then fhew- 
 eth, how he -did Eternalty Exift with the Fa? 
 
 ther,
 
 late Lord Eifbop of St. David'/. 3 3 
 
 ther, in the fame Nature and Subftance. Now 
 there is nothing in this whole Method, nor 
 in any particular Argument under it, which 
 doth tend in the leaft to favour fuch an Ine- 
 quality of Nature in Father and Son, as is in- 
 cluded in that Scheme which it is brought to 
 fupport. As for the third Paffage made ufe of, 
 it is certainly no better applied than the for- 
 mer 5 the Defignofthat whole Chapter whence 
 it is taken, being to anfwer a principal Obje- 
 ction, which had .even fhocked Mr. Eull him- 
 felf for a good while, that would infer a Dif- 
 ference in the divine Nature of .the Son from 
 that of the Father, the one mamfifi able, the o- 
 ther not mamfeftable. The fourth Paffage 
 feemeth indeed to be very much to his Pur- 
 pofe, and every one that reads it as it is cited, 
 arid will not be at the .pains to confult either 
 what follows it, or what is there diftinclly re- 
 ferred to, may be eafily led to think, that 
 our Author was not a Defender, but an Un- 
 derminer of the Nicene Faitb t by maintaining 
 the Son, even as he i& God, to be lefs than the 
 Father : which though it be moft true in a cer- 
 tain Senfe which he hath explained, in con- 
 formity to primitive Teftimonies, and to the 
 Confeffion of the Council of Nice it felf, as be 
 is God of 'God 5 yet is both moft diametrically 
 oppofite to his plain Meaning, and to what he 
 defended for the Catholick Faith with fomuch 
 Strength, if thereby it be underftood, that 
 there is greater and lefs in the divine N attire 
 
 and
 
 3 3 - The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 and Effence. Which Matter being fully and 
 clearly handled in the fecond Chapter of his 
 fourth Sefiion, I lhall fay no more to it : but 
 fend my learned Reader thither for Satisfaction, 
 as Mr. Bull him felf hath done before me, in that 
 very PafTage which the Doclor hath here ci- 
 ted ^ but without taking notice of the Refe- 
 rence. Whether it were the Doctor's Defign, 
 hereby to fhew how eafy and natural that No- 
 tion rnuft be allowed to he, which fo learned a 
 Defender of the Faith, in a Treatife written 
 for the Caufe of the Council of Nice againft 
 the Arians, could not forbear exprejjingfo clear- 
 ly and diftinEily even frequently, when at the 
 fame time he is about to affirm, and endeavour* 
 mgfomeiblng not v ery confiflent with it ^ I (hall 
 not much enquire : It is enough, to have {hewn 
 what manner of Judgment we ought to make 
 of his Citations, for they are generally appli- 
 ed much after the fame Manner, and with the 
 f ime Views. x\nd it were a-like eafy to fhew, 
 how his Teftimonies out of the ancient Eccle- 
 iiaftical Writers, are alleged in this very man- 
 ner, Tefie Seiffo. But fince he bringeth them 
 only as iUujlratlons of his Proportions, not as 
 proofs of them , it is certainly not worth the 
 while to contend about what he himfelf layeth 
 fo little ftrefs upon. Howfoever, it may de- 
 ferve to be taken notice of, that the greateft 
 pa.rt of the Teftimonies by him produced, do 
 appear in quite another Light, as they are 
 deed by the judicious Mr. #!///, than as they 
 
 are
 
 late Lord Bifiof of St. David'/. 333 
 
 are applied by Dr. Clarke for illuftrating his 
 Proportions. Whether Dr. Clarke's Doftrines 
 or Mr. Bull's be beft fupported by thefe Tefti- 
 nionies, I leave the Learned to judge. 
 
 Dr. John Edwards of Cambridge^ on the o- LX. 
 ther hand, hath found fault with our Author, 
 for a Reafon which made him the better ac- 
 cepted with Dr. Clarke , as not being able to J** 
 receive the Doftrine of the Subordination of Dr. Ed- 
 the Son to the Father, in the Senfe of the an- 
 cient Writers, yea even oiAtbanaJius himfelf^ 
 and therefore condemning, together with him, Dr - clark 
 a pretty Number of the Ancients as well as of 
 the Moderns, and fuch of them both, as gene- 
 rally have been accounted mod Orthodox' in 
 the Doclrine of the Trinity, and fome more 
 particularly famous, for their being Advocates 
 for theConfubftaiitiality and natural Equality 
 of Father and Son. Now the Cafe plainly 
 ftandeth thus between them. There can be no 
 doubt but that Chrift fpoke thefe Words, my 
 Father is greater than /, in whatfoever Senie 
 they are to be underftood. Thefe are made 
 ufe of in the Scripture Dofirine aforementioned, 
 to prove the Inferiority of the Son, and confe- 
 quently, as Dr. Edwards obferveth, rofubvert 
 his real Divinity. Now it is acknowledged 
 by this learned Animadverter, that/wtf, yea 
 a pretty many of the Ancients, underitand this 
 place, John xiv. ver. 28. of Chrift's divine 
 Mature, and infift upon it, that he is infcriour 
 
 tO
 
 334 *t je Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 to the Father, Becaufe he is his Son. He denies 
 not, but that Athanafms himfelf interpreted 
 the Text after that manner : and faith, that 
 Gregory Na&ianz,en,Epiphaniw, Chryfoflome, and 
 Cyril of Alexandria do the like. Me mentioneth 
 two only that underftand it of Chrift's hitmane 
 Nature : and then referreth to feven of them, 
 that interpret this Text concerning both Na- 
 tures. But this is, in his Judgment, a depref- 
 fing the Doftrine of Chrift's fupreme Divinity 5 
 and he will have it to be all wrong and falft, 
 and that till we corred this Notion of the Su- 
 bordination and Inferiority of the Son, as Son, 
 we mail never have right Apprehenfions con- 
 cerning the Glorious Trinity. This is his Opinion^ 
 wherein he oppofeth not only Dr. Clarke , but 
 the moft eminent WitnefTes and Defenders of 
 the Nicene Faith, ancient and modern. But this 
 he doth becaufe he is perfuaded , that all of 
 them have been miftaken by the Mifapplicati- 
 on of the common and received Notion of P/z- 
 ternvty and Filiation, in the Tranilation of thefe 
 from Man to God. For, faith he, " Thofe 
 " firft Writers found, that the Communicati- 
 " on of the Divinity from the frft Perfon to the 
 " fecond, was exprefled in Scriptute by Gene- 
 " ration and Begetting : And they were fen- 
 " fible, that a Father is not fubordinate to his 
 " Son, but the Son to the Father, and that he 
 " who is begotten, is inferiour to him that be- 
 " gets ; which they applied to God the Fa- 
 " iher and his Son. This is readily acknow- 
 ledged 5
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David'/. 335 
 
 ledged$ but then withal, it ought to be con- 
 fidered, that according to thefe very Writers, 
 there is an Inferiority of Order or Difpenfatiort, 
 and an Inferiority of Nature or of Suvftance j 
 which diftindion muft carefully be attended 
 to, becaufe many of them, who own the for- 
 mer with refpeft to the Son of God, do yet moft 
 ftrenuoufly oppugn the latter. This however 
 he concludethto have been the Rife and Ground 
 of the erroneous and dangerous Opinion of the 
 Sons being Inferiour to the Father $ without 
 taking any notice of that Diftinclion, which is 
 fo common in them. Whereupon he inferreth, 
 " That thofe very learned and worthy Prelates, 
 " Bimop Pearfon and Bifhop Butt, with other 
 " modern Divines, have hurt the Dodrine of 
 " the Trinity by lift'ning to thofe Writers , 
 " and by urging the Inferiority of the Son to 
 " the Father, in refpeft of his Divinity. And 
 further, he faith, that, " Mr. Whijlon and Dr. 
 " Clarke , have laid hold on thefe Writings, 
 " and hare made the Son of God, a mere de- 
 " pendent Being, and not worthy to be ftiled 
 a God. But if Mr. Whijlon and Dr. Clarke 
 have thus laid hold of thefe Writings, they 
 have laid hold on the Scriptures alfo. Let the 
 Writings of thefe two worthy Prelates be 
 heard for themfelves, and there will be but 
 little reafon found for the boafting of fuch, a* 
 deprefs the real Divinity of the Son of God : 
 And let the Scriptures, as interpreted by the 
 Catholic!; Rule of Antiquity, be heard like- 
 
 wife
 
 5 j^ The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 wife for them in this Caufe, This I hope will 
 not be denied by any, being a Requeft fo reafo- 
 nable in it felf : And if granted, I do not 
 much doubt of the Succefs, though there mould 
 be feveral Prejudices here to grapple with. For 
 nothing can ever be more plain ifurely from 
 that whole * Chapter of our Author, which 
 treateth diftindly of this very Subjed, than 
 the great and manifeft Difference that there is, 
 betwixt Qrder and Sub fiance, with refped to 
 the Perfons of the Father and the Son in the 
 BlelTed Trinity :> for as much as there is a 
 gradation of one but not of the other, accord- 
 ing to the moft Primitive, and Catholick Tra- 
 dition of the Faith : And that the very fame 
 Fathers who are fo plain and exprefs for the 
 former, and even fo far as thence to be chal- 
 lenged by the Adverfaries of the Catholick 
 Faith, out of a miftaken Apprehenfion of their 
 true and genuine Senfe , are generally exprefs 
 againft the latter. This is made moft clear in 
 Jujlin Martyr , in whom fome feeming Con- 
 tradictions are hereby very eafily to be recon- 
 ciled, as our Author in that Chapter meweth. 
 Thus alfo7r*wj, who confeffeth the Father's 
 Prerogative, and the Son's Subordination in 
 the fuileft Terms, difputeth yet, with the 
 Vakntinians^ againft this Notion of the Infe- 
 riority and Inequality of the Logos to the Fa- 
 ther: and when he diftinguiiheth betwixt the 
 
 * Seft, iv. dp. ii /
 
 ' 
 
 late Lord Bijbof of St. Da vid V. 337 
 
 Logos and the Creatures, he maketh the Diffe- 
 rence herein chieiy to confift, that no Crea- 
 ture can be equal to its Maker ^ thereby manife- 
 flly fignifying, that the Word, or Son of God, 
 muft needs be altogether equal to God his Fa- 
 ther, as to his Nature , whence alfo he pro- 
 nounceth them to be exaclly commensurate with 
 ea'ch other, without any manner of Diminuti* 
 on whatfoever, and chargeth them with blind- 
 nefs who do not fee this Truth. Thus alfo 
 Clement of Alexandria^ thus Tertullian, thus 
 Qrigen, thus Dionyfw of Alexandria^ before the 
 Rife of the Arian Controverfy : Thus Alexan- 
 der of Alexandria^ and his Succeflbr Athanafi- 
 us, upon the Rife of it, as plainly as Words 
 can exprefs : Thus afterwards, in the Progrefs 
 of this Controverfy, Eafil the Great, thus Na- 
 xiaruzen, thus Cbrjjbftome, thus Cyril of Alex- 
 andria, and John Damafcen among the Greek 
 Writers ^ Thus Marius Viftorinus, thus Hila- 
 ry^ thus Auguftin, and others among the Latin 
 Fathers, have all written to the fame purpofe, 
 as our Author hath at large proved. Nay, it 
 is more than a little obfervable, that even thofe 
 very Ancients, which by Dr. Edrvardsaxc tax- 
 ed for having mifled into Error, the moft emi- 
 nent Divines of this Jaft Age, do abundantly 
 herein clear themfelves, according to the Re- 
 port which he himfelf hath given us of them, 
 at the very time that he is disputing againft the 
 Thefis of the Son's Subordination, as it is ex- 
 plained and defended in this Treatife by our 
 
 Z excel-
 
 338 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 excellent Author. For it muft be owned, that 
 he hath brought out of them feveral illuftrious 
 Teftimonies, which (hew, that notwithftand- 
 ing they alTerted the fame Subordination with 
 thefe two great Men of our Church, yet they 
 never aliened it fo, as to deny that Suprema- 
 cy, which belongs to the Son as well as the 
 Father } but on the contrary taught, that the 
 very Notion of Supremacy isnecelTarily inclu- 
 ded in that of the Deity, and that God cannot 
 excel God, nor one of the divine Perfons be 
 inferiourto the other, as to the divine Being 
 and Nature , but that there is one Deity and 
 Power in them, not unequal as to their Sub- 
 ftances and Natures, neither increafed by any 
 Superexcellencies* nor decreafed by any Di- 
 minutions , but every way equal and the fame ^ 
 notwithstanding that diverfity of Difpenfation , 
 and of Order , which the fame Witnefles bear 
 record of, as delivered to them from the Be- 
 ginning. So that from the Review of what 
 thefe feveral Writers have advanced, and of 
 the great pains they have been at, in colle- 
 cling fuch a Number of ancient Teftimonies to 
 fupport their feveral Hypothefes, it will evi- 
 dently appear, that notwithftanding what the 
 Holy Scriptures and the Catholick Fathers 
 have delivered down to us , concerning the 
 Unity and Identity of the Blefled Trinity as 
 to its EiTence , yet they always fuppofe and 
 afTert , the Difference of the Perfonalities in 
 the Godhead, and confequently the Difference 
 2 of
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. DavidV. 
 
 of Order, with the diverfity of Operations. 
 And thus the Charge of Dr. Edwards, through 
 the fides of Dr. Clarke , againft this famous 
 Defender of the Primitive Faith, falleth to the 
 ground. 
 
 But it is not to be wondered at, if from the LXL 
 firft Publication of this learned Defence of the ^v^ 
 Mcene Faith, and ever fince, there have been of Dr. 
 various Sentiments concerning it among the^^ rt 
 Learned, accordingly as they have been diffe- Sherlock 
 rently affeded or inftruded. For the moftJJ*^ 
 Jearned Author of the Intellectual Syjlem, Dr. compared 
 Cudworth, having profeffedly maintained, that wlth th * 
 the three Perfons of the Trinity are three di- ^ 
 ftind fpiritual Subftances, but that the Father 
 alone is truly and properly God, that he alone 
 in the proper Senfe is Supreme, that abfolute 
 fupreme Honour is due to him only, and that 
 he, abfolutely fpeaking, is the only God of the 
 Univerfe 5 the Son and Spirit being God, but 
 only by the Father's Concurrence with them, 
 and their Subordination andSubjedion to him j 
 this awakened a Sufpicion in fome, that Mr. 
 Bull was Dr. Cudwontfs Second in this Caufe : 
 and Dr. Sherlock, having afterwards diredly 
 maintained , that there are three infinite di- 
 fiind Minds and Subftances in the Trinity, and 
 that the three Perfons of Father, Son and Ho^ 
 ly Ghoft, are fo many infinite Minds or Spi- 
 rits \ which he endeavoured alfo.to explain, 
 according to tne Principles of the Carttfian 
 
 Z 2 Me-
 
 340 T/je Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Metaphyficks ^ a Storm being thereupon raifed 
 in the Church, and his Opinion. condemned 
 by a great many as falfe, heretical and impi- 
 ous, it could not be avoided, but fome Drops 
 fell upon the Head of Mr. Bull alfo, or rather 
 rebounded from Dr. Sherlock upon him } none 
 being very willing dire&ly to meddle with one, 
 that had fo honourably acquitted himfelf, his 
 very Enemies being Judges, and who was fb 
 ftrongly fenced in, that there was no getting 
 at him, but by cutting through a whole Troop 
 of Veterans. But all confidering Readers eafi- 
 ly difcerned, that though he afferted three 
 Real, Diftind, Coequal, Coeternal Perfons, 
 (not in one fingular and folitary, but) in one 
 numerical Nature and Efience, not taking a- 
 way the Subordination of the fecond and third 
 to the firft Perfon $ yet he did neither own the 
 Platonick Inequality of Dr. Citdworth, nor the 
 Sabellian Competition and Union of others, 
 nor the Novel and Philofophical Explications 
 of Dr. Sherlock. Dr. Cudworth had afTerted 
 the Son to be God, in the very fame Senfe 
 which Dr. Clarke hath done : And that the 
 Son and Spirit may have the divine Attributes, 
 fuch as Omnipotence, Oranifcience, and the 
 reft afcribed to them , But that they are not 
 Omnipotent and Omnifcient , ad intra, of 
 themfelves, (and fo of the reft) but only by 
 means of the Father's Concurrence. Alfo Dr. 
 Sherlcck had introduced new Terms without, 
 and againft the Authority of the Church, and 
 
 had
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. Da vid'x. 
 
 had mixed Philofophy with Divinity, in a 
 Matter not to be decided, but by Revelation 
 only - 5 and fo expreffed himfelf, as to feem to 
 deftroy the Unity of the Deity, and to make 
 himfelf fufpeded of Tritheifm by more than a 
 few 5 Though our learned Author in his Dif- 
 courfe of the Catholick Doftrine of the Trinity, 
 &c. feems to clear him from that Charge. And 
 befides thefe, feveral others were for framing 
 Schemes out of their own Heads, concerning 
 this ineffable Myftery, and fo departed from 
 the old trodden way, which is fo plainly de- 
 fcribetlin this excel lentTreatife. 
 
 But notwithstanding all this, it was no foo- ffow AJ- 
 ner printed at Oxford, but it was received with 
 an univerfal Applaufe, as it greatly deferved : Friends 
 And the Fame thereof foon fpread it felf i 
 foreign Parts, where it was highly valued by 
 the beft Judges of Antiquity, though of diffe- 
 rent Perfwafions. Hence an Unitarian Wri- 
 ter, who calleth himfelf a difnterejled Perfon, 
 though he hath given his Judgment againit it, 
 with all the Strength and Learning that he 
 was Matter of, yet was obliged by the irrefifti- 
 ble Evidence of Truth, to give this following 
 Character, both of the Book and Author, vix, 
 <e * After Dr. Cudworth came, Dr. Hull, Au- 
 " thor of the Defence of the tficene Faith, a 
 
 mmai^^i^^mm^mmm^m*^*^^^*^^^^* *^^MH^HM* *^^*^^^< 
 
 * The Judgment of a difenterefled Perfa concerning the Contra 
 verfy about the Bteffed Trinity depenf'w tenmn Dr. South and 
 gr, Sherlock. 4'. An. 1696. 
 
 Book
 
 343 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 " Book that has rendered the Writer of it very 
 " famous, not in England only or chiefly, but 
 " beyond the Water. Tis compofed in a Stile 
 " moft truly Latin, with much vivacity of 
 *' Expreffion, with great vigour and fubtilty 
 " of Thought: In fhort, 'tis worthy of the 
 " noble Argument, of which it treats. This 
 " Author having ftudied the Fathers with an 
 " Application, Diligence and Obfervation, al- 
 " moft peculiar to bint, perceived that the 
 " Schools have" departed from that Notion of 
 <e the Trinity, believed and profefled by fome 
 " of the principal Fathers. Thus far he : 
 which was furely Confeffion enough from an 
 Enemy. But the Anfwerer of this Socinian 
 Pamphlet, who is fuppofed to be Dr. Sherlock 
 himfelf, in a Difcourfe enrituled, The Diftin- 
 iion between Real and Nominal Trinitarians ex- 
 amined^ &c. hath made this Reflection here- 
 upon , that this was done out of pure Artifice 
 only, not out of any Good Will for our Au- 
 thor , or Diiintereftednefs between the two 
 contending Parties, but tc * That all that this 
 " Socinian intended by bringing Dr. Bull into 
 " the Fray, was to follow the Blow the Ani- 
 " madverter, [Dr. South'] and the Oxford De- 
 " cree had given to a Trinity of diftinB^ pro- 
 per , fabfifting^ living^ intelligent Perjbns, 
 (which is all that Dr. Bit!!, or the Dean 
 affert) by their Charge of Tritkeifm, which 
 
 he 
 
 tc
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'/. 343 
 
 " he hoped, would be a fufficient Anfwer, to 
 <c that otherwife unanfwerable Book -, and to- 
 " gether with Dr. Bull would confute all the 
 " Fathers at once, on whofe Authority he fo 
 '* much relies, and to whom he perpetually , 
 " appeals } for no Chriftian muft hearken to 
 " thofe Men 5 whatever their Authority be, 
 " did they really (as they are unjuftly char- 
 " ged) preach three Gods j and thus he thinks 
 " he has got rid of ail Antiquity, and of the 
 44 Tritheiftick Trinity with it. But whatfo- 
 ever might be his Defign, and this feems very 
 probable which here is alledged againft him, 
 it muft ftill be confefled, that nothing but the 
 Truth forced this Character from him. And 
 indeed, this Book was fo univerfally applaud- 
 ed, that it brought over to the Author, feveral 
 who were before his Enemies, or that at leaft 
 were doubtful, whether he was orthodox in 
 the Faith. The Univerfity of Oxford account- 
 ed it an Honour to them, to have fo learned 
 and ufeful a Treatife printed at their Prefs, 
 and written by one who had been formerly a 
 Member of their Body, but was driven away 
 by the Wickednefs of the Times, as hath been 
 already remarked. Wherefore they thought it 
 incumbent upon them, to confer what Honour 
 they could upon him, as mail be afterwards re- 
 lated, who by this judicious and elaborate De- 
 fence of the Catholick Faith , had contribu- 
 ted fo much to the Honour, not only of 
 the Univerfity it felf , but of the Church 
 
 Z 4 an4
 
 344 *H }e Life of Dr. George Bull^ 
 
 and Nation , in foreign Churches and Na- 
 tions, 
 
 LXII. In the Year 1690, the Biftiop of Meaitx, 
 \^~*~^j whofe Hiflory of the Variations, $tc. had been 
 The Bifap attacked in Defence of the Proteftants, (but 
 ;f n ^ n .efpecially of the French Calvinifts) by Mon- 
 fieur Ju- iieur Jurieu, with too little Deference to the 
 Bull To? r ' V Timli * ve Fathers of the Church, fet forth a 
 sen/eo/Difcourfe againft this his Adversary, on pur- 
 Fathers p f e to p r0 ve, that his way of proceeding did 
 
 the * * ~ \ , j , . . & c 
 
 effectually tend to the very undermining of 
 Chriftianity, or at leaft to the EfhMiihment 
 of Socinianifm ^ and that it was a Method 
 condemned, not only by the Roman Catho- 
 licks, but by the moft judicious Proteftant 
 Writers, fuch as Dr. Bull in particular. And 
 having in his aforefaid Hiftory, made honou- 
 rable mention of" our moft learned Author, as 
 before was taken notice of-, he upon this frefh 
 Occafion, frequently maketh his Appeal to 
 him, and fendeth his Readtrs to fatisfie them- 
 felves, in the Collection of f eftimonies gather- 
 ed by him out of the Fathers. In one place, 
 he faith, " That I may have no occafion, my 
 " Brethren , to defend againft you , the Do- 
 " drine of the firft Ages, concerning the eter- 
 " nal Generation of the Son, if your Mini- 
 *' fter hath any doubt hereof, and is not wil- 
 " ling to read the learned Treatifes of a * Fa- 
 
 * Dogmata Theolog. Thomaff. Tom. iii. 
 
 ther
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'/. 345 
 
 ff ther Tbornaffin, who fo profoundly explains 
 * the ancient Traditions, or the learned Preface 
 " of a * Father Petau, which is the Elucida- 
 " tion and Key of his whole Doftrine , con- 
 " cerning this Matter, I fend him tq 
 " f BULL, that learned Englijb Proteftant, 
 ; u the Treatife , where he hath fo well de- 
 a fended the Fathers, who lived before the 
 " Council of Nice. You muft either renounce 
 " the Faith of the Holy Trinity, which God 
 " forbid, or prefuppofe with me that this Au- 
 " thor hath Reafon. For Monfieur Jurieit^ by 
 endeavouring to find Variations in the ancient 
 Fathers, and treading in the Steps of Daitie, 
 did the Caufe of Chnftianity in general more 
 hurt, than he did his own good by it. For if, 
 according to him, the Primitive Chriftians did 
 not believe || the Eternity of the Son, or the Im- 
 mutability of the Divine ElTence, or the Equa- 
 lity of the Second and Third Perfons with the" 
 Firft, or the Coeternity of them all Three ; 
 or if they were fo ignorant of the Myflery of 
 the Incarnation, and knew not even the Unity 
 and Perfection of God, known to the very Pa- 
 gans by the Light of Nature, and were fo far 
 from underftanding the Scriptures that they 
 did not read them , and if they, even themoft 
 famous Fathers of the three firft Centuries, were 
 
 * Pctav. Pref. Tom. K. Theolog. Dogm. f Premier Au- 
 vertifement aux Proteftanrs fur Jes Lcttrcs du Miniltrc Jurieu 
 conrre L'Hiftoire dm Variations. - xxv. || Se& 7,9, 10, 
 12,13,14, 15. 
 
 fucli
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 fuch poor and paultry Divines as he reprefentsr 
 them, and could be guilty, not only of fuch 
 grofs Ignorance , but alfo of the moft capital 
 Errours and Herefies, there muft foon be an 
 End of Chriftian Faith and Dodrine, and all 
 rrwft terminate in Deifm or natural Religion. 
 For Confutation therefore of all thefe heavy 
 Charges againft thefe ancient WitnefTes of our 
 Religion, the learned and judicious Defence of 
 the Ante'lsicene Fathers by this our Author, is 
 rightly appealed to, for the fake of our com- 
 mon Chriltianity, in which all equally are con- 
 cerned. 
 
 But here it is very remarkable, that our 
 Author's Book was in fuch Efteem abroad, 
 both with Romanifts and Proteftants, that 
 cvtn Monfieitr Jurieit himfelf, contended no 
 *n<t protr- lefs than the Bimop his Adverfary , to have 
 flouts. hj m on ki s g^ f a ying, that Bull'j Qbfervati- 
 ons and fas, were as like as an Egg to an Egg^ 
 concerning the Generation of the Son of God. 
 But the Bifhop of Meaux replied to Monfieur 
 Jurieu, that without entring into all the Parti- 
 culars, it was enough to let him know, that he, 
 the Bifhop, had taken from him in one word all 
 the Ancients by fending him to BULL j as from 
 whom he might learn the true Explication of all 
 their Paffagts. This he did in his very firft 
 Advertisement , written againft this famous 
 Frdw&Minifter and Refugee.. But Jurieu cared 
 not it feems to confefs, that either our Au- 
 thor was favourable to the fide of his Adver- 
 fary
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. DavidV 347 
 
 fary in this Difpute, or that fo learned a Pro- 
 teftant as Dr. Eull^ (hould carry away from 
 him all his Authors together at once, without 9 
 leaving him fo much as one of them : And 
 therefore would pretend in his Avis aM.Beau- 
 val, that there was the neareft Agreement be- 
 twixt his and our Author's Sentiments, as to 
 all thefe Matters, but more particularly as to 
 the Theology of the Fathers, concerning the 
 Nativity, and coming forth of the Son of God, 
 for the Creation of the World. Whereby he 
 moft evidently injured Dr. Bull, and at the 
 fame time alfo expofed himfelf to his Adver- 
 fary, when there was no need for it. 
 
 Mr. Bull wrote and publifhed this his learned r YJTJ 
 and judicious Treatife, of the Defence of the 
 fticene Faith, during the time he wasReclorof Mr 
 Suddington, where he had now continued a- 
 bout twenty feven Years-, and for twenty Years 
 of that time had no other Preferment in thesudding- 
 Church, but thofe two Parimes united, after t9D< 
 the manner that hath been already related j 
 the Income whereof, did not amount to above 
 ioc/. a Year, clear of Taxes. He found 
 himfelf very early under a Necedity of making 
 fuch a Provifion of Books, as .might enable 
 him to carry on his Theological Studies , 
 which coft him feveral hundred Pounds, for 
 lie was placed at a diftance from any publick 
 Library, which is a great Advantage to thofe 
 who can enjoy fuch a Benefit. His Family 
 
 grew
 
 348 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 grew numerous by a large Stock of Children, 
 who were to be maintained and educated 5 his 
 . * Friends were always received with great 
 Hofpitality, and the Poor with a Charity that 
 bordered upon Profufenefs , with all this he 
 had feveral great Loifes, and had no great Ta- 
 lent in that Wifdom, which confifteth in ma- 
 naging an Eftate to the bed Advantage , by 
 thefe Means he was reduced to great Streights, 
 and by degrees, was under a Neceflity of fel- 
 ling his patrimonial Eftate, to maintain him. 
 felf in tHe Service of the Church. But yet his 
 difficult Circumftances, never prevailed upon 
 him to trouble the World with Complaints 
 concerning them, neither did he abandon him- 
 felf toDifcontentj which upon fuch Occafions 
 preyeth upon worldly Minds 5 none of thefe 
 things moved him, from purfuing his great De- 
 fign of ferving the Church of God, and adorning 
 his Profeffion -, and it pleafed the good Provi- 
 dence of God, remarkably to reward hisChri- 
 ftian Truft and Affiance ^ for when he was at 
 the loweft Ebb, he was unexpectedly preferred 
 to a very good Living. 
 
 Prefenei It was in the Year 1685, when Mr. Bull 
 *)Aveoing was patented to the Reftory of Avening in 
 ftcrflSc! Glocefterfbire, aterge Parifh, about eight Miles 
 in compafs, the Income whereof is about 200 
 a Year. The Patron of it is Philip Sheppardofc 
 Minchmg Hampton, Efq, a very worthy Gen- 
 tleman, eminent for his Probity, Sobriety and 
 Charity, and for his great Ufefulnefs in his 
 
 Counter;,
 
 late Lord Bi/hop of St. David'/. 
 
 Country j for he not only adminifters Juflice 
 with great Impartiality, but endeavoureth to 
 reconcile all Quarrels and Diflentions among 
 his Neighbours, before they break into a 
 Flame, and before his Neighbours lofe their 
 Money and their Temper in legal Profecuti- 
 ons, in which commonly they both fuffer. It 
 happened, that when this Living became va- 
 cant, Mr. Sheppard and Mr. EuU^ with fome 
 other Friends, were at Aftrop-Wells in Oxford- 
 ftire, drinking thofe Mineral Waters for ths 
 Advantage of their Health j and they were 
 even together with fome other Gentlemen, 
 when Mr. Sheppard received the News of it. 
 Upon which he acquainted the Company, that 
 he had a very good Living to difpofe of, and 
 reckoned up all thofe Qualifications he expe- 
 fted in the Perfon, upon whom he mould be- 
 ftow it} which foexadly agreed to Mr. ButTs 
 Character, that every one prefent plainly per- 
 ceived, that Mr. Sheppard defigned to deter- 
 mine that Preferment in Mr. Butt's favour. But 
 he had too much Humility to make the Ap- 
 plication tohimfelf, and therefore took not the 
 leaft notice of it. Some time after, Mr. Bull 
 withdrew with fome of the Company to walk 
 in the Garden , which Opportunity Mr. Sbep- 
 fard took to declare, that he had on purpofe 
 given thofe Hints, that Mr. Bull might be en- 
 couraged to apply to him for it , but finding his 
 Modefty was too great to make that Step, he 
 was refolved to offer it to him, who had more 
 
 4 Merit
 
 35 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 Merit to defer ve it, than Afiurance to afk for 
 it : which accordingly he did, as foon as Mr. 
 Bit!! returned into the Room , which he re- 
 ceived with all thofe Acknowledgments, which 
 were due for fo good a Living to fo generous 
 a Patron. 
 
 M>!kfi* ral '' ^ n ^ k ere it w iM not b e improper to obferve, 
 where lit that Mr. Bull had in his natural Temper, a 
 intenjl great Modefty, and backwardnefs in ftirring for 
 caned.' ^is fecular Intereft , he endeavoured to de- 
 ferve Preferments , rather than to folicite for 
 them , and his Mind was fo entirely taken up 
 in his Studies, and in the Difcharge of his pa- 
 ftoral Duties, thut he never found leifure to 
 form Schemes for his own Advancement, and 
 much lefs time to profecute thofe Methods, 
 which are too frequently fubmitted to, in or- 
 der to obtain it. He often thanked God for 
 this happy Difpofition that was placed in him, 
 which he faidhad guarded him from many At- 
 tempts, very unbecoming his holy Funftion, 
 and had fecured to him great Peace of Mind, 
 in the pofleffion of what he enjoyed in the 
 Church, which he faid, divine Providence a- 
 lone, and not his Application, had procured 
 for him. This he looked upon as the true 
 Chriftian Primitive way of being preferred, 
 VIRTUTE AMBiRE NON FAVITORI- 
 BUS , and whenever he met with this modeft 
 and confcientious Temper, he encouraged the 
 Perfon fteadily to purfue his Duty, and to d* 
 pend upon God. 
 
 Upon
 
 late Lord Bijkop of St. DavidV. 5 c; i 
 
 Upon his removing to Avening,' one of his The s ** tf , 
 firft Cares was to rebuild the Parfqnage Houfe, *," J t 
 part whereof had been burnt down, fome time 
 before he became Incumbent. This Ex pence 
 was very hard upon a Perfon who was never 
 before-hand with the World , but being necef- 
 fary for the Conveniency of his Family, and 
 the Benefit of his Succeflbrs, he chear fully en- 
 gaged in it. The People of this Parifh gave 
 Mr. Butt, for fome time , great Trouble and 
 Uneafinefs } there were many of them very 
 loofe and diifolute, and many more difaffeded 
 to the Difcipline and Liturgy of the Church 
 of England. This State and Condition of the 
 Parifh, did not difcourage Mr. But/ from doing 
 his Duty, though itoccafioned him many Diffi- 
 culties in the Difchargeof it } and he fuffered 
 many Indignities and Reproaches, with admi- 
 rable Patience and Chriftian Fortitude, for not 
 complying with thofe irregular Practices, which 
 had too long prevailed among them. But by 
 Steadinefs and Refolution, in performing his 
 holy Function according to the Rubrick, by 
 his patient Demeanour and prudent Carriage, 
 by his readinefs to do them all Offices of kind- 
 nefs, and particularly by his great Charity to 
 the Poor, who in that place were very nume- 
 rous ') he did in the End remove all thofe Pre- 
 judices which they had entertained againfjt 
 him, and reduced them to fuch a Temper, as 
 rendred his Labours effectual among them. In 
 fo much, that they generally became confli ru- 
 in
 
 352 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 in their Attendance upon the publick Worlhip* 
 and very decent in their Behaviour at it 5 ancl 
 what was effected with the greateft Difficulty, 
 they brought their Children to be baptized at 
 Church , for when all other Arguments fail- 
 ed, the AlTurance he gave them, that this was 
 the Practice of the Reformed Churches, per- 
 fwaded them to comply without any farther 
 Scruple. Indeed the People by degrees, per- 
 ceiving that he had no Defign upon them but 
 their own good, of which they frequently ex- 
 perimented feveral Inftances, their Averfion 
 was changed into Love and Kindnefs ^ and 
 though at his firft coming among them, they 
 expreffed a great deal of Animoiity and Dif- 
 refpect to his Perfon and Family , yet many 
 Years before he left them, they feemed high- 
 ly fenfible of their Error, and gave many fig- 
 nal Proofs of their hearty Good- Will towards 
 him and them ^ and when he was promo- 
 ted from this I 3 arifh to the Bifhoprick of 
 St. Davids , no People could teftifie more 
 Concern and Sorrow, than the Parifhioners 
 did upon this Occafion, for the lofs of thofe 
 Advantages which they enjoyed by his living 
 among them. And I am credibly informed, 
 that to this Day, they never name him with- 
 out Exprefiions of Gratitude and Refpect. 
 
 For fome time before his coming to Avemng+ 
 he had made ufe of a Curate to affift him in 
 hi Parochial Duties } but that Help became 
 now much more neceifary , by reafon of the 
 
 large-
 
 late Lord Bijbof of St. David/. 353 
 
 largenefs of his Parifti, and the ill ftate of his 
 Health, which he had very much impaired by 
 his Night Studies, in which he had taken great 
 delight during the Vigour of his Age. Yet 
 notwithftanding this Affiftance, except he was 
 prevented by Sicknefs, he preached once every 
 Lord's Day, and read the Prayers frequently 
 himfelf the other part of the Day, when his 
 Curate preached. He chofe to divide after this 
 manner the publick Adminiflrations, that the 
 People might not entertain a mean Opinion of 
 his Curates, as if they were not qualified for 
 the Duties of the Pulpit} and that they might 
 have better Thoughts of our excellent Litur- 
 gy, when they faw the Parochial Minifter of- 
 ficiate himfelf. He very frequently condem- 
 ned the wicked PraBics (as he called it) of 
 thofe Incumbents, who by their Pride, Selhfh- 
 nefs or Negled, give countenance to thofe fa- 
 tal Mrftakes among the People. There was 
 one Ufe indeed he made of a Curate, which 
 will appear furprizing, becaufe I believe fel- 
 dom or never practifed, and that was to ad- 
 monifh him of his Faults , the Propofal was 
 from himfelf, that they might agree from that 
 time, to tell one another freely, in love and 
 privacy, what they obferved amifs in each o- 
 ther : It is certain, this might help to regu- 
 late the Condud of his own Life :, but it had 
 this peculiar Advantage, that it gave him a 
 handle to find fault without Offence, with a* 
 ny thing that appeared wrong in his Curate^ 
 
 A a for
 
 354 ^ e Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 for when the Liberty was mutual, neither of 
 them could be blamed for the ufe of it. I re- 
 late this Circumftance with the more certainty^ 
 becaufe I received the Information of it from 
 the worthy Clergyman himfelf, who was then 
 his Curate, and with whom this Agreement 
 was made. 
 
 LXIV. He had not been long at Avening, before he 
 t^x-v-sj was preferred to the Archdeaconry of Landaff-^ 
 Mr. Bull for it appeareth by the Regifter Book of the 
 ^^ Chapter of that Church, that Mr. Bull was 
 Sancroft,fo inftalied Archdeacon the 2o th of June 1686. 
 ^^ s con fiderable Pft m t ^ e Church was be- 
 flowed upon him by Archbifhop Saner oft , 
 his whofe Option it was -, and purely in confide- 
 
 ration f the great and eminent Services he had 
 done the Church of God, by his learned and 
 judicious Works, as Dr. Batefy, his Grace's 
 Chaplain expreffed it, in a Letter writ to Mr. 
 Bui/, by the order of his Lord. The man- 
 ner of Mr. Bull's receiving this honourable 
 Station in the Church, added very much to 
 his Reputation, becaufe it was conferred upon 
 him by an Archbimop, who had a particular 
 regard to the Merit of thofe he advanced, 
 without any Solicitation or Application made 
 by Mr. Bull himfelf. 
 
 And indeed what could be expected lefs 
 f^Qjjj f o venerable a Prelate, who had all thofe 
 great Abilities of Learning and Wifdom, of Pi- 
 ety and Integrity, joined with a prudent Zeal 
 2 for
 
 tale Lord Bi/hop of St. DavidV. 
 
 for the Honour of God, and the Welfare and 
 Profperity of the Church, which qualified him 
 for that elevated Station wherein the Provi- 
 dence of God had placed him j and yet at the 
 fame time was endowed with fuch large Mea- 
 fures of Mortification and Self-denial, con- 
 tempt of the World and paffive Courage, as 
 enabled him, by the Afiiftance of God's 
 Grace, with great Compofure of Mind, to fub- 
 mit to be deprived of all which he could not 
 keep with a good Conscience j as it is exprefTed 
 on the left fide of his Tomb, by his Grace's 
 Order. And it is affirmed, by thofe who had 
 the Honour to be better acquainted with him 
 than I was , " That the moft greedy World- 
 <c ling never enjoyed half that folid Compla- 
 " cency, in the mod lucky and fortunate Ac- 
 " quifitions, as his Grace did, in being redu- 
 tc ced to the mean Circumftances of a private 
 " Life. For after his Deprivation he retired 
 into the Country , the place of his Nativity, 
 at Freftngfield in Suffolk, where full of Piety 
 and good Works, as well as Years, he died the 
 24 th of November 1699, in the 77 th Year of 
 his Age, and was buried in the Church-yard 
 of the aforefaidParim, againft the South Wall 
 of the Church by his own Appointment. It is 
 certain that this great Man, had in his very 
 Youth been feafoned with Sufferings $ and in 
 the flower of his Age he refufedboth the Cove- 
 nant and the Engagement , the taking of which 
 were in thofe Times necefliuy Steps to Pre- 
 
 A a 2 ferment.
 
 Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 ferment -, though one Oath was defigned to 
 propagate Rebellion , and to deftroy the 
 Church, and the other to fupport acruelUfur- 
 pation. But he chofe to relinquifh his Inte- 
 reft in his native Country, and fubmitted to a 
 voluntary Exile, rather than advance himfelf 
 by the Rewards of Ungodlinefs, and own an 
 unjuft Power. His Vertue was uniform and 
 of a piece , for when he was in his great- 
 eft Elevation, he declined the Commands of 
 his lawful and rightful Prince, rather than 
 obey him, to the prejudice of the true Re- 
 ligion and the eftablifhed Laws , which are 
 certainly the Meafures of the Subject's Obe- 
 dience -, yet he would not refift his Sove- 
 reign to fave both, becaufe he apprehended, 
 the Laws of the Land , as well as the Pre- 
 cepts of the Gofpel, expresfly forbid it j and 
 chofe rather the Expulfion from all his Ho- 
 nours and Ecclefiaftical Revenues , than vio- 
 late his Confcience , or ftain the Purity of 
 thofe Principles which he had always main- 
 tained and defended. 
 
