"

his function, according to his own perfuafion, are privileges, "which no minifter of God's word can give up in compliment to any man, or any body of men, while he values himself on "the principles, as well as the profeffion, of the proteftant "religion."

He then proceeds to lament, that the applications to be relieved from fubfcription have proved unfuccessful; but afferts, that this want of fuccefs ought to encourage perfeverance, as oppreffions and impofitions of all kinds grow ftill more grievous by continuance."

It is truly astonishing, that the adverfaries of the Church of England fhould maintain, that her feparation from the Church of Rome neceffarily fuppofed an unlimited, right of private judgment, inherent in every individual. Whatever may have been the defects of the Articles, Liturgy, and Homilies, for we are not now enquiring what thofe are, or whether there be any, they were certainly the joint refult of the labours of the moft wife and learned, and pious men of the times; who collected whatever could be learnt at home or abroad; who were not the adherents of Luther or of Calvin; and who were not afhamed to take from the Romanifts themfelves whatever was deemed agreeable to the word of God; or to adopt as to external government, order, and decency, whatever, being of a more indifferent nature, is not taught by revelation, but is obvioufly left to the difcretion of man.

By far the greatest part of mankind must be fubject, in fome points, to the direction of others, and this direction not only inftructs their ignorance, but controuls their wayward paffions, their pride, their prefumption, their fenfuality, their moroseness, their malignity.

The Church of Rome triumphs in the numerous fects which this pretended right of private judgment hath fet up; many of which owe their fuccefs to that religious liberty with which they flatter the people, and to that imaginary infpiration, which, according to them, not only puts the learned and unlearned upon a level, but often gives the latter a decided fuperiority.

The invidious names of human fyftems, ordinances, and inventions, lofe all their force, when it is remembered that the fole queftion is, whether this or that doctrine be found in fcripture Dr. Difney, and others, treat the Church of England as if the had renounced the authority of fcripture; whereas the very contrary is the cafe, and she might justly retort upon them, that they have reverfed the error of the Church of Rome, and have reprefented the truths of God as the traditions of man.

But

But what avails it for either party to affume, as decided, what is, in fact, fub judice? We think we have proved the doctrines in difpute, they think we have not. We think that the labours

of the learned, for more than two hundred years, have proved our Articles and Liturgy to be founded on the word of God, and that another reformation is not neceffary; they, under the fanction of the alterations which were heretofore made, think that we must be continually changing, and the corruptions of Paganifin, as well as Popery, are brought forward to strengthen the argument. They little confider that we deny fuch corruptions to exist in our establishment. If they had existed, we trust, that not individuals, but the collected body of the wife and the learned, would have been fummoned under the fanction of authority, to correct and amend whatever was amifs.

We fhall now proceed to give the titles of thefe Sermons, by which the reader will perceive, that a great part of them is written upon topics of controverfy, against the doctrines and establishment of our national church.

Vol. I. contains the following Sermons: 1. Upon the right of private judgment; 2. Public inftitutions for charitable purposes; 3. The beauty of holiness; 4. The fpirit of induftry recommended; 5. A faft fermon; 6. Chrift infufficient of himself; 7. Defence of public or focial worship, in anfwer to Mr. Wakefield; 8. Vindication of the apostle Paul from the charge of fedition; 9. The principles of the revolution, the fecurity of liberty; 10. The progreffive improvement of civil liberty; 11. The gofpel of Chrift a never failing fource of peace and joy; 12. A good character founded only in religion and virtue; 13. Man accountable for his actions confiftently with God's moral government of the World; 14. The ineftimable value of confcious integrity; 15. The external evidence of the gofpel; 16. A generous temper congenial with nature and revelation; 17. The proper teft of religious truth; 18. Chrift the deliverer of mankind; 19. Future life and happiness the proper objects of a Chriftian's purfuit; 20. The fhortness of human life; 21. Obedience to the gospel the best proof of our belief in God; 22. Repentance and amendment of life infeparable; 23. The occafion for circumfpection; 24. Love for mankind beft afcertained by promoting religion and virtue in the world; 25. The wifdom of God in the works of creation.

Vol. II. contains, 1. Bowing at the name of Jefus; 2. Chrift the Son of the living God. 3. The ufe of liturgies; 4. The bleffings of peace; 5. The nature and effect of fin; 6. The prophecy of Ifaiah concerning Chrift, ch. liii. 1, 2, 3. In what fenfe Chrift is a propitiation for our fins; 8. Religious education;

education; 9. The civil magiftrate has no cognizance in matters of religion; 10. Compulfion in religion unwarrantable; 11. Caufe of feparation from any established church; 12. Blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft; 13. Impediments to the right knowledge of the fcriptures; 14. Importance of the doctrines of the gofpel; 15. Superftitious appropriations of ordinary events; 16. The fpirit of intolerance; 17. The religious and virtuous œconomy of time; 18. The Chriftian religion independent of civil government; 19. The right knowledge of God and Chrift; 20. Jefus's affectionate fympathy with the friends of Lazarus; 21. Perfeverance in the Chriftian character; 22. Christ's speech on the cross (i. e. to the penitent thief) no proof of an intermediate ftate; 23. The refurrection of Jefus; 24: Mutual forbearance and toleration; 25. The gospel a difpenfation of peace and happiness to thofe who obferve its precepts.

