opportunity; answer them directly, forcibly and fully. (4) land! these our reformers!" - Nay but, Rev. Mr. Archdeacon, who art thou, that repliest against THY God! Shall the thing formed fay to him, that formed it, Why baft thou made me thus! Hath not the civil magiftrate power over the established clergy, of the fame lump to make epifcopalians in the fixteenth century and prefbyterians in the feventeenth? The fact, and the rhetorick of it must be diftinguished. Dr. Waterland's ferm. at S. Paul's, May 29, 1723. There are two forts of people, who quit the epifcopal community; and both ought to study this article. The first confifts of those, whofe objections lie against the confitution itself, and they ought not to yield up the plain, literal, folid reafons of their diffent to any declamations, that do not touch the point in debate, however florid they may be. The other clafs quit the church on account of the men, who adminifter the conftitution; either, they fay, their doctrines are unfound, or their lives immoral. Thefe deal very largely in rhetorical objections against the clergy, and paint in glaring colours the preaching and the prac Here, tices of the men. The firft is the peaceable way of diffenting. It reprobates the conftitution and leaves the men to the mercy of God. Civil liberty empowers them to do the firft: chriftianity binds them to observe the last. (4) Refute objections fully, Quintilian fays, it is as much harder to defend than to accufe, as to heal a wound is harder than to make one. "Non fine caufa tamen difficilius femper eft creditum (quo Cicero fæpe teftatur) defendere quam accufare - proponitur enim uno modo, varie diffolvitur - - hinc mille flexus et artes defiderantur. - accufationibus etiam mediocres in dicendo fufficerunt: bonus defenfor nemo, nifi qui eloquentiffimus fuit. Nam ut quod fentio femel finiam, tanto eft accufare quam defendere quanto facere quam fanare vulnera facilius," Inft. v. 13. de Refutatione, Christianity was formed perfect by Jefus Chrift as the human body was made by the creator, and in its original fimplicity it required nothing of literary skill to anfwer objections, for its enemies could fay nothing against it worth hearing: but after it fell into the butcher ly Here, it may be asked, whether in ftating objections to be answered it be proper to propose them all together at once, and then come to the answers, or whether they fhould be proposed and answered one by one? I fuppofe difcretional good fense must serve for both guide and law upon this fubject. If three or four objections regard only one part of the text, if each may be proposed and answered in a few words, it would not be amifs to propose these objections all together, diftinguishing them however by first-second-third-this may be done agreeably: but if thefe objections regard different parts of the text, or different matters, if they require to be propofed at full length, and if it would also take fome time to answer them, it would be an impertinence to propose them all together. In fuch a cafe they must be propofed and anfwered apart (5) ly hands of bad men,' who first chopped it in pieces and deftroyed its form, and then made it up again another form as feemed good to the makers, it became very objectionable, and learning and fkill became requifite qualifications of its defenders. The only way, then, of folidly defending chriftianity is the art of difentangling the original, and of placing it in its primitive shape. (5) Some objections must be ftated feparately, and others all together. That ineftimable fet of fermons against popery, which was preached by our minifters at Salters' hall in 1735, affords a beautiful ex XXIII. emplification of our author's rule. The fet contains our objections against popery. Each of thefe was propofed apart. Mr. Barker opened the lecture with a general charge of corruption-Doctor Chandler followed, and objected against the papal notes of the church-Mr. Neal came next and destroyed popish fupremacy-Mr.Smyth examined infallibility-Doctor Wright confidered tradition-Doctor Harris tranfubftantiation, and fo on. Each article is an objection against popery, and it was fair and proper to examine each apart: but it was not neceffary in examining each arti ale XXIII. CONSIDER CHARACTERS OF-MAJESTY-MEANNESS INFIRMITY-NECESSITY-UTILITYEVIDENCE, &C. (6) MAJESTY, AND MAGNANIMITY. Take an example of this from John xiv. 1. Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe cle to separate the feveral objections, that there are against each, and to refute them apart. They are, therefore, in fome of the fermons ftated all together. Thus Doctor Harris. "The Trent catechifm fays-That the facrament is the true body of Chrift, which was born of the virgin, and is now in heaven, together with his foul and divinity-That it is entire in every part of the bread, and every drop of the wine that no part of the fubftance of bread and wine remains that the accidents of bread and wine, which do remain, are in no fubject, but exift by themselves in a wonderful manner, and which is not too curiously to be inquired into This is the point I am to debate at this time." It was fmartly faid by Doctor Hughes in the next fermon, which was against the popish veneration of faints; "there is one