 The Nature Having mentioned this Preferment of the 
 *L a n. P ' Archdeaconry of Landaff, as the Archbifliop's 
 Option, I hope it will not be thought impro- 
 per, to add fomething concerning the Natuje 
 of this Archiepifcopal Privilege, for the fake 
 of fuch Readers as are not much verfed in Mat- 
 ters of this nature -, and Becaufe I have met 
 with none of thofe Writers who treat of Ec- 
 clefiaftical Laws, that have touched upon it. 
 4- And
 
 late Lord Bifbof of St. David'/. 357 
 
 And I the rather chufe to infert it here, becaufe 
 I owe the Knowledge I (hall advance upon this 
 Subjedt, to a Converfation of Archbifhop San- 
 croft\ who is well known to have been ad- 
 mirably flailed in Matters of this kind j 
 though if the Learned (hall difcover any Ble- 
 mifhes or Miftakes, in what I am about to re- 
 late in this Matter, I am very willing to chal- 
 lenge them as my own $ for they are certainly 
 due to the imperfect manner of receiving, 
 what was without doubt delivered with great 
 Judgment and Exadnefs. To explain there- 
 fyre this Privilege, the Reader muft know, 
 that the Archbimop of Canterbury hath a 
 Right, upon the Promotion of every Bifhop 
 in his Grace's Province, to chufe any one Ec- 
 clefiaftical Preferment, Prebend, or Benefice 
 in that Diocefs , which is called the Archbi- 
 fhop's Option -, which is even at the Difpofal 
 of the Executors of the Archbifhop, if the Bi- 
 Ihop tha is promoted doth not die before the 
 Option becometh vacant. This Prerogative is 
 built upon immemorial Cuftome , it having 
 been found by ArchbiQuop Bancroft fo acknow- 
 ledged , in Deeds, dated above three hundred 
 Years ago. The ground of this Right was, 
 the Power the Archbifhop had to impofe two 
 Perfons of his own Choice, upon any of his 
 Suffragans for their Chaplains, upon their 
 Confecration i which Perfons, the refpedive 
 Bimops at firtt were obliged to maintain, by 
 allowing them Penlions, till they could fup- 
 
 A a 3 ply
 
 358 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 ply them with Preferments out of their own 
 DiocefTes. This was looked upon as a great 
 Grievance to the Biftiops, and an increafe of 
 that necefTary Charge which attends their Pro- 
 motion , and thefe Penlions, were accounted a 
 heavy Burthen , becaufe the Biftiops were for- 
 ced to part with their ready Money to fupport 
 Strangers. The Complaints of this matter be- 
 ing very frequent, it was at laft accommodated 
 after this manner ^ viz. That the Biihop mould 
 by Deed, grant to the Archbifhop, fuch a Be- 
 nefice or Dignity in his Diocefs as he mould 
 name ^ but this Grant did only bind the Bi- 
 (hop who made it, and not his SuccefTors. To 
 remove and fupply this Defed, Archbifiiop 
 Gnr.dal did agree with the Biftiops, that they 
 fhould make a Grant for one and twenty Years, 
 but then, if that Preferment did not fail va- 
 cant in that time, the Grant was of no efrecT:, 
 Archbiihop Wkitgift carried this Affair frill 
 farther, and brought the Biftiops to inferr at 
 leaft half a fcore Preferments in their Grants, 
 referving to himfelf a liberty to fix upon the 
 firfl that became vacant. But after the Statute 
 of Limitation of Grants in Queen EU&ab&K* 
 time, the Method now eftabliftied feeirs to 
 have r; kui place. 
 
 \\hile Mr. Bull was at Landaff^ upon the 
 Nomination of Biftop Fell, who" thought it a 
 by ftiame, that fuch a Man fhould be fuffered to 
 r- jj e ny longer in obfcurity, without any pub- 
 
 - ,. , _/ . & _ - /', n J r i 
 
 hck Notice taken of, or Character conferred 
 
 upon
 
 late Lord Bijhop of St. David'/. 
 
 upon him, it was moved in a full Convocati- 
 on at Oxford, by the Regius ProfefTor of Divi- 
 nity, Dr. Jane^ That as an Acknowledgement 
 of the fingular Honour done that Univerfity, 
 and of the lading Service done to the whole 
 Church by Mr. George #//, through his excel- 
 lent Book of, Defenfw Fidei Nicen<e, lately 
 printed and publifhed among them } and for 
 a perpetual Teftimony of their Efteem and 
 Favour for a Perfon of his Merits, he fliould 
 be admitted prefently to the Degree and Title 
 of a Dodor in Divinity, notwithstanding that 
 he had never taken any Academical Degree, 
 not fo much as in Arts. To which the Con- 
 vocation of that learned Body moft readily con- 
 fented, not being able to refufe, to one who 
 had fo admirably defended the ancient Do- 
 clors of the Catholick Church, an honorary 
 Title, which had been deferved by him on 
 more than one Account ^ and the conferring 
 whereof would be no lefs honourable to them- 
 felves, than to him, by allowing him a Name 
 in their Fafh , among the modern Dodlors of 
 the Anglican Church, which the univerfal Suf- 
 frage of the learned World, muft even without 
 this their authentick Declaration, haveadvan- 
 ced him unto. Whereupon the Bimop writ a 
 Letter, to thank Mr. Bull for the noble Pre- 
 fent he had made him in that immortal Work, 
 and to acquaint him at the fame time with the 
 Honour which the Univerfity defigned him : 
 And the Profefibr writ alfo another Letter to 
 
 A a 4 him,
 
 360 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 him, giving him an account of what had paf- 
 fed in Convocation, with refpeft to him, in 
 confideration of his great and eminent Service 
 for the Church by his laft Book -, and rreffing 
 him to come therefore to Oxford, that he might 
 there receive the Tokens of their Efteem, and 
 be admitted to the higheft Degree of Honour, 
 tliat was in their Power to confer on any. Mr. 
 Bull received thefe Letters at Landaff, where 
 he had juft taken pofTefiion of the Archdeacon- 
 ry, which Archbifhop Sancrofi had beftowed 
 upon him j .whereupon he came to Oxford a- 
 bout'the beginning of July, that he might be 
 prefent at the Ad, in order for perfecting the 
 faid Degree, and upon the tenth of the faid 
 Month , was created Dodor , in the Year 
 MDCLXXXVI, without the Payment of 
 the ufual Fees. . . ; . 
 
 XV. I have already in other parts of this Life, 
 given fo particular an Account of Dr #'sMe- 
 thod in governing his Parifh, and of his Man- 
 .jjgj. ] n performins the Duties of his Holy Fun- 
 
 . ;'?,'" _, . * . 
 
 ction, that it is not neceflary to add any tmng 
 upon that Sub jecl, forther than what of that Na- 
 
 ' , . , . f ^ 
 
 . turc appears to have been peculiar to his Con- 
 duel at Avenmg. Now the State and Conditi- 
 on of that Parifh, having been, as I have be- 
 fore related ^ one Means he fixed upon in or- 
 der to reform it^ was to have a Sennon in his 
 Church every Xhurfday^ the Defign whereof 
 was, farther to inftrud the People, who were 
 
 very
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. David V. 36 K 
 
 very ignorant, in the Principles of theChrifti- 
 an Religion , a Method which was not unlike- 
 ly to prevail upon them. For when they 
 found him fo zealous, as to do more than they 
 thought he was obliged to, they were ready to 
 conclude , that their Welfare was the great 
 Motive which influenced him; and to make 
 this more effectual, the Children were on the 
 fame Day Catechized by the Curate , which 
 ftill tended to the Inftrudion of thofe of riper 
 Years : And yet, to bring this good Defign 
 to greater Perfection, he always diftriburedou 
 fuch Days five Shillings among the Poor, that 
 they might be encouraged to attend the Church 
 =at fuch Seafons. How long he continued this 
 Practice it is not very certain, though there k 
 no doubt but that he purfued it for fome 
 time. 
 
 It is required by the 34 th Canon, that the*'7Af*- 
 Candidates of Holy Orders, amone; other Pre-$' /0 ?" 5? 
 
 i~ rr r s\ A- /i i i J l nl ng*C' 
 
 Jiminanes neceilary tor Ordination, ihall bring 
 fufficient Teftimonials of their fober Life and 
 tonverfation, from fuch as have known and 
 lived near them for three Years before. Now 
 upon this account there was frequent Applica- 
 tion made to Dr. Eutt^ during his Residence 
 in thisParifh, and for fome time before, to pro- 
 cure his Hand to Teftimonials ^ for his Fame 
 and Reputation were become fo conOderable, 
 that the Charaders he gave, had great weight 
 with thofe to whom they were addrefh But 
 he was very, nice as to this Particular , many 
 
 he
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 he refufed who importuned him for his Recom- 
 mendation, and he took fome pains to fatisfie 
 himfelf, before he would pretend to fatisfie 
 others. It hath been rightly obferved by my 
 Lord Bacon, " That nothing is thought fo 
 " eafie a Requeft to a Great Perfon, as his 
 " Letter, and yet if it be not in a good Caufe, 
 " it is fo much out of his Reputation. For 
 either it reflects upon his Underftanding, if he 
 rnaketh a wrong Judgment; and if he knoweth 
 that the Perfon doth not deferve the Chara- 
 cter given him , he is certainly liable to a 
 worfe Cenfure. But where the Church is 
 concerned, the Confequences are much more 
 fatal -, and therefore it is to be wilhed, that all 
 Perfons who are applied to upon this account 
 to fign Teftimonials, would be very confcien- 
 tious in this Matter *, that fo good a Method 
 may not be rendered ineffectual, by a very 
 mifchievous Complaifance, of which a ilrict 
 Account muftbe given at the 1 aft Day, (ince 
 Bimops the beft difpofed to do their Duty, 
 may be impofed upon by eminent Hands. 
 ps? fuppref- One great Conteft he had with the diforder- 
 ks the ok- jy People of Avenin?. related to the obfervati- 
 
 lervatson or * ~ r ,v% ittr^ 
 
 a'v in on ot a Feaft , which was attended the Day 
 ifi. following with extravagant Revels. It is true, 
 that the Piety of our Anceftors did fet a-part 
 one Day in every Year, to commemorate the 
 Dedication of the publick Place of Worfhip, 
 and every Church almoft had its Anniverfa- 
 ry ^ and good Laws were enacted, that they 
 
 might
 
 late Lord Bijhof of St. David*/. 563 
 
 might be both folemnly and orderly kept. 
 Thefe Days thus eftablimed , were called 
 Wakes from the Saxon Word, which figni- 
 (ies to watch. But the Obfervation of theni 
 degenerating into Luxury, they grew very 
 grievous to all fober People, and the good 
 Reafon of their Inftitution , did not make a- 
 mends for the obftinate Abufe of them. In 
 order to redify thefe Diforders , Dr. Bull ap- 
 peared againft them in the Pulpit, and expofed 
 the Folly and Madnefs of them, with a true 
 Chriftian Courage, for he did not fear to dif- 
 pleafe Men, when the Honour of God , and 
 the Good of Souls were at flake. But when 
 neither his Inftrudions nor his Exhortations, 
 both in publick and private, could prevail 
 upon the Generality of them, to obferve that 
 Regularity , which the Laws of Chriftianity 
 require from all its ProfefTors, he procured an 
 Order of Seflions to fupprefs it \ which effe- 
 clually put an End to it many Years before he 
 left the Place :, but it coft him much Time 
 and Labour ^ though it was ufual with hirr^ 
 never to give over any thing of that nature, 
 till he had attained the good End he at iirft 
 propofed. 
 
 During the Reign of King James the II d , tfi/rucfor 
 when our Apprehenfions of the increafe of Po- a&atnfl p , n ' 
 
 ,, r r i eperjtntte 
 
 pery were no ways groundlels , but founded Reign of 
 in thofe Meafures, which we apparently fawf'^ 
 
 . James. 
 
 were taken to advance and promote it ^ then it 
 was that Dr. Bull thought it his Duty, chiefly 
 
 to
 
 64 the Life of Dr. George Bull,, 
 
 to lay open the Errors of the Church of Rome, 
 and he then took all Opportunities, both in his 
 own Parifh, and in other publick Places where 
 he was called to preach, as at Bath and Gloce* 
 fter y and in a Vifitation Sermon at Hampton, 
 to convince the People how much they would 
 hazard their Salvation, if ever they fuffered 
 themfelves by fly Arts and Infinuations, to be 
 drawn into the Roman Communion j wherein 
 they had made many Additions to the primi- 
 tive Poftrinesof Chriftianity, and had required 
 their Novelties to be received, as neceffary 
 Articles of Faith, though the holy Scriptures, 
 $n$ primitive Antiquity were filent concern- 
 ing them, and in fome Points expresfly againft 
 them. Thefe Errors in Dotlrine, he aggra- 
 vated by con fiderable Corruptions in her pub- 
 lick Offices f, which were, not only in an un- 
 known Tongue, and confequently no ways edi- 
 fying to the People , but in fome Parts were 
 addreffed to Saints and Angels, contrary to 
 Scripture, and the practice of the primitive 
 Church. It muft be owned, that Dr. Bull was 
 indeed a very frank AfTertor of fome primitive 
 Truths, upon which are built feveral Errors 
 of the Church of Rome j and the Sermons, 
 which are now printed, will furnilh the Rea- 
 der with feveral inftanees of this Remark : 
 Now among thofe who cannot, or will notdi- 
 ftingium the Foundation, from the Hay and 
 Stubble that is built upon it, we muft not won- 
 der, if he was thought too much inclining to. 
 
 the
 
 late Lord Bijkop of St. David'/. 365 
 
 the Church of Rome ^ which unjuft Cenfure was 
 confirmed by his exacT: Conformity to the R Tiles 
 of the Church of England, in a place where 
 the People were under great Prejudices , both 
 againft her Difcipline and Liturgy. But this 
 Calumny hath been thrown upon the greateft 
 Lights of our Church , and upon one of the 
 beft Men that ever fwayed the Scepter of Great 
 Britain , and will be the Fate of many more, 
 who fhall zealouily contend, for the primitive 
 Dodrines and Difcipline of Chriftianity j and 
 furely, if that excellent Prince, King Charles 
 the Firft, and that primitive Prelate, Archbi- 
 (hop Laud, could not efcape the Load of fuch 
 malicious and groundlefs Imputations, it is not 
 to be wondered if others, who purfue their 
 Steps, and tread in their Paths of Religion, 
 though they move in a muchinferiour Sphere, 
 meet with the fame Obloquy and Reproach 
 which they fo feverely felt. But yet in the 
 Day of any Trial, the Men of this Character 
 will be found the beft Defenders of the Church 
 of England, and the Boldeft Champions, againft 
 the Corruptions of the Church of Rome. How- 
 little Dr. Bull deferved this Reflection, appear- 
 ed now by his Courage and Refolution, in at- 
 tacking thofe pernicious Errors, which he ap- 
 prehended might gain ground, by the Autho- 
 rity and Favour of a Prince upon the Throne, 
 who was unhappily engaged in that Communi- 
 on. For Dr.Butf, like, a vigilant and confci- 
 entious Paftor, warned his People of the ap- 
 proaching
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 approaching Danger , fupplicd them with Ar- 
 guments for the Hour of Temptation, con- 
 firmed them in the Principles of the Proteftant 
 Religion, and made them fenfible how much 
 it was their Duty, rather to expofe themfelves 
 to any temporal Sufferings, than embrace fuch 
 Principles and Practices, as tended to hazard 
 the Salvation of their immortal Souls. 
 
 Some time after the Revolution Dr. Bull 
 was P ut mto the Commiffion of the Peace, in 
 Peace ajter which he continued, with fome little interrup- 
 
 * ~ r * on ' r *^ ke was nia( ^ e a Bifhop. The main in- 
 ducement which prevailed upon him to aft in 
 a fecular Poft, was, that he might have an Op* 
 portunity to put the Laws in execution, againft 
 Immorality and Prophanefs -, that thofe whom 
 he could not convince by his Arguments, nor 
 perfuade by his affectionate Way of inforcing 
 them, might be terrified into better Manners, 
 by the Sword of Juftice which was put into 
 his hands. To this purpofe, though he de- 
 clined medling in other Matters, which no 
 ways were fubfervient to his own Profeffion, 
 yet he was vigorous in fuppreffing Vice and 
 Immorality, and by the help of fome Clergy- 
 men in his Neighbourhood , who procured 
 him Informations againft common Swearers, 
 Drunkards, and Prophaners of the Lord's Day, 
 he was very fuccefsful. I know this Work 
 of Reformation of Manners, as under the Care 
 and Management of a Society for that purpofe, 
 lieth under fome Prejudices, even with fober 
 
 and
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V." 3 67 
 
 and underftanding Perfons ^ but I believe it 
 chiefly proceeded! from fome falfe Stories,which 
 have been raifed on purpofe to difcredit the 
 Undertaking :, which Calumnies and Slanders 
 having been too eafily believed, have thrown 
 Contempt upon the whole Work, fo good in it 
 felf, and fo neceflary for the Welfare of the 
 Community , for I cannot apprehend, what 
 Service the beft Laws can do the Publick , if 
 the Execution of them is difcountenanced. 
 All that can be defired in this Cafe is, that an 
 impartial Enquiry may be made into fuch Re* 
 ports, as bear hard upon the Proceedings of the 
 Society } and I am very much inclined to think, 
 that generally they will be found falfe , which 
 Opinion, I ground upon the Experience I have 
 made of this kind my felf } I am fure they 
 cannot be juftly condemned, till they have been 
 admitted to a fair Hearing , and if fome little 
 Indifcretion mould be difcovered in the Ma- 
 nagement of fome, there is no reafon that 
 (hould be made a handle to difparage all fuch 
 ufeful Proceedings. It muft be owned, that it 
 requireth great Courage and Refolution, to get 
 the better of that Oppofition, which a Man 13 
 fure to meet with in Affairs of this Nature , 
 from the World and the Devil. It requireth 
 a Zeal according to Knowledge, to aft in this 
 Matter from a Principle of Religion, without 
 any mixture of Malice or Self-intereft -, and 
 great Prudence and Circumfpeclion is neceflary, 
 to determine the belt manner of doing this 
 
 eood
 
 368 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 good Work j but above all, the Stridnefs of 
 their own Lives inuft fupport that Zeal, which 
 is fhewn for the Reformation of others. And 
 '1 have great reafon to think, that thefe excel- 
 lent Qualifications have not been wanting in 
 feveral Gentlemen, who have confulted to- 
 gether, to give a Check to thofe diforderly 
 Walkers that abound among us. I am fure 
 they have been at great Charges to fupport the 
 Expences of legal Proceedings, and to defend 
 Conitables , from being malicoufly and falfly 
 profecuted 9 and to make them fome Reparati- 
 on, for the unreafonable Abufes they have 
 met with upon fuch Occafions , though they 
 who have loft their Lives in difcharge of their 
 Oath and Duty, by endeavouring to deteci 
 and fupprefs Vice and Immorality, as it is cer- 
 tain fome have done , nmft exped: their Re- 
 ward at a higher Tribunal. It is true indeed, 
 that by the Blefling of God upon their vigo- 
 rous Proceedings, great Numbers of lewd Per- 
 fons have been brought to legal Punifhment, 
 and others have been forced to abfcond, in or- 
 der to efcape the Terror of the Laws , by which 
 means, feveral Sinners have been recovered to 
 a Senfe of their Follies, and reclaimed from 
 their wicked Practices -, at lead bad Examples 
 have been removed out of fight, and publick 
 Scandals have not been fo frequent. Which 
 is fufficient to entitle all thofe who labour in 
 this difficult Province, to the Prayers and good 
 Wifhes, and fubftantial Encouragement of all 
 
 thofe,
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V. 
 
 thofe, who are concerned for the Welfare of 
 their Country, and have the Honour of God 
 at heart. 
 
 
 
 In the Year 1694, Dr. Bull, while Re&or of LXV'J 
 Averting, publiflied his JudiciwnEcclefia Catholi- ^-^^\ 
 c, &c. which was printed at O.r/W,and written Hit Judici 
 in defence of ^tAnatbema^ as his former Book um Eccle - 
 had been of the Faith, pronounced at the firft 
 Council of fttce. The Occafion of writing this fen a 
 Treatife was, that in his reading the xxxiv th 
 Chapter of the fourth Book of the Inflituti- 
 ons of Epifcopius, where he treateth concern ing 
 the TSeceJjity of believing the manner of the 
 divine Filiation of Jefus Chrift, and putteth 
 this Queftion, " Whether the Fifth (and 
 u higheft) manner of Chrift's being the Son 
 <c of God, be necefTary to be known and be- 
 ** lieved , and whether they who deny the 
 " fame, are to be Excommunicated and Ana- 1 
 " thematized > He made fome Remarks here* 
 upon for his own private Ufe, and drew up art 
 Anfwer to the Arguments of that learned Wri- 
 ter, whereby he was perfuaded, that the 
 primitive Catholicks did not refufe Commu- 
 nion, with thofe that received not the Article 
 of the divine Generation or Filiation of Jefu3 
 Chrift, if they acknowledged him to be the 
 Son of God , by his miraculous Concepti- 
 on of the Holy Ghoft, by virtue of his medi- 
 atorial Office, by his Refurredion from the 
 
 B b Dead,
 
 g 7<D The Life of Dr. George Bidl, 
 
 Dead, and by his Exaltation to (it at theRigttt 
 Hand of God the Father. 
 
 Hit char a- Epjfcophu, as our Author hath obferved , 
 was a Man of great natural Parts , and more 
 tnan commonly learned in many Things j 
 to but he was one, who very little confuJted or 
 "tit* care ^ f r t ^ ie Writings of the ancient Fathers ? 
 yea, pkinly defpifed them. Whence,, writing 
 againft Wading the Jefuite, who made a migh- 
 ty boaftofthe Fathers and Councils, as if they 
 were all generally on his fide againft the Prote- 
 ftants, he took him up fhort, telling him once 
 for all, that he was miftaken , in thinking ta 
 draw him into fuch an endlefs Maze and La- 
 bour, at which he m-uft work like a Mill- 
 horfe, for the fake only of an empty Name: 
 and that he did not envy thofe , who had a 
 mind to be always roving and flu&uating in 
 that Ocean of Councils and Fathers, and to be 
 laying out upon them all their Time and Pains, 
 the Glory of being efteemed for their vaft 
 Reading and capacious Memory , for that he 
 had no Ambition in him after a Fame for that, 
 which coft fo dear and fignified fo little. Where- 
 fore he gave the Jefuit to underftand, that he 
 would deal with him with other fort of Wea- 
 pons, than thofe which he brought ;^ And that 
 becaufe he did not think any great Strefs was 1 
 to be laid upon the Fathers and Councils, in 
 the Points controverted betwixt them , fince 
 they wer-e equally challenged by both (ides, 
 
 he
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. David'/; 37 
 
 he had refolved not to be at much pains about 
 them, nor to purchafe with fo much Sweat, that 
 which he might afterwards come to repent of. 
 But it, were much to have been wifhed, that 
 he had here cxcepted, at leaf! the Fathers and 
 Writers of the three firft Centuries of the 
 Church* For moft certainly, as our Author 
 hath well noted hereupon, had he expended 
 more of his Time and Study in reading of 
 thefe, he would herein have taken pains not 
 to be repented of^ either by himfelf, or the 
 Church of Chrift. For it is his Judgment, 
 that fo learned and good a Man, would never 
 have undertaken fo far, the Patronage of the 
 Arians and Socinians, as to excufe their Do- 
 ftrine concerning the Perfon of our Saviour* 
 by the pretended Judgment and Authority of 
 the primitive Church, as if it were but Erro- 
 neous only and not Heretical alfo. This Dr. 
 Bull could no ways bear to hear of, who is 
 pofitive, that it may be demonftrated from the 
 prefent Remains which we have of Church An- 
 tiquity, that all thofe Churches in the moff 
 early Ages, which are in this Cafe appealed to, 
 did agree to condemn the fame, as a moft per- 
 nicious and deadly Here fy^ and that the Fathers 
 of the Council of Nice, did no more than de- 
 clare herein , the Sentiment of the whole Ca- 
 tholick and Apoftolick Church, or of alhhci 
 feveral particular Churches from which they 
 came, ad which they reprefented, by that 
 
 B b a dam*
 
 372 {The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 damnatory Claufe, which was added by them 
 to their Confeflion of Faith. 
 
 The AM- The Form of the Anathema pronounced in 
 Ife concf/ t ^ lat Council, which feemed too harfh and un- 
 ofNice de- charitable to Epifcopitts , but which Dr. kutt 
 Shim luth ^indicated, from all the Objections and 
 and others. Prejudice's raifed agftinft it, is this :, * " Them 
 " that fay, that there was a Tims when he was 
 ** not, or that before be was born he Was not, 
 " or that he was made out of Things that dre 
 " not fit that he u of another Subftance or Effence, 
 " and. them that maintain, that the Son of 
 " God is Created, or Convertible , or Change- 
 " able$ all thefe 'doth the Catholick and Apo- 
 " ftolical Church anathematize.. But this An- 
 fwer of Dr. 'Bull to : Epifcofiits, in defence of 
 the fkid 'Anathema of the Council, 'as the Judg- 
 ment, bf the whole Catholick Church in the 
 pufeft' Ages' of it, was not written and publi- 
 (hedib much agbitift'Eprfcopiits himfelf, or a- 
 gainft"his Difciple Cwcell&us, who hath writ- 
 ten a f DifTertatipti alfo much to the fame pur- 
 pofe; or againfl any of the Learned abroad, 
 whether Remonftrants or Unitarians -, a? againfl 
 fome at home among us , to whom Dr. Bull 
 
 . * TuV <^e ^yovT.etf , r,v ^ore, ore -jc vv, <tr t ' T f 1>r y~v f *~ 
 
 7V^/.BX l-'f, X^ e| KX, 'ovTVV^kjWZTO, \. J-Tif-tf t~~- 
 
 &<f$*>f >i xyjitfj fttrxbirtiit wt, XT/COP Tfj-rrip ;' 
 
 vt\ ~fl' " ..-.. v 
 
 rov USF TK 0*t 
 
 f De Ncceflitacc Cognitionis ChriO.i, 
 
 a giveth
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V. 373 
 
 giveth the Name of Mediators, for joining to- 
 gether two Extremes j who in their Writings 
 have made ufe of the Arguments of Epifcoptus, 
 CitrcelUwy and even of Socinus himfelffor this 
 end. Againft fuch modern Reconcilers as thefe, 
 who flood indifferent for the Truth, and were 
 Strangers to the Principles of Catholick Com-' 
 munion, it appeareth, that this Treatife was 
 principally levelled by the Author. Which he 
 defigned mould fervefor a Supplement, to his 
 Defence of the Faith declared in the Council 
 of Nice. And fo indeed it is, and a Vindicati- 
 on of that Defence to that purpofe. 
 
 It contained! the Judgment of the Catho- 
 lick Church of the three firfl Centuries, con- 
 cerning the Nece//ity ofhehevmr. that our Lord vfp*Mfl>>it 
 
 r r ^ TL A j T L- r> &' Bk' 
 
 Jetus Chnit is true God. In his Premonition 
 to the Reader, the Author hath given us an 
 Account, as hath been hinted, of theOccafion 
 and Defign of his engaging againft that learn- 
 ed Writer in this prefent Treatife. Which he 
 hath done after fo clear and diftincl a manner, 
 as very little more, betides what I have already 
 taken notice of, need be fa id upon it. I fhall 
 only therefore here obferve , that about the 
 fame time, and for fome few Years before, there 
 were certain Difcourfes and Pamphlets printed 
 in Englifi, which under the plaufible Pretences 
 of Moderation and Charity, were for breaking 
 down all the Fences of Orthodox and Catho- 
 lick Communion : and fo for leaving the mofl 
 fundamental Articles of the Chriftian Faith 
 
 B b 3 per-
 
 74 Tfo Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 perfectly indifferent, according as every one 
 (hall be inclined to believe more or lefs. 
 
 With this Defign, a Book called, the naked 
 Gofpel^ was printed at Oxfordm 1690, the main 
 Subject whereof was , the Simplicity of the 
 jGofpel, which our Lord and his Apoftles 
 preached, as necelTary to be believed 5 with 
 fome account of the Alterations or Additions, 
 which after- Ages either made, or are pretend- 
 ed to have made in it -, and of the Advantages 
 and Damages which have thereupon enfued to 
 the Catholick Church : It is well known , 
 that this Book was condemned , and ordered 
 to be publickly burnt, by the Convocation of 
 the Univerfity of Oxford , upon the i$ th of 
 Auguft the fame Year j and there were two 
 large Anfwers to it printed the next Year, the 
 one written by the Reverend Mr. Thomas 
 Long, B. D. and one of the Prebendaries of 
 St. Peters at Exeter , and the other by Mr. 
 William Nichols, M. A. who was 'a Fellow qf 
 Merton, and then Chaplain to Ralph Earl of 
 Mountague ^ to which laft was added, a fhort 
 fliflory of Socinianifm by the fame Author : 
 and on the other fide there was publimed, an 
 Jiiflorical Vindication of the naked Gofpel, 
 which was either written originally by the fa- 
 IHOUS Monfieur Le Ckrc , or elfe by him tran- 
 ilated into his Life of Eufibius ofC<efarea, as 
 by comparing them will eafily be feen. 
 There were alfo fpread abroad about the fame 
 time feveral fmall Socinian Trad, as the Fire 
 
 con*
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David V. 
 
 continued at Oxford, and others, which under 
 the fame Pretences of the Simplicity of the 
 Gofpel, and mutual Forbearance, carried on 
 the fame Defign, and ufed much the fame Ar- 
 guments as Epifcopiw had done. There was 
 alfo published foon after, An earnefl arid com- 
 paffionate Suit for Forbearance^ to the learned 
 Writers of fome Controverts at prefent ^ by a 
 melancholy Stander-by $ By which learned 
 Writers he declared, that he principally meant 
 Dr. Sherlock and Dr. South. Whereto Dr. Sher- 
 lock returned an Anfwer with a great deal of 
 faltnefs, in his Apology for writing againfi the 
 Socinians. To which the former presently re- 
 plied, calling his Book, The Antapology of the 
 melancholy Stander-by -, in qnfaer to the Dean 
 of St. Prf?//'s late Book, falfely jliled^ An Apo- 
 logy for writing againft the Socinians, &f. 
 which produced, A Defence of the Dean of St. 
 PaulV Apology^ &c. in anfwer to the Antapo^ 
 iogift : and fo this Debate ended between the 
 Dean and the Srander-by. 
 
 As for the Hiftorical Vindication before men- 
 tioned, Dr. Bitll thought himfelf a little more 
 particularly concerned therein, becaufe there is 
 inferted in it a pretty large Account of the Arian 
 Controverfy, and of the Management of the 
 contending fides before, and at thegreat Council 
 of Nice $ with the Hiftory of a great many Fads, 
 fome what other wife, than by him had been rc- 
 prefented in his Defence of that Council. Whc re- 
 ibre he refolved to take fome notice of the 
 
 B b 4
 
 yj6 The Life of Dr. George Bull,, 
 
 Contents hereof, both in this prefent Treatife 
 of the Judgment of the Catholick Cburch , and 
 in another ofthePrifnitiveTradition, but with 
 very little notice of the Book it felf, as not 
 deferving it in his Opinion, The Multitude 
 then, of fuch fort of Pamphlets and Trads, 
 was a main Occafion of his printing at this 
 time this moft learned Piece : and his Defign 
 therein was undoubtedly to limit the Terms 
 of Catholick Communion to the Orthodox 
 Faith, againft the Latitudinarian Notions of 
 the Times. 
 
 LXVII, He hath made a Colle&ion in this Treatife 
 v^^^o of Teflimonies from the primitive Fathers, 
 A fan Ab- which argue not only the Truth of the Divini- 
 $'" 7 of our Ble f ed Saviour, but alfo the Necef- 
 and Me- fay for a Chriftian to believe the fame, in or- 
 der to be faved : And thus the precarious Af* 
 fertion of Eptfcophi^ and his Difciples, is con-- 
 futed and overturned by our Author, Then 
 he hath next given us an Hiftorical Account, of 
 thofe primitive Hereticks who firil oppofed the 
 Catholick and Apoftolical Tradition, concern- 
 ing the Incarnation of the Son of God, and the 
 two Natures in the Perfon of Chrift : and 
 at large juftified the Charge againft the Cerin- 
 thians and the Ebiomtes, for detracting from 
 the Dignity of our Lord, in anfwer to the Ob^ 
 jedionsofDr. Zmcker and others. So that as 
 in the Defence of the Nicene Faith, there are 
 |he Witneiles of the three firft Centuries, for 
 
 the
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David V. 377 
 
 the Trinity and Incarnation of the eternal 
 Word confidered ^ in the Judgment, of the Ca- 
 tholickCkurchi there are the Witnefles of thofe 
 three Centuries alfo, again/I thofe Dodrines 
 examiaed, and balanced with the former. And 
 further, he hath given fuch an Account of the 
 ancient Creeds, and more particularly, of the 
 firft and mod ancient Creed of all, and the 
 Explications thereof, which are found in Ire- 
 neus and Tertullian -, as it will be very hard a 
 ter him to add any further Light to that Mat- 
 ter. For all what the Elder To/fins, with fo. 
 much Pains and Judgment, had collected up- 
 on this Subjecl, with what our moft learned 
 and pious Archbifhop Ufier had alfo written 
 hereupon, after mature deliberation upon the 
 whole , will be found applied with great Skill, 
 and fet in a very advantageous Light, for re- 
 moving all manner of Doubts, concerning the 
 ancient judgment of the Chriftian Church , 
 both Eaftern and Weflern, concerning thefe 
 Matters. And therefore the Creed, which is 
 commonly called the Apo file's Cre ed^ and whicrj. 
 evidently was the Creed of the Latin and We- 
 flern Church, is here fo explained and defen- 
 ded, according to moft ancient Teftimonies, 
 as wholly to take away the edge of thofe Ar- 
 guments, which both Efifcofiw and Sand'ws^ 
 with the Englifb Unitarians, have thence drawn 
 to ferve their Hypothefis. 
 
 In the handling of this Subjecl he is pretty 
 large, and undertaketh to demonftrate thefe fouc 
 
 Pro-
 
 5 7 8 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Proportions or Thefes 5 viz. " I. That the Apo- 
 " ftolical Creed (fo called) however conforma- 
 " ble to the Apoftolical Dodrine, yet was not 
 * dictated by the Apoftles themfelves , in that 
 " Form and Method which we have it in at this 
 " Day , but that it was properly the Creed of the 
 *' Roman Church, which received its Com ple- 
 " tion and Perfection in that Church , about 
 " four hundred Years or more after Ch rift, the 
 " Churches of the Eaft ufing all that time a- 
 * nother Creed. II. That the ancient Church 
 " of Rome had reafon to ufe, and did accord- 
 " ingly ufe a fhorter and more fuccind: Creed, 
 ** than that which the Eaftern Churches were 
 " under a Neceffity of ufing ^ for as much as 
 " thefe were difturbed with all manner of He- 
 " refies, but in the Roman Church there was 
 " no Herefy ftarted up, which adventured to 
 *' expound her more brief Confeffion, other- 
 ** wife than according to the Orthodox and 
 w Catholick Meaning, and the genuine Senfe 
 ^ of the Church. III. That in the 'Roman 
 <c (or Apoftolick) Creed there is truly con- 
 *' tained, a Profeflk>n of the divine Generation 
 " of Chrift in thofe Words, And 1 believe in 
 " J e f us Chrifi his only Son. IV. That in the 
 " Creed or Rule of Faith, which obtained in 
 " the moft ancient Churches of the Eaft before 
 " the firft Council of Nice, this divine eternal 
 " Generation, or moft peculiar manner of the 
 44 Son/hip of our ble (Ted Saviour is delivered 
 v and declared. 
 
 The
 
 late Lord Bi/bof of St. David'*. 3 79 
 
 The firft Thefis is fo learnedly defended 
 by the great Voffius, as all the Criticks in ge- 
 neral, both of the Roman and Proteftant 
 Communions , have fince the Publication of 
 his moft famous Book, concerning the three 
 Creeds, herein with him concurred, and reft- 
 .ed in his Determination. Dr. Bull among the 
 reft concluded, the Arguments there brought 
 to be demonftrative in this Cafe, and to nee.d 
 therefore no farther Confirmation. And in- 
 deed, the Engl:ft Socinians by their nibbling 
 at them, in oppofition chiefly to Dr. Bull, have 
 but thereby contributed the more to the efta- 
 blifhing the Truth of the Difcovery which 
 Vojput had made , and the expofing of their 
 own Weaknefs and Ignorance, in Researches of 
 this Nature. The fecond ant] third of thefe 
 Thefes he hath fully explained and defended : 
 and hath on this Occafion , with great Accu- 
 ratenefs, confidered all the feveral Modes of di- 
 vine Filiation, which are declared \yjEjrifcophu+ 
 in order to a right and thorough ftating of the 
 Queftion betwixt them ', and clearly anfwered 
 the Arguments brought by him, for under- 
 ftanding the divine Generation of our Lord, as 
 he is the only Begotten of the Father in any in- 
 feriour Senfe. Under the lajl Thefts, he hath 
 difcourfed with abundance of Learning upon 
 the old Oriental Rule of Faith, or the moft an- 
 cient Creed that is extant of the Jewifh Chri- 
 flians, being the Hierofclymtan Creed, which 
 in the earlieft and pujeft Ages of the Church 
 
 was
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 was explained by theChatechifts in their cate- 
 chetical Ledures, throughout the Churches 
 pfpateftwe and the Eaft , as appeareth from 
 the Practice, of St. Cyril ^ when he was a Ca- 
 techift in the Church of Jerufalem, whereof 
 he was created afterwards Bifhop, at or about 
 the middle of the fourth Century :, and as is 
 confirmed alfo, by the Confeflion and Tefti- 
 raony of another Bifhop out otPaleftine, when 
 fitting in the Council of Nice, even no lefs a 
 Man than the celebrated Eufebius ofC*forea 9 
 who hath tranfcribed the very Words of the 
 Bjterofofymttan Creed, touching the Article of 
 the Son of God, in the Profefiion of his Faith 
 delivered in unto the Fathers of that Council, 
 (jone fmall Variation admitted into their Sym- 
 bol only excepted) according to what he had 
 been inftrucled, when a Catechumen of that 
 Church of Apoftolical Foundation. The An- 
 tiquity of this Creed is here juftified by mod 
 folid Arguments :, and the catechetical Expo- 
 fition, which generally palTeth under the Name 
 of St. Cyril, is vindicated to be his, from the 
 Objections which feme Criticks have raifed a- 
 gainft it. Each particular Article of it is exa- 
 mined, and upon a moft careful Examination, 
 both the Whole, and all the Parts thereof, are 
 found to be agreeable, to the ancient Creeds, 
 and Confefilons, before the General Councils of 
 Rice and Conjlantinople. The Creed it felf, as 
 we find it commented upon by that holy Do- 
 ctor of the Church, is as followeth, v\&. 
 
 a fe
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. David*/. 38 1 
 
 3! Mt'efce m ojte d^oti, tfje father an 
 mfgijtr, Rafter of !caben ana fcartfc 
 anj> of all Cinngs triffWe ana tntiGble : 
 ana tn one Jloja Sefus Ctotft 
 of (S5otJ, oul^ begotten, bojn of tijc 
 tljer tefoie all Ctitofitj^, true 
 to^om all Cl)mgs torn ma&c , 
 arate ann maue a^au, crucifieD 
 rfeD -, ftut lutjo rofc again front ti?c 
 ean on fyt t^fru 5Ba^, anu afcenneD 
 wto ^cabrh, anti fittct^ on t^e i^fglit 
 l^anD of t^e jfatljer: anntoftofljall come 
 to ju&ge tfie KLtimo: anD tiie 8>eaD, of 
 totjofe fttngfcom tftere fl)aU be no <UD : 
 tn tije $olp d5l)ott tije Comfoiter, 
 
 tit tfte 53aptff m of Repentance, fo^ 
 fo^giijeneiK of fefng : ^nD tn one&c* 
 1^ Catijolicft C^urcft : &tt& m t!)e 5Hr^ 
 furrectfon of tlje jflefy : 3nD in tijc ttfe 
 
 Amen. 
 
 This is the Creed expounded by that 
 cnt BiQiop of Jemjalem, and defended by Dr. 
 Bull , to be more ancient than thofe Creeds an j 
 from which fome pretend that it was borrow- 
 ed.- Yea, attefted to by the very Arians thci; 
 felves, as he hath fliown by feveral of their 
 own Confefiions , and by their very Appeals 
 to Evangelical and Apofblical Tradition -, 
 whence he aptly concluded! them to be felf
 
 Life of Dr. George Bull 5 
 
 condemned^ by what they themfelves have own- 
 ed, to have been delivered down to them from 
 the Beginning. And it isobfervablehere, that 
 as the Church of Jerufalem was , without 
 Controverfy, the moil ancient of all the Ori- 
 ental Churches ^ and the common Creed of 
 that Church probably not much lefs ancient : 
 So the Arians, as coming out from among the 
 Oriental Chriitians, did generally frame all 
 their Confeffions of Faith, as near to that Rule 
 of Faith, which had been received in their 
 Churches from the Beginning, as they could ^ 
 and confequently to that of Jerufakm, as did 
 Eufebius, when he was thought too much to 
 favour that fide. Now upon the whole Mat- 
 ter , this is the Conclufion , that finee it is 
 agreed upon by the Arians and Catholicks , 
 that by the Rule of Faith delivered to the 
 Churches from the Beginning, all were bound 
 " to believe in the only Begotten Son of God^ 
 " begotten of God the Father before all 
 " Worlds, very God, [or perfeft God] by 
 " whom all things were made $ there can be 
 no other Difficulty remaining , but to know 
 which fide doth beft interpret this Rute, that 
 is, moft agreably to tde obvious Senfe of the 
 Words, and the received Interpretation of the 
 Church: And he hath made it very manifeft,that 
 only the Catholicks did hold the genuine Senfe 
 of this Rule, by believing the Son to be of the, 
 fame Nature and EfTence with the Father, moft 
 
 truly
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David' s. 3 83 
 
 truly God $ and that the Arians were very 
 wide from the Truth , by conceiving him to 
 be a Creature, and made out of nothing, and 
 fo no other than a vicarious God , or a fecond 
 and inferiour God. The Rule of Faith being 
 therefore rightly interpreted by the Catholicks, 
 as he hath proved, and as Epifcopius himfelf 
 doth not difown, he hath thence inferred an 
 AfTertion direftly contrary to that of Epifcopius. 
 
