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EXTRACT FROM CANON BAMPTON'S WILL.

"Also I direct and appoint, that the eight Divinity "Lecture Sermons shall be preached upon either of the following Subjects—to confirm and establish the Chris"tian Faith, and to confute all heretics and schismatics "-upon the divine authority of the holy Scriptures— 66 upon the authority of the writings of the primitive Fa"thers, as to the faith and practice of the primitive "Church-upon the Divinity of our Lord and Saviour "Jesus Christ-upon the Divinity of the Holy Ghost— "upon the Articles of the Christian Faith, as compre"hended in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds.

"Also I direct, that thirty copies of the eight Di"vinity Lecture Sermons shall be always printed, within "two months after they are preached, and one copy "shall be given to the Chancellor of the University, and "one copy to the Head of every College, and one copy "to the Mayor of the city of Oxford, and one copy to "be put into the Bodleian Library; and the expense of "printing them shall be paid out of the revenue of the "Land or Estates given for establishing the Divinity "Lecture Sermons; and the Preacher shall not be paid, "nor be entitled to the revenue, before they are printed. "Also I direct and appoint, that no person shall be qualified to preach the Divinity Lecture Sermons, un"less he hath taken the degree of Master of Arts at "least, in one of the two Universities of Oxford or Cam"bridge; and that the same person shall never preach "the Divinity Lecture Sermons twice."

PREFACE.

THE following Discourses will be found somewhat longer, as they come from the press, than they were as delivered from the pulpit. They now appear, with a few alterations, as they were originally composed. Whether in thus retaining what I had at first written, I have judged wisely or not, is freely submitted to the reader's decision; but to myself it appeared necessary to the due illustration of my design.

In the present state of theological controversy, there are two opposite errors, against which I would seriously warn the young student to be upon his guard. The first is, a disregard to the obligations of morality, arising from an injudicious zeal

to magnify the grace of the Gospel; the second is, an apparent lessening of the value of that grace, by assigning too much weight to human virtue in the attainment of salvation. And in order effectually to prevent both these errors, it seems necessary to lay down the two following principles, as axioms, to which the mind may always recur in judging of the opinions which are offered to its acceptance. First, that the obligation of man to serve God in all the duties of piety, righteousness, and sobriety, is eternal and indispensable, bound upon him at his creation by the law of his nature, and not to be infringed or diminished at any subsequent period of his existence: secondly, that "eternal life is the gift of "God through Jesus Christ," to which no man has any claim of merit, and of which, whoever becomes a partaker, owes his participation of so great a benefit solely to the undeserved mercy of God electing him to

so inestimable a blessing. When these two principles have been well fixed in the mind, they will, I conceive, tend greatly to preserve the young theologian from any material mistake in the disputes which now divide the Christian world, which indeed always have divided it, and which, from their importance, will in all probability continue to disturb it, till we see in "the consum"mation of all things" the perfect justice and consistency of all the Divine proceedings.

I have on this occasion purposely abstained from the use of those names of distinction, which are so much abused by all parties among us, and which frequently conceal an utter ignorance of the matters in debate, and are too often mere terms of mutual and uncharitable reproach. I would beg leave indeed to recommend it as a very useful help to correct thinking, that every

point of doctrine should be considered as it is in itself; that it should not be called by this name or the other; but being accurately stated, and clearly defined, that it should be brought in its own precise sense to the test of God's word, and received or rejected according to its agreement or disagreement with that infallible standard. This would at least prevent all rash censures, and the adoption of crude, half-formed opinions. At present, I am apprehensive, that much mischief is occasioned by the want of this particular investigation. Young men, hearing frequently the condemnation of certain opinions under a certain name, and carrying away perhaps little besides the name, think themselves quite sure of the truth, provided they keep at a sufficient distance from the errors which the world in general has attached to that name; while in fact of the opinions themselves they know little, and must con