faint, who, I fear, does not come in for his fhare of de alfo votions it is one Saint Mathurin, who, it seems, has an admirable noftrum for the cure of folly." (6) Confider characters. As there are certain perfonal qualities peculiar to each individual, and to describe thefe is to characterize the man, fo there are certain peculiarities, which belong to expreffion, and these peculiars, whatever they are, are the characters, or distinguifhing marks of each expreffion. There are as many of these as there are intelligeat emotions, which express themselves in language; for proper language is all expreffion of emotion. Even tones, without articulation, are characteristical, that is to fay, they exprefs fear, joy, anger, and fo on; and there are cafes in which filence is characteristical. Our aathor's rule, then, is founded in the nature of things. There is a kind of fympathy between intelligence and expreffion. Mean thoughts cannot alfo in me. These words are characterized by a majefty, which exalts Jefus Chrift above all ordinary paftors, and above all the prophets; for who befide the fon of God could fay, Ye believe in God, believe alfo in me? These words equal Jefus Chrift to the eternal father, and make him the object of our faith and confidence as well as the father; for they imply that faithful fouls may repose an entire confidence in his power, protection and government, and that the fhadow of his wings will diffipate the forrows of their minds, and leave no more room for fear. (7) cannot be dignified by language, and much language only gives the whole the air of thrivelled fruits. On the contrary, magnanimity of thought fhines through language juft as fome lovely female features fparkle through a thin gauze vail. The fympathy lies not in the quantity: but in the fort of Ityle. Longinus treats of this in his ninth fection, and calls fub. lime language usyaλoposuvns anna, eccho magnitudinis animi. The holy fcriptures inculcate the fame idea: a fool's voice is known by a multitude of words, a fool's peech, or fiyle is characterized by an exuberance of terms -hearken to the voice of my words: Job xxxiv. 16.-The rulers knew not the voices of the prophets Acts xiii, 27. -Paul's epiftles are weighty and powerful: 2 Cor. x. 10. -The Sheep know the shepberd's voices John X. 4. VOL. II. You (7) Character of majesty. It was prophefied of the Meffiah, he shall feed in the majefty of the name of the Lord bis God; that is to fay, he fhall teach a fublime doctrine, and he fhall rule like God with an irresistible authority. Micah v. 4. Jefus of Nazareth exactly answers this defcription. The TRUTH of his doctrine is the fublimity of it, and the demonftration, that attends it, carries along with it the foft impelling fway of irresistible conviction, forming principles of felffuafion (if I may fo speak) within the foul of each dif ciple. There are various degrees of the fublimity of truth. The whole truth of a gnat or an acorn would form a noble body of science: what must the truth of GoD be! Him no man had ever feen; he inhabited light that none could approach; yet all human felicity lay in the Gg know You fee also a character of tenderness and infinite love towards his difciples, which appears in the affurance, with which he infpires them, and in the promise, which he tacitly makes them, of always powerfully fupporting, and never forfaking them. The fame characters, or others like them, may be obferved in all this difcourfe of our Saviour, which goes on to the end of the fixteenth chapter. As in thefe words, I am the way, the truth, and the life-in thefe, He that bath feen me, Philip, bath feen the father-in thefe, Whatfoever ye afk in my name I will do it-and again in thefe, knowledge of him. The only begotten of the Father was full of true ideas of him, and, being alfo full of grace, he declared him to us; declared the most fublime subject in the most majestick manner. It was the voice of the Lord, powerful and full of majesty. Pfal. xxix. 4. The text above is, as our author observes, no incompetent proof of our Lord's divinity. Ye believe in GOD --- believe alfo in ME. What an association of ideas! Had ever prophet prefumed to utter fuch language as this? This is one of the many texts, that difgrace the character of Christ in the fame proportion as his divinity is denied. He affociated himfelf as a ground of confidence with the Father, and propofes both together to the faith of his difciples. A dangerous affociation if he were a mere man! I will This text affords a proof of that obfcurity, which the poverty of language necessarily fheds on fentiment. The copious greek language, which makes a thousand words out of one verb, is after all obliged to exprefs an indicative and an imperative fentiment by the fame term; and there are cafes, in which it will be hard to come at the precife idea of the fpeaker. The verb ISEUETE in this text is of this kind; and its ambiguity of mood has given rife to four readings of the text.1. Ye do believe in God: ye do alfo believe in me: be not troubled then-2. Believe in God: believe alfo in me: and give yourselves no farther trouble-3. Believe in God: ye do believe in me; thus you will be free from anxiety-4. Ye do believe in God: believe alfo in me: and make yourselves easy. Our |