 Some time after the Publication of the Ju- LXVIII 
 dicium Ecclefuz Catholic &> &c. I had an Op-o^v^v 
 portunity offending it as a Prefent to Monfieur *>r. Buiiv 
 BOSSUET, thehteBiJbopofMeaux, who was ^jj 
 one of the politeft Writers of the Age, and ve- thoiic 
 ry much efteeraed in France, for his great ^ T 
 Learning, as well as for his good Senfe $ and tt* B,/ip 
 lefs could not be expecled from a Perfon chofe ^JjJJJ 
 for Preceptor, to inftruft the Dauphhi of France, the reft of 
 at a time when that Nation abounded with 
 great Men. This conGderable Prelate had 
 
 on feveral Occafions, exprefled a great Value "*** 
 and Efteem for Dr. Bull's Learning and Judg- A 
 ment ^ fo that from the Commendations the 
 Bifhophadbeftowed upon our learned Author's 
 former Performances, I thought it not unlike- 
 ly, that his Lordfhip would give a favourable 
 Reception to this Production, which was fo 
 very acceptable to many other learned Men. 
 And indeed I was not difappointed in my Ex- 
 , for this fmall Acknowledgment I 
 
 made
 
 384 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 made to his Lordfhip, for the many great Fa- 
 vours he was pleafed to confer upon me, when 
 I was laft in France , was received by him 
 with a Satisfaction , which could arife from 
 nothing fo much , as from the Entertainment 
 he met with in that excellent Treatife. It hap^ 
 ned, that when my Letter and Dr. Butt's Book 
 were delivered to his Lordihip, he was then at 
 St. Germa'ms en Laye y witfr the reft of his Bre- 
 thren met in a general Affembly, which is 
 compofed of all the Archbimops and Bifliops 
 "^ of the Kingdom of France. If through Age or 
 Infirmity, or from fome other reafonable Caufe, 
 any of thefe Prelates are hindred from giving 
 their Attendance upon fuch Occalions , they 
 have the liberty of conftituting their Proxies. 
 The ufual Phce of their Meeting is either Pa- 
 ris or St. Germains, but there is none fixed for 
 that purpofe, becaufe the Appointment there- 
 of dependeth entirely upon the King's Pleafure -, 
 no particular Archbimop or Bifliop hath a Right 
 to prelide in this AfTembly, becaufe it belong- 
 eth to the King 'to nominate, though common- 
 ly the Honour of being Prelident is conferred 
 upon the Afchbimop of Paris. Upon this Oc- 
 cafion, the Bifhopof Meaux not only read Dr. 
 BttPs Book With great Care and ExaSnefs 
 himfelf, but thought fit to communicate it to 
 feveral other Bifhops of thegreateft Eminence, 
 for their Learning and Skill in Divinity, and 
 for thofe other Talents, ' which are neceflary 
 to adorn that high Station in the Church, 
 
 They
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. David'/. 385 
 
 They alfo perufed it with no lefs pleafureand 
 fatisfaftion ; the Refult whereof was, to make 
 a Compliment to the Author from that great 
 and learned Body , and I was defired by the 
 Bifhop of Meaux, in a Letter from his Lord- 
 fhip , not only to return Dr. Bull his humble 
 Thanks, but the unfeigned Congratulations of 
 the whole Clergy of France, aifembled then at 
 Qt.Gefmditti^ for the great Service he had done 
 to the Catholick Church, in fo well defending 
 her Determination of the Neceflity of believing 
 the Divinity of the Son of God. The Letter 
 which his Lordmip wrote to me upon that Oc- 
 cafion, hath been already printed in the firft 
 Volume of Dn Htckes's controversial Let- 
 ters *, but I believe it will not be thought in> 
 proper to infert it in Dr. Bull's Life, as a Mo- 
 nument of that Refpeft which was paid to his 
 Writings, by fo illuftrious a Prelate as the Bi- 
 fhop of Meaux, and by fo learned a Body as 
 the Clergy of France. 
 
 A Monfuur Monfieur Nelfoiv, a Black- 
 heath. 
 
 >j< 
 A St. Germain en Laye, 24juil. 1700. 
 
 T'AYreceu, Monfieur, depuis quinfce jours n^ 
 I une Lettre, dont vousm'hon.irezdefi/^*-^ 1 ^ 
 heath aupres de LonJres, le 1 8 JuiOet de Tan- M. Nd- 
 nee paifee en m'envoyantun LivretluDoitcur^j 
 Eulhu, entitule, Jiidicntm Ecclefix Catholic*, &c. Bull. 
 
 Cc Je
 
 3 86 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Je vous dirai d'abord, Monfieur, que je refTenr 
 tis beaucoup de joie a la veue de voftre ecri- 
 ture <St de voftre notn, & que je fus ravi de 
 cette marque de voftre fouvenir. Quant a 
 1'Ouvfage du Dofteur Bullus, j'ay voulu le 
 lire entier, avant que de vous en accufer la re- 
 ception ^ a fin de vous en dire mon fentiment. 
 Heft admirable & la matiere qu'il traite ne 
 pouvoit eftre expiiquee plus favamment& plus 
 a fond. Ceft ce que je vous fupplie de vou- 
 loir bien luy faire favoir <3t en mefme temps 
 les finceres congratulations de tout Je Clerge 
 de France afiemble en cette ville, pour le fer- 
 vice qu'il rend a TEglife Catholique en defen- 
 dant fi bien le jugement qu'elle a porte fur la 
 neceffite de croire la divinite du Fils de Dieu. 
 Qu'il me foit pennis de luy dire qu'il me refte 
 un feul fujet d'etonnement : C'eft qu'un fi grand 
 homme qui parle fi bien de 1'Eglife, du Salut 
 que Ton ne.trouve qu'en fon unite, & de Faf- 
 fiftance infallible du St. Efprit dans le Concile 
 de Nicee, ce qui induit la mefme grace pour 
 tous les autres afiemblez dans la mefme Eglife, 
 puilfedemeurer un feul moment fans la recon- 
 noiftre. Ou bien, Monfieur, qu'il daigne me 
 dire comme a un zele defenfeur de la Doclrine 
 qull enfeigne, ce que c'eft done qu'il entend 
 par ce mot Eglife Catholique .<? Eftce TEglife 
 Ptomaine , 6c celles qui luy adherent "> Eftce 
 1'Eglife Angluane? Eftce un amas confus de 
 Socierez feparees les unes des autres ^ Et com- 
 ment peuvent elks eftre ce Royaume de J. C. 
 
 non-
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. DavidV. 387 
 
 non divife en Juy mefme & qui aufli ne doit 
 jamais perir > Que je ferai confole d'avoir fur 
 ce fujet un mot de refponce , qui m'explique 
 le fentiment d'un (i grave Auteur. Je fuis tres 
 aife Monfieur d'aprendre dans voftre Lettre 
 1'heureufe nouvelle de la fame de Madame 
 voftre Femme que je recommande de bon cosur 
 a Dieu avec vous & voftre Famille. Ceux 
 qui vous ont raconte les rares talens de M. 
 1 Archevefque de Paris aujourd'hui le Cardi- 
 nal de Noatlles, vous ont dit la verite, ij y a 
 long temps que la chaire de St. Denis n'a efte 
 fi dignement remplie. Si M. Collier dont vous 
 me parlez a fait quelque ecrit Latin fur la 
 nouvelle Spiritualite vous m'obligerez de me 
 lenvoyer. Mais fur tout n'oubliez jamais que 
 je fuis avecbeaucoupde (incerite 
 
 Monfeur, 
 
 Voftre ires-bumble, & 
 
 trts-obeiffant Serviteuf, 
 * J. Bcnigne, E. de Meaux. 
 
 To Mr. Nelfot* at 
 
 St. Germaine en Lay, 24 July 5 17 
 
 Received, Sir, about a fortnight ago, the 
 
 honour of your Letter from Biackheath near 
 
 4 C 2 London,
 
 388 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 London, dated the iSth of]\\\y of the laft 
 Tear, when at the fame time you fent me Dr. 
 BulPj- Book, entituled, Judiciurn Ecclefia? Ca- 
 tholics, &c. I muft fir/l, Sir, acquaint you, 
 that the fight of your Hand and Name gave me 
 a great deal of Joy, and that I was extremely 
 f leafed with this Tejlimony of your Remembrance. 
 As to Dr. BulPj Performance^ I was willing to 
 read it all over , before I acknowledged the re- 
 ceipi of it, that I might be able to give you my 
 Senfe of it. 'Tis admirable, and the Matter he 
 treats could not be explained with greater Learn- 
 ing and greater Judgment. This is what I defire 
 you would be pleafed to acquaint him with, and 
 at the fame time with the unfeigned Congratu- 
 lations of all the Clergy 0/ France, affetnbltd in 
 this place, for the Service be does the Catholick 
 Church, in fo well defending her Determination 
 of the neceffity of believing the Divinity of the 
 Son of God. Give me leave to acquaint him, 
 there is one thing I wonder at, which is, that fo 
 great a Man, who fpeaks fo advantageoufly of 
 the Church, of Salvation, which is obtained on- 
 ly in Unity with her , and of the infallible af- 
 fftance of the Holy Ghoft in the Council of 
 Nice , which infers the fame ajjiflame for all 
 others affembled in the fame Church , can con-' 
 tinue a moment without acknowledging her. Or 
 either, Sir, let him vouchfufe to tell me, who 
 am a z>ealou<s defender of the DoEirine he teach- 
 es^ what it is he means by the term Catholick 
 Church? Is it the Church ^'Rome 5 andthofe 
 
 that
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V. 
 
 that adhere to her ? Is it the Church 0f En- 
 gland ? Is it a confirfdheap of Societies fepa- 
 rated the one from the other ? And how can 
 they be that Kingdom of Chrifl not divided a- 
 gain/I it felf) and which never flail perifb ? It 
 tuould be a great fatisfaElion to me to receive 
 fome Anfwer upon this Sub] eft , that might ex- 
 plain the Opinion offo weighty andfolid an Au- 
 thor. I very much rejoice at the good Nervsjrou 
 fend me of your Ladys Welfare, whom 1 heartily 
 pray jr. with you and your Family. Ton have 
 been rightly hi form din the account you have re- 
 ceiv'd of the admirable Qualifications of the 
 Archbifhop of Paris, now Cardinal de Noail- 
 les, the See of St. Denis has not for a long 
 time been fo worthily filled. If Mr. Collier 
 whom you mention^ has writ any thing in La- 
 tin concerning the modern myftical Divinity, 
 you will oblige me in conveying it to me. But 
 above all remember, that 1 am with a great 
 deal of fmcerity, 
 
 S I R, 
 
 Your moft humble, and 
 
 moft obedient Servant, 
 * J. Benigne, Bifhop of Meanx. 
 
 Cc 3 By
 
 The Life of Dr. George 
 
 - 
 
 By this Letter the Reader will perceive that 
 the Bifhop of Meaux propofed feveral Queries 
 to Dr. But/, in order to know the Sentiments of 
 fo confiderable a Man upon thofe Subjects, 
 which the Bimop expected to receive with no 
 fmall degree of Satisfaction. But juft as Dr. 
 Butt's Anfwer came to my hands, I received 
 the melancholy News of the Bifhop of Meaux's 
 Death, which prevented the Progrefs of that 
 Gontroverfy , which we might have expected 
 to have feen carried on with great Decency , 
 and to very good Effect, by two fuch great 
 Men, though of different Communions, if the 
 Providence of God had not put a Stop to it, 
 by taking the Bifhop out of the World before 
 Dr. Bull's Letter was fent to him. 
 
 LX1X. The laft Treatife which Dr. Bull wrote, 
 v_/->/--^ was, * The Primitive andApoftolical Tradition 
 Dr. Bull c>f the Doclrine received in the Catholick Church ^ 
 *kis Primi- concerning the Divinity of our Saviour Jefus 
 tive and Chrift, afferted and evidently demonstrated a- 
 i"- g a * n ft Daniel Zwicker the Pruffian, and his 
 late followers -in England -which was publifhed, 
 
 w ^ en r ^ e re ^ ^ our ^ earne< ^ Author's Works 
 An account were collected into one Volume, by the very 
 
 of that learned and pious Dr. Grabe ; of which there 
 ^ruffian. 
 
 * Primitiva &: Apoftolira Traditio Dcgrmtis in EccLfia Ca- 
 tholics rcctpti dc Jefu Chrifti Servatnris noftri Divinirare ; Af- 
 atq; evidenrer demcni>rata conrra Danielem Zuickerum Bo- 
 fjufq; nupcros in Ana'ua Seftatores. Lond. 1703. 
 
 will
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David's. 
 
 will be an account given in the following part 
 of this Life. Now, that the Defign of our 
 Author may be the better underftood in this 
 excellent Piece , it will be neceflary to give 
 fome account of the Perfon he writes againft, 
 and of the Scheme Dr. Zwicker formed, con- 
 cerning our blefled Saviour Jefus Chrift. This 
 Daniel Zwicker was born at Dantzick in the 
 Year 1612, and was bred to the Profefiion of 
 Phyfick, in which he took the Degree of a 
 Doctor. He was a Perfon of a very inquifi- 
 tive Genius, and of good natural Parts, but 
 fomewhat over bold j not eafily to be fatis- 
 fied in his Refearches after Truth } and of 
 great Afliduity in his Application to what- 
 foever parts of Learning he fet himfelf to 
 ftudy. 
 
 He was the firft and moft confiderable of. ** 
 thofe Unitarian Writers, which have fallen JJJJ 
 under the Animadverfion of Dr. Bull, for he"an. 
 was before Santlius, and both Sandhu and Mr. 
 Gilbert Clerks, have but copied in a manner af- 
 ter this learned Dant&ukcr , as alfo the reft 
 have done, that have engaged on that fide of 
 the Controverfy. * When he was between 
 the Age of thirty and forty, he fet himfelf to 
 examine into the Pretenfions of the fcveral 
 Religions , profeiTed by thofe among whom 
 he lived : And when he was now fcven and 
 thirty Years old, he wrote and printed a Dif- 
 
 * Bibliotkcca Anti-Trinitariorum. Statins. 
 
 C c 4 lertduou
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 fertation by way of Queftion, Whether a Chri~ 
 Jiian Man were always obliged to learn and in- 
 quire ? And about half a Year after that a 
 Difcourfe, which he called, A fart and true 
 Demonjl 'Cation when and where the Holy Scrip" 
 ture ought to be properly and where figuratively 
 explained and underftood. Both thefe were 
 publiftied by him in the High Dutch, his own 
 native Language } with the Rules and Confejji- 
 on of z:eabitf Chriftians. And when he was 
 abour forty years old, he publifhed in the fame 
 Tongue, an Hiftorical Account of the Grounds 
 of his quitting the Opinion in which he had 
 been firft educated , for he had been bred a 
 Lutheran. But upon this Change of his Re- 
 ligion, being obliged to leave his own Coun- 
 try, he retired into Holland for Security and 
 Convenience. Where he became acquainted 
 with CiinelUW} who hath been already men- 
 tioned : and there is added to his famous Qua- 
 ternio, a Differtation of this very Zrvicker, but 
 Without his Name, againft Marefius^ the 
 great Enemy both of Citrcellmts and BlondeL 
 The Title of it is , Judicinm de Johanna Pa- 
 fiffa contra Marefmm -, in which he difcovered 
 a great fund of Ecclefiaftical Learning, with 
 thatfagacity and penetration ofjudgment,which 
 is required to make a Critick. At or about the 
 fame time, he printed at Amfterdam his * Ireni- 
 
 * Ircnicum Irenicorum feu Rcconoliatoris Chriftianorum Ho- 
 clicrnorum norma Triplex , lana omaium hominum ratio, Scrip- 
 tura Sacra, & Traditiones. Amfierd. i$$8. 12. 
 
 3 cwn
 
 late Lord Eifbof of St. David'/ 
 
 cum Irenicorum, &c. or the Triple Rule of the 
 Reconciler of modern Chriftiant ; the firft of 
 which is here eftablifhed to be the univerfal 
 Reafon of Mankind, or found Senfe ^ the fe- 
 cond the facred Scriptures , and the third, Ca- 
 tholick Tradition, or Teftimonies of approved 
 Ecclefiaftical Writers. This made the great- 
 eft noife of all his Writings, which were ma- 
 ny, and drew feveral Anfwers to it from 
 learned Men. It was publifhed without a 
 Name : And the concealed Author might not 
 have been difcovered, but that Sandius, who 
 perfonally knew him, and was privy to the 
 Secret, refolved to make the World acquaint- 
 ed with this piece of News, fo foon as it was 
 fafe to be done. The good Comeniw, the laft 
 Bohemian Bifhop, was unhappily engaged in 
 this Controverfy with Dr. Zwicker $ whereby 
 the Caufe did fuffer not a little. Zwicker did 
 unmercifully triumph over the honed old 
 Prelate, under the Name of Iremco-maflix. 
 There are no lefs than three feveral Vindica- 
 tions of his berncum, fucceflively fet forth by 
 himfelf, againft the Attacks ofCmttrriyt, Hoorn* 
 beclohi.*, and others. So that there wanted flill 
 a folid Confutation of this Book, which had 
 perverted many, and continued ftill to do mif- 
 chief j the Arguments of it being tranflated al- 
 fo, and new dreiled up in our own Tongue, 
 that the Infection of it might fpread here : up- 
 on which Dr. Bull undertook this Labour, and 
 hath acquitted himfelf, to the fatisfadion of 
 
 all
 
 . 
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 all that are capable of weighing without Pre- 
 judice what he hath written. This Dr. Zwic- 
 ker hath publifhed feveral other Books, both 
 in Latin, and in High and Low Dutch, upon 
 variety of Subjects, but chiefly in defence of 
 of the Unitarians. He died at Amflerdam in 
 the Year 1678, aged fixty fix Years and ten 
 Months. Now to fay fomewhat of his Senti- 
 ments, and particularly his Irenicum. 
 
 He pretended, that the Simplicity of the 
 this DO- Gofpel of Chrift, according as it was believed 
 by the ancient $a&arens, was firft corrupted 
 by Simon Magus and his Difciples : That the 
 moft primitive Chriftian? , both Jewifh and 
 Gentile, believed in God the Father, as in the 
 one only True-God } and acknowledged not 
 Jefus Chrift in any other Capacity, but accord- 
 ing to his human Generation only, till Plato- 
 nifm and Gnofticifm crept into the Church : 
 That the Difciples of this Simon firft interpo- 
 lated and changed the found Doflrine about 
 God and Chrift, which had been preached by 
 the Apoftles of our Lord j and introduced a- 
 nother Chrift, preexiftent to, and diftind from 
 him that was born of the Virgin Mary : That 
 the eternal and divine Generation of the Word 
 was no better than a Dream of the Simonians, 
 deftrudive of the common Notions of Man- 
 kind, and of the Truth of the Gofpel, as built 
 upon that Man whom God hath anointed, and 
 exalted to be a Saviour : That the beginning 
 at leaft of the Gofpel afcribed to St. John , 
 
 was
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. David'/. 595 
 
 was never written by that Apoftle, but by fome 
 Heretick out of the School of Simon : That 
 by the fame Siinonian Hereticks, were forged 
 certain Verfes under the Name of Orpheus, 
 making mention of the Voice or Word of the 
 Father begotten by him before the World was 
 created, and whom he confulted in the Crea- 
 tion thereof:, and that Juflin Martyr , being 
 impofed upon by thefe pretended Qrpbaic Ver- 
 fes, as if they had verily been compofed by Or- 
 pbew himfelf, and by him derived from Mofes, 
 had thence taken up his Opinion, concerning 
 the Generation of Chrift from God the Father, 
 before the Foundation of the World, as the 
 Min d y the Voice, the Reafon of the Father, to 
 the end the World might through this begot- 
 ten Mind or Voice be brought forth, and that 
 this divine Offspring might defcend to converfe 
 among Men, and might at length become him- 
 felf alfo a Man : That befides the early Per- 
 verfion of the Gofpel by the Simonian Magic* 
 and by the Forgery of the Orpbaic and Sybil- 
 line Oracles-, there were feveral other Reafons 
 that concurred, to induce Jvfl'm and his Fol- 
 lowers, to embrace fo eafily the Opinion of the 
 Preexiftence of drift and his Generation be- 
 fore all Worlds ; fuch as Jnflm's Acquaintance 
 with and Affection for the platomck Philofo- 
 phy, the memory of Pagfflifa not yet oblite- 
 rated, fome traces particularly in the Minds of 
 the Gentile Converts, and Prejudices in fnvou 
 of the commonly received Scheme ura-
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 lity of Gods not quire extind , the ordinary 
 Cuftom of Deifying great and extraordinary 
 Perfons , and a fort of natural Eeluftance in 
 all, to the worfhipping of any one who is no 
 mvre than Man. From all which he concluded, 
 that the Preexiftence and divine Generation oif 
 our Swiour was unknown to the Apoftles ^ 
 and that it was an Opinion which derived it 
 felf from Simon Magus, but owed its Growth 
 and Eftablifliment to Pagan Philofophers em- 
 bracing the Chriftian Religion, and blending 
 their Pholofophy with it -, and therefore bela- 
 boured to expofe to the utmoft Contempt, 
 the greater! Man of his Time among the Hea- 
 then Converts to Chriftianity, and one whofe 
 Pen \\z&ferved twice tojbp the fury of two Per- 
 fecu lions , fy two famous Apologies which he 
 wrote in behalf of the Chrijliiim^ and to repre- 
 fent this very Perfon , who was of fo great 
 Eminence among the primitive Chriftians and 
 Martyrs, and who lived in Communion with 
 the Difciples of the Apoftles, as the principal 
 Corrupter of Chriftianity, and the Intruder 
 of a AW Chrifl and a New Gofpel, becaufe he 
 hath fpoken fo plainly of the Preexiftence and 
 Godhead of Chrift. Wherein he hath been 
 followed by the Author of the Judgment of the 
 Fathers touching the Trinity , who hath taken 
 out of his Quiver, the Arrows which he hath 
 fhot againft both the Perfon and the Dodrine 
 of rhis blefled Martyr : and by feveral others, 
 yrho have written in defence of the anci- 
 ent
 
 late Lord Bifeop of St. David'/. 397 
 
 cnt Hereticks and Herefies, thereby to over- 
 throw Dr. Bull's Defence of the Xicene Faith, 
 and the Authority of his Ants-Kicene \Yit- 
 neiles. 
 
 No wonder therefore, if Dr. Ms Zeal was LXX 
 kindled againft fuch Writers asthefe, when ^-w 
 lie found, what he verily believed upon the #' *>' 
 ftricleft Examination, to be the true Apoftoli-J^jJ,*", 
 cal and Catholick Faith, and the very Pillar 
 and Foundation of the whole Gofpel , to be"* 1 ^* 
 thus by them blafphemed : to fee the moft*^,** 
 primitive Tradition of the pureft Ages of Chri- "^ */ 
 ftianity, concerning the Divinity of the Lngox^ 
 and the preexiflent Spiritu-il Nature of Chrift 
 before his Aiiumption of the fertile Form of 
 Flefh, to be reprefented as no other than the 
 very fpawn of Sitnanumifr* and CeriHibianifrn^ 
 eras a Re lift of Pagan Polyrheifm : and ro 
 find thofe Hereticks who renounced the 
 very Principles of Chriftianity, and denied the 
 Lawfulnefs of calling upon jcfi - Chrift, con- 
 fidently fet up and ranked among the primi- 
 tive WitneiTes of the Gofpel , which fome of 
 them had never fomuch as once em braced 
 ing contented to live in the Communion oFthc 
 Synagogue, and hold their Je^ifli Notions, 
 concerning the Ferfon of Chrift } and 1. 
 which others of them actually apoftatized, de- 
 nying the Lord that bought them j while at 
 the fame time, the molt fubftantiai and ve- 
 nerable Evidences for our holy Faith , are by 
 
 pretended
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull 3 
 
 pretended Chriftians fet afide, and loudly cri- 
 ed down for no better than Importers and 
 Cheats :, and while even two out of three of 
 the heavenly WitnefTes themfelves, that is, the 
 WORD and the SPIRIT, are placed by them in 
 the very fame Rank, with thofe * Eaalims 
 which the idolatrous Jews worshipped, toge- 
 ther with the only true God, foon after the de- 
 ceafe of Joflma. 
 
 Such as thefe were the Provocations which 
 made Dr. Bull fo vehement in his Charge, a- 
 gainft fome of the modern Arians and Samofa- 
 tenians, or Socinians, as to give the former the 
 Name of Ariomanit^ or the bewitched Arians, 
 and to the Syftem of the latter, that of the A- 
 theiftical Herefy ^ at which the Englifli Anti- 
 Trinitarians, who about this time boafted very 
 much of their Strength and Numbers, were fo 
 defperately incenfed againft him, that f one 
 in the Name of all the reft declared, that 
 no RefpeEl or Tenderntfs ought to be Jhewn him 
 ly any Unitarian. They accufed him of mad 
 [HI Zeal and Bigotry, of fupercilious Malevo- 
 lence and Arrogance, yea of Barbarities to- 
 wards them -, they called him even an Hilde- 
 brand, for his uncourtlike treating of them j 
 and for breaking the Cartel, as they called it, 
 
 * Judgment of the Fathers, &c. p. 48, 49. 
 
 * The Judgment of the Pat bars concerning the Doftrim of the Tn- 
 fifty, &c. Printed , AD. 1695. 
 
 Jill Conf derations on the Exflicat'tors of the Dcthine of the TrM- 
 t), &c. 1694. 
 
 of
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. David*/. 
 
 of Honour and Civility that was thought to be 
 agreed and eftabliihed between Perfons of ex- 
 cellent Learning or great Abilities, when they 
 happen to be engaged on contrary fides ^ they 
 railed bitterly at him, for his (hewing fo very 
 little Deference to the Merit of their Learning 
 and Penetration -, for his Contempt of their 
 greateft Champions, and for his expofing their 
 Arguments, as no better than mere Sophiftries, 
 without the lead Degree of Pity , they up- 
 braided him with want of good Manners j and 
 they imputed , his writing fo warmly and 
 heartily in defence of the Nicene Faith , either 
 to his Fear, or to his Ambition, or to both, and 
 not to any regard for the Truth, or efteem for 
 primitive and genuine Chriftianity , they pre- 
 tended, that he was fo apprehenfive of the 
 growing Intereft of the Unitarians in this 
 Kingdom, as almoft to be afraid, left it might 
 one day be ftrong enough to turn him out of 
 his Parfonage or Prebend -, and that this was 
 one principal Motive of his appearing fo zea- 
 loufly againft them, both from the Pulpit and 
 the Prefs j they infinuated alfo , that he in- 
 tended by the Books written againft them , to 
 recommend himfelf to his Superiors in the 
 Church, and merit a Biftioprick or a Deanry. 
 1 have not concealed any part of their Charge 
 againft this great Man, or covered over their 
 Sufpicions of him, as if his good Name were 
 any ways in danger hereby, or as if the Caufe 
 which he defended could be hurt by fuch a 
 
 Method
 
 400 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 Method as this. No ; They are extremely 
 miftaken who think any fuch thing , and the 
 Adverfaries themfelves do in effeft confefs as 
 much, while they fo violently exclaim againft 
 the appearance of it in another -, and it is much 
 more probable, that Dr. Bull's Labours in Vin- 
 dication of the true Apoftolical Faith, muft 
 needs have done much good in the World, 
 fince thefe Gentlemen were fo exafperated a- 
 gainft them and their Author. 
 
 ttes*i>. Upon theoccafion of thefe extravagant Po- 
 brBuiTf faions of Dr. Zwicker, and of others who had 
 Primi fve copied after him , in fiercely oppofing the Ca- 
 ftolicar* t ^^ c ^ Tradition of the Preexiftence and di- 
 tr edition, vine Nature of our Lord, Dr. Bull drew up 
 the Primitive and Apoftolical Tradition, &c, 
 , which we have already mentioned j and I 
 think a clear Demonitration will here be found, 
 that Jufl'm Martyr, as is pretended, is not an 
 Innovator of the Chriftian Faith, in the Arti- 
 cle concerning the Perfon of Chrifr ^ that he 
 was not deceived herein , by the Frauds and 
 Artifices of the Difciples ofSimo?i Magus, that 
 he never learnt from the School of Plato, what 
 he delivered concerning the Logos ^ and that 
 he was the fartheft in the World from any De- 
 iign of intermixing Poly theifm with Chriftia- 
 nity, or for accommodating the Gofpel of 
 Chrift to the Gentile Theology: But that on 
 the contrary, it was an Apoftolical Tradition 
 introduced into the tirft Chriftian Churches, 
 that our Saviour did exiil before the World 
 
 was
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David /. 401 
 
 was made , and that the World was made 
 by him ^ that the Doclrine of his Godhead 
 and Incarnation could not come forth from 
 the School of that Sorcerer Simon , whpfe 
 Sentiments very widely differed from the Ca- 
 tholick Tradition of that Doftrine , and that 
 it was impoflible to haye been derived,- either 
 from the platonick Philofophers, or any phi- 
 lofophical OEconomy , or Condefcenfion to 
 fuch, whom the Chriftians had a mind to 
 win over to them. Here is aifo a particular 
 and moft accurate Account given of Hegefy- 
 pus, and of his Sentiment concerning Chrift's 
 Perfon , againft the Allegations of fome mo- 
 dern Writers amongft us, againft the Catho- 
 lick Faith : as likewife of the primitive Na- 
 z,arens r and of the firft Bifhops of Jerufalem^ 
 challenged as theirs by Dr. Zwickefs En^lijb 
 Difciples. The Reader will befides, be hexe 
 entertained with a good deal of curious ajid 
 ufeful Learning, about the Sifyllin Oracks 
 and the Verfes of Orpheus, which are cited 
 by feveral of the primitive Writers againft 
 the Heathens. Jn ftiort, the whole weight of 
 the Controverfy is here brought into a finall 
 compafs 5 the Enemies are difarmed of their LXXI. 
 ftrongeft Weapons j and the Matter isdecided ^^^j 
 for the Catholicks , with as much Perfpicuity Dr. Bull'/ 
 and Solidity as can be defired. 
 
 In the Year 1705, Dr. Bull's Latin Works, 
 which had been publifoed by himfelfat feve- Gra ^. 
 
 D d rai
 
 402 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 ral Times, and upon -different Occafions, as 
 hath been already related, were collected to- 
 gether into one Volume in Folio , and prin- 
 ted by Mr. Richard Sntitb, Bookfeller in- Lon- 
 don. Dr. Bull being now advanced in Years, 
 and opprefTed with the Load of many Infir- 
 mities, the reviling and correcting this Impref- 
 fion, was voluntarily undertaken by his par- 
 ticular Friend, as well as mine, that truly 
 great Man, 'Dr.JohnErnejlGrabe, who adorn- 
 ed and perfected this new Edition , with 
 his own many learned Annotations , and in- 
 troduced it into the World with an admi- 
 rable Preface, which did great Juftice to our 
 excellent Author, as well as to his learned and 
 judicious Writings. And it will appear by a 
 Letter of Dr. BitU\ which the Reader will 
 meet with in the following Sheets, that he had 
 a very grateful Senfe of this great Favour of 
 Dr. Grabes, though he was not able to re- 
 quite it. 
 
 Dr.Grabe'i- gut who can mention Dr. Grabs without a 
 ' deep and particular Concern for the lofs of fo 
 great a Man, in the very prime of his Age, when 
 we expected to reap the fruit of his indefati- 
 gable Studies, which were chiefly converfant 
 about Chriftian Antiquities , and who by an 
 eminent Author is very aptly compared, " * to a 
 
 * Dr. HickesV Dtfconrfe , concerning Dr. Grabc and bis 
 
 I ts irenr ed f?. Some Infbnces of the Deiefts and Cmiflficns 
 
 c.f Mr. Wbijkn's Collections j ty Dr. Grabc. Printed by H. Cle- 
 
 ments, 1712, 
 
 " great
 
 late Lord Bi/hop of St. David' /. 403 
 
 " great and mighty Prince, who dying, leaves 
 " behind him many Plans of noble and curi- 
 " ous Buildings , Foundations of others , o- 
 Ct thers creeled above-ground :, fome half, o- 
 " thers almoft, and others perfectly finimed. 
 " Such are the Remains left us by this great 
 " Mafter Builder, as may appear by the Cata- 
 " logue of his Manufcripts. 
 
 All the Learned, who could beft judge of 
 his great Talents, readily offer him that In- 
 cenfe of Praife, which is juftly due to his pro- 
 found Erudition ^ whereby he was qualified 
 to enlighten the dark and obfcure Parts of Ec- 
 clefiaflical Hiftory, to trace the original Frame 
 and State of the Chriftian Church, and to re- 
 ftore the facred Volumes , the Pillars of our 
 Faith, to their primitive Perfection. 
 
 He had fo great a Zeal for promoting the 
 ancient Government and DifcipJine of the 
 Church, among all thofe who had feparated 
 themfelves from the Corruptions and Superfti- 
 tions of the Church of Rome, that he formed 
 a Plan, and made fome advances in it, for fe- 
 ftoring the Epifcopal Order and Office, in the 
 Territories of the Kiag ofPru/ia his Sovereign j 
 and propofed, moreover, to introduce a Litur- 
 gy, much after the Model of the Englifi Ser- 
 vice, into that King's Dominions ^ and recom- 
 mended likewife the Ufe of the Englifi Litur- 
 gy it felf, by the means of fome of his Friends, 
 to a certain neighbouring Court. By which 
 means he would have united the two mam 
 
 Bodies
 
 404 The Lift f r ' George Bull, 
 
 Bodies of Proteftants, in a more perfect and 
 Apoftolical Reformation, than that upon which 
 either of them didyetdand, and would there- 
 by have fortified the common Caufe of their 
 Protejlation again ft the Errors of Popery. But 
 yet his learned Studies did not fo engrofs his 
 Mind, as to prevent his daily attending die 
 Hours of publick Prayer, to which purpofe he 
 always chofe his Lodgings near a Church : 
 Neither did the Applaufe he received from the 
 greateft Men of the Age fo exalt him, but that 
 he readily condefcended toconverfe with thofe 
 of the lowed Underftanding, when he could 
 be any ways ferviceable to them in their fpi- 
 ritual Concerns. 
 
 He was juftly efteemed one of the greateft 
 Divines of the Age, yet the great Modefty of 
 his Temper, and the profound Humility of his 
 Mind, made him prefer others before himfelf. 
 He laid the chiefeft Strefs upon the conftant 
 Pradice of the Virtues of the Chriftian Life, 
 and was alfo a ftrict obferver of all the Rules 
 of the Apoftolical Times, and of the Catholick 
 Ufages of the firft Chriftians. He bore his lad 
 Sicknefs, which deprived the World of fo great 
 a Treafure, with mod exemplary Patience, 
 and fubmifiion to the Will of God , and ex- 
 ercifed all thofe Acts of Devotion, which the 
 bed of Men are zealoufly intent upon in their 
 lad Labours for Immortality. He was very 
 fevere upon himfelf, even for thofe common 
 human Frailties, .which are apt to cleave to 
 
 thofe
 
 late Lord Eifbof of St. DavidV. 405 
 
 thofe of the greateft Eminence for their San- 
 clity, and with true Compunction, .bevvaifed 
 the Negledsand Omiffions of his Duty j which i 
 from the unfeafonable refort of Company, he i 
 fometimes was forced to. And yet he thank- 
 ed God from the bottom of his Heart, that] ' 
 through the Afliftance ofhisGrace r he:had.fo 
 far overcome thofe Temptations which he had 
 met with in Life, that he never ; profti- . 
 tuted his Confcience for the fake of Gain, or 
 defiled his Body, 'which he always had kept 
 pure from the mortal Sin of Uncleannefs. He 
 had conftantly every Day, and frequently fc- 
 veral times in the Day, the Office of the Vifi- 
 tation of .the Sick, with fome proper Collects 
 of his own chufing, ufcd by his Bed-fide, and 
 he commonly delired the Impofitjon of the 
 Prieft's Hands, when the Abfolution or Blef- 
 fing was pronounced over him. He received 
 the Communion of our Lord's Body a n/3 .Blood 
 with great Devotion, feveral times during his 
 fevere Vifitation, tofortifie him in his Pallage 
 to Eternity ; and was at laft fet at liberty from 
 the Bondage of his mortal Body, upon the 3 d 
 oi November, 1711, in the 46 th Year, of his 
 Age. The occafion of this his Death was a 
 Bruife which he got in. his Side, at the place 
 of his Liver, when he made his iaft Journey 
 to Oxford i?i the Stage-Coach, in proiecutmg 
 the noble Work he 'had in hand :, which Ac- 
 cident being neglecled at tirft, upon his rctnrn 
 
 to London it became thus fatal. 
 
 There
 
 406 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 c There is one Circumftance which related to 
 nefs by the this excellent Man, which mud not be omit- 
 ^7v nf T Lord tec ^ oecaufe it tended fo much to alleviate the 
 faS, Si Burthen of his.laft Sicknefs 5 and for which 
 ofOxfd he was very thankful to God, and his generous 
 and MM. Benefaftor. The prefent Lord High. Treafu- 
 rer, Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, that great 
 Patron of Learning and learned Men, was in 
 a particular manner a M&cenas to Dr. Grabe j 
 aixl during his Life-time encouraged his great 
 Work, of publifiiing the Alexandrian Cop}- of 
 the Stftutgint, not only by generoufiy contri- 
 buting- to it himfelf, but by procuring for the 
 Doctor a large Proportion cf the Royal Boun- 
 ty j and when the Dodor in his Sicknefs ap- 
 plied to his Lordfhip, for that part of his ;. *- 
 nual Pension which was due to h'm, and had 
 been conftantly paid him, his Lordfhip not only 
 gratified him in what he defired, but to (hew his 
 great Value and Efteem of the Doctor, and for 
 fear fo great a Man mould want any neceiTary 
 Comfort from the Things of this World in fuch 
 a gloomy Seafon, my Lord fenthim a Supply of 
 fifty Pounds from his own Bounty. An Acti- 
 on for which his Lordfhip had the repeated 
 Prayers of a dying Saint, and for which all 
 learned and good Men muft praife him , and 
 which will be a comfortable part of that ftrid 
 Account which he muft give at the great Tribu- 
 nal. And I have farther reafon to believe, that 
 his Lordfhip defigns to have a CENOTAPHIUM 
 creeled in St. f-auls t or St. Peters at Weftnnn-
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'/. 407 
 
 fter, to perpetuate the memory of fo rerjcfi Pi- 
 ety, and fo much Learning, which feldom 
 meet together in fuch great Perfedion as they 
 
 did in Dr,-Grabe. 
 
 : rr 
 
 In February 170$. Dr. Bull was mad<i a#LXXI 
 quainted with her Majeftys gracious IntentP- v_^^ 
 ons, of conferring upon him the Bifhopriek-^FDr. Bull 
 St. Davids, the News whereof he *$&^* 
 with great Surprife, and with no lefs Concern, rick 
 And confidering the great Weight of that high Davids - 
 -Station in the Church, and how much Work 
 is required to a confaentiousDifchargeoftriat 
 Adminiftration , and withal, the ill State of 
 Health, under which he then laboured, and 
 the Eveniri'g of Life, to which he was now ar- 
 rived, being in the 71*"' Year of his Age, I do 
 not wonder that he did atfirfl decline engaging 
 irt that important Office. It is not without 
 reafon, that Perfons of' the flrongefl: Vertue, 
 in the Vigour of their Days, who beft deferve 
 the maft honourable Employments in the 
 Church, have been moft afraid of being ad- 
 vanced to them : It rcquireth great firmnefs 
 of Mind, ndt to be dazled with that Honour 
 which adorneth the Epifcopal Throne j and 
 how difficult is it to be exnlted , and not to 
 love the Preeminence ? The Refpeft and Ob- 
 fequioufnefs of Inferiors infenfibly corrupt 
 the Mind, and when Men arc placed above 
 Reproof, they quickly begin to perfaads 
 themfelves that they do not ftand in need ot 
 
 P d 4 it.
 
 408 . The Life of Dr. George Bull 3 
 
 it. What Courage and Prudence is neceffary 
 to oppofe Vice, when it is countenanced by 
 Perfons of Figure and Quality ? What Pover- 
 ty of Spirit to fet loofe to the World in the 
 irridft of the greateft Affluence ? What hea- 
 venly Mindednefsto negotiate the greateft tem- 
 poral Affairs with the IndirTerency of a Tra- 
 veller, who feeketh a better Country > What 
 pejrfeclion of Piety to be ready to facriiice 
 Fame and Reputation, nay even Life it felt to 
 Confcience and Duty ^ and to contemn the Fa- 
 vour of the greateft upon Earth, when the Ho- 
 nour of God, the Rights of the Church, and 
 Good of Souls, are laid in the Balance ? But 
 though Dr. Bull was very unwilling, for the 
 Reafons I have already mentioned, to enter 
 into the Epifcopal College 3 yet bein^ impor- 
 tnned by his Friends, who underftood the di- 
 itreiled State and Condition of his Family ^ 
 and what moft prevailed, being earneftly foli- 
 cited by feveral of the Governors of the 
 Church, which he looked upon as the Call of 
 Providence, he was at laft prevailed upon to 
 accept of that elevated Station which he never 
 fought. And therefore might humbly hope, 
 that God, who had called him from the Care 
 of a Pariih to the Government of a Diocefs , 
 would enable him by his holy Spirit, to dif- 
 charge the feveral Duties which belonged to 
 it :, and that he who laid the Burthen upon 
 him, would ftrengthen him under it $ and it 
 is certain, that God proportioneth his Gifts 
 
 to
 
 late Lord Bi/lop of St. DavidV. 409 
 
 to the Wants of thofe who depend upon him -, 
 and theDiftributions of Grace are larger as his 
 wife Providence maketh them neceflfary. 
 
 But however difficult the Employment might 
 prove to Dr. Bull, in the decline of his Strength 
 and Vigour, it certainly concerned the Honour 
 of the Nation, not to fuffera Perfon tp die in an 
 obfcufe Retirement, who upon the account of 
 his learned Performances, had (hined with fo 
 muchLuftre in a neighbouring Nation, where 
 he had received the united Thanks of her Bi- 
 fhops, for the. great Service he had done to the 
 Caufe of Chriftianity. Accordingly, he was 
 confecratcd Biflipp of St. Davids in Lambeth 
 .Chapel, the 29 th . of -^/w/, 1705} upon which 
 occafion there was a very good Sermon, preach- 
 ed by the prefent Redor of St. Peters Cornhill, 
 Dr. Waitgh ; wherein he (hewed, with great 
 Evidence of Scripture, what kind of Rulers pre- 
 fide over the Chriftian Church :, with what 
 Power they are inverted, and wherein that O- 
 bedience and Submiflion confifteth, which is 
 due to them , and all this was urged from thofe 
 remarkable Words of the Apoftle to the He- 
 brews, chap. xiii. v. 17. Obey them that have 
 the Rule over you^ and fubmitymir felves. Th is 
 worthy Clergyman fucceeded Bimop BeveriJge 
 in the Cure of that Parifti, and to his other Ex- 
 cellencies it may be mentioned with Honour, 
 that he treadeth in the Steps of that pious 
 Prelate in the Government of it ^ and 
 that Congregation continued! ftill diftinguifli- 
 
 cd,
 
 4 1 o The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 ed, as exemplary for Devotion in the City of 
 . London, 
 st. Davids The Bifhoprick of St. Davids , which was 
 
 ^etrmit now con f erre ^ u P on Dr. fi#,was formerly a Me- 
 tansee. tropolitan See in the Britt/b Church, and con- 
 tinued a long time the fupreme Ordinary of 
 the Welfb. About the Year 519, it was re- 
 moved hither, fromCaer-Leon upon!7/, as a 
 proper Shelter from the fury of the Saxons. 
 The place at that time was called by the Weljh, 
 Menew, bflt fince, in memory of David, the 
 Archbifhop, who fo tranilated it, by us called 
 St. Davids , but it is from the firfl Name, that 
 the Biihops of this Diocefs are in Latin fliled 
 Menevenfes. Now as to thefe Bifliops of St. 
 Davids, we find that twenty feven of them 
 retained the Title of Archbimops : The laft 
 whereof was Sampfon, who in a time of Pefti- 
 lence, transferred the Archiepifcopal Dignity 
 to Dole in Bretagn. Yet his Succeflbrs, though 
 they loft the Name, referved the Power of an 
 Archbimop ^ nor did the refidue of the Welfh 
 Bimops receive their Confecration from any 
 other Hand but his , till the Reign of Henry 
 the I ft . who upon fubduing the Country, for- 
 ced the Welfh Churches, in the time of Ber- 
 nard , the forty feventh Bimop of this See, 
 to fubmit to the See of 'Canterbury. 
 
