left an estate of 120l. a year, for the establishment of a lecture, to be preached at St. Mary's, by a lecturer chosen annually, on the following fubjects: To confirm and establish the Christian faith, and to confute all heretics and fchifmatics; upon the divine authority of the holy fcriptures; upon the authority of the writings of the primitive fathers, as to the faith and practice of the primitive church; upon the divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift; upon the divinity of the Holy Ghoft; upon the articles of the Christian faith, as comprehended in the Apoftles and Nicene creeds.' Thefe lectures are to confift of eight fermons, to be continued every year by a different lecturer, and to be printed within two months after they are preached.

As the Kiflingbury eftaté is a nursery for poets at Cambridge, this Lecture will be a nursery for orthodox diyines at Oxford. It will call forth their abilities, and produce many elaborate volumes in confutation of heretics, in defence of the fathers *, &c. The articles of faith, which the lecturer is to maintain, are already prescribed. He can be no 3cinian, Pelagian, Arian, Semi-arian, or heretic of any other denomination. And he will certainly produce innumerable arguments in fupport of his thefis: for, as Hudibras says,

What makes all doctrines plain and clear ?-
About two hundred pounds a year †;

There is however one circumftance in the will, which is
much to be regretted; and that is, the time limited for the
publication of the lectures. When the pious John Bampton
fixed upon two months, alas! he had totally forgotten the
wife and prudent advice of the poet,
Nonum prematur in

annum.'

In this courfe of lectures the author fets out with a general vindication of the claim, which the gofpel makes to the title of truth, by arguments deduced from the nature and intrinsic excellence of its doctrines.

In this discourse there are certainly many just observations; but the following paffages feem to be either obfcure, or controvertible.

It is more than probable, that God, did not leave our first parent in a state of darkness and uncertainty, exposed to all the miferies, which fpring from ignorance and error; but originally gave him fome rule of life, difcovered to him by immediate re

* An arduous task. See Taylor's Observations on Mr, Gibbon's Hift. p. 83-98. Daillé, James, &c.

Hud. part iii. cantɔ 1.

P 3

velation

velation all the neceffary truths of what is called natural re、 ligion.'

Does not our author here confound natural and revealed religion? By natural religion is meant, that knowlege, veneration, and love of God, and the practice of thofe duties to him, our fellow-creatures, and ourselves, which are difcoverable by the right exercife of our faculties, on confidering the nature and perfections of God, and our relation to him, and to one another. By realed religion is meant, natural religion 'explained, enlarged, and enforced, by the express declarations of God himself, communicated to mankind by his prophets, or infpired teachers. According to our author's reprefentation, Adam had no notion of natural religion; all the neceflary truths' of what is called by that name, being, he fays, difcovered to him by immediate revelation.' If this was the cafe, what idea can we form of that state of perfection in which, divines tell us, our firft parent was created? and what fhall we fay of St. Paul, who afferts, Rom. i. 19, 20, ii. 14, 15. that the light of nature is fufficient to teach men the most important part of their duty ?

That the divine interpofition, fays our author, is not contrary to our natural notions, is evident from a common opinion, which prevailed in all ages and countries, that their founders and legiflators had conferences with, and received inflructions from, feme fuperior being.'

An attempt to prove, that a divine interpofition is agreeable to our natural notions, from the prevalence of lies and impoftures, cannot, we apprehend, do any fervice to Chrif tianity.

Our author is a frenuous advocate for the doctrine of types, in a very extensive sonse.

Every part, he fays, of the ritual worship, bore an emblematical relation to the fpiritual one, which was to fucceed it.'

It has been obferved by a writer, whofe name we forget, that every nail in the temple was typical. An excellent reafoner fpeaks of this notion in the following terms:

Thus much concerning types and typical reafonings. I concern not myfelf with what the ancients have in fact faid, nor with their methods of arguing. Had they defigned to have expofed Christianity to the common fcorn of all its adverfaries, I know not how they could more effectually have done it, than by making types and prophecies of every thing- If Chriftians will perift in fuch methods of reafoning, and will defend fuch wild arguings as the word of God, I fhall not wonder, if

Atheists

Atheists and Deifts, fcoff at their credulity, and reject that which is fupported by manifeft folly and abfurdity.' Sykes on the Chriftian Religion, chap. 12.

In the fecond lecture the author endeavours to establish the truth and authority of the fcriptures from external evidence, viz. their antiquity, the teftimony of heretics, the fuffrages of profeffed enemies, the harmony and correfpondence of the fcriptures, their wonderful prefervation, the miracles performed by the first preachers of Christianity, the accomplishment of prophecies, &c.

In the third, he purfues the argument from prophecy, and lays a particular ftrefs on types and fymbols. Thus he says, Noah being typical of our Saviour, and the deluge of baptifm, the bleffings contained in the covenant made with him, in confequence of the flood, are likewife typical of the bleffings promifed by the evangelical covenant, in confequence of our spiritual regeneration by the waters of baptism...The analogy between the remiffion of debts in the Jubilee, and the remiffion of fins under the gofpel covenant, is obvious to every understanding; and the release of all flaves, the total ceffation of the toil and labour of agriculture, and the restoration of every man to his poffeffions, tribe, and family, were plainly fymbolical of that acceptable year of the Lord, wherein man was to be delivered from the fervitude he was held under by fin and fatan, and restored to all the bleffings which had been loft by the fall.'

