the Apostles argued for the great excellency and dignity of Christianity is not with them the question; so far as I am able to judge from their learned writings; but the fathers, and our spiritual superiors have put upon the sacred writings the proper explications; and we must receive the truth as they dispense it to us. This is not right, in my conception. I own it does not seem to answer the end of the Messiah's coming, which was to restore Reason and Religion to their rightful authority over mankind; and to make all virtue, and true goodness, flourish in the earth; the most perfect blessing to be sure that God could bestow on man, or man receive from God. This blessing we must miss, if human authority is to pin us down to what it pleases to call sense of scripture, and will set up the judgment of fallible men as the test of Christianity. The Christian laity are miserable indeed, if they be put under an obligation to find that to be truth which is taught by these leaders. In truth, we should be unhappy men, with a revelation in our churches and our closets, if the leaders had a right to make their own faith pass for the faith of the Apostles; or, if we refused it, might lance the weapons of this world at their people. What must we do then as true Christians? I think for myself, that we ought to form our judgment, in matters of

faith, upon a strict, serious and impartial examination of the holy scriptures, without any regard to the judgment of others, or human authority whatever: that we ought to open the sacred records, without minding any systems, and from the revealed word of God learn that Christianity does not consist in a jingle of unintelligible sounds, and new fundamentals, hewn out by craft, enthusiasm, or bigotry, and maintained with an outrage of uncharitable zeal, which delivers Christians to the flames of an eternal hell: but, that the heavenly religion of our Lord consists in looking on the promised Messiah, as the most consummate blessing God could bestow, or man receive; and that Jesus is that Messiah; in acting according to the rules of the gospel, and in studying to imitate God, who is the most perfect understanding nature, in all his moral perfections; in becoming the children of God by being, according to our capacity, perfect as he is perfect, and holy as he is holy, and merciful as he is merciful; and in our whole moral behaviour as like to him as possible.

In a word, to flee injustice, oppression, intemperance, impurity, pride, unmercifulness and revenge to practise justice, piety, temperance, chastity, humility, beneficence, and placability: to turn from our iniquities to the practice of all virtue:

and through the alone mediation of the only-begotten Son of God, believe in and worship the eternal mind, the one supreme spirit, in hope of a glorious immortality, through the sanctification of the Holy Ghost. These are the things the Lord came down to teach mankind. For the New Testament itself then we must declare, and look upon it as the only guide, or rule of faith. It is now the only deliverer of the declarations of our Lord: and the rule in our enquiry is, that every thing necessary to be believed by a Christian, is in those books not left to be gathered by consequences, or implications; but the things necessary to obtain the favour of God promised to Christians are expressly declared. If this was not the case-if things absolutely necessary were not expressly proclaimed to be so, the gospel revelation would be no rule at all*.

To the plain and satisfactory method of seeking for the faith in the sacred books, there are many adversaries and many objections raised. There are, says a great man, a very numerous body of Christians who know no other guides but the living guides of the present church; and acknowledge no other faith, for the faith once delilivered to the saints, but that which is now delivered to them by their present rulers, as such.

To establish this point, the greater part of these lay down the infallibility of the present church, and of every

But it is time to tell my reader the story of the beautiful HARRIOT NOEL, which I promised in a

man of the past ages, through whose mouth, or by whose hands, the present traditions of faith have descended to them. And this, indeed, would be a very good method, if that single proof of infallibility could be proved. But this is a point so gross, and so utterly void of all proof, that a great body of the Christian world have broke loose from the power of this monster, and declared for the New Testament itself, as the only guide or rule of faith; the only deliverer of the faith to us of later ages. When this comes however to be put in practice, too many of the same persons who set the scriptures up as the only guide, turn round on a sudden, and let us know, that they mean by it, not these sacred original writings themselves, but the interpretations, or sense, put upon them by our spiritual superiors, to which we are bound to submit, and put under an obligation to find that to be the truth which is taught by these leaders.

But to this we reply with reason, that though we ought to pay a regard of serious attention to those whose business it is to find out and dispense the truth, and shew the respect of a due examination of what they affirm; yet we must not yield the submission due only to infallibility. It is our glory not to submit to the voice of any man. We must reserve that regard, for God, and for Christ, in matters of faith once delivered to the saints.

Others, again, of the reformed, tell us, that the surer way of knowing what was delivered above eighteen hun

On the glorious

preceding page [p. 5. ante.] first of August, before the beasts were roused from

dred years ago, is to take the original faith from the Councils and Fathers, grave and good men, who met and wrote for the settling of the faith. And to this we answer, that these wise and good men cannot give so good an account of the faith contained in the original books as the books themselves which contain it.

To give an example to the purpose. If we would know the doctrine of the Church of England at the reformation, it is not the writings of particular divines, many years after that period, that we must consult; or any assembly of them; but the authentic acts and declarations, and sermons, made and recorded at the time; for many of the doctrines thought essential at the reformation, have been since changed by gradual alterations; by explainers using their own style and manner of expression, and introducing their own scheme of philosophy, and judgment in commenting, into the scheme of doctrine to be explained. This produces great variation from what was once settled. What was once esteemed fundamental is thereby altered. Let this be applied to the first Christian writers, after the Apostles were departed, and as their language and philosophy were various, and they differed from one another, great variations must creep into the doctrines delivered by them. It follows then, that nothing but what is recorded in the first original books themselves can be firm and stable to us in points of faith. In the original books only we can