 The Diocefs containeth the whole Counties 
 
 of Pembroke, Cardigan, Caermarthen, Radnor* 
 
 and Brecknock, with fome fmall part of Mon- 
 
 mouth, Hereford, Montgomery, and Glamorgan- 
 
 4 fares j
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'/. 411 
 
 {hires-, the Parim.es under this Jurifdidion a- 
 mount ro about 308, of which 120 are accoun- 
 ted Impropmtions ^ befides feveralfubordinate 
 Chapels, which have been built in feveral Pa- 
 riihes for die Eafe of the People , the whole 
 Diocefs is governed , under the Bifhop , by 
 four Archdeacons , with the Titles of Car- 
 digan, Carmarthen, Brecknock, and St. Da- 
 vids. 
 
 There was one Circumftance which fuppor^ // e t,uries 
 ted Bifhop Bull, under the Senfe of his Inabi- h'nS<m t Mr. 
 lity to difcharge the Epifcopal Fundion, andg2J^ 
 which had a great influence upon him, in $9 what b* 
 determining him to accept it., and that wa$, 
 the Affiftance he expecled from his eldeft Son, 
 Mr. George Bull, a Clergyman, in the very 
 flower of his Age, being then about five and 
 thirty. He was a Perfon truly fober and reli- Mr. 
 gious, as well as learned and underftandingin c/7>tr45er - 
 his own Profeffion. He- had'fyent feventeen 
 Years at Cbriji Church in Oxford, and was 
 efteemed one of the Ornaments of thatSociet^ 
 where all polite and folid Learning hath been 
 ufed to flotirifh in perfection. In this place, 
 he was not only formed himfelf to Piety and 
 Learning, but as a Tutor, he had formed o- 
 thersto the fame valuable Qualifications , and 
 with Diligence and . Succefs, had cultivated 
 the Minds of feveral Gentlemen, and had re- 
 gulated their Manners. The Senfe of this 
 Obligation made fo ftrong an Itnpreflion up- 
 on one of his Pupils, the worthy Sir Eourclo'ier 
 
 Wrey,
 
 412 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 Wrey^ Baronet, that he became Mr. Butt's Pa- 
 tron, and preferred him to the Redory of Taw- 
 jlock in Devon/hire, after he had laboured 
 fome Years in doing good by his Preaching in 
 the Neighbourhood of Oxford , and not long 
 after, upon the Promotion of his Father, by 
 the Grace and Favour of the Queen, he was 
 in his room made Archdeacon- of Landaff. But 
 alas ! the reafonable Expectation his Lordfhip 
 had from this his excellent Son, quickly va- 
 nifhed, for in two Years time, being in London 
 . with his Father, he was attacked by the Small 
 Pox, which he received as a Difpenfation from 
 the Hand of God, with a. compofed Mind, en- 
 tirely refigned to his Holy Will.-, and having 
 fortified himfelf with his Viaticum, the Holy 
 Eucharift, and having commended himfelf in- 
 to the Hands of the blefled Jefus, with a firm 
 Hope of immortal Life, promifedby him, and 
 purchafed by his Merits, he did with great 
 quietnefs of Mind exped: the approach of 
 Death } which put an end to his Days the 
 i i th of May, 1707, in the 37 th Year of his 
 Age- T to the great grief of his tender Parents, 
 and dear Friends, and of all good and learned 
 Men who were happy in his acquaintance. And 
 though his natural Judgment was ftrong, and 
 his Apprehenfion quick , and his Learning 
 worthy of that Society where, he was educa- 
 ted, yet he chiefly excelled in Piety and Holi- 
 nefs of Life, which was crowned and corn- 
 .pleated with (ingular Modefty and Chriftian 
 
 Humi-
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David'/. 4 1 3 
 
 Humility, which in the fight of God is of great 
 Price. 
 
 A Specimen of this his great Modefty and A Teftimo- 
 Humility I am able to give the Reader, in the^;j,i%, 
 beginning of a Letter which he writ to me, in* Letter 
 ten Years before his Death, the Occafion where- 
 of was this. Having been obliged to apply to 
 him for his Affiftance, in a Concern which I 
 had at the Univerfity of Oxford j 1 took no- 
 tice of the Pleafure and Satisfaction I received 
 from his good Character, which had been 
 confirmed to me by feveral of his Acquain- 
 tance j to which he was plcafed to make the 
 following Reply. 
 
 
 Oxen. Ch. Ch. July, 27. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 FO U were pleafed to favour me with an un- 
 expected Letter -, and therein to Jigni- 
 fie to me, the good Char after thofe of this 
 place you have met with, give of me. I find 
 common Fame, how uncharitable foever it is to 
 others, has been too kind to me, in afcribing to 
 me, what I mufl confefsto you, 1 do not deferve. 
 Which convinces me, that a very little thing is 
 fuffident to bring a Man into the good, as well 
 as the ill Opinion of others. But every Man that 
 can think impartially is bis own bejl Judge in thi* 
 
 4 Caff.
 
 414 The Life of Dr. George Bull y 
 
 Cafe. And therefore I hope I may fay, that 1 
 know ny felf fo well, as to fee the Opinion 0- 
 thers have of me, to be a thing that tells me, 
 not what I am , but what I ought to be. In- 
 deed I acknowledge to you, (and I think my felf 
 obliged fo to do) that I am a Servant of the 
 great God, though but a weak and imperfeBone. 
 As for other things, I muft tell you, (and I am 
 not ajbamed to own it) that my Improvements 
 here in the Univerfity have been as mean, as my 
 Education was before I came hither : Pardon 
 me, Sir, for tJxts taking notice of the beginning 
 of your Letter 5 for 1 could not reflrain my felf 
 from it -, becaufe you are not the fir ft by many, 
 that intimated to me how well others j "peak of me. 
 And I look upon it as afpecial Providence of God 
 in bringing thefe things to my hearing, to mor- 
 tife me for what I really am, and to ftir me up 
 to endeavour to be what I am not. But enough 
 of this, Sir, and I 'tell it only to you, knowing to 
 whom I write. For perhaps to fotne, fuch a 
 Letter might render me ridiculous. 
 
 Now for a Perfon to have Mr. Bull's Ac- 
 quirements of Learning and Piety, with fo 
 mean an Opinion of them himfelf, will be 
 thought by all good Chriftians, to be no fmall 
 degree of the moft valuable Vertue of Humili- 
 ty. This Lofs was a very great Afflidion ta 
 the good old Bifhop, and the greater, from 
 thofe Circum fiances of Life, in which he was 
 then engaged *, but yet through the AfTiftance 
 
 of
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David'/. 4 1 
 
 of God's Grace, he did not fink under it, his 
 Heart was fixed trufting in the Lord. 
 
 The Bifhop took his Seat in the Houfe of 
 Lords in a moft critical Conjunfture, even in 
 that memorable SelTion , when the Bill for of Lords at 
 uniting both Kingdoms pafled into a Law 
 and when not a few were in the greateft Appre- 
 henfions concerning our Church, and were for 
 confidering thence the beft Methods of fecu- 
 ring it to Pofterity, together with the Union. 
 Wherefore upon a Debate in the Houfe, in re- 
 lation to the faid Bill , a certain noble Lord, 
 of a very eminent Character, moved in a 
 Speech, that fince the Parliament of Scotland 
 had given a Character of their Church, by ex- 
 tolling the Purity of its Worfbip, their Lord- 
 fhips mould not be behind hand, in giving a 
 Character of the beft conftituted Cbiircb in the 
 World. For, faith he, (turning himfelf to- 
 wards the Bench of Bimops) my Lords, I have 
 been always taught by my Lords the Bimops 
 from my Youth , that the Church of England 
 u the beft conflicted Church in the World^ and 
 moft agreeable to the Apojiolical Inflitutum. Up- 
 on which, Bifhop Bui/, who fate very near his 
 Lordfhip, apprehending how upon fuch an 
 Appeal to the Bimops, it was neceflary for 
 them to fay fomething, flood up and faidj 
 " My Lords, I do fecond what that noble 
 " Lord hath moved, and do think it highly 
 " rcafonable,. that in this Bill a Character 
 44 mould be civen of our moft excellent 
 
 Church.
 
 416 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 *' Church. For, my Lords, whofoever is 
 " Ikilled in primitive Antiquity, muft allow 
 " it for a certain and evident Truth, that the 
 " Church of England^ is in her Doclrine, Dif- 
 <c cipline, and Worfhip, mod agreable to the 
 " Primitive and Apoftolical Inftitution. The 
 Bifhop of St. Davids coming out of the Houfe, 
 Bimop Eeveridge and another Bimop, thanked 
 his Lordihip for his excellent Speech j and 
 faid Bimop Eeveridge^ My Lord^ if you and I 
 load the penning of the Eill^ it ftould be in the 
 manner your Lordfnp hath moved. Upon 
 which, Bimop Bull made fuch a Reply, as 
 reprefented, the neceffity he lay under of thus 
 difcharging his Duty, when fo folemnly cal- 
 led upon in the greateft Court of the Nation : 
 And it is certainly at all times the indifpen- 
 fable Obligation, of all the Bimops and Pa- 
 ftors of the Church, to behave themfelves 
 with an holy Boldnefs and undaunted Refolu- 
 tion, in the Affairs of God and Religion, 
 without being awed or biafled by the Torrent 
 of the Times, or made fordidly to crouch to a 
 prevailing Power of worldly Politicians, who 
 are for carrying on their own finifter Defigns 
 at any rate , though always under the moft 
 LXXIII. fp ec i us Pretexts. 
 
 About July after his Lordftiip was confe- 
 - cra ted he went into his Diocefs ^ being re- 
 "' 
 
 fecrathn"' folvtd to employ the remainder of his Strength 
 **/ too to a nd Vigour in that Service of his Matter, the 
 Dio ( s - great
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. DavidV. 417 
 
 great Bifhop of Souls, to which he was now 
 called. He was received by the Gentry and 
 Clergy with all imaginable demonftrations of 
 Refped, which increafed in proportion as they 
 grew more intimately acquainted with his fo- 
 lid Worth. The Epifcopal Palace at Aberginlly 
 being much out of Repair, he made choice of 
 Brecknock for the place of his Refidence, being 
 the chief Town in the County of that 'Name, 
 placed almoft in the Center thereof Here 
 King Henry the Eighth conftituted a Collegi- 
 ate Church, confiding of fourteen Prebenda- 
 ries, which he tranflated to this place, from 
 Aberguilfy in Caermarthenfhire : This Town 
 aboundeth with great numbers of poor Peo- 
 ple, -who regarded the good Bifhop as a guar- 
 dian Angel, fent to comfort and relieve them, 
 under their prefling Wants and Neceflities. 
 And herein they were not miftaken, as will 
 appear by what (hall be related in reference to 
 that Subject, when the Bimop removed from 
 thence, to another Seat in his Dioceis. When 
 he was fettled at this place, his firfx Care, was 
 to apply hitnfelf to underftand the State and 
 Condition of that Diftrid , which was com- 
 mitted to his Care. Now in order to this pur- 
 pofe , he deligned that Summer to vifit his 
 Diocefs himfeif in perlbn -, and did begin at 
 Brecknock , where .he delivered his Charge to 
 the Clergy, confuting in an earned and pathe- 
 tical Exhortation, wherein he ftirred them^up, 
 by way of remembrance, to a fkddy and vigo- 
 
 E e rou
 
 4 1 8 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 rous Profecution, of the Duties of their facred 
 Funftion. But it pleafed God, to prevent the 
 farther Execution of his good Purpofes, by 
 fending him a feverelllnefs, which put an end 
 to his Progrefs at that time. But ftill, that 
 lie might not want that Information, which 
 was neceffary to enable him to reftifie any 
 thing which was amifs under his Govern- 
 ment, he committed this Truft to feveral Com- 
 miffioners, of which the chief was Mr. William 
 Poteel, Redor of Langaftock t and Prebendary 
 of Brecknock, with others, the moft confidera- 
 ble in the feveral Deaneries. By which 
 means he was better able to judge, where his 
 Authority and Power was moft wanting to 
 reform any prevailing Abufes -, and what 
 Meafures might be taken to remedy them. 
 iflw And becaufe it may be proper, to finim this 
 Head of his Vifitations under this Article, I 
 ion I muft acquaint the Reader, that three Years 
 by ccmmjf- a f ter ^j^ his Lordmip appointed a Triennial 
 Vifitatioiij but not being able, through Weak- 
 rjefs and continued Indifpofitions, to bear the 
 fatigue of Travelling, he conftituted his wor- 
 thy Son-in-law , Mr. Stephens , the prefent 
 Archdeacon of Brecknock, and Refidentiary 
 Canon of St. Davids, with Mr. William Powel 
 before mentioned to be his Commiflioners, to 
 vifit in his ftead. Mr. Stephens delivered the 
 Charge, which the Bimop had prepared, under 
 the hopes of appearing himfelf in all the parts 
 of his Dioeefs, in every Archdeaconry. 
 
 The
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. Da vid '/< 4 i 9 
 
 The Sum whereof was, to fet before his r * 
 Clergy, the principal Parts and Branches ctf 
 their paftoral Office, with Rules and Direcli- 
 ons, for the mod fuccefsful manner of perform- 
 ing them. The main Duties of their Fundi- 
 on he maketh to confift , in reading the Pray- 
 ers of the Church, in Preaching, in Catechi- 
 zing, in adminiftring the holy Sacraments, and 
 in vifiting the Sick. And as to the manner 
 of performing the principal Parts of their Of- 
 fice, the Directions he giveth are thefe. To 
 read Divine Service audibly^ that all who are 
 prefent may join in it j diflinBly and leifurely 
 that they may not out-run the Attention and 
 Devotion of the People j and with great reve- 
 rence and devotion, fo as to kindle pious Affe- 
 ftions in the Congregation. For thus, he 
 faith, the Prayers of the Church are to be 
 read $ both in order to keep up the Reputati- 
 on of them, and to render them ufeful to the 
 People. To qualifie them for Preaching, he 
 prefled the Knowledge and Undemanding 
 of the holy Scriptures :, and in order thereun- 
 to, fome Skill in the learned Languages, 
 with gyod Judgment and Difcretion, and not 
 without a tolerable Share of Elocution: He 
 advifed young Divines, not to truft at tirft tff 
 their own Compofitions, but to furnifh them- 
 felves with a provifion of the bed Sermon*, 
 which the learned Divines of our Church have 
 publimed v that by reading them often, anc 
 by endeavouring to imitate them, they may ac- 
 
 e 2
 
 420 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 quire a habit of good Preaching themfelves. 
 And where, through Poverty , or any other 
 Impediment, Minifters are incapable of dif- 
 charging this Duty as they ought, he directed 
 them to ufe the Homilies of the Church, and 
 fometimes to fead a Chapter to the People, 
 out of that excellent Book, called, The whole 
 Duty of Man. As to Catechifing, he jnft hints 
 at the Neceflity and Ufefulnefs of it", and re- 
 quired the Church-Wardens to prefent the 
 neglect of it, that he might by his Authority 
 rectifie it. As to the Adminftration of the holy 
 Sacraments, he enjoined them to perform 
 Baptifm in publick, and chiefly on Sundays 
 and Holy-days, when the Affeinblies of Chri- 
 ftians are fulleft :, and in order to reform the 
 Abufes of that kind, he refolved to exert his 
 Epifcopal Power. He exhorted to great Reve- 
 rence and Solemnity in officiating at the Altar, 
 and torheobfervation of every Punctilio, accor- 
 ding to the Rubricks compiled for that Purpofe :, 
 and efpecially to take care, not to adminifter the 
 holy Sacrament ofthe Lord's Supper, to Perfons 
 known to be vicious and fcandalous. As to vi- 
 fiting the Sick, the Parochial Prieft is directed 
 to go without being fent for, when he hears a- 
 ny of his Pariftrioners are under the afflicting 
 Hand of God, and to perform the Duty, ac- 
 cording to the Rules prefcribed by the Church 5 
 from whence alfo, he toe V tiion to prefs the 
 parochial Clergy, to acquaint themfclves with 
 their Flock, when they art in health, in order 
 
 to
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David'/ 
 
 to promote the great End of their own Fundi- 
 on, the Salvation of Souls. He concluded what 
 he had to fay to the Clergy, in a ferious Ex- 
 hortation to them, to become Examples to their 
 People of eminent Piety and Holinefs, which 
 they are obliged to , not only as Chriftians, 
 but as Priefls of the Living God $ And far- 
 ther, to be diligent in the Bulinefs of their 
 holy Fundion j the importance whereof, was 
 too great to admit the lead Indulgence to Sloath 
 arid Idlenefs. And laftly, pcrfuaded them to 
 the frequent Ufe of private Prayer, which is 
 neceflary for their own Diredion, as well as 
 to fet forward the Salvation of thofe Souls 
 which are committed to their Infpedion. He 
 ends his Charge. with a word to the Laity, 
 that they would be perfuaded, to refpec}: 
 their Paftors for the Lord's fake, and to throw 
 a Veil over thofe perfonal Defeds, which 
 were in common to them with the reft ofMan- 
 kind j and moreover, that they would be ftrid- 
 ly juftin paying them their Dues 5 that the little 
 they have, they may have in quiet. He con- 
 cluded the whole, in putting Church- Wardens 
 in mind, of not perjuring themfelves for fear 
 or favour , but to be honert, and prefent Mat- 
 ters according to the beft of their Skill and 
 Knowledge. But a fuller account of this 
 Charge, the Reader will find among his Dif- 
 courfes, which are now publimed> where it is 
 printed at large. 
 
 E e 2 Ii
 
 42 3 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 LXXIV. It was matter of great Grief to the good 
 i^-v-\j Bifhop , that by the decay of his Strength, 
 The Bijh:p and by his frequent Indifpofitions, he was pre- 
 '*y<*ted from travelling over his Diocefs, in 
 order to adrm'nifter in all the parts of it, that 
 Holy Apoftolical Rite grounded upon Scrip- 
 ture, as expounded by Catholick Tradition , 
 which for fome time hath been known and 
 diftinguimed in the Church, by the Name of 
 Confirmation j and which in the primitive 
 Times was more frequently called, Obfignati- 
 on and Undion , from the facred Chrifm, 
 wherewith the Perfons confirmed, were wont 
 to be anointed by the Bilhop, and which, with 
 the impofition of Hands, was the Symbol of 
 conferring the baptifmal Spirit. The great 
 Ufefulnefs of this holy Inftitution , is mani- 
 fefl from the many Benefits which attend it j 
 for herefcjy Perfons already baptifed, receive an 
 increafe of divine Grace, and larger Meafures 
 of fpiritual Strength are conferred to enable 
 them to difcharge their baptifmal Engagements, 
 and to carry them to higher Degrees of Im- 
 provement in all Chriftian Vertues. But 
 though he was thus hindred, from making 
 thefe happy Effefts of Confirmation, univerfal 
 In his large Diocefs, yet where he refided, 
 and in the neighbourhood of fuch Places, he 
 was not wanting in affording Opportunities, to 
 all fuch as were difpofed to embrace them , and 
 therefore he confirmed at Brecknock, Cartnar-
 
 : fate Lord Bijbop of St. David'/. 423 
 
 then, Landeik, Abermarlefs, as often as there 
 was occafion. 
 
 The September after the Bifhop came into The care he 
 his Diocefs, he had a publick Ordination ; *?$ '" or ' 
 
 i i r -tr ii- u&imng 
 
 and the lame time every Year, was by him Deacons 
 employed after the fame manner. After the andp " f fl* 
 other Ember Seafons he ordained but a fmall 
 number, more or lefs, as occafion required. 
 The warning St. Paul gave to Timothy, to lay 
 bands fuddenly on no Man, is not only of the 
 higheft importance to the Governors of the 
 Church, who are intruded with the Power of 
 conflicting Officers for the Service of the 
 Churchy but is alib of the greateft Confe- 
 quence to the whole Body in general , who 
 are the Subjects upon whom that Power and 
 Authority is exercifed. It is certain, that Bi- 
 fhops mult anfwer at the Day of Judgment, for 
 any neglecl they fhall be guilty of, in admit- 
 ting Perfons not duly qualified for the facred 
 Function ^ which made St. Cbiyfoftotnc think, 
 that of all Men, Biihops would have the great- 
 e(t Account to give at the dreadful Tribunal, 
 and would find the greafe ft difficulty in work- 
 ing out their Salvation. But it is not lefs cer- 
 tain , that the Church the Body of Chrift, 
 receiveth the moft mortal Wounds from her 
 own Sous, and that (lie hath fuffcred more 
 from the Ambition and Pride, the Luxury and 
 Covetoufnefs, and temporizing of bad Priefts, 
 than even from the Perfecuuon of Tyrants 
 therafelyes. So thatit is no wonder if a Bilhop, 
 E e 4 right-
 
 424 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 rightly difpofed to difcharge that important 
 Truft committed to his Management, is un-* 
 derno little Concern, when he ad mi tteth Can- 
 didates to Holy Orders. 
 
 The firft thing therefore, that Biftop EuU 
 required of fuch Candidates, was, that they 
 fhould make their perfonal Appearance before 
 
 him i at leaft a Month before Ordination Sun- 
 day. At fiich their Appearance, they produ- 
 ced their Teftimonials and Titles, and were 
 examined by one of his Chaplains, and alfo by 
 himfelf, as often as the (rate of his Health 
 would permit. The Deiign of this Examina- 
 tion was to judge of their Sufficiency , as to 
 their Knowledge and Capacity, for the weighty 
 Bufinefs in which they folicited to engage. 
 This Method he fo ftrictly infifted upon, that 
 he refufed feveral, for appearing later than the 
 time prefcribed , without admitting them to 
 Examination. Now what the Bimop chiefly 
 propofed, by requiring this early Appearance, 
 was, that he might have fufficient time to in- 
 quire into the Characters of the Candidates , 
 and into the Characters of thofe , who had 
 fubfcribed their Teftimonials :, as likewife in- 
 to the Circumftances of fuch Perfons, from 
 whom they had -their Titles. Upon the laft 
 Subject , the Matter of his Enquiries was , 
 whether they who gave the Title had really 
 an occafion for a Curate , and whether the Be- 
 nefice or Benefices they enjoyed, could main- 
 tain an Incumbent and a Curate, allowing the 
 
 latter
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. David'/. 42 
 
 Jatter a competent Salary. And finding that 
 the Allowances which fome Incumbents gave, 
 under the general Terms of a competent Salary, 
 which are the Words commonly made ufe of 
 in Forms of Titles, were not always a fuf- 
 fkient Maintenance, nor bore any proportion 
 to what the Benefice could afford, he made it 
 a Rule, not to admit of any Title, which ran 
 only in fuch general Terms, except th very 
 Sum they defigned to allow , was expresfly 
 mentioned in the Body of the Title. 
 
 Befides the trial he made of their Attain, 
 ments as Scholars, he would aft many Que- 
 ilions, in order to difcover, whether they 
 could give a good account of their Faith, and 
 to find out the inward Temper and Comple- 
 xion of their Souls. Whether they had a true 
 Senfe of Religion upon their Minds, and 
 whether they were inwardly moved to under- 
 take that mod difficult, as well as defireable 
 Employment. At the fame time, he laid be- 
 fore them, the Nature, Dignity, and Impor- 
 tance of that Holy Function to which they 
 were to be admitted :, and gave them Diredi- 
 ons, how to prepare themfelves for the receiv- 
 ing their fpiritual Powers, efpecially in the 
 time that intervened, between their Appea- 
 rance and their folemn Admillion. He ufually 
 exhorted them, to fpend a large part of that 
 Seafon in Fading and Prayer, becaufe the 
 higheft pitch of human Learning is very inef- 
 fectual, to cure the Difeafes of the Mind, with- 
 out
 
 426 ^he Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 out the affiftance of God's Grace ^ and there is 
 no depending upon the greateft Abilities for 
 this Work, except they are fupported by Help 
 from Above. He particularly recommended 
 to the Candidates, a frequent and ferious pe- 
 rufal of the whole Office of Ordination, but 
 efpecially the Queftions and Anfwers ; upon 
 each of which he defired them to dwell for 
 fome time, in order to give themfelves leifure 
 to examine their own Difpofitions , and to 
 form fincere and vigorous Refolutions, faith- 
 fully to difcharge thofe feveral Duties of their 
 Function which they were obliged to under- 
 take, and that in fo folemn a manner, upon 
 their Admiffion to it. He took occaiion alfo, 
 now to explain to them that were entering into 
 the Order of Deacons , the meaning of that 
 Queftion in the Office of Ordaining them, 
 Do you tntfl, that you are inwardly called by ths 
 Holy Gboft, to take upon you this Office and Mi- 
 niftration. His Difcourfe to them upon this 
 Subject, led him to inform them, how far, 
 and in what degree, the profpeft of getting a 
 Livelihood or Maintenance by that Profefliou, 
 may be allowed to be a juftifiable Motive of 
 undertaking it. 
 
 His Ex.hr- After they were ordained and had received 
 Ihem after their Inftruments, the Bimop difmiffed them, 
 ordination, with an earncft and affectionate Exhortation, 
 to be diligent in their Studies, fober and ex- 
 emplary in their Lives and Converfations, and 
 careful and confcientious in the difcharge of 
 
 the
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. David'/. 
 
 the Duties of their facred Funftion, in thofe 
 \ ices, where by their Titles they were to be 
 ^ , charging them to make it their 
 f 'Buiinefs and Endeavour, to anfwer the 
 fed of their Profeflion, by being ufeful in it, 
 1 to emplov their Care and Time, rather to' 
 lefervethan .rk Preferment. He endeavour- 
 to perfuade them, that, generally fpeak- 
 ing, the moil certain, as well as the moft pri- 
 mitive Method of advancing themfelves, was 
 tp be diligent and ftudious in their prefent Sta- 
 tion, and quietly to continue in it for fome 
 time, till their own Merits fhould raife them 
 to a better Poft in the Church , and not to be 
 over forward in making Application them- 
 felves, or to folicite the Intereft and Applicati- 
 on of Friends in their behalf, which are fome- 
 times fo imny and fo prefling, that they put a 
 confcientious and good natured Patron under 
 a great deal of difficulty and uneafinefs , and 
 upon Occafions of that nature, Bilhop Bull 
 would lament that he had any Preferments in 
 his Gift. He was much troubled , when he 
 was under a neceflity of ordaining Perfons who 
 were but meanly qualified, which could not 
 be avoided fometimes in that Country, where 
 the Clergy are fo meanly provided for ^ when 
 he had admitted Perforis into Orders of a more 
 liberal Education, and of fome Sufficiency as to 
 their Fortunes, he advifed and recommended 
 the reading the Fathers of the Church, next to 
 the Holy Scriptures, at Jeaft thofe of the three 
 
 firft
 
 428 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 firft Centuries. This degree of Skill and Ac- 
 quaintance with primitive Antiquity, he look- 
 ed upon, not only as ufeful, but abfolutely 
 neceffary, to fupport the Character of a Prieft, 
 whofeLips are to preferve Knowledge. Thefe 
 Books, he faid, he recommended to their dili- 
 gent and ferious perufal, not only to inform 
 their Judgment, but to influence their Practice -, 
 fince they had a great tendency to refine their 
 Morals and raife their Affections to heavenly 
 things } being writ with fuch a lively Spirit of 
 Piety and Devotion, as is not to be met with 
 in the Writings of later Centuries. 
 
 And farther, to (hew the Deference the Bi- 
 Ihop paid to the confentient Teftimony of the 
 primitive Writers, and with what fort of Spirit 
 they ought to be read by the Candidates of Di- 
 vinity, 1 (hall here, for their fakes, tranfcribe 
 a very remarkable Paflage, from his Difcourfe 
 cencerning, the State of Man before the Fall y 
 &c. wherein, after our Author had justified 
 the concurrent Interpretation of a Text of 
 Scripture by the Catholick Doclors, he fpeaks 
 after this manner, " * You will now, I pre- 
 " fume, eafily pardon this large Digreffion , 
 " being in it felfnot unufeful, and being alfo 
 " neceilary, to remove a Stone of Offence of- 
 " ten caftin the way of the Reader, that con- 
 * c verfeth with theVVritings of the ancient Fa- 
 " thers. Nay, moreover I (hall perfuade my 
 
 * Vol. 3. p. 1138, 1 132. Bi/hap BuliV Englifb Work*. 
 
 " felf,
 
 late Lord Bijhop of St. David'/. 
 
 tf felf, that from this one Inftance among ma- 
 a ny , you will learn from henceforth , the 
 " Modefty of fubmitting your Judgment to 
 " that of the Catholick Dodors, where they 
 cc are found , generally to concur in the In- 
 ** terpretation of a Text of Scripture, howab- 
 " furd foever that Interpretation may at rirft 
 " feem to be. brupon a diligent Search, you 
 <f will find that aliqitid latet quod nan patet, 
 " there is a Myftery in the bottom, and that 
 c< what at firft View, feemed even ridiculous, 
 " will afterwards appear to be an important 
 u Truth. Let them therefore, who reading 
 " the Fathers, are prone to laugh at that in 
 " them, which they do not prefently under- 
 " ftand, feriouflyconfider, quantofno perlcitlo 
 " idfaciant. 
 
 Among other Irregularities, which the Bi- LXXV, 
 'fhop found had prevailed in his Diocefs, was ^~*~^ 
 the general Cuftom of adminiftring publick * 
 Baptifm in private Houfes. This he declared form the 
 againft, as an abfurd and uncanonicalPraaice S/' 
 abfurd, as being inconfiftent with the De lignum ' 
 and Words of the Office, drawn up for that 1 '^- 
 purpofe ^ which all along fuppofeth it to be 
 ufed in the Church, in the prefence of the 
 Congregation , and uncanonical, as being di- 
 rectly contrary to the exprefs Words of the 
 8i ft Canon. His Lordmip took a great deal 
 of Pains, both in his Charge to the Clergy, 
 and in his Difcourfes with them and the Lai- 
 ty.
 
 430 Tfe Life of Dr. Cfeorge Bull., 
 
 ty, to convince them of the Unreafonablenefg 
 and Irregularity of that Cuftom ; and though 
 his Endeavours in this Matter did not meet 
 with that entire Succefs, which he expeded 
 and delired, yet in a great many Parifties I am 
 credibly informed, this irregular Practice was 
 wholly laid aiide, and in all other places in 
 that Diocefs, I hear it is vefltamuch difufed, 
 though not quite abolilhed. indeed his Con- 
 verfation with his Clergy, was upon all occa- 
 fions grave and ferious, and related chiefly to 
 the Condition of their Parifhes, and the Dif- 
 pofition of their People, and the Difcharge of 
 their own Duties , especially in Catechizing, 
 and vifiting the Sick. Sometimes he would 
 reprefent the Difficulty and Importance, as well 
 as the Dignity of their Office ^ at another time, 
 the great Obligations they lay under, of being 
 Devout and Studious as much as might be, 
 and of ufing their utmoft Endeavours to de- 
 ftroy Vice and Error, and to build up their 
 People in Faith and Holinefs^ and never fail- 
 ed, frequently to put them in mind of the 
 horrible Punifliment which would enfue, if a- 
 ny Soul fhould raifcarry through their Negli- 
 gence. 
 
 fre- Though the BHhop was a great admirer of 
 the Conftitution of the Church of England^ as 
 being in the main, founded upon the bed and 
 P ureft Antiquity ^ yet he often lamented her 
 diftreffed State, from the decay of ancient Dif- 
 cipUne, and from thofe Divifions which pre- 
 vailed
 
 late Lord Bijlop of St. David'/. 4 3 
 
 vailed in the Kingdom ^ and more particular- 
 ly, from the great number of Lay-Impropria- 
 tions. The laft of thefe he looked upon as 
 the occafion of the two former, upon which 
 he faid, feveral good Men, called the Aliena- 
 tion of Tythes, the Scandal of the Reformati- 
 on , and that they efteemed it, the great Ble- 
 mifh of the happy Reftoration, that there was 
 no care taken at that time of thelntereft of the 
 Church of England, in refpeft to the Revenues 
 of it. All the Impropriations might eafily 
 have been purchafed in thofe Days, when 
 the national Funds were all clear, and fuch 
 vaft Arrears in all Bifhopricks, as, if laid out to 
 that ufe, would very much have leflened the 
 number of them. When the Bifhop talked up- 
 on this Subject, he would often mention with 
 pleafure, the Wifdom and Goodnefs of the 
 Queen, in her Augmentation of the Mainte- 
 nance of the poor Clergy j and he hoped , 
 that feveral of her Subjects, led by the Exam- 
 ple of her Royal Bounty, would of their own 
 Plenty, caft their Mites into this Treafury, 
 and fo render it effectual to thofe Purpofes 
 her Majefty intended it. This Defign he 
 thought would be more eafily carried on, if 
 fome rich Impropriators could be prevailed up- 
 on, to reftore to the Church fome part of her 
 Revenues, which they had too Jong retained, 
 to the great Prejudice of the Church, and ve- 
 ry often to the ruin of their Families, by that 
 fecret Curfe, which is the ufual Attendant of 
 4 facrW
 
 432 The Life of Dr. Oeorge Bull., 
 
 facrilegious PofFefTions. He was able to give 
 Inftances of this kind, in Come Families of his 
 Acquaintance , and in this Point, my Lord 
 feemed to concur with the Opinion of Sir Henry 
 Spelnitn. 
 
 Though he was always in his Judgment a- 
 gainft Lay-Impropriations, yet he was never 
 ib fenfible of the great Inconveniencies which 
 attend them, till he came into the Diocefs of 
 St. Davids, where they are very numerous} 
 and the Salaries allowed the Curates by the 
 Impropriators, too mean and inconfiderable to 
 make a tolerable Maintenance. The Bifhop ap- 
 plied himfelf to feveral of thefe Impropriators, 
 in hopes to have prevailed with them, to ad- 
 vance their Salaries to a competent Subfiftence, 
 having flill a due Regard to the number of In* 
 habitants in each Parim, and to the value of 
 the Profits they receive from it. But the lit- 
 tle Succefs he met with in thefe Applications, 
 put him upon inquiring, how far it might lie 
 in his own Power to remedy this Grievance, 
 and redrefs the juft Complaints of the poor 
 Curates. And it was his Opinion, that there 
 was fufficient Authority vefted in the Bifhop, 
 to afcertain the Salaries of all Curates within 
 his own Diocefs, whether they were employ- 
 ed under a Clergyman, or a Lay-Impropiator. 
 As for the Bimop's Power in the former Cafe 
 it was never questioned, and he faw no reafon 
 why it fliould not be allowed in the latter -, 
 and had my Lord lived to have feen London 
 
 once
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V. 
 
 once more, he defigned to have difcourfed his 
 Brethren the Bifhops, in this momentous Af- 
 fair, and to have received farther Advice and 
 Direction concerning it. For if the Bifhops 
 have fuch a Power, they ought by all means 
 to infiftuponit, when it is fo plain and evident, 
 that a due Exercife of that part of the Epifco- 
 pal Authority, would be of fuch great Advan- 
 tage at this time, towards promoting the Chri- 
 flian Religion, asprofcftin the Church of En- 
 gland -, for the (lender Salaries of thefe Impro- 
 priators, make it impoffible to have thofe Pla- 
 ces ferved by able Minifters, and where fuch 
 are wanting, the difTenting Teachers of all de- 
 nominations, who are wife and induftrious 
 enough to improve all Advantages againft the 
 Church, will be fure to lay hold of Tuch Op- 
 portunities, to fet up their Meeting-houfcs in 
 fuch Parimes, where they have fo fair a pro- 
 fped of making Profelytes to their feveral Par- 
 ties. Nor muft the Lay-Impropriators bear 
 the blame of all the Inconveniencies the 
 Church fufFereth upon this account , for it is 
 too apparent , that fome Colleges and feve- 
 ral Chapters are extremely negligent in this 
 matter. When this good Bimop was Preben- 
 dary of Gloce/ler, that Chapter made a drift 
 Enquiry into the value of the feveral Vicarid- 
 ges which belonged to them, and 'made very 
 handfom Augmentations in thofe places, where 
 they were wanting j and I am informed, that 
 the Dean and Chapter of Worker, have long 
 
 p f fmce
 
 434 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 fince confidered the fame Matter, to the fame 
 good Pnrpofes , and it is to be wifhed, that 
 other Colleges and Chapters would follow 
 fuch good Examples, and thereby effectually 
 put a ftop to thofe Reproaches which have been 
 thrown upon them, for making as mean and 
 fcanty Allowances for the Service of the Cures 
 which belong to them, as any of the Lay-Im- 
 propriators do for the Service of theirs. 
 The manner He purfued the fame Method in the Govern- 
 
 *{fS^ ment of his Farail 7* while he was Biftop, 
 while he which he pra&ifed during his Confinement to 
 ^ p r i va fe Station , his Defire and Endeavour 
 was, to have it regulated according to that ex- 
 cellent Form recommended to us in Scripture, 
 by the Example ofjbfbua and David , and in 
 order to introduce this, he took care in the 
 firft place to have them inftrufted in the Prin- 
 ciples of Religion, and then gave them frequent 
 and earned Exhortations to a holy Life, and 
 grave and friendly Reproofs when necefTary j 
 to which he added a bright Example of Pie- 
 ty and Devotion , that as by his Inftruftions 
 he taught them how to know their Duty , fo 
 by the Pattern he fet before them, they might 
 learn how to pradife it. He had Prayers in 
 his Family twice every Day, Morning and E- 
 vening, and while he refided at Brecknock he 
 and as many as could be fpared, went con- 
 ftantly to publick Prayers at Church. He 
 continued the Cuftom which he had always 
 ufed, of having fome religious Exercifes per- 
 formed
 
 l*te Lord Bifhop of St. Da vid '/. 435 
 
 formed in his Family upon a Sunday Evening j 
 and fome part of that excellent Book , called 
 "The whole Duty of Man , or of fome other 
 praftical Treatife in Divinity was read to them* 
 which he defigned chiefly for the Benefit of 
 the Servants, which could not attend the pub- 
 lick Worfhip , but the Bifhop himfelfand all his 
 Family, as well as his Servants, were prefentat 
 it. And certainly, a Day fet a-parton purpofe 
 for the Worfhip and Honour of God, and the fpi- 
 ritual Improvement of our Souls, and for our 
 preparation for Eternity, ought chiefly to be em- 
 ployed to fuch religious Ends $ and Matters of 
 Families cannot better difcharge the great Truft 
 which is repofed in them upon fuch Occafions, 
 than by inftruding their Children, Servants and 
 other Dependents, in the neceilary Knowledge 
 of Religion, and by railing their Minds to a 
 fteddy purfuit of thofe things which belong; 
 to their Peace, before they are hid from their 
 Eyes. He was ftrid and careful in his Enqui- 
 ries, concerning the Character and Behaviour 
 of his Servants, efpeciallyas itrelated to. their 
 abfence from Prayers, or to their negledin not 
 receiving the Holy Communion , even one of 
 the iaft times he received the bletfed Sacra- 
 ment, which was the Lord's Day before he 
 was confined by his Iaft Sicknefs, finding two 
 of his Servants to be abfent, he fent for them, 
 and feverely reproved them for their 1 
 and then declared, that he was fully deter- 
 mined, never' to keep a Servant in his Houle, 
 
 jr f 3 that
 
 43^ The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 that perfifted in the Omiffion of fo great a 
 Duty, and therefore if they had a mind to 
 continue in his Service, they muft refolve to 
 be conftant Communicants. 
 
 LXXVI. As the good Bifhop's Income increafed , fo 
 did the Exercife of his Charity j and during 
 time of his fitting in that See, his Hofpi- 
 tality and his Alms were much too large for his 
 Revenues-, but he never had fomean a Defign, 
 as to * raife an Eftate from the Income of any 
 Church Preferment, and though he brought a 
 good Patrimony into the Service of the Church, 
 yet when God called him to his Reft he left 
 none behind him. He contented bimfelf to 
 make a very flender Provifion for his Family, 
 which with God's Blefling, he efteemed the 
 bed Inheritance. His Doors were always 
 thronged with the Poor and Needy, who found 
 Comfort and Support from his Bounty j and all 
 the time he lived at Brecknock, which is a very 
 poor Town, about (ixty neceflitous People , 
 truly indigent, were fed with Meat, or ferved 
 with Money, every Lord's Day at Dinner time , 
 and he allowed very largely to Widows and 
 Orphans in the fame place, and fent liberally 
 to relieve the Diftrefs of neceflitous Prifoners ; 
 and fad were the Cries and Lamentations of 
 
 ^ * Gloria Epifcopi eft pauperum opibus providere. Ignomi- 
 nia omnium Sacerdotum propriis ftndcre divitiis. S. flier om. 
 
 ad 
 
 fhof
 
 late Lord Bi/lop of St. David*/. 437 
 
 thofe deftitute Wretches, when the Biftiop was 
 forced to leave that place for a freer Air at A- 
 bermarkfty which was little more than half a 
 Year before he died. 
 
 As he had made large Expences in repairing 
 the Parfonage Houfes of Suddington and^vfli- 
 *, where he had been Reftor for feveral 
 Years, which amounted at leaft to five hun- 
 dred Pounds ^ fo now he procured the College- 
 Chapel at Brecknock, part whereof was fallen 
 down, to be put into that good Repair in which 
 it appears at prefentj but towards the effecting 
 of this, he prevailed with the far greateft part 
 of the Prebendaries to allow one half Years re- 
 ferved Rent. 
 