In the fourth fermon, purfuing the fame train of reasoning, he tells us, that the firft emblematical notice given of a future redemption, was undoubtedly by the inftitution of facrifices; that God's acceptance of them was a facramental fign and pledge of his reconciliation to man through faith in Him, the anticipating and retroactive virtue of whose blood would extend the benefits of falvation through all ages; that the form of impofition of hands and confeffion of fins, as ufed in all facrifices, was very expreffive of transferring the fins confeffed upon the victim, and devoting it to bear the punishment of them; that the incenfe offered and the blood fprinkled were fymbols of Chrift's prefenting himself with his blood in the heavens; exhibiting, in the prefence of God, the merits of his fufferings; that his fufferings were vicarious, and his blood piacular, &c.

The union of the divine and human nature in the perfon of Christ is the subject of the fifth lecture. In order to afcertain the divinity of our Saviour, he endeavours to prove his temporal and eternal pre-existence.-His first argument, in proof of this point, is perfectly new; I fhall content myP 4 felf,

felf, he fays, with quoting a few plain paffages, which have a general reference to this doctrine. Thus, from Christ's say◄ ing to his difciples, as my father hath fent me, fo fend I you," we may fairly infer, that he, as well as the apoftles, had a being before he had his miffion.'

If by this text the author means to prove our Saviour's exiftence before his incarnation, he has miffed his aim most egregioufly! The expreffion can only prove, that our Saviour exifted before the commencement of his public ministry,

The fixth difcourfe is an illuftration of this text: There

must be herefies among you.' 1 Cor. xi, 19.

Some of the primitive fathers and ecclefiaftical writers, in the warmth of their zeal, afcribed all herefies and fchifms to the artifices of the devil. Our author loudly joins in the cry.

To effect his purpose, fays he, the enemy of mankind has never failed finding proper inftruments among the ignorant, the vain, the ambitious, and the contentious. When churches in

deed are guilty of fuperftition and idolatry, or any other corruption either in faith or practice; fo far from endeavouring or wishing to difunite them by diverfities of opinions, he will by all poffible means ftrengthen the bands of their union in his intereft, keep them firmly and steadily attached to their corruptions. On the contrary, the nearer a church approaches in its doctrine and worship to ancient and primitive purity, the more he exerts every nerve, and employs all his fubtilty and malignity to weaken and difgrace it by contentions and divifions, if not against faith yet against charity.

Upon reading the former part of this quotation, where we are told, that when a church is corrupt, the devil will ftrengthen the bands of its union,' who would imagine, that our author would acknowlege the existence of any of these diabolical operations, herefies and fchifms, in the church of Rome? Yet fo it is, in the fame difcourfe he speaks of its internal divifions in thefe terms: Let this pretended patron of union and concord recollect the bitter and fierce contentions, that have been among its members, about the depofing power, the personal infallibility of the pope, the authority of general councils, the immaculate conception, and various other doctrines; Thomifts, Scotifts, Occamifts; Dominicans, Francifcans, Janfenifts, Molinifts, and Jefuits, all against each other, nay council against council, and pope against pope.

Here the devil, we find, has been as active in fomenting difcord, as in any reformed church whatever : he has,' to use our orator's emphatical words, exerted every nerve, and employed all his fubtilty and malignity, to weaken and difgrace

that

that church by contentions and divifions.' Either therefore the church of Rome approaches in its doctrine and worship to ancient and primitive purity,' or our author's representation of the craft and malignity of the devil is chimerical and erroneous. Which is the cafe, we leave the author to deter mine.

The defign of the feventh lecture is to fhew, that the fcriptures are the only rule of faith, the fole and infallible judge in all doubts and controverfies; and that it is abfurd to have recourse to miracles of a later date, to traditions, and pretended infallible guides.

In the foregoing discourses our author having treated of what he apprehends to be the chief fundamental points, contained in the fpeculative part of our religion, in his concluding fermon confiders that evangelical righteoufnefs, to which alone our Saviour has annexed the reward of eternal happiness.

Here, we apprehend, he mifreprefents fome points of doctrine. For instance:

When falvation, he fays, is afcribed to God's free grace, we ought to conclude, that our own endeavours are supposed to cooperate with it.'—

Salvation by grace, in St. Paul's Epiftles, means that falvation, which was propofed to mankind through the gospel, by the free bounty and benevolence of the Deity, without regard to any prior obedience. Our author's notion of free grace is contradictory; at leaft, it is not the doctrine of St. Paul.

When we are faid to be juftified through faith, he tells us, we should understand fuch a faith, as is productive of good works.'-This is not always true. Juftification by faith in the Epiftles of St. Paul, generally means an admiffion into a ftate of pardon, favour, and acceptance under the gofpel, through a belief in the Meffiah, without including the idea of works.-St. James, when he speaks of our final justification, ufes a different language, and fays, By works a man is juftified, and not by faith only.' Our author does not feem to enter into the notion of this two-fold falvation and juftikcation, which alone can render many paffages in the apostolical epiftles intelligible and confiftent.

6

For I

To this courfe of lectures is added a difcourfe on the following paffage in St. Paul's Epiftle to the Romans, I have great heaviness and continual forrow in my heart. could wish that myfelf were accurfed from Chrift for thren,' ch. ix. 2, 3.

my bre.

The author throws thefe words, ηυχομην γαρ αυτός εγώ είναι ara‡qua año т8 Xgirs, into a parenthefis, in this manner: 'I

ave