the fountain of all truth, the Hebrew S. S In the year 1735, the Rev. Mr. Catcot, who had been long convinced of the importance of Mr. H's discoveries, and impatiently waited to fee them taken into confideration, preached a fermon the day before the affizes at Bristol, before the Corporation and the Lord-chief-juftice Hardwick, from Pfalm lxxxii. 6. "I faid ye are gods," &c. In which he took occafion to fhew that the English word God fingular, was no way expreffive of the Hebrew □ Aleim, which is plural, and which is a name or noun derived from ALE, which as a verb fignifies d to confirm by oath, to bind a person to fulfil certain terms under the penalty of a conditional malediction; as a name or appellation, "when applied to a perfon, a fwearer to a "covenant; as a noun, when expreffive of an "action, an oath: That it occurs about forty "times in S. S. and always in this sense "That this term was applied to those per"fons who created the world, Gen. i. 1.That Jehovah Aleim occurred in "innumerable places in S. S. That it was

ii. 21.

Sermon, p. 9. firft Edit,

B

“faid,

"faid, Pfal. xviii. 31. Isa. xlv. 8. Who is ALUE, (a participle paffive) execrated but

Jehovah? So that from hence we were "informed that the Perfons in Jehovah had, "before the world was made, performed "an action which had denominated them "ALEIM or Covenanters: That the fub"ftance of this Covenant was to redeem "mankind, which was to be effected by "the fufferings and death of the second

perfon; for, and in the ftead of man, in "cafe man fell." To prevent mistakes, and foreftal those charges which Mr. Bedford, notwithstanding, brought afterwards against him in both his performances, he said yet further -"that indeed it was not poffible, "either for them to falfify their obligations,

or to fuffer penalty, but that there was no other word, by which the idea of this "transaction between the Aleim, could be conveyed to man but this "

On the fenfe of this word ALE, was' laid the foundation of the fermon,--but he observed," that of the words which we' " find

See ftate of the cafe between Mr. Bedford and Mr. Catcot, 1738.

"find rendered to make a covenant,-one

always fignified to cut, or cut off, and the "other being of the root BaR, or BaRR, always conveyed the idea of purification.”— And he shewed from two paffages of scripture, viz. Jer. ii. 22. and Mal. iii. 2. " that Be« R ́ITH meant the means of cleansing away pollutions f" So that the words, or phrase ♫ ♫ fignified to cut off the purifier.

At the end of his fermon, which was published at the defire, and at the expence of the corporation of Bristol, he referred the reader, for further fatisfaction about the fenfe of the words and things explained in it, to Mr. H's works, and to a treatise published about the fame time, and entitled, Some thoughts upon Religion, &c. wherein these matters were treated more at large than he could be allowed to do in the compass of a fermon; and wherein the defign of Mr. H's writings was laid open in one clear and diftinct view, as far as he had then proceeded. Mr. Catcot alfo took this occafion to make his acknowledgment to Mr. H. for the beB 2 nefit

* See ftate of the cafe between Mr. Bedford and Mr. Catcot, 1738.

"to my dying day, that his good provi"dence ever brought me acquainted with "that gentleman's works and perfon : For "tho' I was obliged to the common me"thods of education, that I was qualified "to read his writings; yet that I, in any "degree, understand the Holy Scriptures, I "owe to his inftructions. I would (might I

prefume to do f) earnestly recommend "the study of his books to my brethren the "clergy; it is true, it will coft them some t pains to apprehend fully the strength of "his arguments and propriety of his ex

preffions: But, that once done, they will "meet a noble reward of their labour, even "the greatest fatisfaction in the most important points of christianity, which the "heart of man can wifh for."

This generous and open confeffion of his obligation to Mr. H. as an author, which shewed at once, the gentleman, the scholar, and the chriftian,-the honourable mention he made of him in his fermon, “as the first "who, fince infpiration ceafed, began to

recover

"recover the true fenfe of the Hebrew S.S." -And his prefuming (I suppose) to recommend the writings of a layman to the clergy, seem to have provoked the answers he met with, rather than the subject matter of his fermon. My reafons for fo thinking are thefe: First, no notice was taken, in any of the answers, of the Treatise I referred to above, tho' it contained more of Mr. H's interpretations of fcripture than the fermon could do, being a kind of abstract of his plan.

And, 2dly, three years before Mr. C. preached his fermon, there was published a Letter to a Bishop concerning fome important difcoveries in Philofophy and Theology,-which was paffed over in filence; tho' the ingenious author, in a very polite ftyle and manner, laid before his lordship (supposed to be the late Bishop of London) a brief of our author's plan; and humbly requested, that he would be pleased to let himself and others know, how they were to form their judgments upon matters, that feemed to concern them and mankind fo much. No one, who has had the pleasure of reading these two treatises,

but