 He was very charitable to poor Clergy Mens 
 Widows or Children, when they came to com- 
 pound for their Mortuaries. Now a Mortuary 
 is a cuftomary Duty, fuppofed ro be due for 
 Tythes and Oblations negleded to be paid by 
 the Deceafed j fo that it is not due by Law, 
 as my Lord * Coke obferveth, but by Cuftom. 
 And it was not only cuftomary to pay this 
 Duty, but it was ufual to bring it to the Church 
 when the Corps was buried, and then to offer 
 it as a Satisfaction for the fuppofed Negli- 
 gence in fubftracling Tythes, and from hence, 
 as Mr. f Selden tells us, it was called a Croft- 
 
 * 2 J l*ftit. P. 49 1- t ff'flwf T J thes * a8 7- si ? Wil ; 
 Ham UugdIe, in bis Antiquities o/W-irwickfoirc, M* * l< 
 Ditcwrte u*w Mirtutries, p. 679. 
 
 f f 3 prefent*
 
 438 The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 frefint. His Method upon fuch Occafions was 
 this, -when any Clergy-man died poor, or but 
 in indifferent Circunrftances, and left many 
 Children behind him, and thofe unprovided 
 for, he always remitted the Mortuary, and 
 gave them feme good Exhortations j and in or- 
 der the better to make them effectual, he ad- 
 hriniflred to them feme fe;;fonable Relief, by 
 way of prefent, if the difficulty of their Cafe 
 required it. And it is farther afferted, by thofe 
 who were intimately acquainted with his 
 Lordftup's Proceedings, that he was very kind 
 to all his Clergy in their Compositions, and to 
 prevent any Opprefiion from the Management 
 of his Steward, he gave himfelf the trouble of 
 fettling thefe Matters. And it is the Opinion 
 pf fome that very well underftand this Affair, 
 that it would be of great Importance to the 
 Welfare of that Diocefs, if fome certain Me- 
 thod could be fixed on to make Clergy-men's 
 Widows more eafy in this refpecl. 
 
 Sometimes in the Difpofition of his Charity, 
 the Bifhop had a particular Regard to the 
 Good of Souls , and becaufe it is very difficult 
 to inftrucl: thofe in the necdfary Principles of 
 Religion , who are grown old in Ignorance , 
 he therefore enticed fuch by a pecuniary Al- 
 lowance to fubmit themfelves to receive 
 Knowledge. It is certain, that the Extremi- 
 ties of old Age participate in fome degree of 
 the weak and helplefs Condition of Childhood, 
 3nd what makes it ftill much more Lamenta- 
 ble
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. Da vid V. 
 
 ble is, when the Mind, for want of due Culti- 
 vating in the preceding Stages of Life , is 
 altogether deftitute of thofe Chriftian Princi- 
 ples which mould then fupport and comfort it. 
 And therefore a Charity of this Nature which 
 endeavoured to repair the Omiflions of a neg- 
 lecled Education , was of the greateft Impor- 
 tance , becaufe Perfons in that Condition 
 flood upon the Brink of Eternity, without 
 having made that Provifion which was necefla- 
 ry to fecure theHappinefs of fo great a Change. 
 He allowed therefore twelve Pence a Week 
 apiece to twelve old People of Brecknock, upon 
 condition that they would fubmit to learn the 
 Principles of the Chiiftian Religion, and be 
 ready and willing to give an Account of them. 
 When the Bimop came to live at Brecknock, 
 they had publick Prayers in that Place on- 
 ly upon Wednefdays and Fridays, but by 
 his Care during his Stay there, they have 
 Prayers now every Morning and Evening 
 in the Week. The Method he took tp e- 
 ftablim this daily Exercife of Devotion was 
 briefly this : Upon his vifiting the College 
 in that Town , he made the following Pro- 
 pofal to the Prebendaries, that whereas they 
 had each of them a certain yearly Stipend un^ 
 der the Name of a Penfion out of their refpe- 
 dive Prebends, towards reading of daily 
 Prayers in the College-Chapel, which by rea- 
 fon of itsDiftance from the Body of the Town, 
 were very little frequented, and indeed hard- 
 
 Ff 4 iy
 
 Tie Life of Dr. George Bull 3 
 
 ly by any but the Scholars of the Free-School 
 which is adjoining to it , whether it would 
 not be a very ufeful and acceptable piece of 
 Service to the Town, if thofe Penfions fhould 
 be applied to encourage the Vicar of Brecknock 
 to perform daily the Morning and Evening 
 Service in the Town Church ' or Chapel as it 
 is ufually called. This Propofal appeared to 
 them fo reafonable, that they all readily agreed 
 to it. By this means the Vicaridge is confide- 
 rably augmented, and the College Prayers are 
 flill kept up for the Benefit of the Scholars, 
 to whom chiefly they could be of ufe fince the 
 Ruin of the College , the Mafter of the School 
 having ever fince difcharged that Duty -, and 
 the Bimop for his Encouragement gave him 
 a Prebend juft by the Town , with a de* 
 iign that it might for ever be annexed to the 
 School. 
 
 And whereas at Caermartben fhey had only 
 Morning Prayers upon Week-days when his 
 Lordmip firft came to that Town , he fet up 
 alfo conflant Evening Prayers j and towards 
 this additional Labour he allowed the Curate 
 the yearly Synodals of the Archdeaconry } to 
 which Mr. Archdeacon Tenifon , who is very 
 ready to contribute to all Works of Charity 
 and Piety, being then upon the Place, added 
 twenty Shillings a Year out of his Revenue 
 there , and the Prayers are ftill kept up and 
 well frequented. 
 
 Some
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of 5>. David'/. 44 L 
 
 Some time before his lad Sicknefs, after he LXXVII 
 removed from Brecknock to Abermarlefs , he *^"^^ 
 entertained Thoughts of addrefling to all his %$ 
 Clergy by the way of a circular Letter, in or- <* circular 
 der to recommend to their Confideration, and 
 prefs-upon their Pradice, fome very important 
 Methods for promoting Virtue and Piety in 
 his Diocefs ', and after his Death there was 
 found among his Papers a Letter drawn up to U P 
 that Purpofe. It is certain that it had not his 
 laft Hand , and wants that Perfection which 
 ufually attended whatever he compofed ^ 
 but however, becaufe the Matter of it is Un- 
 exceptionable , and the Defign of it hath a 
 great Tendency to advance the Intereft of Reli- 
 gion , and becaufe it (heweth at the fame time 
 how the Thoughts of the good Bimop were 
 to the laft fixed upon the Service of his great 
 Mafterin forwarding the Good of Souls, I 
 (hail infert it in this Place, begging Indulgence 
 from the Reader for any Defeds that may ap- 
 pear in a Plan which was not rlnifhed by his 
 Lordlhip. 
 
 To
 
 442 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 To the Reverend the Archdeacons and 
 the reft of the Clergy of the Diocefe 
 of St. David's. 
 
 My Brethren, 
 
 TVdcfign JOEING deftrous, according to my Duty, to 
 
 *^ promote the Salvation of thofe Souls which 
 
 the Providence of God hath in a particular 
 
 manner, committed to try Care } and being fin- 
 
 ftble that this great Work can be no othsrwife 
 
 effected, than by advancing the Inter eft and Forcer 
 
 of Religion in the Hearts and Lives of Men : 
 
 Give me leave to fuggejl to you, my Brethren , 
 
 my Fellow-Labourers in the Lord, feme few 
 
 Methods, which I conceive may be of admirable 
 
 life to this Purpofe -, which, if we are fo happy 
 
 of to accomfltfo, will greatly tend to the Increafe 
 
 of Piety and Virtue in my Diocefs , and enable 
 
 its all to give up our Accounts at the la ft great 
 
 Day, when we foatt appear before the Tribunal 
 
 ofChrift, with Joy, and not with Grief. 
 
 The Firft The Fir ft Thing therefore that I would re- 
 
 Thing re- commend to you, and which I do earnejlly exhort 
 
 ISd The y ou lo -> u to a PP^ y ur ^ e l ves w ^h great Di- 
 
 eftabli- ligence, to eftablilh the Pradice of Family 
 
 rni'] D8 Dev Devotion, in all the Families of your refpe&ive 
 
 .ion. Parifhes. / need not prove to you what is 
 
 fo very manifcft, that nothing helpeth more to 
 
 keep up a Senfe of Religion in the Minds of 
 
 Men , than a ferious , reverent and conftant, 
 
 Perfir-
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. David'/. 443 
 Performance of this necejfary Duty ^ whereby 
 both the Glory of God is much advanced, and 
 many BleJJings do alfo accrew to thofe who in 
 this manner daily adore and praife their great 
 Creator, the Lover of Soulf. But in order to 
 this Purpofe, I muji ivith feme Warmth befeecb 
 you to make a particular Application to every 
 Houfe-Keeper in your fever al Parifies , and to 
 endeavour to convince them , if need be , how 
 much it is their Intereji as well as Duty 
 to worship God daily in their Families , Jince it 
 is not only the properefl Exprejfion of their own 
 Piety, but the likelieft Method to make their 
 Children and Servants obedient and faithful: 
 And I would farther advifi you to fecond yoitr 
 Exhortations of this kind with recommending to 
 them foms fmalt Books ', which explain and prefs 
 this T)uty, and lay down Forms for the Perfor- 
 mance of it. 1 am affurad that there are feve- 
 ral * Books of this kind to be pur chafed at very 
 
 * BjofaofthK kind are, w^. 
 
 The ftecefiary Duty of Family- Prayer,Pr/ i d.or 6 s.fer hundred. 
 Exhortation to Houfc- Keepers to fee up the Worftiip of God 
 in their Families, with daily Prayers for Morning and Evening, 
 Price i d. or 6. s. per hundred. 
 
 The NeccfThy of Family-Prayer, and the deplorable Condition 
 of prayerlefs Families confidered , with Prayers for their Ufe , 
 Price r d. or 6s. per hundred. 
 
 AH three printed by J. Downing in BarthoIowmew-CIofe. 
 Family-Devotion 5 or, an Exhortation to Morning and Even- 
 ing Prayrr, with two Forms fuited thereunto, as alfo for private 
 Ufe. B>E.Gibfon, D. D. 
 
 Prirtedfor R. Whitledge, Price 3 d. or 20 /. per hundred. 
 Family Religion ; or, the Exercife of Prayer and Dcvaticq 
 ip private hamiiies. 
 i Printed by B. AyTmer, Price ^d. W to /. ptr hundred. 
 
 eajfr
 
 444 The Life of Dr. George 
 
 eafy rates 5 and I could wifb, that jour own 
 Abilities, or the Ajjiftance of fome charitable 
 and well difpofed Neighbour , might lodge thefe 
 gratis in the Families of the poorer fort ^ though 
 if you procure a fufficient number of fetch Books, 
 it is not to be doubted, but that when your 
 Parishioners think them necejfary, they will rea- 
 dily pay for the fame, the price being fo very 
 inconfiderable. 
 
 Thefe your Exhortations, and procuring Books 
 to that Purpofe being backed with your frequent 
 and repeated Admonitions, will, I hope, by the 
 AJJiftance of divine Grace , bring all your Pari- 
 fhioners to the conflant and ferious Praclice of 
 Family-Prayer -, efpecially if you reprefent to them 
 at the fame time the great Importance ofexerci- 
 fing this Duty, not only as it relates to the propa- 
 gating of true Piety and Religion in the prefent 
 Age, but alfo as it tends to the fe curing of them 
 In all future Ages. For the Example of Parents 
 and Mafters, will, in all Probability, make fuch 
 deep ImpreJ/ions upon the Minds of their Chil- 
 dren and Servants, as to excite them to an Imi- 
 tation of their Praclice , whenever they foall 
 lecome thenif elves Majlers of Families , And fo 
 then this Duty will not only be obferved in their 
 Families at prefent j but probably alfo in allthofe 
 Families that /ball defcend and Ijfue from them 
 for ever. 
 
 And to make this Exercife of Family Devo* 
 lion flill more ufeful , you mu/l farther exhort 
 them , when they have leifure , as they often 
 
 have
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David'/. 445 
 
 have on Winter-Evenings, especially on Sundays^ 
 to introduce their Family-Prayers with reading 
 fome Portions of Holy Script itre, and of other 
 pious and religion* Books proper to inflruft and 
 perfuade them to the diligent Difcharge of all 
 Chriftian Virtues. 
 
 And fince it is Matter of great Grief and 
 Sorrow to all thofe who unfeignedly Labour in 
 the Gofpel, and are intrujled with the Care of 
 precious and immortal Souls, to nbferve in their 
 feveral Pariftes the habitual negleB of this Duty, 
 upon the conflant ufe whereof, the fpiritual Wel- 
 fare of their Parifbioners doth fo much depend:, 
 I cannot forbear folemnly charging you to exert 
 your felves with more than ordinary Zeal in this 
 Matter *, that fo this Affair of fitch great Confe- 
 rence to the Good of Souls, may in your feveral 
 Parishes be brought to its wifhid for and de fired 
 Perfection. 
 
 The Second Thing that I ftatt recommend ihefecon 
 and earneftly exhort you to, as offinpular Ufe to- thin g r - 
 
 , J y . TJ / /i ; j commcn- 
 
 wards promoting Religion in a wicked ana dege- de( j to ^ ;, 
 nerate Age, is to endeavour the ereding Ch 
 rity-Schools in your feveral Parifhes ', wbere 
 the Children of the Poor may be taught to read 
 and write, and to repeat our excellent Churcb- 
 Catechifm, and to underjland the Principles of 
 out Holy Religion, which arefo necejfary to their 
 Eternal Salvation ^ and whereby they may be 
 fitted to receive farther InftrutTwns from thofe 
 Difcourfes you fliall from time to ti?nc make to 
 them from the Pulpit. It is not to bs doubted 
 4 fat
 
 44^ The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 but that a great part of that Prophanenefs and 
 Debauchery which prevails among the poorer fort, 
 is very much owing to that grofs Ignorance of 
 Religion , which abounds among them : Now 
 what Remedy fo proper to prevent this fatal 
 Mifchief) as the Chriftian Education of poor 
 Children under ftriB Difcipline ? And this ought 
 the rather to be attempted, becaufe I am inform- 
 ed many poor People in this Diocefs, are very 
 dejirous that their Children foould receive the 
 Benefit of fitch an Education, though they are 
 not able \o be at the Charge of procuring it for 
 them. 
 
 This I do the more heartily recommend to you, 
 becaufe it hath already been bleffed by the gra- 
 cious Providence of God, with great fuccefs in 
 many other parts of the Kingdom, especially in 
 and about thedties 0f London /WVVefhninfter; 
 where there are not only great Numbers of Chil- 
 dren inflruBed gratis, in the Principles of the 
 Chriftian Religion , but are alfo placed out to 
 fever al different Occupations, and by degrees 
 made itfeful Members of the Commonwealth. 
 And indeed I hardly know any Charity that is 
 attended with greater Advantages to the Souls 
 and Bodies of poor Creatures, than this which I 
 now recommend to you. 
 
 In order to thispurpofe, Ibefeechyou to apply 
 
 your f elves to fuch of your ^arifmoners as are 
 
 willing to contribute towards the carrying on 
 
 this very good Work, and who are able by their 
 
 Subscriptions to anfwer the neceffary Expence
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. David V. 447 
 
 which attends it. Lead them by your own Ex- 
 ample, andnpon this Occafwn do not fail to throw 
 your Mite into the Treafwy. ^either you nor 
 they, I am [rtisfied, ivi'd ever be able to employ 
 your Alms better, nor dire B your Charity to nobler 
 Purpofes. As to the Methods of erecting and go- 
 verning thefe Charity Schools, they are laid down 
 with fo much Judgment and Exaclnefs in the 
 Account of Charity Schools, that i* annually 
 printed at London, and difiribu ted all over the 
 Kingdom, that I fiall fugzefl nothing to you up- 
 on that Head, but defire you to conjult that Ac- 
 count, and ferioufy to perufe it for your further 
 Direction. 
 
 And Jince I am upon the SubjeEl of injlrufling 
 Children, I defire you to fignifie to all School 
 Mafters within j cur fever al Parifbes, that they 
 take care to ufe Prayers in their Schools, Morn" 
 ing and Evening } and that they not only inftruB 
 their Scholars in the Church Catechifw, hut alfo 
 teach ihem fhort Prayers for their private ufe , 
 obliging them never to omit repeating them Morn- 
 ing and Evening. And I defire you to inquire 
 frequently, how the School- Mafters ofyourfrve- 
 ral Parishes, dif charge thefe above-mentioned Du- 
 ties -, it being of the peat eft Consequence to the 
 Welfare both of the Church and the State, th.it 
 all Children fynuld be religioufy andpioufly f Edu- 
 cated. And therefore I require you from time 
 to time,to fgnijie to me the Raines of f neb School- 
 Maflers y as after your repeated Admonitions juall 
 negleft their Duty, as to the dforefaid Particu- 
 lars,
 
 448 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 lars, that their Licences may be revoked, and 
 that they may be declared for the future, inca- 
 pable of ft> great a Truft. 
 
 the third A Third 'Thing; that I jball recommend to you, 
 commen- ^ ve ty ^feful towards propagating Chriftian 
 dcd, is a Knowledge, is to endeavour to difpofe all Pa- 
 
 Bookso^ rents t ^ iat are f Ability in your feveral Pari- 
 prafticai (hes, to fupply each of their Children, before 
 Divinity ^gy marr y or are othcrwife fettled in the 
 
 for Youth..,, J ,, J ., r ,. .. T ., . . 
 
 World, with a imall i! Library, containing 
 Books of pradical Divinity, to the Value of 
 three, four, or five Pounds, fixed in a little 
 Prefs, with Shelves proper for that purpofe. 
 This willmake any Portion, that Parents are able 
 to beftow upon their Children, a true Blejjmg ^ 
 and indeed is a very valuable Prefent, Jlnce it 
 tends fo dire&ly to provide for the Welfare of 
 their immortal Souls. And to render this . mofl 
 effeclual, they ought to enjoyn their Children, 
 at the fame time they make them this Prefent of 
 Books, to read them often and ferioujly , and to 
 keep them with care and fafety during their 
 Lives, and then to leave them in the fame good 
 Condition to their Pofterity ^ by which means the 
 Knowledge ofReligio?t , may be propagated from 
 Age to Age in all future Generations. 
 
 * There ha beenfince print td a Sheet of Paper, called,The young 
 Chriftian's Library ; or a Collt&ion of good and ufeful Boo^, pro- 
 per to be given to young Per font by their Parents, in order to their 
 Chriflun Education and Improvement, &c. Printed and fold by 
 }. Downing in Barthoternew-Cbie near Weft-SmirhfTeld. 
 
 The
 
 late Lord Bijbof of St. t)avidV. 449 
 
 The Fourth Thing I ft all recommend to you TI ) C k^ 
 fc, to give notice to all your Parifliioners, that^md- 
 the G)mraon-prayer Book in Welch is lately cd, the 
 printed in a ("mall Volume, and fold by Mr.JJJ^ 
 JPliitledge, Bookfeller, in Ave-Mary-Lane at er BOOK 
 London, and by Mr. Thomas Jones at Shrews- 
 bury *, fo that all your Parilhioners may fupply 
 thcmfelves therewith. Thefe Common- prayer 
 Books are much wanted by the People of my Di- 
 ocefs, and 1 am informed, that they will be uni- 
 verfally purchased, efpecially fmce they will be 
 fold for about Eighteen pence apiece, fad to 
 facilitate this matter, and make it eafy to your 
 Parishioners, I would advifeyou to colleB Mony 
 of them, in order to buy fuch Quantities as may 
 fupply their Occafions , that by this means they 
 may quickly and eafily be difperfl through the 
 whole Diocefs. 
 
 I need not fuggefl to you the Advantages that 
 will arife from your Succefs in this matter, they 
 appear at fir ft fight, and a little Confideration 
 will make them familiar to you. And that th& 
 Poor may be brought to give their Attendant in 
 the HoufeofGod^ I conceive it may be very proper 
 for you, to perfuade the Gentlemen, and othef 
 "Perfms of Ability within your fiver alParifas, 
 -who ufually on Sundays relieve the Poor at their 
 own Doors, to confine that Charity to fuck as 
 bave that Day bean at Church ^ and if it may 
 be convenient, even to give their Alms at tht 
 Church Doors. This Method will in a 
 
 G
 
 450 The Life of Dr. George Bull, ^ 
 
 bility excite the Poor to diligence, in attending 
 
 the publick Worflnp of God. 
 
 the fifth J$e fifth Thing that I jha.ll recommend to 
 commend- 7 (9?/ 6n< ^ to which I do mojl earneftly exhort you, 
 cd, copra-?/, that you would endeavour to ufe your In- 
 
 Laws'robe tere ^ w ' 11 ^ t ^ le ] u ^ ces f tne Peace in the o- 
 put in EX- ther Counties of my Diocefs, to follow the 
 
 ecuriona- E xam pl e of thofeof Carmarthen. Where fever al 
 gamlt Vice T r* /? c i 7 it 
 
 and immo- worthy jufiices of the reace have exerted them- 
 raJity. fefoes with great vigour ^ to fufprefs Vice and 
 Immorality , as appears by the under- written 
 Paper, which they fubfcribed in open Qitarter 
 Sejjions , and which afterwards was difperft 
 into every Parifo of the f aid County , and which 
 as 1 am informed, bath bad a wonderful influ- 
 ence upon the Lives and Manners of the People. 
 
 The making of the be ft Laws is but of fmall 
 importance, if no care is taken to put them in 
 Execution *, they Jhew indeed the Wifdom of 
 thofe that have contrived and enaEled them ^ 
 but they will leave us where they found us, ex- 
 cept Magiftrates put on Vigour and Refalution, 
 to render them effeElual to the Purpofes for which 
 they were defigned. This Duty was urged upon 
 all the Magift rates of the Kingdom, by her Ma- 
 jefty her felf, upon her happy Acceffion to the 
 Throne, as one of her fir ft Cares for the Welfare 
 of her People j and indeed, it tendeth fo appa- 
 rently to the Honour of God, as well as to the 
 Good of all her Majejlies SubjeBs, that it is no 
 wonder that it fhould be fo particularly the Con- 
 cern
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. David'/. 4 5 i 
 
 tern of a Princefs, wbo is diflinguijhed by her 
 Zeal for both. 
 
 You may farther ftrengthen ike Example of 
 the Juftices of the Peace ^Carmarthen ^ wit 6 
 the PraBice of fever al worthy Societies in this 
 Kingdom, who (to their true tionour be it fpo- 
 ken) z,ealoujly labour in this good Work of Re- 
 formation of Manners. I do therefore , mojl 
 heartily recommend them both to their Imitation^ 
 iand exhort you to folicite their Compliance, with 
 this my Recommendation, in regard, fuch extra- 
 ordinary Succefs hath attended the Proceedings 
 of the Gentlemen in the County ^Carmarthen J 
 and that by the Endeavours of the Societies, 
 many ihoufands of lewd and disorderly Per fins 
 have been brought to legal Punijhment. 
 
 There is one Inftance more of the good difpo- 
 fitions of the Juftices of the Peace ^"Carmarthen- 
 fhirc, which I de fire you to lay before the Juflices 
 of the Peace, of the other Counties ofmytHocefs*, 
 and which I require you to exhort them to imi- 
 tate, viz. The Method they take of providing 
 for thefpiritual Wants of poor Prifonersin their 
 County Gaol, by allowing a Salary of five Pounds 
 per Ann. to a Clergy-man, to read to them divine 
 Service every Lord'sDay, and frequently to ad- 
 minifler to them, the comfortable Sacrament of 
 the Body and Blood of our Lord and Saviour 
 JefutChrift. 
 
 IjhaU conclude this long Letter, wthpraying 
 to God, from whom cometh every good and per- 
 M Gift, that he would enable you by hts Grace, 
 
 G g x *"
 
 The Life of JDr.^George 
 
 to perform what I have recommended to you, as 
 tending very much to the Honour and Service of 
 our great Mafter , and that he would be pleafed 
 to blefs your fmcere Endeavours with Succefs . 
 And at the fame time, 1 do affure you that 
 I am, 
 
 My dear Brethren, 
 Your moft Affeftionate Brother, 
 and Humble Servant, 
 
 George St. Davids. 
 
 The Paper mentioned to be under-written. 
 
 Tl '/Hereof the Queen has iffued forth her fevered 
 ** Proclamations^ for fufprejmg Vice and Im- 
 morality } wherein ftejlriclly enjoins all M'gi- 
 (irates^ toput the Laws impartially in Execution 
 a^ainft all Perfons that are guilty of profane Cur- 
 fmg and Swearing, Prophanation of the Lord's 
 Day t or any other Vice and Immorality. And 
 whereas^ there has been a general Def<*8 in put- 
 ting the Laws in Execution againft fuch L'/fen- 
 ders^ both in England an^ Wales, until lately 
 the Magijlrcrtes^ in purfuawe of the faid fever al 
 Proclamations in England, lp& e exer.ed them- 
 fches vigorously and impartially on tltje Occafi- 
 
 ons.
 
 late Lord Bi/lop'of St. David V 452 
 
 0?w, and have given Countenance and Encourage- 
 ment to tbofe Perfons, that gave Informations of 
 the Comwiffton of the f aid Crimes j Therefore 
 we, wbofe Names are hereunto fubfcri 'bed \ be- 
 \ng Magifi l rates in the Count} of Carmarthen, 
 J'j look upon our f elves to be under an indifpen- 
 f.:ble Duty to follow tbeir good Example , and 
 ive do bereby unanimously declare, that we will 
 imp artfully put tie Lares in Execution a gain jl all 
 fofb Perfons* that ft all Curfe and Sivear, and 
 propbiine tbe lord's Day, or commit any other 
 Vice or Immorality. And alfo we declare^ that 
 we will give all due Countenance and Encou- 
 r a? went to all fucb Per fans, that {ball give us 
 Injorwatwn vf tbefe Crimes, being fenfifie, that 
 tbey do ibe greateft AEls ofCbarity to tbe guilty 
 Perjbns, in endeavouring tbeir 'Reformation. 
 And we do bereby farther declare and promife 
 voluntarily , in order to filence an Objection uj'u- 
 ally made, tbat Magijlrates are guihy and do 
 not pay; tbat ive ivili pity any Forfeiturewffiatt 
 incur by tbe Commijjion of ibe faid Crimes, be- 
 ing convinced, tbat tbe Poor bare a rigbt to it 
 ly Law, and wbofoever detains it, will do an 
 Aft oflnjujlice , therefore no Perfonmufl expeft 
 favour or Connivance , Jince we are fo impartial 
 to our felves. And we do hereby earnejlly re- 
 qiteji, tbe Reverend tbe Clergy of tbe fweral 
 Parifbesoftbis County, to caufe this to be writ- 
 ten in a fair Hand on Parchment, and af'er- 
 wards tbat tbey caufe tbe CburcbWardtns 
 oftbeir fever al Parches to fix it on a Board, 
 
 Gg 3 and
 
 454 ^ e Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 and frame it in j that it may be kept fafe, and 
 Joung out at the Church Door duly every Tear 
 three times^ viz. at Whitfontide, Eafter and 
 Chriftmas, by the Sextons of the fever al Pan- 
 fbes j and at aU limes, that the AB of Parlia- 
 ment againfl Curfmg and Swearing, is read in 
 the Churches^ that all Perfons may be reminded 
 often of thefe our Refohttions, and to avoid the 
 Commiffion of the of or ef aid Crimes : Given un- 
 der our Hands , at of en Quarter Seffions , the 
 fxth Day of Oftober, 1708. 
 
 Thomas Powell. 
 Griffith Lloyd. 
 William Brigftock. 
 Thomas Lloyd. 
 Henry Vaughan. 
 John Vaughan. 
 
 ixxvm. One great Means of maintaining the Purity 
 of the Faith among the People, and Difcipline 
 among the Clergy in the primitive Times , 
 was the conftant Refidence of the Bilhop in 
 
 is Diocefs, his Diocefs ^ and the Abfence of Prelates from 
 that Diftrid committed to their particular 
 Superintendence, hath been attended with fa- 
 tal Confequences to the Churches under their 
 Government. The Defcription which our 
 Saviour maketh of the good Shepherd feemeth 
 to require their Attendance, for how /hall he 
 know his Sheep by their Name , and how (hall 
 
 he
 
 : tate Lord Ri/hop of St. DavidV. 
 
 be walk before tbem, if he doth not conflantly 
 refide among them ? And how (Hall any Irre- 
 gularities among the Clergy be either preven- 
 ted or rectified, when the Epifcopal Authority 
 is wanting to both Purpofes ? The Nature of 
 the Bifhops Office before fettled Revenues 
 were affixed to Bifhopricks, required his con- 
 ftant Attendance , for he had a particular Au- 
 thority in difpofing the Income of the Church, 
 and it was his Care to fee them managed to 
 the beft Advantage. The ancient * Councils 
 have feveral Canons, which require that all 
 the Incomes and Oblations mould be difpen- 
 fed by the Will and Difcretion of the Bimop, 
 to whofe Care the People and the Souls of 
 Men are committed. The Apoftolical Canons 
 mention the fame Power, and though he had 
 proper Affiftants under him, yet they were on- 
 ly Stewards of his own appointing, and were 
 accountable to him as the fupreme Governour 
 of his Church. And when the Empire be- 
 came Chriftian , and Churchmen became too 
 fecular, Councils took care to regulate this 
 Matter. For the Council of Sardica hath fe- 
 veral Canons which relate to it. The Seventh 
 decreeth that no Bifhop mould go to the Em- 
 perors Court , unlefs the Emperor by Letter 
 called him thither : The very next Canon to 
 that provides, that whereas there might be 
 Cafes which might require a Bifhop to make 
 
 * Mr. BiDgham'f Antiquities of the Cbrijlian Church, &c. Vol 2. 
 
 G g 4
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 fome Application to the Emperor in behalf 
 of the Poor or Widows, or of fuch who fled 
 for Sanftuary to the Church, and condemned 
 Criminals , and the like. But in fuch Cafes 
 the Deacons and Sub Deacons of the Church 
 were to be employed to go in his Name, that 
 the Bifhop might fall under no Cenfure at 
 Court as neglecting the Bufinefs of his Church. 
 Juftinian hath a Law of the fame Import, 
 that no Bifhop fhould appear at Court upon 
 any Bufinefs of his Church , without the 
 Command of his Prince. But if any Petition 
 was preferred to the Emperor relating to any 
 Civii Canted , the Bifhop fhould depute his 
 Apocrif'riV- - Refident at Court to aft for 
 him, or fend his -'^ronomus, or fome other 
 of his Clergy to folicit > the Caufe in his Name, 
 that the Church mig'it u j ver receive Dimage 
 by his Abfence , IK,-- he j^tt to unneceflary 
 Expences. Another Canon oi the fameCouncil 
 limits the Abfence of the Bifhop to three 
 Weeks, unlefsitwere upon fome very weigh- 
 ty and urgent Occafion. And another Canon 
 alloweth no more time for a Bifhop who is pof- 
 fefl of an Eflate , to go and colled his Reve- 
 nues -, and that with this Condition, provided 
 he celebrates divine Service every Lord's Day 
 in the Country Church where his Edate lieth. 
 In order to purfue his Duty according to the 
 Directions of the great Shepherd of Souls, our 
 worthy Bifhop chofe his Diocefs for the only 
 Place of his Refidence , and by that means he 
 
 made
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. David'/. 457 
 
 made fome amends for that imperfect manner 
 wherewith he performed the Adminiftrations 
 of his Holy Fundion , which did not proceed 
 from Negligence , or any want of a right In- 
 tention to difcharge them , but from his 
 Weaknefs and Infirmities, and from that load 
 of Years under which he now laboured. 
 
 It is a common Obfervarion that the beft 
 things by Corruption become the word but 
 I am fure it holds good in no Cafe fo lurely 
 as in thofe that undertake the Prieftly Office , 
 who if they contradict their Ordination Vows 
 in the conftant Courfe of their Lives, if they 
 are falfe to thofe Engagements which they 
 folemnly entered into before God and the 
 Church, they become the greateft and moft 
 defperate Sinners , their Guilt is attended with 
 the higheft Aggravation , and with the leaft 
 Hopes of Repentance, An Inftance of fuch a 
 deplorable Wreirh Bimop Bull once met with ; 
 for while he lived at Brecknock, there was a 
 certain Clergyman applied to him for Prefer- 
 ment, and being confcious of his want of thofe 
 Qualifications which the Bilhop required in 
 thofe he advanced to any confiderable Station, 
 he was refolved to try another Method , for 
 bad Men judging of 'others by themfclurs, 
 eafily perfuade themfelves, that other Men 
 are influenced by thofe corrupt Principles 
 which prevail in their own Minds , he had 
 the Impudence to offer him a Purfe of Gold ', 
 tlje good Bifhop fa\v it and trembled, and was 
 * never
 
 4 $8 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 never known to expels a greater Concern 
 than upon that Occafion-, the Confufion he 
 was in upon fuch an unexpected Provocation 
 extremely difordered him, and he immediately 
 fent away this abandoned Proftitute with great 
 Indignation. 
 
 LXXIX. The Bifhop by the Method of his Studies 
 \^~v^j contracted feveral Indifpofitions of Body, fuch 
 He impai- as commonly attend all hard Students, efpeci- 
 by a ^ v ^ ^7 make choice of the Night for that 
 purpofe. But though this was agreeable enough 
 to hi s Genius , and very ferviceable to the 
 Ends he propofed by it -, yet he was at laft 
 convinced of its fatal Effeds upon his whole 
 Conftitution, which he thereby found fenfibly 
 broken. All the time he continued in the 
 Diocefs of St. David's he was fickly, never be- 
 ing well long together 5 Colds and other Di- 
 ftempers which take thence their rife, created 
 him almoft continually fome Unealinefs in 
 his Body, the entire Frame whereof he percei- 
 ved to be mightily impaired , and particularly 
 his Eye- fight, the Decay of which he attribu- 
 ted to nothing elfe but his Studying fo much 
 at unfeafonable Hours. 
 
 An Account I n tn is uncertain State of Health without 
 any confiderable Alteration he continued till 
 t k e 2 ^th O f September 1709. That Morning 
 he was feized with a moft violent Fit of 
 Coaghing, which by the Violence of the Fit 
 ended at laft in fpitting of Blood , which he
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. David'/. 
 
 Joft that way in confiderable Quantities for 
 forae Hours. But this fpitting of Blood was 
 by degrees flopped for the prefent by his 
 drinking two or three Glafles of cold Water. 
 The next Day his Bleeding returned about the 
 fame Hour, but could not then be flopped with- 
 out opening a Vein, at which he bled very free- 
 ly :, which fucceeded as well as could be expeded. 
 The Jofs of fo much Blood every way, toge- 
 ther with the ufual Regimen prescribed him 
 in that Di (temper, whereby he was reft rained 
 from all nouriming Meats and all (hong 
 Drinks, did fo weaken him , that it quite 
 broke that little Strength of Conftitution which 
 ftill remained $ that when his laft Sickncfs 
 feized him in February following, he had not 
 Strength enough to bear up long under it. 
 For his Diftemper was fuppofed to have been 
 an Ulcer, or what they call the Inward Piles, 
 occafioned by ftagnated Blood in the Hasmor- 
 rhoid Veins, which under a violent Loofenefs 
 affecled him with great and exquifite Pain j 
 fo that the whole time of his Confinement 
 did not exceed a Fortnight. 
 
 As foon as his Diftemper obliged him to 
 keep his Chamber, he perceived trut his Dif- 
 folution was near at hand j and accordingly 
 declared, " That he was now fenfible of his DM/A. 
 * own Decay, and that he was fure he could 
 " not live many Days." His Phyficians feemed 
 to incline to the fame Opinion after fome (hort 
 Attendance , though they exprefTed themfelves 
 
 herein
 
 The Life of Dr. George 
 
 herein with fome Hefitation and 
 which the good Bifhop perceiving , thus ad- 
 drefTed himfelf to one of them ^ Doftor^ you 
 need no: be afraid to ull me freely what jowe 
 Opinion of me Is :, for I thank my good God I 
 am not afraid to dye. ; It is what I have ex- 
 -cled bmg ago ^ and I hope 1 am not wpr fla- 
 red for it now. Repentance and Mortification 
 had been fo much the happy WorK v;f his 
 (trongeft and healthful Days, that when Death 
 approached, he received the Summons not 
 only with Refignation, but with fame degree 
 of Satisfaction. He had wifely made fuch a 
 careful Preparation for his laft Hours, that he 
 was now able to bear the Thoughts and Ap- 
 proaches of his great Change without Amaze- 
 ment , he had overcome that flrong Inclina- 
 tion of Nature, whereby Men ufually cleave 
 fo faft to Life, by the wifer Dictates ofReafon 
 and Religion , which made him willing and 
 contented to dye whenever God thought fit. 
 
 This Senfe of his approaching Departure 
 fate Pre- ou t of the World , made him careful not to 
 
 par at ion fir , . , i i i_ j L .i_ 
 
 p Mt j, t omit any thing that could be now done both 
 for himfelf and Family, for the better fecuring 
 their common Intereft and Salvation. During 
 the time therefore of his Confinement , he 
 would often have the Family to Prayers in 
 his Chamber at the ufual Hour , and the 
 Prayers for the Sick in the Office of the Tip- 
 Cation were added cpon thofe Occafiens , and 
 
 fom?-
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. David'/. 46 1 
 
 fometimes the Litany. The Prayers for the 
 Sick were frequently repeated during the 
 whole time of his Illnefs, at which he expref. 
 fed always great Devotion. He would fome- 
 times defire to receive Abfolution in the Form 
 tkfed in the Communion Office , which he 
 thought came nearer to the precatory Forms 
 of Abfolution mentioned in the Fathers than 
 any other. But it doth not appear that he 
 hereby condemned the Ufe of that Form , 
 which is at lead in forne Cafes prcfribed by 
 our excellent Church in her Office for the Vi- 
 fitation of the Sick, or that he had any Doubt 
 concerning the Benefits of Sacerdotal AbfoJu- 
 tion, or of that Authority which is derived 
 to the Minifters or Delegates of Chrift of for- 
 giving the Penitent their Sins in his TZame\ 
 fince in his laft Ads of Preparation for Death 
 he earneftly defircd it and folemnly received it. 
 None can deny that this Form of Abfolution 
 by him chofen is certainly Primitive, and 
 therefore unexceptionable,whether the other be 
 fo or no, hath been difputed by the Learned j 
 and He had a Right to chufc that a^ninft 
 which no Exception could lie. This evident- 
 ly was the Cafe of this excellent Prelate j 
 and upon this account I fuppofe he de tired 
 no other Form of Abfolution than this, which 
 was undoubtedly moft ancient, a few Divs 
 before his Death j when in the Prefence of le- 
 veral Perfons he made a folemn Confefiion and 
 
 Decla-
 
 462 The Life of Dr. George 
 
 Declaration of the Condud: of his whole Life,- 
 and fo took his leave of the World in a man- 
 ner the mod edifying that could be. Mr. Bull 
 his Son, Mr. Archdeacon Stephens his Son-in- 
 Law, and Mr. Philips a Clergyman of that 
 Neighbourhood, beiides his own Chaplain 
 Mr. Havard , were of the Number of thofe 
 that were prefent, who were edified not a lit- 
 tle with what they heard from his Mouth. 
 And have all attefted, that as he bore his laft 
 Sufferings with a refigned Temper and Firm- 
 nefs of Mind , which nothing but the Grace 
 of God, and the Confcioufnefs of a well fpent 
 Life could infpire, fo that they never knew a 
 warmer Example to Influence all within the 
 reach of it, to a juft Senfe of their own 
 Duty. 
 
 tfkconfef Firft l ^ e Bimop ma( fe a publick Confeffion 
 fion of/!?* ' of his Faitb in the Words of the Apoftles 
 Faith and Creed. Then he gave a fhort Account of his 
 tf & Life, running over the feveral Stages of it, ma- 
 king ufeful Remarks upon the principal PalTa- 
 ges which occurred in each Stage 5 recounting 
 the feveral Errors and Mifcarriages which at- 
 tended them, as far as he could recoiled: them 
 by his Memory at that time. From the for- 
 mer he took occafion to admire the Goodnefs 
 and Wifdom of Divine Providence in the Dif- 
 pofal of all the Events of Things and Condi- 
 tions of Men in the World : And to blefs 
 God for all his Difpenfations towards liimfelif 
 
 in
 
 late Lord Bifbof of St. David'/. 463 
 
 in particular, whether of good or evil Things 
 in the whole Courfe of his Life. 
 
 The latter gave him occafion to renew his ffit Repcn- 
 Sorrow and Repentance for them, and for all 
 the other Offences of his Life paft , which 
 he might have forgotten, or could not at pre- 
 fent recoiled - for all which he exprefled his 
 earneft defire of Mercy and Forgivenefs in 
 fome (hort but fervent Prayers and Ejacu- 
 lations. And becaufe what he now did 
 was perfectly conformable to that publick Pro- 
 fejjion which he had formerly made when he 
 was in health, and with the Profpeft of fuch 
 an Hour as this j the Reader perhaps will not 
 be forry to have here a Copy of it , which 
 is as followeth. * I moft firmly believe, 
 " faid be, that as I yield a ftedfaft Affent to 
 " the Gofpel of Chrift, and as I work out true 
 " Repentance by that Faith , fhaking off by 
 " the Grace of God the Yoke of every deadly 
 " Sin, and in earneft devoting my felf to the 
 " Obfervation of his Evangelical Law $ ; 
 * Ihall obtain by the Sovereign Mercy of God 
 " the Father , for the Merits only of Jefus 
 " Chrift his Son, and my Lord and Saviour, 
 " who offered up himfelf unto the Father a 
 " truly expiatory Sacrifice for my Sins , and 
 " for the Sins of the whole World , the full 
 Remiflion of all my paft Sins be they never 
 
 * Apolog. pro ,
 
 464 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 " fo many and great. But then I have no <H 
 ' therwife any Confidence of my Sins being 
 forgiven me j or of my being in a State of 
 " Grace and Salvation, but as by a ferious Ex- 
 tc animation of my Confcience, made accord- 
 " ing to the Rule of the Gofpel, there (hall be 
 " Evidence of the Sincerity of my Faith and 
 " Repentance. And I believe moreover, that 
 tc while I bring forth Fruits worthy of Faith 
 46 and Repentance, and while I not only ab- 
 " ftain from thofe Crimes, which according to 
 44 the Gofpel exclude a Man from Heaven , 
 44 but do diligently likewife exercife my felf 
 44 in Good- Works, both thofe of Piety to- 
 " wards God , and thofe of Charity towards 
 " my Neighbour ; fo long I may preferve the 
 44 Grace that is given me, of Remiffion and 
 " J unification : And that if I diem this Statt, 
 44 1 am in the way of obtaining by it the Mer- 
 " cy of God, and eternal Life and Salvation 
 for the fake of Jefus Chrift. I believe yet 
 " that 1 may fall away -, and after having re- 
 " ceived the Holy Ghoft, may, as our Church 
 " fpeaketh, depart from Grace : And that 
 tt therefore I ought to work out my Salvation 
 " imilo fear and trembling. \ believe alfo, that 
 " in the Gofpel there is Pardon promifed to 
 " all that fall, let it be never fo often, fo that 
 " they do, before their Death , renew their 
 " Repentance, and do again their firft Works , 
 " but then there is not any where promifed 
 " to them, either fpace of Life, or Grace that 
 
 " they
 
 Lite LordBiJlop of St. David'/. 
 
 se they may repent. I believe there is given 
 tt to fome Perfons, a certain extraordinary 
 " Grace, according to the good pleafure of 
 " God :> but I account it the greateft mad- 
 " nefs, for any one therefore to prefume upon 
 " fuch a Grace, or to challenge ought for him- 
 " felf, beyond the Promifes of God which are 
 " made in the Gofpel. And laftly, it is my 
 " firm Belief, that throughout the whole 
 " Courfe of my Salvation, from the very firft 
 " fetting out to the End thereof, the Grace 
 " and Afliftance of God's Spirit is abfolutely 
 u neceflary : and that I never have done, and 
 " never can do any fpiritual Good without 
 " Chrift, is my full and certain Perfuafion. 
 