The ftyle of thefe Sermons is generally clear, perfpicuous, and well fuited to common capacities; it is not remarkable for elegance; it is not often nervous, but it is fenfible and pure*. The author is a man of much reading, and has collected, with great diligence, whatever either directly, or collaterally, or obliquely, or by fome compulfion, may ftrengthen his own peculiar opinions,

The following quotation from Dr. Robertfon, formerly rector and vicar of Ravilly, in the diocefe of Leighlin, in Ireland, will be an obvious proof, how unfairly the adverfaries of the eftablifhment can reafon: "The clergy of the Church of Rome "fubfcribe to XXIV Articles of religion, the clergy of the "the church of England, as more orthodox, fubfcribe to "XXXIX:" ergo, the English clergy are more credulous than the clergy of the church of Rome.

The first of the Sermons was doubtlefs compofed with peculiar care; it was preached to a body of clergy, with a view of making them diffatisfied with the establishment, and defirous of abolishing fubfcription. The notes are full of quotations from all the opponents of the Church of England: Sir W. Blackftone and Dr. Balguy are brought forward as her injudicious friends. The reader, however, most probably, knows how to appreciate these refpectable names, and will not regard the fneers

We obferve in fome paffages, that the author uses the expreffion of a mean, for that, by which we do any thing. How the fingular of means, in this fenfe, became obfolete, we know not, but it is fo; and means itself has fince been fometimes made fingular by violence. We heartily with a mean revived by common confent, but till it is, as there is fomething in it that offends the ear, we think it more advifable to throw it always into the plural, or to employ another phrafe.

of Dr. D. the oppofition of Mifomumpfimus, or the letters of Furneaux.

As little will he be affected by the following declamation :

"The civil magiftrate has no concern with the religion of his people, fo long as obedience is paid to him in all things lawfully and conflitutionally enacted respecting civil matters. His authority is bounded by overt acts; the operations of the mind and the dictates of confcience, as they are out of his province, fo are they beyond his authority. And he is then an enemy to his own dignity, peace and intereft, when he intermeddles with the terms of man's acceptance with God; he expofes himself to the reproach of grofsly prostituting religion to the most iniquitous purposes, and of reducing it to a mere engine of fecular government."

The ninth fermon, of the second volume, was intended to prove this very point; that the civil magiftrate has no cognizance in matters of religion; and the conduct of Gallio is brought forward in fupport of fuch an opinion. He is commended for his wife reafoning. Whatever becomes of this question, we have been hitherto taught to believe, that this deputy of Achaia meant to treat both Jews and Christians with marked contempt, and thought their difpute frivolous, and unworthy of a ferious attention. But all at once he rises from the feat of a scorner to the dignity of a refpectable magistrate, deferving the imitation of all magiftrates in all future ages.

"In the application of the preceding history to ourselves,” fays the Doctor, "we shall naturally be difpofed to derive from "it all poffible advantage to the caufe of religious liberty." And, pleafed with this application, the author feels himself warmed into the language of oratory, feldom occurring in the course of these Sermons;

"Civil liberty will give to every man the perfect enjoyment of all his powers to ferve his country, his friends, his family and himfelf, in their best worldly interefts; religion will form him for future happiness. But as well may the ivy that entwines the oak boaft, that it fupports the trunk, as civil inftitutions plead the jupport they give to religion, properly fo called."

One unjustifiable practice with all writers against establishments is, to compare an exclufion from offices in the state, and from the miniftry in the church, to the fire and faggots, the maffacre and perfecution of the times of Popery, in the days of the grofleft ignorance.

The Doctor, therefore, if he cannot convince our reafon, endeavours, by this method, to excite compaffion; 'for thus the fermon concludes:

Should it ever be the fad portion of any of us to be reduced by

perfecution

perfecution to the alternative of choice, whether we would obey God or man, judge ye which determination will give us peace at the laft, and be our heart's defire, when we shall stand before the judgmentfeat of Jehovah, our God. May we in that trying moment take up the cross of Chrift and follow him.'

What will be the reader's furprife when he is informed, that not only Papal Rome, but all established churches are, and have been always filled with the spirit of Antichrift? For, after referring us, in a note, p. 41. vol. i. to Mr. Evanfon's Letter to the Bishop of Worcester, Dr. D. fays,

Surely the fpirit of fuch prophecies reasonably extends to all churches without diftinction of place or perfon, which claim and exercife the fame or like fpiritual power; and the arguments of Mr. Evanfon, as a critic or commentator, go a great way towards fixing the latter of fuch prophecies upon all other eftablished churches which have paffed the fimple bounds of the Chriftian fcriptures."

In the fecond fermon, vol. i. recommending public inftitutions for charitable purpofes, the author, in commenting upon the parable of the Samaritan, has this remarkable paffage:

4

"The traveller is reprefented to be "half dead" from the ill treatment he had met with, and not in a condition to make any audible complaints. It was neceffary to be fenfible of his mifery to take a nearer view of him, and to examine in what condition he was left. The law of Mofes pronounced that perfon unclean who was flain with a sword in the open fields*. And it concerned the priests and Levites more particularly to beware of fuch uncleanness. Their fcruples, fuggefted by this and the like precepts, might probably deter the priest and the Levite from lending this miferable object their affitance. They had other precepts, however; and were often put in mind of them by our Lord, from which they might learn that acts of charity and compaffion would atone for any irregularity in the legal performance of them. This is the best conftruction we can put upon the behaviour of the priest and Levite.”

A very favourable one it is; much more fo than our Saviour feems to have intended; who, apparently, meant an oblique reflection upon the conduct of thofe, who, being immedi-. ately dedicated to the fervice of God, neglected the duties of humanity and compaffion more than the very perfons whom they hated, and with whom they would have no intercourse.

The established priests of modern days find lefs candour from the author, whofe zeal against them breaks out, even when the subject does not imply immediate and direct hoftility,

This confeffion (p. 186, vol. i.) might indeed irritate the malice of the priests in the days of Paul, as fimilar recommendations may

* Numbers xix. 16. In Septuag. wounded.