 This is the Confeflion of his Faith, which 
 he had made about four and thirty Years be- 
 fore to all the World, and to which he now 
 adhered at his Death :, even as to thofe very 
 Articles, wherein he flood moft of ail fufpe- 
 died for fome time, and for the Explication of 
 which in his Books, he was loudly but injudi- 
 cioufly cenfured by a great many, as hath been 
 before obferved, for approaching too near Pe- 
 lagianifin and Socinianifw. For becaufe he was 
 not for making the Grace of God a Cloak for 
 Man's Idlenefs^ and was of the Opinion, that 
 none ought to exped it, but they that pay tor 
 it and nonecould reap the fruitof it, but they 
 who added watching to it ', this was mifcon 
 flrued, as a detracting from Grace, and a d* 
 predating of the moft precious Blood of Chrift, 
 
 H h no'-
 
 466 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 notwithftanding all his Remonftrances to the 
 contrary. In purfuance therefore of thofe 
 Principles he had fo well defended in his 
 Health, and in conformity with the Churches 
 Directions, this clofe of his Life, and lafl moft 
 folemn Ad: of it, defigned to recapitulate the 
 whole, was exactly by him adjufted : . While 
 to his Faith he added thus Repentance, and to 
 Repentance, Charity, as the Life and Soul of 
 them both - 5 and carting himfelf, after having 
 done all, upon the infinite Mercies of God, 
 and the ineftimable Merits of Chrift, with the 
 deepeit Senfe of his own Unworthinefs, there- 
 by expreffed the true and only way of Juftif ca- 
 tion which he had chofen, Of which he had 
 long before faid, * This is the way of Salvation, 
 which by God's Grace I have entred into, or at 
 leaft have defired to enter into, which I have 
 therefore chofin, becaufe it is clearly fit forth 
 to me in the Holy Scriptures, and is a trodden 
 and afaje way, which all Catholick Chrift tans, 
 for fifteen hundred Tears at lea ft from oitr Sa- 
 viours Birth, have trodden before me : And 
 which was now ratified by this his laft au- 
 thentick Ad and Deed , made before many 
 WitneiTes. For having now folemnly profef- 
 fed his Faith, that he might teftify to them 
 his earneft Deiire of dying in the Communion 
 of the Apoftles-, and adored the moft wife 
 and gracious Providence of God towards him , 
 upon a faithful Review of the Good and Evil 
 
 * Apol. pro Har. p. 13. 
 
 of
 
 late Lord Bifbop of St. David V. 467 
 
 of his Life paft, from his firft fettim* out to 
 the Jaft Period ofk j he gave Glory to God in 
 the profound Humiliation of his Soul, and by 
 fuitable Ads of Contrition, adapted to the fe- 
 veral Parts of his Life, magnified the Grace of 
 his Redeemer, calling upon him by Faith with 
 great fervency , for inward Purification and 
 perfed: remiffion of his Sins. Which devout 
 Ads and Afpirations, exprefiing the Sincerity 
 of his Faith and Repentance, he fignified in 
 the Stile of all the Saints, and concluded in 
 the very Words of the Prophet Dtvid, Who 
 can tell how oft he offendtth ? clsaiife thou 
 me from my fecret Faults. 
 ^ After this, the good Bifhop exprefled his#,v 
 Charity in all the Branches of it, as far as he '/, **<* 
 was then able to do it j namely, In an hearty 
 Defire of Forgwenefs^ from all thofe whom he 
 had offended or mifufed , and in a chearful 
 readinefs to forgive thofe who had done him a- 
 ny Hurt or Injury. As to the other Branch 
 of Charity, that of Giving, he had done it in 
 fo generous and plentiful a manner all his life 
 time , that he did not exprefs any great Con- 
 cern , that the Circumftances or his Family 
 were now fuch, as would not admit of any Act 
 of Charity of this kind: this he concluded 1 ike- 
 wife with fuitable Prayers and Interceflions. 
 
 In the laft place he profelled, that as he had K 
 always lived, fo he was now refolvedtodie, in^ c j 
 the Communion of the Church of England ; am* tf 
 and declared, that he believed that it was the E 6 1 " d - 
 
 H h 2 belt
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 bed conftituted Church this Day in the World; 
 for that its Doftrine Government, and way 
 of Wormip , were in the main , the fame 
 with thofe of the primitive Church. Here he 
 put up fome Prayers for its Peace and Profpe- 
 rity 5 and declaring again, trnt he was refolved 
 to die in its Communion , he defired Abfo- 
 lution^ and received it as before- mentioned. 
 
 LXXX. The Evening before he departed, his Son- 
 c/^-vj in-Law , Mr. Archdeacon Stephens, arrived 
 Themanner f rom a gf Cat journey, upon the news he re- 
 
 cfhista- - & r . . J , T /, r TM i r>- 
 
 king his ceived of his dangerous Illnefs. The good Bi- 
 oiemn ffoop embraced him with great fatisfadion, 
 when he raifed himfelf up in his Bed ro give 
 him his Blefling. When Mr. Stephens expref- 
 fed his great Sorrow and Concern, to rind him 
 in fo great Mifery by the Complaints he made, 
 he told him, " he had endured a great deal, 
 " that he did not think he had fo much 
 " flrength of Nature, but that now it was near 
 " being fpent , and that in God's good time he 
 c * fhould be delivered. And when Mr. Stephens^ 
 in order to fupport him, urged that his Reward 
 would be great in Heaven, the good Biftiop 
 replied, " My Truft is in God, through the 
 " Merits of Chrift. And being prevented 
 from enlarging by the exquifirenefs of his 
 Pains, he defired Mr. Stephens to retire, and 
 refrefli hrmfelf after his Journey. Some little 
 time after this, he told thofe that were about 
 him, that he perceived he had force Symp- 
 toms
 
 late Lord Bifhop of St. David*/. ' 
 
 toms of the near approach of Death j and or- 
 dered them to call the Doftor to him. Arid 
 when he came, he told him he thought he felt 
 himfelf a dying : to which the Doftor anfwer- 
 ed, that he could not fay he would live many 
 Hours. Upon this, he fent for his Wife and 
 Children, and the reft of his Family, and de- 
 fired them to pray with him, and for him. 
 And when Prayers were over, he took his fo- 
 lemn leave of every one in particular , giving 
 each of them fome ferious Exhortation and 
 Advice. And this being done, he gave them 
 his Benediction and difmiiled them. 
 
 He was moreover very careful, that none # 
 might do themfelves an Injury by their zea- "' A f e ' 
 
 i i i -I i (tun for 
 
 lous Attendance upon him, while they were not thxeth* 
 capable of doine him any farther Good. Where- *"' te {. 
 
 c i i II- \\j-c L j-j ir i_- W n *"* 
 
 fore he charged his Wife, as he did alto his 
 Son-in-Law, Mr. Stephens, to retire to their 
 Reft : and when the Dodor offered to conti- 
 nue with him in his laft Hours, after their 
 difmiflion, he told him, " he would not have 
 " him impair his Health by fitting up with 
 " him , flnce he could not be farther fervice- 
 " able to him, any other way, than by praying 
 < c for him 5 and that he might do in his Cham- 
 " ber. Neverthelefs, he defired his Son and 
 Daughter, and Mr.///nwJhisChapI iiu, with 
 fome others of the Family, who were not in 
 fuch danger of being hurt by it, to fhy with 
 him till he died 5 that they might allift him 
 with their Prayers, efpecially in his laft Ago- 
 
 Hh 3 nies,
 
 47 o The Life of Dr. George Bull., 
 
 nies, when he (hould not be able to pray for 
 himfelf. He thought now, and fo indeed did 
 all about him, that he could not lafl above an 
 hour or two longer -, and that, by the great 
 Weaknefs he was reduced to when his laft 
 Sicknefs left him, and the Pain he had indu- 
 red fince the beginning of his prefent Diftem- 
 per, the whole Fabrick, in a Perfon of his Age, 
 was now fo (battered, that the Separation of 
 the Soul from the Body, could not be tedious 
 or uneafie. But, contrary to all Expectation, 
 he held it out many Hours under his laft 
 Agonies. 
 
 s He had his Underftanding and Memory to 
 f t h e foft anc j that in as great Strength and Vi- 
 
 him in the i , , , i 
 
 *gmy of g ur as ever ne na( J them m the remembrance 
 veatb. of thofe that perfectly knew him. As an In- 
 ftance of which, the Reader may take this re- 
 markable Paffage. The Night but one before 
 he died, he fcnt for his Son Mr. Robert Bull, 
 and after having given him his Leave and Or- 
 der to publifii his Sermons, which are now 
 printed, he commanded him to ftrike out the 
 Preface of his Vifitation Sermon, which he 
 laid was too Juvenile, and to make two or 
 three Alterations in another of his Sermons, 
 which Alterations were taken from his Mouth, 
 and fince performed. But what was furprifing 
 in this Matter was, that he had delivered thefe 
 Sermons to his Son, at leaft fix Years before, 
 and they were never fo much as feen by his 
 LordOnp afterwards. Durins; the time of his 
 
 5 laft
 
 late Lord Bifoop of St. David'/. 471 
 laft Conflict, he fcarce troubled himfelf, or 
 thofe that waited upon him, with taking any 
 thing. But he paft it all entirely in Ads of 
 Piety and Devotion. Sometimes he joined 
 with thofe that were prefent in the Prayers of 
 the Office of the Vifitation of the Sick ; the 
 latter part whereof was, by his Direction, fre- 
 quently repeated in this Interval , but the 
 greateft part of it he fpent in pious Meditations 
 and private Ejaculations 5 upon what Subjcds 
 could be no farther guetfed at, than by obfcr- 
 ving his Eyes and Hands frequently hffed up 
 towards Heaven , and fometimes Tears and 
 Smiles, interchangably fucceedmg each other 
 in his Countenance, one might think, that as 
 the former were the Attendants of his Repen- 
 tance and Confcffions, fo the latter were the 
 Refult of that Joy and Comfort which he, 
 in his Mind, from the Senfe of the pardon of 
 his Sins and of the Peace and Favour of 
 concied God j which might alfo receive no 
 fmall Addition at thisjuntae, fromthen^ 
 Profoea he had of his Deliverance from this 
 mortal ai^ [painful Life, and of his Entrance 
 nto i State of everlafting Happinefs. 
 '"wSelound that he cominued .hu. to H 
 live , feveral Hours 
 
 , 
 
 he fent again for his Wife an lu 
 
 Red- fide to take his leave once raoic 01 , ftf
 
 47 * The Life of Dr. George Bull 3 
 
 mighty well fuited , and particularly applied, 
 to the Cir cum fiances and Conditions of the 
 feveral Perfons to whom they were given. He 
 recommended his Wife and Children to the di- 
 vine Providence and Prote&ion, but in fo mo- 
 ving and affedionate a manner as is difficult to 
 exprefs. And he thanked all his Servants for 
 the pains they had taken with him in his Sick- 
 nefs. And as for the reft, his Exhortations 
 ran chiefly upon general Heads, fuch as the 
 great Importance of Religion, the Vanity of 
 the World, the deceitful Nature of Riches and 
 Honours, and what miferable Comforters they 
 would prove at lafl. The Inefficacy, or at 
 leaft the great Hazard and uncomfortable State 
 of a Death-bed Repentance, and the abfolute 
 Necefliry of a holy Life, in order to a happy 
 Death ', a Life fpent in the Service of God, in 
 doing good in the World, efpecially Works of 
 Mercy and Charity. Thefe are the Subjects 
 which he endeavoured to imprefs upon the 
 Minds of thofe he left behind him j and then 
 once more he gave them his folemn Benediction. 
 After this, he recommended his Soul into the 
 Hands of his Creator, in feveral fnort but mod 
 excellent Prayers, repeated mod part of the fe- 
 venty firfl Pfaim, fo far as it fuited his Circum- 
 fiances, than which nothing could be more 
 proper, to exprefs his Truft and Dependence 
 upon the Power andGoodnefs of God," and the 
 continual Want he had of his Grace and Affi- 
 fiance , moreover, he ordered his Chaplain to 
 
 uft
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. David'/. 473 
 
 ufe the Commendatory Prayer, when he per- 
 ceived him to be at the point of Expiring , 
 which was accordingly done feveral times. 
 
 About nine in the Morning his Spirits be- H* De*tb. 
 gan to fink, and his Speech to falter, and a 
 few Minutes after, without any vifiblc fign of 
 Pain or Difficulty, with two gentle Sighs he 
 refigned his Soul to God, the ij^ofFe'ruay, 
 1744.. The laft Word he fpoke was Amen , 
 to the Commendatory Prayer, which he re- 
 peated twice diftindly and audibly after his 
 ufual manner, a very little while before he 
 died. 
 
 He was buried about a Week after his Death 
 at Brecknock^ and lies, as I am informed^etween 
 two of his Predeceflbrs , Biftiop Mumraring 
 and Bifhop Lucy, and his Funeral was attended 
 with great numbers of the Gentry and Clergy, 
 both of the County of Carmarthen and Breck- 
 nock. He had given ftrift Charge , that the 
 burthen of his Debts mould not be increafed, 
 by beftowing more Expence upon his Inter- 
 ment, than what Neceflity and Decency re- 
 quired. And upon this account it is thought, 
 that when he was afked, where he would be 
 buried, whether at Caermarthen or Brecknock^ 
 he returned this Anfwer, where the Tree falleth 
 there let it lie -, meaning, that they fhould bu- 
 ry him in the Parifh Church of Lbandwet 
 and what ftill further inclined him to this 
 Determination , was the extraordinary Value 
 
 and
 
 474 the Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 and Refped , which the Bifhop exprefTed to 
 the Memory of Mr. Rees Prichard^ formerly 
 Vicar of that place , interred there, upon the 
 account of his great and celebrated Piety, and 
 the Ufefulnefs of his excellent Poems in the 
 Welfh Tongue -, which are in very great repute 
 among the Inhabitants of that Country, as well 
 for the plainnefs of the Language, and the ea- 
 (inefs and fmoothnefs of the Meafures, as for 
 the importance of the Subjects upon which he 
 wrote. The whole Book being in a manner 
 an entire Body of practical Divinity, in which 
 feveral of the Natives, even thofe that are illi- 
 terate, are fo well verfed, that they will very 
 pertinently quote Authorities but of this Book 
 far their Faith and Practice. But the Bifhop 
 was prevailed upon, by the Defoe of his Wife, 
 to confent to be buried at Brecknock, it being 
 the Place where (he defigned to pafs her for- 
 rowful Widowhood, and confequently, there- 
 by mould have an alTurance of lying in the 
 fame Grave with him , and the matter was fo 
 ordered, that in making the Biftiop's Grave, 
 (he gave Directions to have it done up with 
 Walls every way, and fo large as to contain 
 two Corpfes. And it hath pleafed God very 
 lately, fince I began the Life of her excellent 
 Hufband, to call her to Reft, and (he now re- 
 pofes with this pious Prelate, in that filent Re- 
 tirement (he had provided for her felf, till the 
 laft Trump (hall fummon them both to Judg- 
 ment ;
 
 late Lord Bt/bop of St. David'/. 475 
 
 ment j * And the Lord grant unto them, that* 
 they may find Mercy of the Lord in that Day. 
 His Grave is covered with a plain Stone, and 
 the (hortlnfcription upon it which follows,was 
 framed, and ordered by his pious Widow, who 
 was fo fatisfied with it her felf , that (he 
 would not fuffer it to be caft into any other 
 form. 
 
 HERE LIETH THE RIGHT REVEREND 
 FATHER IN GOD, D r . GEORGE BULL, 
 
 LATE BISHOP OF THIS DIOCESS; 
 WHO WAS EXCELLENTLT LEARNED, 
 
 PIOUS AND CHARITABLE-, 
 AND WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE 
 
 FEBRUARY THE i 7 th . 1709, AGED 75. 
 - . j *. ' 
 
 He left behind him, but two of thofe eleven 
 Children , with which God had been pleafed 
 to blefs him. His Son Robert, who married 
 Rachel, the Daughter of Edward Stephens of 
 Ckerington in the County of Glocefter, Efq-, 
 and of Mary, the Daughter of Sir Mathew 
 Hale, Jate Lord Chief Juftice of the Kings- 
 Bencb. And Bridget, fmce his Death married 
 to Mr. Edward Adderly , Son to the aforefaid 
 Mary by a former Hufband. 
 
 a Tim. i. iff. 
 
 Ana
 
 47 6 The Life of Dr. George 
 
 And now that we have attended this very 
 r. karned and pious Prelate, from his Birth to 
 his laft Exit, let us endeavour in a few Words, 
 to recapitulate the difperfed Excellencies of his 
 Life, and in running over his Character, drive 
 to copy the Example of thofe eminent Vertues, 
 which in this Pattern fhine brighteft for our 
 Imitation. 
 
 As to his Stature, he was rather tall ^ and 
 in his younger Years thin and pale, but fuller 
 and more fanguine in the middle and latter 
 part of his Age his Sight quick and ftrong, 
 and his Conftitution firm and vigorous, till 
 indefatigable Reading and night Studies, to 
 which he was very much addicled, had firft 
 impaired, and at length quite extinguished the 
 one, and fubjeded the other to many Infirmi- 
 ties j for his Sight failed him entirely, and his 
 Strength to a great degree, fome Years before 
 he died : But whatever other bodily Indifpo- 
 fitions he contraded by intenfe Thinking and 
 a fedentary Life, his Head was always free, 
 and remained unaffected to the laft. He feem- 
 ed framed by Nature for confiderable Attain- 
 ments, having .ill thofe Faculties and Difpoft- 
 tions of Mind, which are necefTary thereunto, 
 in as great Perfection as moil Men ever enjoy- 
 ed them. And that thefe - rich Endowments 
 were not bellowed upon him in vain, his 
 learned Writings have demonftrated to all the 
 
 o 
 
 World. In reading of Books his Sagacity was 
 fych, as that nothing could efcape his Obfer- 
 
 vation ;
 
 Itfe Lord Bifiop of St. DavidV. 477 
 
 vation , and as his Reading was great, fo his 
 Memory was equally retentive j he never kept 
 any Book of References or Common-places, 
 neither did he ever need any : Together with 
 this happy Faculty, he was blefled with ano* 
 ther that feldom accompanieth it in the fame 
 Perfon , and that was an accurate and found 
 Judgment. 
 
 As to the Temperature and Complexion of 
 his Body, that of Melancholy feeraed to pre- 
 vail, but never fo far as to indifpofe his Mind 
 for Study and Converfation j in the latter of 
 which he would be always more chearful and 
 pleafant, the better the former fucceeded to his 
 Content. The vivacity of his natural Tem- 
 per expofed him to (harp and fudden fits of 
 Anger, which gave him no fmall Uneafinef?, 
 as well as thofe Perfons who were concerned in 
 the neareft Offices about him $ but thofe Fits 
 were of fuch fhort continuance, that the trou- 
 ble was foon over, and the goodnefs and ten- 
 dernefs of his Nature towards all his Dome- 
 flicks, at other times and upon all occafions, 
 made fufficient amends to them for it ; befides 
 his natural Paflion was fo far fubdued bv the 
 Power of Religion, as that an evil Word was 
 never heard to proceed from him, even when 
 he feemed to be moft tranfported with it. He 
 had a Firmnefs and Conftancy of Mind, which 
 made him not eaiily moved, when he had once 
 fixed his Purpofes and Refoludons, which is 
 no bad Temper, when attended with fuch a 
 
 true
 
 478 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 true Judgment as he was Mafter of-, but ra- 
 ther a Vertue of Nature, which many learned 
 and good Men have been defective in. His 
 natural Courage was a happy Difpofition, for 
 that fupernatural Grace of true Chriftian For- 
 titude and Magnanimity, in which he was very 
 eminent, fo that the Frowns of great Men in 
 Power could no more awe him, than popular 
 Clamors could make his Stedfaftnefs. 
 
 He had early a true Senfe of Religion upon 
 his Mind, and though he made a mort Excur- 
 fion into the Paths of Vanity, yet he was en- 
 tirely recovered a conftderable time before he 
 entered into Holy Orders, and yet he was or- 
 dained Prieft at one and twenty. He was a 
 very hard Student for many Years, and though 
 he was not unacquainted with moil parts of 
 Learning, yet he chiefly cultivated Divinity, 
 to which he had folemnly dedicated his Stu- 
 dies. He fo excelled in his Profeffion, that 
 he was juftly efteemed one of the greateft Di- 
 vines of the Age in which he lived, and that 
 at a time when it abounded with great Men. 
 He officiated with great Reverence and Devo- 
 tion, in all the Duties of his holy Function. 
 And' when he inftruded the People from the 
 Pulpit, he enlightned their Underftandings , 
 and raifed their Affeftions towards Heavenly 
 Things. He had a great Love for Souls, and 
 a tender Companion for Sinners, which made 
 h im never difpair of their Recovery, nornegleft 
 fuch endearing Applications as might bring 
 them to Repentance. Amidft
 
 I 
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. DavidV. 479 
 
 Amidft all thofe extraordinary Talents with 
 which God had bleft him , it never appeared 
 that he over-valued himfelf or defpifed others. 
 For though his natural Endowments were of 
 no ordinary fize, and that they were wonder- 
 fully improved by Study and Application, yet 
 his great Learning was tempered with that 
 modeft and humble Opinion of it, that it there- 
 by fhined with greater luftre. He abounded 
 in Works of Charity, even beyond his Ability, 
 and where-ever he met with Mifery and Want, 
 they fufficiently endeared the Objeft. The 
 Glory of God and the Good of his Neighbour, 
 were always uppermoft in his Thoughts. His 
 Adions were no lefs inftrudive than his Con- 
 verfation, for his exaft Knowledge of the Ho- 
 ly Scriptures, and of the Writings of the pri- 
 mitive Fathers of the Church, had fo effectual 
 an Influence upon his Practice, that it was in- 
 deed a fair, and entire, and beautiful Image, 
 of the Prudence and Probity, Simplicity and 
 Benignity, Humility and Charity, Purity and 
 Piety of the primitive Chriftians. During his 
 Sicknefs, his admirable Patience under exqui- 
 fite Pains, and his continual Prayers, made it 
 evident, that his Mind was much fuller of 
 God than of his Jllnefsj and he entertained 
 thofe that attended him with fuch beautiful 
 and lively Defcriptions of Religion and ano- . 
 ther World , as if he had a much clearer 
 View than ordinary of what he believed. 
 4 In
 
 480 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 . In fhort, he lived the Life of the Righteous] 
 ffnd bis latter End was like his. 
 
 LXXXL All that farther remaineth, is to lay before 
 t^-v-^ the Reader forae account of the Sermons and 
 An account Difcourfes of Bifhop Bull, which are now 
 IS- P rinted and publiftied } in which I (hall en- 
 mm! out deavour to be the fhorter, becaufe their Worth 
 w j]| appear very obvious to thofe who are the 
 bell Judges , and the Life is already run out 
 to fo great a length, that it is very neceflary to 
 draw to a Conclufion. As to the Sermons, 
 his Son Mr. Robert But/, as hath been already- 
 hinted, had not only the Bifhop's Leave, but 
 his Order to print them after his Death 5 fo 
 that we may from thence conclude, they had 
 his laft Hand, and confequently that Perfe- 
 ction which belonged to his Compofures. The 
 Subjeds are reduced to no dependence upon 
 one another, in the Method of ranging them, 
 neither was it neceflary, fince it did not appear 
 that they were framed with any fuch Profped. 
 But the Reader will quickly perceive , that 
 they anfwer the proper End and Defign which 
 ought to be kept in view in all fuch Performan- 
 ces, which is to enlighten the Underftandmg 
 with the Knowledge of fome divine Truth, 
 and to difpofe the Will to a vigorous and {ted- 
 dy purfuit of thofe Things, which are necef- 
 fary on our part, to attain everlafting Saiva- 
 
 tion ' There
 
 late LordEiJhop of St. DavidV. 
 ' There are fome Points handled in thisCoU% 
 kHon, which at firft fight, and from a fuper-*^ 
 fkial View, may be thought to border too much 
 upon Curiofity ; but if the Reader brings that 
 Attention and Serioufnefs which fuch Subjects 
 require from us, he will find that they are 
 primitive Truths, which have their proper 
 Ufe and Advantage in the Conduct of the 
 Chriftian Life. 
 
 As for inftance > He hath not only afTerted, rhe middle 
 but plainly proved from the holy Scriptures' state of 
 and the concurrent Teftimony of the Catholick 
 Church in the pureft Ages ; " That the Souls 
 of Men fubfift after Death, in certain places 
 " of Abode provided for them till the Refur- 
 " re&ion of their Bodies j and that the faid 
 intermediate State allotted to them by God, 
 is either happy or miferable, as they have 
 been good or bad in their paft Lives. Now 
 as this is matter of great Terror to all wicked 
 Men, who ihall immediately after Death be 
 configned to a Place and State of irreversible 
 Mifery, in a dreadrul Expectation of greater 
 Punimments, at the Judgment of the great 
 Day ; fo it affordeth abundance of Confolation 
 to thofe who die in the Lord, and are entred 
 upon their Reft ,- not a ftupid infenfible Reft, 
 but a Reft attended with a lively Perception of 
 far greater Joy and Delight than this World 
 is acquainted with ; in a comfortable Hope 
 of a large increafe of Happincfs, at the fccond 
 coming of the Lord of Glory. But if there 
 
 I i was 
 
 cc 
 
 <c
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 was no other ufe to be made of thisDodrine^ 
 but to guard us from the Corruptions of Pope- 
 ry, I ftiould think it eftabliflied to very good 
 Purpofe. And certainly it appeareth very ma- 
 nifeft, that if it was a part of the primitive 
 Faith' to believe, that the Souls of the beft of 
 Men fubfifted after Death, in feparate places of 
 Reft and Refrefkment, and did not enjoy the 
 beatifick Vifion till after the Refurreaion of 
 their Bodies ; I fay, it is evident from this 
 Principle, that the Foundation for the Invoca- 
 tion of Saints is perfectly overthrown ; for 
 they are rcprefcnted to us by our Adverfaries, 
 of the Ro?nan Communion, as feeing all things 
 in Specula Tr'mitatis ; and we are encouraged 
 by them from that Motive, to offer up our 
 Prayers, and to make our Addrefles to the 
 Saints > fo that if they are not admitted as yet 
 to read in the Glafs of the Trinity, they have, 
 according tothisPrmciple,noway of knowing 
 thofe Prayers which are made to them. 
 
 Again, if it be true that the Souls of the 
 Righteous, being purified by the Blood of the 
 Lamb, do after Death fubfift in certain Man- 
 dons of Happinefs till the Refurre&ion ; then 
 what Foundation can there be, for any fuch 
 Fire of Purgatory, as is pretended for the Pur- 
 gation of the Spirits of the Faithful by the 
 Church of Rome ? Or what Grounds can there 
 be for that Furnace, which flie hath heated as 
 neceiTary to purifie almoft all that go out of 
 this Life, though with the Sign of Faith ; e- 
 
 vea
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. Da vid V. 48 3 
 
 ven for a Purgatory, the Pains whereof are by 
 many of her Divines reprefented to us,as equal 
 to thofeof Hell, their Duration only excepted ? 
 pr for fuch Prayers for departed Souls, as tend 
 to fupplicate their Deliverance from a Place of 
 grievous Torment ? thofe of the ancient 
 Church being only for fuch who were at 
 peace, and who reft in Chrift, but they who 
 are expofed to the Pains of Purgatory, can- 
 not certainly be faid to enjoy thofe Advan- 
 tages. 
 
 This learned Divine had, in his Anfvver to #. *, 
 the Biihop of Meauxs Queries, afferted the ^ rlrie f 
 Doctrine of the Euchariftical Sacrifice > That ^^ 
 it was an Oblation of Bread and Wincinftitu- cai Sacrl- 
 ted by Jefus Chrift^o reprefent and eommemo- fice * 
 rate his Sacrifice upon the Crofs j and that its 
 being Reprefentative and Commemorative, no 
 more hindred it from being a proper Sacrifice^ 
 than the typical and figurative Sacrifices of the 
 old Law,hindred them from being proper Sa- 
 crifices ; for as to be a Type doth not deftroy 
 the Nature and Notion of a legal Sacrifice, fo 
 to be Reprefentative and Commemorative doth 
 not deftroy the Nature of an evangelical Sacri- 
 fice. He thought this Doctrine plain from Scri- 
 pture, and from the unanimous and univerfal 
 Tradition of the primitive Qjurch ,- nay, that 
 it was not only her Language^ but her avowf 
 ed and general Practice, to offer up the Bread 
 and Wine to God the Father in the Euchurift, a* 
 an Qbla-tioa appointed by our Saviour Chrift,
 
 484 ^ Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 to commemorate the Oblation of himfelf uport' 
 the Crofs, and as Reprefentative of that full, 
 perfect, and fufficient Sacrifice, for the Sins of 
 the whole World. 
 
 Now in his Sermon concerning the Antiquity 
 and Ufefulnefs, &c. of Common Prayers, he ob- 
 ferveth the wonderful Confent of all the Chri- 
 ftian Churches in the World, however diftant 
 from each other, in the Prayer of Oblation in 
 the Chriftian Sacrifice of the holy Eucharift. 
 He aflureth us, all the ancient Liturgies agree 
 in this Form of Prayer, almoft in the fame 
 Words, but fully and exactly in the fame 
 Senfe, Order and Method. " Which, faith 
 he, whoever attentively confidereth, muft 
 be convinced, that this Order of Prayer was 
 delivered to the feveral Churches, in the very 
 firft Plantation and Settlement of them. Nay 
 it is obfervable, that this Form of Prayer is 
 ftill retained in the very Canon of the Mafs 
 at this Day ufed in the Church of Rome, 
 cc though the Form doth manifeftly contra- 
 w diet and overthrow fome of the principal Ar- 
 cc tides of their new Faith. For from this ve- 
 " ry Form, ftill extant in their Canon, a Man 
 " may effectually refute thofe two main Do- 
 " ctrincs of their Church, that of Purgatory, 
 <c and that of Tranfubftantiation. The An- 
 tiquity of this Prayer of Oblation is a very 
 good Argument, among many others, that 
 the Doctrine of the Chriftian Sacrifice was 
 taught *o the fcveral Chriftian Churches ia 
 
 cc 
 
 cc 
 cc 
 
 cc 
 cc 
 cc
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. David'/. 
 
 tlieir firft Plantation, and confequently was in 
 that Scheme of Chriftian Doctrines once deli- 
 vered to the Saints. Now as this Notion of 
 the Eucharift is founded upon Scripture, and 
 runneth through all the great Writers of the 
 firft three Ages ; as it is highly Honourable 
 to God, and no lefs Comfortable to all devout 
 Chriftians , fo it hath this Advantage, that it 
 fecureth us a Bulwark againft thofe Innova- 
 tions of the Church of Rome^ which relate 
 to this primitive Doc-trine. The Poplin Sacri- 
 fice of the Mafs, fuppofeth the Oblation of the 
 fame Body of our Lord and Saviour Jefus 
 Chrift, which fufrered upon the Crofs, and 
 -confequently, that it propitiateth by its own 
 Vertue and Merit ; whereas the primitive Do- 
 ctrine, though it owns the Eucharift for a pro- 
 per Sacrifice, yet it is only Reprefentative and 
 Commemorative of that Sacrifice upon the 
 Crofs ; and that it renders God Almighty pro- 
 pitious to us, only as it reprefents and com- 
 municateth the Benefits of the great Sacrifice ; 
 and that confequently, as long as it is be- 
 lieved to be but Reprefentative, it is impoifible 
 .it fhould be the Thing itfelf. 
 
 If this Doctrine had been more univerfally 
 received among thofe who have reformed from 
 the Church oRo?ne, there had not been fuch 
 aStumbling-block laid in the way of thofe, who 
 have been inclined to embrace the Proteftant 
 Communion. And I can alfure my Reader, 
 from good Authority, which hath been already 
 1 i 5 quoted
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 quoted by cqnfi4erable Authors, that a Pcrfon 
 of great Quality in France^ hath been kept back 
 for no other Caufe, from coming to the Church 
 of England, but that he is told, SHE HATH 
 NO SACRIFICE; to which his learned Cor- 
 refpondent here, who is one of the French 
 Minifters, in anfwer allured him, that the Bi- 
 {hops and Clergy of the Church of England^ 
 freely teach the Po&rine of the Euchariftical 
 Sacrifice, as it was taught and pra&ifed in the 
 pur eft Ages of the Catholick Church. 
 
 Another Subject which our Author hath treat- 
 ed with great Accuracy and Judgment, is the 
 Doctrine of Angels, a moft noble part of the 
 Creation; Millions of which glorious Crea- 
 tures, are not only fubjeft to the Majefty of 
 the divine Empire, but are alfo Inftruments of 
 his Providence in governing the World, as well 
 as bright Examples fet before us, to raife us to 
 fuch a zealous Service of God, as is performed 
 in Heaven. Their Exiftence is proved from 
 Reafon and Scripture, an account is given of 
 their Creation, and of the Apoftacy of many 
 pf them from the Inftitutes of their greatCrea- 
 tor. The Nature of the holy Angels, and 
 their State and Condition in regard to God, is 
 fully defcribed, as well as their Office, in re- 
 ference to good Men, being appointed by God 
 as the Minifters of his fpecial Providence to- 
 jvards the Faithful ; and farther is fhewn, 
 wherein the Angelical Miniftry for the Good 
 of the Faithful doth confift j and how it is a- 
 
 bufed
 
 late Lord Bijbo$ of St. David'j. 
 
 bufed by thofe who apply to them as Inter- 
 cefTors and Advocates with God. The ufeful 
 Thoughts which arife from the Confideration 
 of this Subject, are awful Appreheniions of 
 the Majefty of God at all times, but more e- 
 fpecially in our folemn Approaches to hinl > 
 Circumfpedion and Caution in all our Behavi- 
 our, even in our moft fecret Retirement ; great 
 Humility and Reverence when we appear in 
 his Prefence ; a profound Senfe of God's great 
 Goodnefs to the Sons of Men, and of the hap- 
 py Eftate of all the Faithful ; and laftly, Dili- 
 gence and Zeal in ferving the great God of 
 Heaven and Earth. 
 
 In his Sermon concerning the bleffed Vi 
 gin, he affcrts and vindicates her peculiar T 
 tie of THE MOTHER OF GOD ,- which d *3 
 was not invented by the Fathers of the third 
 Geaeral Council at Ef he fits convened againft 
 Neftoritif, but approved by them as what be- 
 longed to her, fmce it was the Language of 
 Scripture, and the Style of the Apoftolical 
 Age. But he fiicweth the true Significancy of 
 the Appellation, by proving that thisTitle doth 
 not at all infer any Right die bkffed Virgin 
 hath to our religious Adoration j for the an- 
 cient Dodors of the Church when they con- 
 tefted with Hereticks concerning it, defign- 
 ed not by that fo much to advance the Ho- 
 nour of the bleffcd Virgin, as to fecure the 
 real and infeparable Union of die two Natures 
 in Chrift; and to iliew that the human Na- 
 
 I i 4 ture
 
 488 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 turc which Chrift took of the Holy Virgin, 
 never fubfifted feparately from the divine Per- 
 fon of the Son of God. 
 
 Thefe Inftances are fufficient to convince us, 
 that thefe Sermons may ferve as a Touch- 
 ftone to diftinguiih. primitive Doftrines from 
 modern Errors which have been built upon 
 them,- and that we ought not to facrifice 
 Truth to thofe Abufes to which it hath been 
 expofed. 
 
 uf S of2 d T ^ e ^cond Ufe which I humbly conceive 
 Sermons* ma y be made of the Sermons, is in Reference 
 if a. Model to the Candidates of Holy Orders, fmce if I 
 S-eaciJ 1 . 6 m ^ a ke not, they are framed as a very proper 
 ers. Model both as to Style and Method for their 
 treating any Subject of Divinity : And it is of 
 no fmall Advantage to thofe who aim at any 
 confiderable Attainment, to propofe to them- 
 felves fome excellent Pattern for their Imita- 
 tion. His Style is ftrong and manly, but yet 
 plain and intelligible ; he abhorred all Affe- 
 ctations of pompous Rhetorick, and yet ex- 
 prefleth himfelf with great Spirit and Life.; 
 his Words fecm chiefly choien to cloath his 
 mafterly Senfe with Clearnefs and Propriety. 
 The great Aim of his Sermons is to infufe 
 into the Hearts of Chriftians right Apprehen- 
 iions of the Doctrines of Chriftianity, and 
 therefore he deduceth them from Scripture, 
 and the pureft Ages of the Church , and at 
 the fame time endeavours to make fuch an 
 Impreffion upon their Minds., that they might 
 
 purfue
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. David'/. 4-89 
 
 purfue their Duty with fome Warmth ,- which 
 he doth with fo much more Authority by 
 how much it appeareth that he was affc&cd 
 himfelf with what he delivered to others. 
 But I fhall not enlarge upon this Subject far- 
 ther than to recommend to the Reader the 
 following Letter of Dr. Lupton, who hath 
 handled this Matter with great Exadncfs. He 
 preacheth atprefent one of the moft celebrated 
 Lectures in London with fuch an univcrfal 
 Approbation, that thofe who oppofed his co- 
 ming into that Poft, declare themfelves in the 
 firft Rank of his Admirers. This learned, ju- 
 dicious, and pious Divine, was early formed 
 under Bilhop Bull : The firft Fruits of his 
 Miniftry in the Church was in the, Station of 
 his Curate, whereby he enjoyed all thofe Ad- 
 vantages which he recommends with fo good 
 a Grace to all other Candidates of Divinity ; 
 and the World now perceivcth the admirable 
 Ufe he made of fuch an excellent Pattern, 
 fmce he is thereby himfelf become a fit Model 
 for the Preachers that arc rifing in this Gene- 
 ration. Betides, his intimate Knowledge and 
 Acquaintance with Bifhop Buffs Method, qua- 
 lified him tomakethetrueft Judgment of the 
 Excellency of hisSermons,which was the reafon 
 of my Application to the worthy Debtor ; upon 
 which Account I perfuade my! elf I fhall have 
 the Thanks of the judicious Reader, when he 
 ihall have perufed the Anfwer which theDoftor 
 was pkafed to write me upon that Occafion,
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 .pr. LU?- T/0 U are pleaded to demand my Thoughts of 
 terwMr" BijJjop Bull. I do not remember any rema/k- 
 Neifon/ able Paffage in his Life, but what is already 
 '"%"$ l ai d before you by other Hands. 
 stcnwit. It is <* g re <rt. Satisfaction to me, upon many Ac- 
 counts, that his Sermons will be published, and 
 particularly for this Reafon, That they will be, 
 in federal Refpetfs, an excellent Model to be ob~ 
 ferved by young Clergymen in writing Sermons. 
 He abhorred Affet'tation of Wit, Trains of ful- 
 fom Metaphors, and nice Words wrought up in- 
 . to tuneful, jointed Sentences, without any fub- 
 ftantial Meaning at the Bottom of them. He 
 looked npon Sermons conjifling of thefe Ingredi- 
 ents, which foould be our Aver/ion, and not our 
 Aim, as empty and frothy and trifling, as incon- 
 fiflent with the Dignity of ferious and facred 
 , Things, and as an Indication of a weak Judg- 
 ment -, for he was notfo cenforious as to imagine, 
 either that the Authors of them do feek the Praife 
 of Men, more than the Praife of God, or, that 
 they do, out of Vanity, attempt to make up the real 
 want of 'good Sen fe, by a Shew of good Words. 
 
 Indeed, true Wit, juflly applied, doth defense 
 the utmoft Praife, in Sermons as well as in other 
 Difcourfes : And yet, there are many Inflames 
 of Wit, properly jo called, to be found in Ser- 
 mons, which ought not by any means to appear 
 there. In faying this^ I do not reflett particu- 
 larly
 
 late Lord Bijbop of St. David'/. 491 
 
 larly upon the Sermons of any one Author^ but 
 upon this general Rule, well known to e-ve>y w- 
 diciouf Clergyman, That what fewer Inflance of 
 Wit, though pure, doth affett the Imagination 
 alone, or doth in any Rejpetf divert th? Mini 
 from a religious Difpojition, ought not to be ad- 
 mined into religious Difcourfa, because it if re- 
 filgnant to the End and Defign of them, and 
 prevent f their proper Effetf. That which would 
 juflly challenge the utmofl Applaufe in common 
 Conversation, or upon the Stage, may with equal 
 ^uftice be exploded from the Pulpit. The pro* 
 ferUfe even of true Wit doth require the very 
 be ft Judgment : And in Both did this learned 
 Prelate excel, though he ufed the Fir ft very Da- 
 ringly in his Sermons ; but the Second wis a- 
 bundantly demonftntted in every one of tfain. 
 For every one comprized the principal Truths 
 which belonged to ths Subject, and thofc wire 
 ranged into the moft natural and eajy Order, 
 illuft rated with the utmoft Gleamed, 'confirmed 
 with the utmofl Strength of Reasoning, ami 
 expreffed in the moft plain a;id fignrficant Words. 
 And fuch a rich Vein of Piety did run through 
 the whole, at would have rendered it acceptable 
 and delightful to any Man, who is fincerdy reli- 
 gious, though it were not attended with thofe 
 Shadows of Beauty and Ornament, which arc 
 too often thought to be thebeft Parts of a Ser- 
 mon. 
 
 Finenefs of Language and Brigbtnefs of 
 Thought, fojnuch talked of, an very agreeable, 
 
 ami
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 and highly to be ejleemed, when they are enli- 
 vened and actuated by a Spirit of Piety : But 
 when This if wanting, the brighteft Difcourfe 
 will leave Men void of Spiritual Underftandingi 
 for there if Natural Under/landing, and there if 
 Spiritual Understanding. A Sermon may be 've- 
 ry Ingenious throughout, and therefore heard or 
 read with all that kind of Pleasure which Inge- 
 nious Writings are wont to give us, though it 
 may not, in the leaft, contribute to the Know- 
 ledge of any one religion! Truth , or to the Regu- 
 lation of any one Paffion. And if another Ser- 
 mon is jo happily managed, that it will anfwer 
 one of the great Endf of Preaching, that it is ' 
 apt either to inform the judgment, or raife the 
 Affections from Objefts which are Earthly and 
 Temporal, to thofe which are Heavenly and 
 Eternal ,- That ought to be accounted an excel- 
 lent Difcourfe, though it Jhould not be adorned 
 with artful Turns of Words, or other Marks of 
 Wit, and Accuracy of Language ; becaufe every 
 Performance is more or lefs pcrfeff, as it is more or 
 lefs conducive to its main End. Thofe therefore 
 who are cenforious enough to refleft with Seve- 
 nty upon the pious Strains, which are to be found 
 in St. Chryfoftom, Bifljop Beveridge, or Bijhop 
 Bull, may poffibly be good Judges of an Ode, or 
 an Effay, but do not feem to criticize jiiftly upon 
 Sermons, or to exprefs ajuft Value for Spiritu- 
 al Things. 
 
 Ijlmll the moreeafily hope, that you willexcufe 
 me for running fuch a Length in thefe Obferva- 
 
 tions*
 
 late Lord K/bop of St. Da vid Y 4.9 j 
 
 because the Foundation of them if laid in 
 thofe Thoughts which Ton propofed to, 
 
 S I R, 
 
 Your mod Affectionate, 
 
 * 
 
 Humble Servant^ 
 
 -VCV. 2$. 17 12. 
 
 William Lupton. 
 
 As to thofe Difcourfes which accompany LXXXH 
 the forementioned Sermons, the firft relating ^C^* 
 to the Doftyine of the Catholick Church for the C0 um of 
 firfl three Ages of Chriftianity concerning the K $*p 
 BlejfcdTrinityJn Oppofitiou to Sabellianifm and ^U 
 Tritheifm, was drawn up at the Requeft of a/. J*i 
 Perfon of Quality, a Lord of a very eminent jJjjJjjJJL 
 Character i who having ferioufly confidered the Bief- 
 that Controverfy at the time when it was dc- fal Tri " 
 bated between Dr. Sherlock then Dean of St. ni 
 Paul's, and Dr. South, found himfelf not clear 
 in theSenfe of the firft and pureftAges of the 
 Church in reference to that great Myftery. 
 The Method his Lordihip pitched upon to 
 relieve himfelf under thcie Doubts, was to 
 apply to Dr. Bull, that great Mailer of primi- 
 tive Antiquity j but his Lordihip having no 
 particular Acquaintance with ths Doctor, 
 communicated his Thoughts to his worthy 
 Friend Mr. Archdeacon Parfom Redor of 
 Odington in Glocefter/hire This reverend Cler- 
 gyman, beijig a Neighbour, and intimately 
 
 known
 
 Life of Dr. George Bull^ 
 
 known to Dr. Bull, engaged him to comply 
 with his Lordihip's Requeft, and to endeavour 
 to give him that Satisfaction, which he had 
 hitherto in vain fought for. It is true, that 
 the ill State of Dr. Bull's Health, did for fome 
 time delay that Anfwer which his Lordfliip 
 impatiently expected j but as foon as the Do- 
 dor's Recovery gave him Ability and Leifure, 
 to apply his Thoughts to that momentous Sub- 
 ject, he drew up the iKort Trad which is now 
 publiilied i and as foon as he had finilhed it, 
 he inclofed it in a Letter to Mr. Archdeacon 
 Parjom, in order that it might be conveyed to 
 my Lord, which accordingly was done, with 
 the Letter which Dr. Bull wrote to the Arch- 
 deacon upon that Occafion. Which being 
 communicated to me by the Reverend Mr. 
 Doughty, the Lord's Chaplain, I infert it in 
 this place as a proper Entertainment for the 
 Reader. 
 
 Aug. 3. 1697. 
 
 Dear Brother, 
 
 Buuv / T hath pleated God to <vifit me ever fince Ea- 
 r to 1 ft er lafl, till within theft three Weeks, 0r 
 - ^hereabout, with an intermitting Fever, which 
 brought me jo lew, that my Relations and Friends 
 almoft deff aired of my Life. In all that time I 
 was not in a Condition to rend, or write, or fo 
 much at think of any thing, that requires In- 
 tenfenefs of Mind : which if the reafon, why 
 yen have no fooner heard from me. I defired
 
 late Lord Bi/hop of St. David'/. 
 
 ;#) Son at Oxford to acquaint you with this a 
 good while ago. I have now, though fill in a 
 weak Condition, made a fliift to recolletf fome 
 Thought f concerningthe Matter propofedto me, 
 which I have delivered in the Paper f now fent 
 you. Which, when you have perufcd, and Jball 
 think them worthy of it, you may fend to hif 
 Lordfoip, (if it be not too late) with my Obe- 
 dience and mofl humble Service. His Lordfljip 
 feejns defaous to go in a fafe way, between the 
 two Extre?nes of Sabellianifm andTritheifm. I 
 have endeavoured to (hew his Lor djhip that mid- 
 dle way, the way which the Primitive Catholick 
 Church, guided by the Holy Scripture, walked 
 in. A way it was plain and eafy enough, till 
 in after-times, it came to be over-run and per- 
 plexed with fcholaflick Subtleties, and hard 
 Term?, ar with fo jnany Briars and Thorns $ 
 and now of late to be ridiculed by fome among 
 us, Men of little Wit indeed, but left Judg- 
 ment, and yet of far lefs Honejiy ; who may at 
 the fame rate, (if they will give thsir Minds 
 to it) expofe and explode all that is Sacred, 
 even whatfoever relates to the incomprehenfible 
 
 Deity. .. . f 
 
 What Defetfs there may be in the Writing, 1 
 hope will be excufed, feeing I was forced there- 
 into make ufe of a raw Touth, the Bearer here- 
 of. Whether you tranfmt the Papers jent, to 
 hisLordjhip, or no, Idefireyou will take an op- 
 tortumiy of acquainting his Lwdfiip, With tbt 
 Condition I have been in > that he ?nay not 
 
 twnK
 
 496 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 think me fo rude, (if to neglect a Perfon of his 
 Right honourable Character. 
 
 1 have a true defire to fee you, and difcourfe 
 with you, especially about our fad and miserable 
 Church of Landaff : and if God permit, I will 
 endeavour e'er long to creep to Odington, if the 
 bufy time of.Harvefl approaching, foall not ren- 
 der my coming unfcafonable. Writing if as yet- 
 trouble font to me , therefore, to my hearty Pray- 
 ers unto Almighty God for you and yours, IJkall 
 only add this fmcere Profejfion, that I am, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your very affectionate Brother, 
 Friend and Servant, 
 
 George Bull 
 
 . 
 
 This Difcourfe was received by his Lord- 
 fhip with much Satisfaction, as appeareth by 
 the following Letter, found among Biihop 
 Bull's Papers after his Death, and addreflfed by 
 that Perfon of Quality, to Mr. Parfons, Rector 
 of Odinton. 
 
 Lovd. Aug. 17. 1697* 
 
 My good Friend, 
 
 Lori A- A/}? being out of Town, if the reafon you had 
 rundeiif Wl m fo omr Jn y Acknowledgment of the re-* 
 
 '' 
 
 ? Par- ' ce ' l ft f yours, with the inclofed Paper f, which 
 fons. have given me a srea t deal of Satinattion. 
 
 Had
 
 late Lord Bijhop of St. Da vid V. 
 
 Had I been a Stranger to Mr.ParfonsV Worth 
 
 and the ill Ufage he has met with in the World* 
 
 it would have been more my wonder, that fo 
 
 great and good a Man as Dr. Bull, (hould have 
 
 lain thus long neglet~ted. Pray let 'my Thanh 
 
 have the advantage of being presented him by 
 
 your Hands. I am obligd to you for your lind- 
 
 nefs, in inquiring after my Son, who if now at 
 
 Wolfenbuttel ; and I hope will at lafl prove a 
 
 Comfort to him, who if eternally, 
 
 Yours, 
 
 Arundell. 
 P. S. 
 
 7 think the Hinge,' whereon the great Point 
 of the Trinity turns, is the true flating of the 
 Diftinftion between Nature and rerfon, which 
 I am fo dull as to think, is not clearly done by the 
 Bifiop of Worcefter. 
 
 The next Dilcourfe, concerning which the rtv fourth 
 Reader may be apt to require fome Informati- 
 on, is the Fourth, which contained^;//? Ani- 
 ?nadverfions on a Treatife of Mr. Gilbert Clerke, 
 entituled, Ante-nicenifmus, fo far as the fata 
 Author pretends to anfwer Dr. George Bull'/ 
 Defence of the Nicene Faith. Now I muft ac- 
 quaint him, that the Manufcript of thefe Ani- 
 madverfions was found among Dr. Grabes Pa- 
 pers ; and I was inclined at hrft to think that 
 Dr. Grabs was the Author of them, becaufe he 
 had undertaken to aniwcr the Treatife upon 
 
 K k which
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 which the Animadverfions were made. But 
 having carefully perufed them, it appeared ve- 
 ry evident, that they belonged to Dr. Bull-, 
 for they are compofed in his Style and man- 
 ner of Writing, they every where refer to the 
 Defence ofths Nicene Faith, as his own, and 
 .the latter part of them is clofed in his own 
 Hand Writing ; And what puts this Matter 
 out of difpute is v that Dr. Grabe is twice quo- 
 ted in thefe Animadverfions, once under the 
 Character of the mofl learned Dr. Grabe, and 
 another time, as the Author's moft learned and 
 ~kind Friend j now no Difguifc could have pre- 
 vailed upon that modeft humble Man to have 
 treated himfelf with fa much Refped:. All 
 this I think is confirmed by a Letter of Dr. 
 Bull to Dr. Grabe ^ which was found among 
 the Papers of the latter, and is here offered 
 to the Reader, that he may make his own Judg- 
 ment upon it. 
 
 Evening. ^.25. 170?. 
 
 Worthy Sir, 
 
 ii'j 7 Am not able to express the grateful Senfe I 
 to I have^ O fy our g rea t Kiuducjs a~id Condcfcen- 
 $Wj / taking upon you the trouble^ of rrvifing, 
 correffing, -perfcfiing and adorning^ with your 
 learned Notes , the new Edition of my Worfa^and 
 particuluarl^ in your ready and voluntary un- 
 dertaking an Answer to the Anti-nicenifmus. 
 If my poor Labours hereafter prove ufeful to the 
 
 Church of God. a great Share of the Thanh 
 '*- *^ . j , 
 
 due
 
 late Lord Bi/hof of St. David V 499 
 
 .dm from Men, and of the gracious Reward of 
 our good and merciful God, win be jttftly yours. 
 I wifi I were able to male yon fome fenfible eff'e- 
 dual Requital. But my poor Circumftances are 
 fucb,that I can return you nothing but ?ny Pray- 
 ers to God, that be would reward you abundant- 
 ly in thirLife, and that which if to come. The 
 Jhort Note? and Animadverfionf, upon the Ante- 
 nicenifmus, which I mentioned in my Letter to 
 Dr. Br.iy, you will certainly receive (if I live) 
 thif Daj Srcennight. For I will fend them by 
 the Poft next Saturday. I wifh they be fuck af 
 your Judgment may approve of. T hey are per- 
 fettly at pur Difpofyl, to do with them at you 
 pleafe. And if there be any thing in them, 
 whi f :b may be ofufeto you in your Anfwer to 
 the Ante-nicenifmus, IJhall be very glad. Dear 
 Sir, farewel, and that God would blcfr and 
 profper you, and your Labour;, for the good of 
 hit Church, if and jkallbe the daily and heart j 
 Prayer of 
 
 Your moft obliged, and affectionate 
 Friend, and faithful Servant, 
 Georgs Bull 
 
 The Book which gave Occafion to thcfc 
 Animadverfions, was printed in 1695, with Ck 
 tlT* Title oF Ante-nicenifmut, or the I ejti mo- Dr . 
 wet of the Father*, who Wrote before the Coun- i 
 ell of Nice, whence may be collected, tbefo t uriaas> 
 of the Catholick Church, touching the Trinity. 
 
 K k 2 A fld
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 And at the fame time came out a Latin Art- 
 fwer alfo, to Dr. Bull's Defenfw Fidei, &c. 
 both written by Mp. Gilbert Glerfaj who pub- 
 liilied hisName,as not being afhamed or afraid 
 to own what he had written, becaufe he took 
 it to be the very Caufe of God> and of his [/. 
 nity againft all forts of Polytheiftf. Thefe two 
 Treatifes were accompanied by a third, with- 
 out the Author's Name, called, The true and 
 ancient Faith, concerning the Divinity ofChrift, 
 afferted, againft Dr/George Bull'/ Judgment of 
 the Catholick Church, &c. 
 
 Thefe * three Traces came out together, 
 that fo the Unitarians might thereby, take an 
 occafion s to boaft of a complete Anfwer in 
 Latin, to all that our Author had hitherto 
 written in this Controverfy j for it was about 
 a Year after, that the Judgment of the Catho- 
 lick Church, &c. had been printed and received 
 generally with great Applaufe, that thefe were 
 published. 
 
 The Ante-nicenifmus is not indeed a direct 
 Anfwer to Dr. Bull ; for it may be doubted 
 whether Mr. Clerke had ever once read the 
 Doctor's Defence oftheNicene Faith y or even 
 
 * Traftatus tres ; Quorum qui prior Ante-nieenifmus di- 
 citur-, is exhibet teftimonia Patrum Ante-n-cenorum, in 
 quibus elucet ienfus Eccleiiae Primasvo-Catholica; quoad Ar- 
 ticulum de Trinitate. In Secundo Brevis refponfio ordina- 
 tur ad D. G. Bufli, Defer fionem Sjnodi Nicenx y Authore Gilber- 
 to Clcrke, Anglo. Argumentum Poftremi. Vera & Antigua 
 Fides de divinitate Chrifti explicate & aflerta, contra D. 
 Jtiiin tfudicium Ecclefix C&th)licx } c<c. per Anonymum, Anno 
 Domini r 1695. 
 
 fo
 
 late Lord Bifiop of St. David's. 5 c i 
 
 fo much as looked into it, when this Book was 
 by him compiled ; but it fcemcth to be chiefly 
 in Imitation of the Irenicum Irenicomm of 
 2fa)idtetts and the Nucleus- of Sanding with a 
 defign to fhew, if poflible, the Confcnt of the 
 Primitive Writers before the Determination of 
 the Council of Nice for the Opinion which he 
 had 'embraced. Now it appears, that after 
 Mr. Gilbert Clerfa had printed hisAnte-NiceHi/'- 
 mufy yet not improbably before it was publifli- 
 ed ; and after that he had made fome Addi- 
 tions thereto, concerning Clc mens Alexandrinu^ 
 from the Paris Edition of his Works juft tlien 
 come to his Hands, by way of Supplement to 
 the faid Ante-Niccnifmu^ or byway of Intro- 
 duftion to that Trad joined to it j which Addi- 
 tions are therefore placed in the beginning of 
 hisBrevifRcfyonfio; yea even before any the 
 lead Notice is taken of our Author, or what 
 he had written on that Subject ; Mr.Cleffo be- 
 ing *upbraidedby one bf his Friends for foram- 
 ly adventuring to write on this Sub jcft, without 
 firft confultingor examining well what fo great 
 a Man as Dr. Butt had been able to lay there- 
 upon; then procured, as he frith, the Doctor s 
 Defence of 'the Nicene Fahh, and carefully read 
 it through, which^he didjmrcly from the 
 
 " * Pnft hsc de Clemente Ante-Nicenifmo addita procuravi 
 Viri fere pcnitus inconfulto. Bwir ^WT- P- 77- 
 
 K k 3
 
 502 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 1 
 
 Recommendation of that Friend, not upon any 
 Dedre of his own for fuller Satisfaction in this 
 Matter ; he taking it for granted that Dr, Eull^ 
 in the laft Sedion of his Defence^ which is 
 concerning tlu Subordination^d yielded great 
 part of the Quettion up to the Unitarians >. 
 and thence doth feem to have been p^r edt'y 
 unacquainted with the very Book he had un- 
 dertaken to anfwer, till he had finished th" 
 better half of his Task ; as may prefently b? 
 feen by cafting but an Eye upon thcie two 
 Tra6ts, if that they may not nther 1) - conii- 
 dered as two Parts only of the fame Work. 
 
 LXXXIXI After Mr.Clerh had read over D 
 
 Book upon his Friend YPerfuaf ion, he conti- 
 nued ftiil firm to his former Opinion, and not 
 
 to ^ e move ^ fr m wnat ne nac ^ written ; pre- 
 tending that he faw not any rcafon why he 
 Unit:ri- fhould expunge fo much as one Line out of 
 *bc>otor. ^ nat Colleciion he had made of the Teftimonies 
 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, from whence he 
 had given it the Title of Anie-Nicenifnt. 
 Though he * acknowledged Dr. Bull at the 
 fame time to be far his fuperior in the Wri- 
 tings of the ancient Fathers, and that he wan- 
 ted neither Induftry nor Sagacity, or Acutenefs, 
 to read and judge of them as he ought, befides 
 feveral other Advantages that were pofTefTed 
 by him. Notwithflanding which he made no 
 
 *Brev. Rdp. f. 78. 
 
 dquhtj
 
 late Lord Eiftof of St. David V. 
 
 doubt, but that he fliould be able to defend 
 what he had written, and to juft.'rrj thole Te- 
 fUmonies which he had brought out of the 
 Fathers, as depending upon the iuppofcd 
 Goodntfs of hi:> Caufe and the Power o!' Truth-. 
 And he .iccufeth all the Trinitarians, both 
 Papifts and Proteftants, for pretenoing to luve 
 all the primitive Fathers on their Side in the 
 Article of the Trinity from thw*. Apoftles 
 downwards : But excufeth the Unitarians for 
 being more modcft in the matter, and com- 
 mendeth them for the only Perfons who have 
 Ingenuity enough to own frankly that the an- 
 cient Ecclefiaftical Writers, do not fo wholly 
 agree with them. Nay, he fayeth, that theic 
 Unitarians are unanimoufly agreed to difpute 
 againft thofe primitive Doaors even before 
 the Council of Nice, who took up their No- 
 tions concerning Chrift according to him, not 
 from the Scriptures, but from their own Ima- 
 ginations, and from the Philofophy in which 
 they had been before inftrucU'd. And yei 
 neverthclcfs he and his Companions value 
 themfelves, that the Doaors ot the thre. 
 Centuries were generally of the fame Opinion 
 with themlelves, as holding the Father only 
 to be the moft High God. However Jujttn 
 Martyr cannot cfcapc being pelted at (a cer 
 tain Mark he was not of the fame Opimo 
 with them) for an Innovator; nor mde dany 
 of thofe whom he is pleafed to name th< *- 
 lofofbical Dolforr, who are here reprek ited
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 by him as the great Corrupters of the Go- 
 fpel, and Introducers of Paganifm into the 
 Church. 
 
 Thus are the venerable Doctors of the firft 
 Ages of Chriftianity dreifed up by him, fo 
 as they may be expofed for weak and infurfi- 
 cient Evidences of the Chriflian Faith, and at 
 the very time too, that an Appeal is pretended 
 to be made to their Authority. For it is pre- 
 tended by this Writer, that thefe primitive 
 Divines, moft of whom fealed with their 
 Blood that Faith which they delivered down 
 to us, were no better than half Chriftians j 
 who had taken up their Notions concerning 
 the Son of God, not from Chrift faimfelf, or 
 his Apoftles, but from their own Fancies and 
 the School of Plato } and that what they had 
 been taught in theAcademy ofthisPhilofopher, 
 was by them obtruded as Matter of Faith upon 
 the People ; to the fulfilling hereby the divine 
 Predictions in the Myftery of the great Apofta- 
 cy, by their caufing thus the Chriftian Church 
 to depart from the original Simplicity of the 
 Faith. And moreover he boafteth that there 
 were great Number of die Unitarians, who 
 lived near the Days of the Apoftles, and were 
 likewife efteemed great Philofophers and Mar 
 thematicians. The Names of feveral of whom 
 he reciteth, and they are either fuch as apofta- 
 tized from Chriftianity t Judaifm, or corru- 
 pted the Chriftian Faith by introducing novel 
 Heretics, or having formerly denied the Dei-
 
 late Lord E't/bof of St. David'j. 
 ty of our Saviour, returned afterwards to 
 the orthodox Communion, as did Nat alts and 
 Beryllus. 
 
 It is his Opinion that the Doctrine of the 
 Trinity, as explained by the Orthodox, is a 
 Branch of *Montanifm, and that Tertullian, 
 arter he had been inftruded \>y Mont anus, in- 
 vented a New Rule of Faith, by which he'laid 
 the Foundation of Athanafianifm. Wherein 
 he hath followed Schlitfingiuf, who was the 
 firft thatftarted this Charge, and attempted to 
 prove it in the f Book he wrote againft 
 Dr. Meifner, an eminent Lutheran Divine, 
 concerning the Trinity, and other Matters of 
 highcft Importance. And hereupon he callcth 
 Tenullian the 11 New Trinitarian with great In- 
 dignation, and alfo the Father of the Trinita- 
 rian i as if the Trinitarian Scheme were ori- 
 ginally nought but an Enthufiafm of Montanus 
 and his ProphetefTes dreffcd up by this his Dif- 
 ciple. And that he might expofe the divine 
 OEconomy of the ever Blcfled Trinity, by 
 which the Father is conceived as the Fountain 
 and Original with refpect to the Son and Spi- 
 rit, for an Emhufiaftick Jargon ; he will al- 
 low our great Defenders of the Catholick 
 Doctrine in this Point no better Appellation 
 
 * Ante Nicenifmus, p. 23, 24. 
 
 f DeS.S. Trinitate,rie moralibos N. & V. Teft. praeceptis 
 acdifputatidadverfusBalth. Meifner, vide Prsfat. 
 
 || Multa id genus habet hie novus Trinitarius & Trinitario- 
 rum Pater. Antc-Niccn. p. 25. 
 
 than
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 than that of our Fontamftr and Mont an? ft f.' 
 For, as he fuppofeth, the Platonick and Arian 
 Trinity to have been chiefly the Innovation of 
 Jnftln Martyr; fo he fancieth the Nicene and 
 Afyanafian Trinity to have been principally de- 
 rived from Tertullian after that he was infected 
 with the Cataphrygian Herefy ; and that the 
 Dodrine particularly of the Son's Confubftan- 
 tiality with the Father, and the Coeternity con- 
 fequent from it, was taken up from the Ref- 
 vefies of thofe Fanaticks. 
 
 But after all, Mr. Clerh would feem fo ge- 
 nerous as even to * grant to Dr. Bull both the 
 Confabftantiality and Coeternity^ if the Doctor 
 would reft fatisfied therewith, and not level 
 his Darts, as he doth every where throughout 
 his Book, againft the Unitarians, for not own- 
 ing Chrift to be the moft High God, and to 
 have the fame Numerical Effence with the Fa- 
 ther : Yea, he is content that his Unitarian 
 Brethren fliould not only acknowledge him as 
 God, but as the great God alfo, and even as 
 God over all blejjedfcr ever. Nay, he maketh 
 no manner of Doubt of their allowing him 
 thefe Titles: So that where any of thefe occur 
 cither in the facred Writers, or in the primi- 
 tive Monuments of Chriftianity before the 
 Council of Nice, as applied to Chrift, they 
 ihallmake no Scruple of receiving them, and 
 freely ufing them with refpect to him; but all 
 this while continue as wide as ever from the 
 
 Brevis Refponf. p. 100. aid. 78, 79, 
 
 Senfe
 
 late Lord Bi/hp of St. David j. 
 
 Senfc the. Trinitarians put on thofe Words 
 
 who underftand them in their proper Signitil 
 
 cation. Whereas he will have them undcr- 
 
 ftood always appellatively > that is, in the fame 
 
 Scnfc as Angels and earthly Princes have the 
 
 Appellation of Gods. Thus Chrift they will 
 
 vouchfafe to own may be called fo with rcfpeft 
 
 to us, or as he is theCfcr//?, or anointed of Gorf, 
 
 and our Lord : And that he is a great God^ 
 
 above all other made or called Gods, and by 
 
 reafon of that Majcfty and Divinity which he 
 
 hath obtained by the Gift of God, being exalted to 
 
 fit at bit Right Hand, may be efteemcd Godo- 
 
 vsn all, and therefore by us blejjed for ever. 
 
 This is his ihort way to get rid of Dr. Bull's 
 
 Fathers, but more particularly of Clemens 
 
 Alexandrinur^ who is very troubldbme to him, 
 
 and coft him much Pains before this Expedient 
 
 was invented. 
 
 There is alfo one thing more remarkable in 
 Mr.Cler&s Anfwer, and is, I think, his own 
 Invention , at leaft he is very fond of it as 
 fuch, for it runneth almoft quite through his 
 Book, and the main Strefs of his Arguments 
 againft the Doctor, turneth upon it. This is 
 the Diftinftion of High Senff and Low Sw'e : 
 According to which, he hath laid it down for 
 x Foundation, that all the high Expreflions 
 which are found either in the Scriptures or the 
 Fathers, denoting a divine and fupcr-cminent 
 Character, are dirferently to be underftood ; 
 that is, they muft always be taken by us in 
 the
 
 508 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 the High Senfe, when the Father is fpoken of, 
 and in the Low Senfe, when the Son is meant. 
 By the help of this Diftin&ion it was, he 
 thought, eafy for him to bear down all the 
 Teftimonies, though never fo plain, that 
 could be brought againft him by Dr. Bull, or 
 any other. Let it fuffice to have given this 
 Ihort Account, both of his Ante-Nicenifm, and 
 his Anfwer to Dr. Bull -, to whofe learned and 
 judicious Animadverfions, contained in the 
 Fourth Difcourfe, both in Latin and Englifh, 
 tjie Reader is referred for his full Satisfaction ,* 
 though the whole Scheme is fo precarious and 
 inconf Iftent, that it doth not appear capable of 
 doing any great Mifchief. 
 
 some Ac- This Mr. Gilbert Clerke was the Son of Mr. 
 cowtofthe John CW^School-mafter ofUppington inRut- 
 cbvtLr I an d. He was admitted into Sidney College at 
 of Mr. Cambridge, in the Year 1 641 . being then fcarce 
 Clerk? f tne Age of fifteen -, feven Years after this he 
 was made Fellow of the Houfe, having taken 
 the Degree of Mafter of Arts. After three 
 Years more, being then about five and twen- 
 ty, he received Presbyterian Orders, and his 
 Allowance in the College thereupon was aug-? 
 mented, as their Statutes require for thofe 
 who are ordained Prieftr. The next Year he 
 was created Pro&or of the Univerfity. He left 
 his Fellowlhip after the Commencement, 1 6 5 5 , 
 refufing to take his Degree of Batchelor in 
 Divinity, to which the Statutes obliged him. 
 The reafon of his retiring fo from the College, 
 
 and
 
 late Lord Kjhof of St. DavidV. 
 
 and refufing to take that Degree, was doubt- 
 lefs upon the account of his Principles, of 
 which he was much fufpected, but never in 
 the College convided, as I could ever hear. 
 His Learning lay chiefly in the Mathematicks, 
 but he was alfo efteemed a very good Greci- 
 an^ and a great Scripturift. He chiefly con- 
 fulted the modern Criticks, when he read the 
 Bible, not omitting the Polonians, or elfe 
 trufted to his own Invention and Sagacity in 
 that part of Divinity, without ever adviimg 
 with the Ancients, of whom he had a very 
 low Efteem. He thought the Controverfy be- 
 tween us and the Church of Rome, not worthy 
 his Study ; becaufe the Errors of the Papifts 
 feemedto him fo grofs and palpable, as not to 
 need it. He betook himfelf therefore to read 
 the Socinian Writers, whence he became in the 
 main a Socinian ; yet he did not fy mbolize with 
 them in their Errors touching the divine At- 
 tributes, upon which account he would fonic- 
 times fay, he was no Socinian. Some alfo, to 
 whom he was perfonally known, have excepted 
 the Point of the Satirfatfion, for he feemed in- 
 deed to have had fome particular Notions of his 
 own about this Matter. He was a Man of an 
 open and frank Difpofuion, but withal too 
 bold, and eafily to be heated j otherwifc, the 
 Conduftof his Life was ibber and regular, not 
 biemifhed with any remarkable Immorality, 
 but rather abounding with good Works, which 
 he carneftly preffed. He was very bufy and 
 
 zca-
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 zealous, in defending thofe new Principles 
 which he had taken up, and which the grofs 
 Abfurdities of the Antinomian Syftem, thc^i 
 much in vogue, had probably contributed more 
 than a little to fiing him into. After that he 
 quitted the Univeriity, he went and lived ve- 
 ry retired in NortbamptonJ}jire y and his Elder 
 Brother dying about that time, an Eftatecame 
 to him of 40 /. a Year, which was looked upon 
 by his FrLnds, as a providential Blcfling to 
 him, and prevented his wanting. He was for 
 certain an excellent Mathematician, his Book 
 upon Mr. Ougblred's Claris ^ being much valu- 
 ed by the ablcft Judges in that part of Learn- 
 ing. But it is the Opinion even of fome of 
 his Friends, that he was not fo thoroughly ver- 
 fed in the Arian Controverfy, about which he 
 engaged. It appears, that Mr. Clerkc did not 
 long furvive this his Anfwer to Dr. Bull^ for 
 within three Years after the Edition of it, I 
 find his Name and Character in a certain * So- 
 clnian Pamphlet,as fome time before dead,witfi 
 feveral others, who had maintained in this 
 Kingdom the Caufe of the Unitarian?. The 
 Subftance of that imperfect and anonymous 
 Trad, printed againft Dr. Bulls Judgment of 
 the Catholic^ Church^ &c. will be found fufrll 
 ciently anfwcred in that Book of the Primitive 
 and Apoftolical 'Tradition, &c. xvhich Dr. Bull 
 
 * The Grounds and Occafions of the Controverjj, twwriwg the 
 of Goitre, gimno. 1698. p. 17. 
 
 pub-
 
 late Lord Bijbof of St. David'/. 5 1 1 
 
 publiiried againft Dr. Zwicker, upon whofe 
 Principles that Writer buildeth very much.; 
 and which was the laft of all the Latin Works 
 of our Author, publiflied in his Life-time. 
 
 The Fifth and Laft Difcourfi, which is now LXXXIV 
 printed and entituled, Concerning the fir ft Co- ^C^ 
 
 . l.i n. .rim > r .*-... The fifth 
 
 tenant, and the State of Man before the Fall, 
 according to Scripture, and the Senfe of the 
 Primitive Dottors of the Catholick Church ; was che 5ta; 
 drawn up by our learned Author many Years of Mao 
 , ago, and as near as lean guefs, about the time ' 
 that he was engaged in the Controverfy of Ju- 
 ftirkation. It plainly appcarcth, that it coft 
 him a great deal of Labour and Study, and he 
 feemed, upon fome Occafions, to exprefs him- 
 felf with fome Favour towards it. For having 
 lent it to a certain Perfon, whofe Name he had 
 forgot, it was loft for many Years, and rcco- 
 v-r^d by the following Accident. A neigh- 
 bouring Clergyman dying Mr. Stephens, Son* 
 in- law to the Bilhop, bought part of his Books, 
 ana among his Pamphlets-found this Treatife, 
 which he immediately brought to the Author, 
 who couid not forbear declaring his Satisfacti- 
 on for the recovery of that, upon which he 
 hadbcfcowed no f mall pains. After this, it 
 was read by fome confiderable Clergymen in 
 that Neighbourhood, and at laft communica- 
 ted to his particular Friend, Dr. Fowler, the 
 prefent Lord Biiliop of Glocejler, in whofe 
 Hands it had lain fo long, that his Lordlhip, 
 
 when 
 
 S r
 
 The Life ofDr. George Bull, 
 
 when I applied to him upon that account, had 
 entirely loft any Remembrance of it. But he 
 Was pleafed very readily to content to the Pro- 
 pofal I made, of having his Manufcripts fearch- 
 ed by feme able and faithful Perfon ,- this hap- 
 pily anfwered my Expectation, and in a few 
 Days the Mannfcript was brought me, writ 
 all in Dr. Bull's own Hand, with which I 
 was very well acquainted. 
 
 Whatever Sentiments I might have upon 
 the perufal of this excellent Treatife, I was 
 unwilling to truft my own Judgment in a 
 Matter of that Nature, and therefore I im- 
 mediately communicated the Work, to my 
 very learned and worthy Friend, Dr. Hichf y 
 that great Mafter of Eeclefiaftical Antiquity, 
 and the moft confiderable Revivec of Primitive 
 Theology, that hath appeared in our Time. 
 Though he is admirably skilled in other parts 
 of ufeful Learning, yet he hath laboured with 
 great Succefs in * untrodden Paths, a certain 
 Mark of a great Genius, whereby the utmoft 
 Parts of Europe will have an occaiion to cele- 
 brate his profound Erudition. But he excel- 
 leth in his own Profeflion, having built his Stu- 
 dy of Divinity upon the holy Scriptures, and 
 the primitive Fathers of the Church, as the beft 
 Expofitors of thofe facred Writings -, and hath 
 thereby created fuch a regard to Antiquity in 
 the Generation of young Divines, that are now 
 
 * Linguarum Vert. Septentrionalium ThefaurusGramma- 
 tico-Criticus & Archseologicus. Autorc Gecrgio Hickefio, 
 S.T.F. MDCCV. Fol,2. Vol. 
 
 rifing
 
 late Lord Kjhop of St. DavicfrJ 5 1 3 
 
 fifing among us, that we may hope to fee the 
 next Age prefcrved from the Infection of thofe 
 Latitudinarian Principles, which have too 
 much prevailed in this. His readinefs to com- 
 municate his Knowledge, draweth an Appli- 
 cation to him from Men of the greateft Figure 
 for their Talents, and renders his Friendihip a 
 true and valuable Bleflmg. But above all, the 
 folid and fubftantial Piety of his Condu&> 
 maketh his Example a conftant Inilruction to 
 thofe, who live within the reach of it. It was 
 to this excellent Friend, that I propofed the 
 perufal of Bilhop Bull's Treatife, which I had 
 recovered from the Bifliop of Glocefler. I am 
 apt to think, the judicious Reader will be very 
 well pleafed with the Method I took, when 
 he ihall have read the learned Anfwer, which 
 I received from that eminent Divine upon this 
 Occafion, which is here inferted for his Edi- 
 fication. 
 
 Honoured -Sir, Hanftead, An?. 5. 1712. Dr. 
 
 7 Thank you very heartily for the Entertain- f c ' r \ 
 * went I have had here in reading the inclofed M r.V</- 
 Mamtfiript, as well as for the great Pleafure fon^ about 
 I had in reading the fame Author' s moft excellent B \^ 
 manuscript Sermons, when I was in Town. I fifth Dif- 
 have read it attentively tzvice over with the c 
 greateft Pleafure; and I think it, both at to the 
 ^Learning, and folid Reafoning in it, equal to a- 
 ny thing that great Man hath written in either 
 Language, and what, I believe, will be judged 
 by Divines^ as one of the beft Tract*, among his 
 
 i i Kf-
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Remains, and as worthy as any of them of his 
 great Name. Before I read it, / was not per- 
 fetfly convinced of the Truth of his fecond Pro* 
 pofition, viz. That our firft Parents, betides the 
 Seeds of natural Virtue and Religion, and the 
 Innocence and Rectitude wherein they were 
 created, were alfo endowed with certain fuper- 
 natural Gifts, and Powers infufed by the Spi- 
 rit of God ; without which, their natural Pow~ 
 ers were of themfelves not fufficient to attain 
 an heavenly Immortality. lam not ajkamed to 
 confefs, that like many of my Betters in Divini- 
 ty^ I was not fettled in the Belief of this Dottrine, 
 before I read this Difcourfe } but now I rejoice 
 in my Conviction of the Truth of it: becauje, as 
 the learned Author obferves, it utterly over- 
 throws the Pelagian tierefy, and flews the ab- 
 folute Necejfity of Divine Grace to Fallen Ma 
 without which, it is impoffible for him to attain 
 that Right eoufnefs, which upon Gofyel-Terms is 
 nece/Jary to Salvation. 
 
 The way he hath taken to prove the Dotlrine 
 in his fecond Propofition, will, I hope, convince 
 all Students in Divinity , bow neceffary it is 
 to read the ancient Fathers, in Order downward 
 from the Apoftolical Age, and to flew the Folly of\ 
 thofe Men, who either out of Ignorance, or Pre- 
 judice, or much worfe Caufes, endeavour by 
 their fever al Ways, to weaken the Authority of\ 
 thofe primitive Divines, and bring their Wrt-\ 
 tings into contempt, becaufe they cannot ftand \ 
 before them. Accordingly, the Men who thin\ 
 
 confpire,
 
 late LordBi/hof of St. David V. 
 
 confpire, as it were, to blajl them, are of five- 
 rat Clajfes and Sorts, Some fpeak and write a- 
 gainjl them out of Malice, asthePharifeesfpake 
 againjl our Saviour, and bis Miracles , 1 mean^ 
 thofe TTZpivTOKoi T XaTara v , the Deifts, and all 
 other frofeffed Enemies, and Ridiculers of re- 
 vealed Religion, to whom the Apoflle himfelf 
 would have f aid: O full of all Subtlety, and 
 all Mifchief, ye Children of the Devil, you 
 Enemies of all Righteoufnefs , will you not 
 ceafe to pervert the right ways of the Lord ? 
 Others , again, fpeak and write againjl the Fa- 
 thers, becaufe their ancient Writings are contra- 
 ry to the heretical Dotlrines and Schemes, of 
 thefi our modern Arians, Socinians, and Unitari- 
 ans of all forts, among whom I reckon the .Q**- 
 kers,who,as Unitarians, I cannot butobferve, are 
 qualified to make Members ofths Society, that 
 I hear is tww a forming, wider the pretence of 
 advancing Chrijlianity. Next to thefe I may rec- 
 kon the other Setts among us, which I care not 
 to name , but who are alfo againjl the Fathers, 
 for no other reafon, but becauft their Writings 
 bear Teflimony againjl them. Juft a* Mr. Hobbes 
 obferves, if Reafon is againjl a Man, a Man 
 will be againjl Reafon. But the Adversaries of 
 the Fathers, who are moft to be deplored, are 
 thofe, who endeavour to depretiate their Wri- 
 tings, merely becaufe they are contrary to fome 
 Opinions, which they have had the misfortune to 
 imbibe from the Syftematical, Controverfial, or 
 other Writers face the Reformation. But, as 
 
 LI 3
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 the learned Bi fop faith, I hope the Ingenuous a~ 
 mong this fort of their Adversaries, will learn 
 from his Works , and particularly from this D?f- 
 eourfe, " of the State of Mail 'before the Fall, the 
 " Mode fly of fiibmitting their Judgments to that 
 " of the Catholick Doctors, where they are 
 " found generally to concur in the Interpretation 
 " of Scripture, how abfurd foever that In- 
 " 'terf relation may at firft appearance to them 
 * c feem to be. 
 
 Among thefe defpifers and difparagers of the 
 ancient Fathers, are thofe bold (and I will add 
 ignorant) Men to be found, who, as this great 
 Divine fpeaks, fatten this Charge upon them, 
 namely, that they taught the fame Doflrine, 
 which the Church afterwards condemned in Pe- 
 lagius, who afferted a Sufficiency in Mans na- 
 lural Power s, even in his lap fed Eftate, with- 
 out the- Grace ofGod y to perform thofe things, 
 which conduce to eternal Life promffed in the 
 Gofpel Among our modern Writers, he only men- 
 tions Mr. Baxter, for this bold and groundlefs 
 Affert'wn-, of which, though the utter Falfenefs 
 aoth fo plainly appear, from what the Bifhop 
 hath cited out of the Fathers, to prove his fe- 
 cond Propofit'wn^ yet for a farther Vindication 
 of thofe primitive Guides, and Lights of the 
 Church, from this wijufi Afperfwn, as well as to 
 vindicate the Do&rine of Divine Grace, and its 
 ^Antiquity, give me leave, Sir, to prefent you 
 with fonie^ clear Tcflimomes to the contrary, 
 cut 'of a few manual Companions, which with 
 
 feme
 
 late Lord Biflop of St. David V. 5 1 7 
 
 fane others, I feldom leave behind me, when I 
 retire into the Country. 
 
 I will begin with St. Clemens Romanus /;; 
 his Epijlle to the Corinthians, Oxford Edition, 
 
 p. l6. 8. 'O/ Aa?ypJo/ f ya.&l' *- * T ' A - 
 
 The Minifters of the Grace of God fpake of 
 Repentance by the Holy Ghoft. From hence I 
 proceed, though a little out of the Order of time, 
 to Clemens Alexandrinus, in his Book entitu- 
 led <ns o o-w&'jufy.,- TT/.BCT-, which was .pub- 
 lifted at Oxford 1683, with an Appendix of 
 Fragments added to it by the Editor of immortal 
 Name, Dr. Fell Biflfy of Oxford. The frft Te- 
 ftimonies out of him flail be thofe, in which he 
 mentions the Word X APIS G R. A C E, a* in his 
 Prayer or Hymn [EtXTON IfAIAAraFONl 
 to God, in Honour of his Mafler. Chrjft. 
 p. 155, 1 56- 
 
 XAPIN 
 Tlot&p 7? 
 
 , g 
 
 Tor Sox flwrorTflt * wfiP^ - 3{ AOFON. to oou by 
 
 J JftlM,IO hU 
 
 Book </ 0* 
 
 O Sovereign Lord of mortal Men, the Giver,,, 
 'and Beftower of all good, and profitable things 
 grant that I may live the Life, which thou halt 
 given-me, in Safety, and give me thy | 
 without Blame to pradife, and preach thy c 
 
 L 1 3 
 
 *
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 vine Word, \jmoT\ always to praife Thee, and 
 * the OMNISCIENT AOros, who is of Thee, 
 who is coexistent with Thee, and who is prefent 
 
 to Thee. & p. 41, 42. "OuTWS &s 
 
 tt Mo/. 'OcJ'bs 
 
 ^^^j *v XAPIX -TTapfto-^ygTa.*. So 
 
 (prefenting an humble, and unprejudiced Soul,) 
 he ought to hearken to our Saviour, fpeaking 
 thus : Come and follow me. For he is the way 
 to him, who hath a pure Heart ^ but into an im- 
 pure Soul, the Grace ofGoddoth not enter. The 
 like Exprejfion hath that great Jewijh Divine^ 
 the Author of the Book of' Wifaom^ 
 
 (hall not enter into a malicious Soul. For the 
 Dottrine of Divine Grace was a Jewifi, as 
 well as a Chrijlian Dottrine^ as may be eafily 
 f roved from the Old Teflament, and the Jewifi 
 Apocryphal Fathers, as well as from the New 
 Teflament, and the Fathers of the mo ft early 
 Times. But to return to the Word XAPI2, you 
 knoiv that, as well as Gratia, it fignifes a free, 
 or gratuitous Gift, or Benefaction, from whence 
 yaes&fjLau fignrfies to give, or grant freely, as 
 a Benefactor ^ and there fore the Word is ufed-by 
 Clemens in another place, to fignife that fpiri- 
 tual Strength and Affijlance, given by God to 
 thofe, who defire to be faved, which we call 
 
 * Or i h ni, who is of Thee, him who is coexiftent with 
 rhee, and him, who is prefent to Thee, the Omnifcient 
 
 A o r o s. 
 
 Graceo
 
 late Lord Bijhop of St. David'/. 
 
 Grace. Xag/s is alfo rt fed for Grace by an 
 elder Father , St. Ignatius, in fever al of his 
 Epijlles, as in that to the Magneiians. A* T- 
 
 this Caufe, being infpired by his Grace, they 
 endured Perfecution, to perfuade Unbelievers, 
 that there is one God, who hath manifefted 
 himfelf by Jefus Chrift his Son, who is his 
 eternal Logos, not proceeding from filence -, 
 who in all things pleafed him who fent him. 
 So in his Epijlle to the Church ^/'Smyrna, Ka:* 
 
 CK yd.gjL\* sy, r.v tvycfjicu *nAav pot obuvrou. 
 
 But I was made worthy according to the Will of 
 God, not that I was confcious [of any Wor- 
 thinefs in my felfc] but by the Grace of 'God \ 
 which I pray may be given to me in perfection. 
 So in the fame Epijlle, n*rfa w V<MV \\- ^.^'i 
 &o*t3w. Let all things by Grace abound 
 among you. And in the Conclujion, X*/$ u^ur, 
 ?Xg, pm' Grace, Mercy, and Peace be to 
 you. So in his Epiflle to Polycarp, na^xct/.^ 
 at lv ^5/T< 0g?, ? ivStfivosit. I befeech thee by 
 the Grace of God, with which thou art array- 
 ed, or endowed. And in that to the Romans, 
 I falute you in the Name of Jefus Chrift who 
 have been perfectly united in all his Command- 
 
 mentS \ TrtirhriPWvfyjoiS I \A>P.^ 1 ^' ^tf *'' i&KgfiT'j- S J 
 
 filled 'in Unity with the Grace of God. 
 
 Among other Scripture Senfes of the Word it 
 
 is certainly itfedin this for Grace, a* m 2 Cor. 
 
 L 1 4 xl1 - 9-
 
 5 20 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Xll. 9. Kai apfl^g fjyi, 'Apx o-oi -n -%L&.i fitf * $ 
 JbW^cs fey gp cL&ev&qt, Tg^earac. And he laid 
 
 unto me, my GJVW is fufficient for thee, for my 
 
 Strength is made perfect in Weakness. ^W / 
 
 think it cannot be taken in any other Senfe in 
 
 Gal. 6. fach Apofiolical Prayers as thefe, The Grace of 
 
 18. our Lore! Jefus Chrift be with your Spirit, which 
 
 * is the fame, as The Lord Jefus Chrift (by his 
 
 Grace) be with thy Spirit, 2 Tim. iv. 22. 
 
 The next noble Teflimony for Grace, which I 
 flail produce out of my Clemens, is in p. 98. 
 where he faith., that Chrifl took upon him the 
 Nature of Man^ and willingly (uffered as Man. 
 
 *"" r * "V c *"/ / - \ 3* 
 
 Jba 9reP$ r ^I^ti' a ^ Sgya^,a5 JiJ'ct-r/)^, w^pBs 
 K^5 ?re^<- r lauT &vot,fMV- alvlifMip^ That 3C- 
 
 commodating himfelf to our Weakneis, whom he 
 loved, he might proportionably exalt us to his 
 Power. Sop. 90. 
 
 ; for fo I read it, in- 
 flead of ire&ltt.GiyLGy-ti'ov. Being blind, and not 
 underftanding, what Treafure we carry in an 
 earthen Veflel, being fortified by the Power of 
 God the Father, and the Blood of God the Son, 
 and the Dew of the Holy Ghoft. Sa 
 
 p. ICO. E<p ft & 
 
 /3c8a$, 
 
 5 563tTop3-i7cM. Though 
 
 it be alike impoffible, prefendy to mortifie the 
 Paffions that are bred up witli us , yet by the 
 
 POWES.
 
 late Lord Bt/hof of St. David V. 5 
 
 POWER. ofGoJ, and the Supplications of Men, 
 and the Help of the Brethren, and a iincere 
 Repentance, and continual Care, they are re- 
 timed. So p. 57* 'Oo K.U/@. aTn/xgxrsTct** ^oix 
 
 ? ea 
 
 ?v f ~ 
 5 r y-^'s <rwff^wnf. 
 
 >c} TO c^b^j/ ox gy 
 TO p, yi a^nla.? (TO^ar, f<pi |&x0|wJJuk' TO ,0 aip- 
 
 ju5yJc, ^oe^/JoM.grv. But the Lord anfwered, 
 f^fc^ w iwpoffibk with Men, ispqffihle with God. 
 Which [Srf)7w] alfo is full of much Wifdom, 
 becaufe the Man, who ftrives and labours by 
 himfelf to overcome his AfFedions, protits no- 
 thing , but if he plainly is very defirous of it, 
 and ufeth his utmolt Endeavours to attain it, 
 he (hall attain thereunto by the acceflion of 
 God's Power, [or Strength , ] for God infpircs 
 willing Souls j but if they go off from their 
 Willingnefs, the Spirit of God, which was 
 given to them, will contracT: itfelf, [_and re- 
 turnJ} For to fave them who are unwilling 
 to be faved, is the pait of an Agent, that ufeth 
 Force ^ but to fave thofe, who choofe Salva- 
 tion, is [Xg/Wr/] the part of one, who 
 freely and kindly grants his Help. 
 
 Sir 9 y oil cannot but obftrve here, that \\sfniglo 
 the Dotf rine of God's ordinary Grace is Jb clearly 
 
 in this P0Jfage,yet it " ** fa ln *g***ft 
 
 irre-
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 irrefiftible Grace , for God, faith he, forces no 
 M.an,but only helps the willing ^ according to that 
 . Ignatius, Epifl. ad Smyrn. TeAot $ om?, 
 
 (py V6m. 0iAtf?J yj V JM.V eVTrgjifiSW 0605 
 
 s TO <s&9/V. As ye are perfed,fo mind 
 things that are perfect , for God is ready to a/lift 
 you who are willing to do good. But a plainer 
 Paffage for Grace, and againfl ordinary irrefi- 
 jlibk Grace, cannot be found, than this which 
 follows, p. 25. 26. [El EAEIS TEAEIOS 
 
 TTSt) 
 
 yb 
 
 AN AFKAZEI o 0gd 
 
 5 TD?5 
 
 ' VIO 
 
 r, ocus rAf, > /ot//i SILVIO v c/aTiax?, xiiitrou TO 
 ei^sv 5CC. [IF THOU WILT BE PERFECT^ 
 
 He was not as yet perfed ^ for nothing is per- 
 feder than that which is perfed. And what 
 was fpoken by God, if thou wilt, fhewed the 
 freedom of the Soul that difcourfed with him. 
 For Man had a Power of choofing, as he was 
 free j but Giving belongs to God,as he is the Lord. 
 And he gives to them, who are willing, and 
 earneflly ftrive and pray , that in this Senfe 
 their Salvation may be owing to themfelves. 
 For God compells none j for Compulfion agrees 
 not with him , but he adminifters to them that 
 feek, and beftows on them that ask, and opens 
 
 to
 
 late Lord Bi/hop of St. David'/. 513 
 
 to them that knock. If thou wilt therefore, 
 if thou wilt in good earneft have what thou 
 wanted, arid doeft not deceive thyfelf, &c, 
 Thefe Authorities, Sir, weigh more with ine^ 
 than all the Authorities of modern Writers, in 
 behalf of irrefijlible Grace :, which you fee as to 
 ordinary Grace at leaft, was not the Divinity 
 of the primitive Times, though the Doclrine of 
 Divine Grace was. 
 
 Ton cannot alfo but obferve, how many Words 
 are here Jignificative of Grace, as AvWjuus, Jt,vv- 
 emTrv&i AoSev CK g rfr?* f and Xa^e- 
 VW, the Word which, 1 told you above, my 
 Clemens ufed in another place. Here is Grace 
 in various lerms, and the Spirit of God the Au- 
 thor of Grace, mentioned together ; and as for 
 [AtWps,] the Scripture Word for Grace, that 
 is alfo in St. Ignatius, as in that Pa/age of bit 
 Epiftle to the Ephefians ^ Let me be always 
 partaker of your Prayers, that I may be found 
 in the Lot ot the Ephefian Chriftians, who 
 
 ' ' 
 
 , always were of one Mind with the 
 Apoftles in the Power of Jefus Chrift. So in 
 the Conclufion of his Epijlk to the Church of 
 Smyrna, "Eppw<* ^ kv Auviu." ttvevvcfl&' 
 Farewel, or be ftrong in the Power ofthe Spi- 
 rit: and afterward, nfatfo iv %*$'.&*) Fare- 
 wel in the Grace of God. So in his Efijllc to 
 the Romans,
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 beg Strength for me, both from within and 
 from without, that I may not only talk, but 
 refolve ^ and not only be called, but be found 
 a Chriftian. $o likewife in his Epiftk ad 
 Smyrn. 'A/*' ly&t /^^a/e^e, eyfts gy, $$& 
 g* fjyvov ft> T^ ovoftcfli 'hex 
 
 -y ? 
 
 When we are near the Scaffold, we are near to 
 God,and all the while we arc from the wild Beafts, 
 fo long we are -from -God j only I endure all 
 things for the Name of Jefus Chrift, to fuffer 
 with him, he ftrengthening me, who was made 
 perfect Man, 
 
 Grace is alfo exprejfed by the Apoftle, ly the 
 Word 8bva,iMS) find lv<JWaju,*r, Ephef. 3. 16. 
 That he would grant you according to the 
 Jliches of his Glory, Q Sttvdp.ei y~e ofcaw.3??^ ] 
 to be ftrengthened with Might by his Spirit in 
 the inner Man. Col 1. 10, n. That ye might 
 walk worthy of the Lord, unto all pleafing, 
 being fruitful in every good Work, and in- 
 creafing in the Knowledge of God : Q w <m 
 fvi-aLfiet fwaw.v$joi T ftrengthened with all 
 Might, according to his glorious Power, unto 
 all Patience and Long-fuffering, with Joyful- 
 nefs. So Phil. 4. 15. naVT i<%vi* ev W li/dv 
 v*u.vvri pe Xe^r<?> I can ^ a U things through 
 Chrift which ftrengthenetli me. To which I 
 way add, wfw&prV w T/I ^ft*A TJ? \v X^&py 
 'Ia, 2 Tim. .2. I. Where both Words are put 
 together :, Thou therefore, my Son, be flrong 
 
 in
 
 late Lord Bi/bop of St. David V. 525 
 
 in the Grace that is in Jefus Chrift. TJoe next 
 Authority I fiall produce for the Divine Grace, 
 is out 0^ Clemens, and of the fame nature with 
 what I quoted before out of p. 90. it is p. 105. 
 TT' e<pi jutfToJVwW, This is to repent, to grieve 
 for Sins paft, and to beg Forivenefs of God 
 for them ^ who only by his Mercy ^ can make 
 things done, as if they had not been done, 
 
 'EASCtJ Tti TOp' CWJT& X) f^JHTCtJ FL-gOf^?'^ <TO- 
 
 Aenj^i T v&*i**ifl!****4 by the Mercy which 
 is from him, and the Dew [that is the Grace'} 
 of the Holy Ghoft, to waih away our paft 
 Offences. 
 
 To thefe way be added thofe Tefl'iincnies^ 
 which fpeak of God and Chrift, and tlx Holy 
 Spirit dwelling in j, p. 90. 2>yfif& tvr -r'- 1 
 uj8^/uLj'i, r 
 
 TO J^WI'OV T^Tt) 
 
 '/A a evobv o X|> 
 
 - 1 c tjT) d > * A' Vrfl 1 
 
 tv7Vp>- arW, )U*D 
 
 . This Habit- [^?PMW^] with which 
 we are outwardly cloathed,- is the occafion 
 of our coming into this World, that we may 
 enter into this common School ^ but the 
 Father dwells invifibly within us, and his Son 
 who died for us, and rofe again with us. R 102, 
 
 "Ai> TO ro Tg --- n Ji 5 olyvsixv ri rrt^^AOii, 
 cioi' r tr<e*'yi*' *) r Kur&M fe**fW * 
 
 '' 
 
 ; r k- 
 
 Tr&S T Si/ PiyBflKtol ^'y. a '
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 Tcu TgjoaVjufyj* Tro/nip mov <&\$&cot pifct.v.owlct t n 
 
 TO 15 MJTOI'S vpycv 
 
 T" ' 
 
 7 s 
 
 If any one, 
 
 either through Ignorance, or unavoidable Mif- 
 fortunes, after Baptifm and Forgivenefe of Sins, 
 falls into Sins and Iniquities, fo as to be entire- 
 ly carried away with them j fuch an one is ut- 
 terly condemned by God. But whofoever tru- 
 ;ly turns to God with all his heart, has Heaven 
 Gates opened to him, and the Father moil glad- 
 ly receives his penitent Son. Now 3 true Re- 
 pentance, is a Care never to relapfe into the : 
 lame Mifcarriages, for which he has condem- 
 ned himfelf worthy of Death, but totally to 
 ^oot them out of his Mind. For thefe being 
 taken away, God will again dwell in thee. 
 This DoBrine of the moral Shechinah, or of t 
 God's, and Chrift's dwelling in righteous Smils^ 
 by the Holy Spirit of Grace, is alfo mofl clearly 
 exprejfed by St. Barnabas in his Epijlle, cap. 5. 
 p. 33. Behold therefore, faith he, we are cre- 
 ated anew,as the Prophet fpeaks in another Place j 
 Behold, laith the Lord, I will take away from 
 them [that is, from thofe whom the Spirit of the 
 Lord fore f aw under the Gofpel,~] Hearts of Stone, 
 and put into them Hearts of Flefh, becaufe he 
 was to be manifefted in the Flefh, 9 ev vpJiv I 
 xaiwjiar, and to dwell in us. For> my Bre- 
 thren, ^oczx.w]ne/oi> *vd$S $ xopJVo*, the dwel- 
 ling Place of our Hearts, is V&QS a;
 
 late Lord .Bi/hop of St. DavidV 
 
 Ju, a holy Temple to the Lord. And to the 
 fame purpofe in another Place, cap. 1 6, p. 98. 
 Obferve how the Temple of the Lord is glori- 
 oufly built, and learn in what manner, we, 
 who have received Remiflion of our Sins, and 
 put our Truft in the Name of the Lord, are 
 renovated, or made new, and created again 
 from the Beginning. Becaufe, \v T t&loum- 
 
 truly refides in our dwelling Place, that is, in 
 us. And again, cap. .p. . O ^ TnBav <7&>6>j- 
 
 I'OU, joASTTft KX. 4$ T fi&Vr^pWTTflrj OtM, ft$ T 6V CWTtt) 
 
 evQiY.vwcx., AaAjTct b ontiu. He that defires 
 to be faved, looks not at the Man, but at him 
 that dwelleth in him, and fpeaketh in him. 
 And, cap. . p. TT \^i TrvbfJi&liyijS vcun Giiy 
 <fy^|ufyj(^ T^ KveJLci), this is the Spiritual Tem- 
 ple built to the Lord. So in the fecond Epift. 
 for its great Antiquity, attributed to St. Cle- 
 
 . ~ f e "- ' ' s~\ ** / ^ 
 
 mens. A w 7i=t$, 0/5 VAOV 
 
 It is our Duty to keep the Body, as the 
 Temple of God. And it is an Allnfion to this 
 DoBrine of the moral Shechinah, or Spiritual 
 Temple, that our Clemens, in the ^6tb Page, 
 faith, according to the Voftrine of his Collegue in 
 the Apoflkfiip, that no one (hall be laved or pe- 
 riih, for having a beautiful or deformed Bodv, 
 but that he fhall be fived who ufeth his Body 
 chaftly,and according to the Laws of God , but 
 he that hath denied the Temple of God, him fhall 
 God deftroy. So Sf.Pacianus, Eilkop of Bar- 
 celona, in his Paciani Paranef. ad poemt. 
 2te violaveritis (inquit) Templwn Domini, quod 
 
 eftis
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 eflis TJ0J, & de. forme atore Apoflolus dicit, qui 
 aultm Tewpluw Del violavent, differdet ilium 
 Deus. 
 
 How this fupernattiral Principle of Grace, and 
 the Holy Spirit, the Author of it, was in our 
 frfl Parents before their Fall, and how thy loft 
 it by their Fall, .and 'their finful Pofterity, in 
 and by them, and how. we are reftored to 
 it by the Gofpel, is excellently fet forth by the 
 'fame St. t Pacianus, in his Sermon to the 
 Catechumens, who -wrote , before the Pelagian 
 Controversy troubled the Peace of the Church. 
 'Hearken therefore, my dearly Beloved, in 
 'what Death Man lies before Baptifm. Surely 
 you know that old Saying, that Adam was 
 "doom'd to an earthly Original, which Con- 
 demnation put him under the Law of eternal 
 Death j and all his Pofterity, who were all 
 fubjecl: to one Law. This Death reigned over 
 the whole Kind, from Adam even to Mofes. But 
 by Mofes one People only was chofcn, namely, 
 the Seed of Abraham, if they could have kept 
 the righteous Commandments. In the mean 
 time we were all held under Sin, that we 
 might be the Fruits of Death, deftin'd to feed 
 
 on 
 
 f . Acciphe ,ergo. 7 dulcijjiini,homo ame Baptifmum in qua mortefit 
 * Clemens p fi tta ffi t j t eerie ;"i;d ami^uum, quod * Adam terrene origmi 
 Lib^j's prtjtituiMJit, W* 't^j damatio legem iUi aterna wonis impafuit 
 DIVES/^C.' & omnibus ab eo'pofier^. quos lex um retinefat ; b#c mors in genw 
 p. 129. V& ome dorninata. eft, ab AAam ifa ad Moyfen. Per Mtyjen vero UMA 
 imquit, Ulii ta murflPopuJ& dettM eft, fernen fctlicet Abrahte, fi mandate fafti- 
 l^n/abTe-- tlx fiware pondffet. InuteaTws onwesjub pectMotevebimur, ut 
 runt. k' tin%M efer.M mcrtif j filiquarum efiis & porcgrum cuftodJx defti- 
 
 nuti,
 
 late Lord Bifhof of St. David'/. 5 1 9 
 
 on Husks, and to keep Swine, that is to un- 
 clean Works by the evil Angels, who being 
 our Rulers, we neither could do, nor know 
 what was right. The Condition we were in, 
 forced us to obey our natural Lords. And 
 now hear how we #ere delivered from thefc 
 Powers, and this Death. Adam, after he had 
 finned, af Iha've told you, was doomed to death 
 by the Lord, who faid, Earth "Thou an, and 
 to Earth Thou foalt return. This Condem- 
 nation defcended upon all his Pofterity : for 
 [finful~] Nature now urging, all Men nnned, 
 af the Apoftle faith ; For by one Man Sin 
 entered into the World: and Death by Sin: 
 and fo Death faffed upon all Men, for that all 
 have finned. Sin therefore had Dominion over 
 us, and we were dragged in his Chains, as 
 Captives to Death, I mean to Death eternal. 
 But neither was this Sin underftood before 
 the Times of the Law, as the Apoftle faith j 
 Mm for 
 
 nati, i. e. operibiu immundit, per malos Angelas, qutbu dominxmi- etin *c- 
 hit, necfvere fruit, nee fare frflitiam. Par ere ruturalibu Do- o <u^ 
 m'mit res iff A cogebat. Ab bit poieflattb* & d ^ *w", 1 ua " Secu^lu. 
 Hberati fumiu, rttendite. Adam poftauam fcccavn (ut rerun U- p eatl S i- 
 eem tune Domino, Terra es, & in terrtm ibit t *MM* ffl* 
 H&c addittio ingenut ome defiuxit : omaei efiimpectxverumrfjiW 
 ureeme natura, ft cut Afoftolm dii.it. guii per unum bomi 
 tttum imroivit, Vptr deliSum mon, & fit in omxcs be 
 nit, in <iuo omnes peccwerwtt. Downturn eft ergo pec 
 
 v'mculi* anafi captivi trdcbmur ad moncm 
 
 fhernam. Hoc vero pecanm ante Legit temper*, .
 
 530 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 for until the Law was given, Sin was not in 
 the World ; that is, it was not diicerned, 
 [but] revived when the Law came. It was 
 then manifefted, that it might be feen, but in 
 vain, becaufe almoft none kept the Law. Far 
 the Law [aid, Thou fhalt not commit 
 Adultery, Thou (halt do no Murder, Thou 
 fhalt not covet, yet Concupiicence, with all 
 the Vices attending it, remained. Thus 
 Sin flew Man before the Law with a hidden 
 Sword, under the Law, by a drawn one. 
 What Hope then had Man ? Without the Law 
 he periihed, becaufe 'he could not fee Sin, but 
 under the Law, becaufe he ventured upon 
 what he did fee. Apd this is the Mar- 
 riage of the Lord with one Flefh, that accor- 
 ding to that great Myftery, Two mjght be- 
 come one Fleih, Chrift and the Church. Of 
 this Marriage the Chriftian People are born, 
 
 the 
 
 .. Apoftolus ticit,. dome enim Itx poneretur, peccatum in 
 mundo non kikefatur, hoc eft, non vidcbxtur, &J kg tdvwtum 
 revixit. Apsnum eft enim ut videretitr, ' verum fruftra, quix, id. 
 prope nemo fervtb&t. Dicelit enim lex, A"o Ifachjbertf, r.on Qc- 
 tides, ncn Coacupifces, tiinenCcr.cup'-i'ccmio, CUM mnriibxt vitiit per- 
 wanebjt : itap;cratum iftud ante Lcgem oceuho gladio interfeoit to- 
 minem, Lege> diftrifh. Qux igitxr fpes bomini ? Sim Legc idio pe- 
 riir, quia pectatxm videreuon potuh, & in Legs ideo quit in id ip- 
 
 fum, quod videbat, incurrit. Et tx funt nuptia Domini 
 
 uniCarni conjunftse, at fccuxdum iUud magnum SacrAmentum, 
 in came una Chriftus, & Ecclefia. Ex bit Nuptw
 
 late LordBifoop of St. David V. 5 } 
 
 ihe Spirit of the Lord coming dawn from abwt 
 being poured forth upon the Subftance of our 
 Souls, the heavenly Seed being alfo mixt with 
 it, we grow in the Belly of our Mother, and 
 being delivered from her Womb, are quick- 
 ned in Chrift. Whence the Apoftlc faith, The 
 fir ft Adam was made a living Soul, the lafl 
 Adam a quickening Spirit. Thus Chrift be- 
 gets in the Church by hit Priefts^ as the fame 
 Afoftle faith ,- but I have begotten you in Cbrift. 
 And thus Cbrift' s Seed, that ;/, God's Spirit 
 fumijbes out the new Man who was prepared 
 in the Womb of his Mother, and received 
 from the Birth of the Font by the Hands of the 
 Prieft, yet by the Aififtance of Faith. For 
 neither will he feem to be admitted into the 
 -Church who has not believed, or to be be- 
 gotten by Chrift who has not received the 
 Spirit. We muft therefore believe that it ifpof- 
 
 Mm 2 fblt 
 
 Cbriftigntt Plebs mtfcitur, veniente dcruper Spirito Domini, no- 
 ftr&rum<{ue aninurum fubftantix Superfufo, tf Admixto proiintu Se- 
 mente Ccelefti, vijccribuiMttrtf molf[ci,nw, ahcque cjus I 
 gi vivificamur in Chrifto. Vmte Jpotto'iu: prinut ADAM in 
 animam viventem, fifarigtm* ADAM in Spiritum vivifican- 
 tem. Sic xcncrat Cbriftm in Eetlcfa per fuos Sacenlotes, ut 
 idem Apoftolut: in Chrifto autcm ego vos genui. A\\*t ' 
 Chrifti femcn, id e)L Dei Spiritus, novum bmtnern ak'O Mgw 
 aiiitJtumt & partu Fontis exceptum manibus Sacerdotis^ioi- 
 dit, fide umcnpronuba. Neyie enim *ut mfenm in rccltfum vi- 
 debiw, iwnmtrcdidit, AM g<mim * Cknfto, <pi Spimu* >f 
 
 tion
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 fible for us to be born. For fo faid Philip, If 
 thou believeft^ thott may ft. Chrift is to be re- 
 ceived, that he may beget, becaufe the Apo- 
 ftle John faith. As many as received hi?n, to 
 them gave he Power to become the Sons of 
 God. But thefe Things cannot be accom- 
 pliiked otherwife than by the Sacrament of 
 feaptifm, and Chrifm, and the Bifhop. For 
 they are purged from Sin by Baptifm ; by 
 Chrifm the Holy Ghoft is fhed upon them, 
 and both thefe we obtain by the Hand and 
 Mouth of theBiihop. And fo the new Man 
 is born again, and is renewed in Chrift. 
 
 ton rceepit, Credendum eft igitur pojfe nos nafci. Sic en'm alt Hi- 
 lippus, Si credis, potes. %ecipiendu& eft Chriftut, ut general, quit 
 tfobawes dpoftoJu* dicit, quotquot eum receperunt, dedit illis 
 ppteftatem Filios Dei fieri. Hxc autem compleri alias Ttequttaiti 
 mji Lavacri, Chrifmatis, & dntiftitjt Sacramento. Lavacro 
 tnim peccata purgamur , Chrifmate S. Spirittu fuperfunditur t 
 nimbus vcro ifta, manu, & ore Antiftitis impetramu. Atque it/t 
 totiu komo rettafcitur, & renovatur in Chrift o. 
 
 Honoured
 
 late Lord Bijhof of St. David V. 533 
 
 Feb. 3. I 7 ff< 
 
 Honoured Sir 
 
 JX/HAT you fee hert in the Beginning of 
 this Sheet, is the Paffage of St. Pacian 
 tontinued from the End of the lafl. It happen* 
 ed to be preferred in a loofe Paper, into which 
 it was tranfcribed for me out of that Father s 
 Works, and from thence copied over again in 
 the Sheet;, which were burnt in the fudden de+ 
 vowing Fire, that by Night consumed, In ?noft 
 dreadful manner, the Printer's Dwelling-Houje, 
 and JFare-Houfcr, and all that he had thzrem. 
 It is no little Trouble to me to think, :bat I, who 
 ought to deny you nothing, cannot comply wito 
 your Defire in repairing what is lojl in the 
 burnt Copy. Neither the foort time the Book- 
 feller hath taken to publijh your mofl excellent 
 Life of the Bi/hofa nor my ill Condition of 
 Health will now fuffer me to undergo (rich a 
 Laboi'r, which were I able to endure, I Jhould 
 undertake with mighty Pleafure, to teflify there- 
 by the great Defire, and many Obligations I 
 have to ferve you, in whofe Conservation and 
 Friendship I have been very happy for fo many 
 Tears. There were too many Particulars in the 
 loft Sheets for me to repair at this time, with 
 the fame Pains and Study as I formerly did. 
 If you can but remember the half of them you 
 will lamfure, excufeme: Pray, Sir, do but 
 Mm 3 rccotott
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 recollelt upon how many Subjetfr I war invited 
 to difcourje upon this -very Citation of f.Pacian y 
 concerning the Way whereby fallen man recovers 
 the fitpernatural Principle of ths Spirit of God, 
 by which we are regenerated and made New 
 Men. If you can remember no more than what 
 from thence I difcourfed on the Subjetf of the 
 moral Shechinah from the New c teflament i and 
 the Book of Wifdom ; of receiving the Spirit by 
 the Miniftration and Prayer of the Prieft or 5/'- 
 flop in Baptif?n y and by the Imppfition of the 
 Blfoofs Hands, and by Chrifm , and in 
 difcourfing of which I gave you my Reafonf y 
 for which 1 thought it a Rite of the Apofto- 
 lical Age, and wffied it reftored to the Church : 
 Jf you can alfo call to mind what I war invited 
 to write of the Dignity of the Epifcopal Office, 
 and Miniftry, from St. PacianV Words in * the 
 Margin, and what I wrote of Repentance, by 
 which we recovered the Spirit again, when 
 we had loft it by deadly Sin after Baptiftn and 
 Confirmation, I hope you will discharge me from 
 the Labour of making my Difcourfes upon them 
 again. And if you can remember what I wrote 
 
 * Sic generat Chriftus, per fuos Sacerdotes. Haec autem 
 alias compleri netjdeunt niii Lavacri, Chrifmatis, & Antifti- 
 tis Sacramento. Lavacro enim peccata purgantur, Chrif- 
 mate S. Spiritus fuperfunditur, utra^ue vero ifta raanu, & 
 ore Antiftiris impetramus. 
 
 on
 
 kte Lord Tti/hof of St. David'j. 
 
 on the fourth or fecond Apocryphal Book of 
 Efdras, upon obferuing how the learned Bi- 
 foop faffed, over tbi Testimonies and Author it ies of 
 it, both in the inch fed MS. and in hif Sermon 
 of the Middle State ; and alfb can call to Re- 
 membnwce the mofl clear Teflhnonier I colletfed 
 from my little Book 0f Clemens, concerning 
 the Holy and BlefTed Trinity, and the eter- 
 nal Generation of the Son, begotten not 
 rnadw j and hif Equality in Effence with the 
 Fath:r, and of the Deity of the Holy Ghoft, 
 which were not observed by the Bijhop, nei- 
 ther in his Fidei Nicena? Defenfio, nor in his 
 Anfwer to Gilbert Clerke, nor by Dr. Grabe in 
 hif Addition f to the former Book : I doubt not 
 then^ Sir, but you will both in Kindneft and 
 Juftice excufe me from the Pains of recomt>n- 
 fm^ and collecting again, being not in a Con- 
 dition to ftudy^ or bear intense Thinking. But 
 were I able to do what yen defire, the Confide - 
 ration of ferving you would make the Pains 
 mygreateft Pleafure. But under the Disability 
 I now am, I am fure, Sir, your Candour and 
 tender Regard for me will oblige you to accept 
 the good Will for the Died, and the Defire to 
 feme you for the Performance, from 
 
 Your moft obliged, 
 
 and humble Servant, 
 GEO. HICKES. 
 
 M m 4 The
 
 5 5 6 The Life of Dr. George Bull^ 
 
 LXXXV The Sum and Subftance of the fifth Dif- 
 fl^^ courfe is, That there was a Covenant of Life 
 gad sub- made with Man in his State of Innocency, and 
 rf^Fifth not as f me pretend a Law impofed upon 
 Difcourfe him, eftablilhed only by a Threatning. For 
 the Prohibition given to Adam concerning the 
 not eating of the Tree of Knowledge, is 
 uihered in with this exprefs Donation or 
 Grant of God, that he might freely eat of all 
 the "reft of the Trees in raradife, the Tree 
 of Life n0t excepted. Now it is certain, 
 the Tree of Life was fo called, becaufe it 
 was either .a Sacrament and divine Sign, or 
 elfe a natural Means of Immortality. And 
 the very Commination itfelf, in the day thou 
 eatefl thereof tbou Jbalt furely die, manifeftly 
 implies a Promife j this confequence being 
 moil firm, God threateneth Death to Man, 
 if he eat of the forbidden Fruit; therefore, 
 he promifeth Life if he do not eat. A full 
 flace and refolution of this Matter, is given 
 by our Author from Grotius in his approved 
 Book, de Satisfattione, &c. The Foundation 
 being thus laid in the Proof that Adam fhould 
 never have died, if he had not finned, and 
 that if he had continued obedient, he fliould 
 have enjoyed an everlafting Life ; he thinks 
 it eafy to collecl: from thence, that this Life 
 fliould not, nay could not in any congruity 
 be perpetuated in the earthly Paraaife, and that 
 
 ,there-
 
 htc Lord Bi/bop of St. David'*. 
 
 therefore the Man was in the Defign of God, 
 after a certain period of Time, to have been 
 tranilated to a higher State, that is, aceleftial 
 Blifs ; and that it farther readily follows, that 
 Man being thus defigned for fuch a fuper- 
 natural End, muft be fuppofed gradually at 
 leaft, to have been furniihed by God with 
 Means proportioned thereunto, which were 
 certain fupernatural Gifts and Powers which 
 we commonly call original Righteoufnefi. 
 The Senfe of the Church of God upon this 
 Subject, he reduceth to two Proportions. 
 which 3 he fays, were conftantly afTerted and 
 believed by the Primitive Fathers. 
 
 I. " That Paradife was to Adam a Type 
 " of Heaven ; and that the never-ending 
 <c Life of Happinefs promifed to our firft 
 <e Parents, if they had continued obedient, 
 " and grown up to perfection under that OE- 
 conomy wherein they were placed, Ihould 
 not have continued in the earthly Paradife, 
 but only have commenced there, and been 
 *' perpetuated in a higher State; that is to 
 * lay, after fuch a Tryal of their Obedience, 
 <c as ihould feem fufficient to the divine Wif- 
 " dom, they ihould have been tranflated 
 ^ from Earth to Heaven. 
 
 II. " That our firft Parents, befides the 
 " Seeds of natural Venue and Religion fown 
 <c in their Minds, in their very Creation ; 
 <e and befides the natural Innocence and Re- 
 
 tf itude, 
 
 cc 
 cc 
 <c
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bui], 
 
 " ftitude, wherein alfo they were created, 
 " were endowed with certain Gifts and 
 " Power r fupernatural^ infufed by the Spirit 
 " of God, and that in thefe Gifts their Per- 
 " fe&ion conlifted. 
 
 Now becaufe thefe two Hypothefes feem- 
 ed to him the two main Pillars of the Catho- 
 lick Dodrine concerning original Sin, he 
 giveth an ample Demonftration of them out 
 of the Writings of the Ancients. 
 
 The firft Hypothecs is confirmed by the 
 Teftimonies of Juflin Martyr, Tatian, Irentu^ 
 Theophilufft'&iop of Antiochflemens of Alexan- 
 dria, Tcrtnllian^ Methodwr, St. Atbanafiur, St. 
 Bajil, all which Authors lived before the Rife of 
 Pelagianif?^ which makes their Teftimonies 
 the more confiderable. Nay, the ancient pri- 
 mitive Church was fo certain of this Truth, 
 that ihe inferted the Article into her publick 
 Offices and Prayers, as appeareth from the 
 Prayer of Conlecration of the Eucharift, in 
 the Liturgy of Clemens, in thefe Words con- 
 cerning Adam ,- * When thou broughteft him 
 into the Paradife of Pleafure, thou gavtft him 
 free Lcai}e to eat of all the other Tree^ and 
 forbaddeft him to tafte of one only FOR THE 
 HOPE OF BETTER THINGS - y that if bt 
 
 * Conft. Apoft. rib, 8. cap. 12, 
 
 left
 
 late Lord Bt/hop of St. DavidY 
 kept the Commandments^ he might receive IM- 
 MORTALITY, ar the Reward of hit Obedi- 
 ence. This Liturgy is the moft ancient now 
 extant, and certainly older than the Pelagian 
 Herefy by one whole Age at leaft. Ic is con- 
 feflfed, that the Doctors of the Church, who 
 flourifhed after the Pelagian Herefy was 
 broached, all maintained the fame Hypothe- 
 fis j yet for fuller fatisfaftion, Teftimonies 
 are produced from St. Auftin, Proffer^ Ftd^ 
 gentiu^ and Petrus Diaconur, who are known 
 to have been the chiefeft Antagonifts of Pe- 
 lagiuf, Thefe Allegations are brought forth, 
 not only upon the account of their Authori- 
 ty, but for the fake of thofe evident Rcafons, 
 which thofe ancient Writers urged for the 
 demonftration of the Point afTerted. 
 
 The Second Hypothecs he advanceth as a 
 consequent of the former, for the Means 
 ought to be proportioned and fuited to the 
 End. If therefore our Firft Parents had been 
 defigned only for an earthly Felicity, a fu- 
 pernatural Gift would have been ufclefs, or 
 at leaft unneceflfary to them ; and fo on the 
 contrary, if they were dcfign.d for a ceie- 
 ftial Blifs, it neceiTarily followed], that they 
 were furniihed with Powers fuited to the 
 obtaining of fuch a fupernaturaJ End. But 
 becaufe this latter Hypothecs is chiefly que- 
 ftioned by learned Men, he provcth this 
 Affertion from the Writings of die Ancients, 
 
 and
 
 The Life of Dr. George Bull, 
 
 arid that fomewhat more copioufly than he 
 had done the former. The Teftimonies he 
 ufeth to this purpofe, are thofe of faft'm 
 Martyr^ Tatian, Irenaus^ the Author of the 
 Ecclefiaftical Hierarchy, lertullian, Cyprian, 
 Origen^ the Author of the Five Dialogues 
 among the Works of Atkanafius, St. Athana- 
 futs himfelf, the Great Bafl, St. Cyril, St. Aw-* 
 brofe, St. Hierom, St. Auftin y Profper, and, 
 laltly, Fulgent iit f. After this, he fully an- 
 fwers an Obje&ion made by the Socinian^ in 
 order to weaken the Credit and Authority 
 of thefe Teftimonies ; for they placing the 
 Likeneis and Image of God, after which the 
 firft Man is faid to be created, only in his 
 Dominion over the other Creatures in this 
 vifible World ; they endeavour efre&ually to 
 deftroy that Notion of God's Image, which 
 runs through all the Teftimonies that %re 
 produced, and which thofe Fathers made to 
 coniift, efpecially in thofe fupernatural Pow- 
 ers, Gifts or Graces, wherewith they fup- 
 pofe him to be furnifhed in his Creation. 
 And that thefe fupernatural Perfections were 
 a chief Part of the Image of God, after 
 which the firft Man is faid to be created, is 
 not the Fancy of Chriftian Writers, but was 
 a Notion received and acknowledged in the 
 Jewi/h Church, many Years before our Sa- 
 viour's Appearance in the Flelhj as is mani- 
 feft from the Author of the Book of Wif- 
 
 dom,
 
 late Lord Bi/hof of St. David'/, 
 cbm, and from Philo the Jew, who border- 
 ed upon the very Age of our Saviour's Incar- 
 nation. Though if we fhould lay afide, that 
 Reverence which is due to fo conferment a 
 Judgment of the Church of God both be- 
 fore and after Chrift, yet the Apoftle St. 
 Paul hath Evidence fufficiem, if well con- 
 fidered, to fet us right in this Point. 
 
 Moreover farther, he anfwcrcth an Obje- 
 ction made by Grotittf, againft this Doctrine 
 of the Primitive Fathers ; and in vindication 
 of them, he propofes himfelf fome Argu- 
 ments taken from the Hiftory of the Primi- 
 tive State of the firft Man, as it is delivered 
 by Mofes himfelf, which, if not dcmonftrative, 
 are yet far more confiderable, than any 
 thing that hath been produced in defence of 
 the contrary novel Opinion. He then pro- 
 ceeds to ftiew the great Ufe of this Doctrine 
 in three confiderable Infhnces, *viz. Firft) 
 In determining the Nature of that original 
 Righteoufnefs, which was the happy Portion 
 of the Protoplaft. Secondly, In evincing the 
 abfolute Neceflky of Divine Grace in Man 
 fallen, in order to the performance of that 
 Righteoufnefs which is required unto his 
 Salvation. Thirdly, In alluring us how un- 
 juft that Charge is which fome bold Men 
 have faftned on all the Chriftian Writers be- 
 fore Pelaglm, efpecially on thofe who flou- 
 riflied within the three firft Centuries j name- 
 ly,
 
 5 $. 2 The Life of Dr. George Bull, &c. 
 
 ly, that they held the fame Doftrine which 
 was afterwards condemned by the Church 
 as h :retical in Pelagiur, aflferting a Sufficien- 
 cy of Man's natural Powers in his lapfed 
 Efute, without the Grace of God to perform 
 thole things, which conduce to eternal Life : 
 And with thefe three Ufes our Author con~ 
 cludeth this excellent Treatife. 
 TteCcniu. I have nothing more to add but my earneft 
 * "f th<: Prayers to God, that fince he hath by his 
 Grace enabled me to bring this Work to a 
 Conclufion, he would farther vouchfafe by 
 his Bleffing, to make it inftrumental toward.s 
 the promoting his Honour and Glory in the 
 World. That it may in fome meafure tend 
 to revive that truly commendable Zeal, for 
 which the firft Ages of Chriftianity were fo 
 defervedly famous; cc When they that were 
 : baptized, continued ftedfaftly in the Apor 
 c files Dodrine, and Fellowfhip, in break- 
 c ing of Bread, and in Prayer ,- Praiiing 
 " God, and doing Good to all Men. 
 
 TO THE MOST HOLY AND UNDI- 
 VIDED TRINITY, GOP THE FA^ 
 TMER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST, 
 BE ASCRIBED ALL HONOUR AND 
 GLORY, ADORATION AND WOR- 
 SHIP, BOTH NOW AND FOR EVER, 
 AMEN. 
 
 -December 31. X-/ Olft 
 
 1712. 
 
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