I obferve, that in his running title in page 3. he calls his dialogue, A Dialogue between a new Baptift and a Churchman; what he means by a new Baptift, I am pretty much at a lofs to know, fince the Baptist, in this difpute, does not appear to have entertained any different notions about Baptifm than what the Baptifts have always held, nor any other doctrines but what the greater part of the Baptist churches have always afferted, as is manifeft from their printed confeffions of faith, published many years ago. Perhaps he calls him fo, because he is one that has been lately baptized, or because the Baptifts have opened a new Meeting-house at Birmingham; which, it seems, is the occafion of our author's writing this dialogue; at which he is very uneafy, and with the preachers that come thither; it being opened, as he fays, for reviving old Calvinistical doctrines; by which, if any judgment is to be made by the dialogue, he means the doctrines of Chrift's Divinity, Election, Original Sia, Efficacious Grace, Imputed Righteousness, and the Saints Perfeverance; doctrines which our first reformers from Popery fet out with, and the reformed churches embraced; and which alfo the established church of England, of which this writer would be thought to be a member, in her Articles maintains; doctrines which no church, community, or fet of men under any denomination, have reason to be afhamed of; and it is the glory of the Particular Baptifts, and, what is greatly to their honour, that they are fo zealously affected to thofe truths, and to the utmost of their abilities defend them, in an age, when there are fo many apoftates from the faith once delivered to the faints. But, it feems, this new meeting at Birmingham is opened alfo for fpreading Antinomian, and other errors; what those Antinomian, and other errors are, he does not tell us. He cannot mean the above doctrines, fince they are diftinguished from them, and besides were never reckoned Antinomian ones; perhaps we fhall hear of them in the next part, for at prefent we are only entertained with the first part of this mighty work, confifting of forty-four pages. We are to have a fecond part, and I know not whether a third, fourth, and fifth, or how many more. If this writer goes on at this rate, we may expect propofals for printing by fubfcription The Works of the Confiftent Chriftian, in Folio. This puts me in mind of what I formerly. have seen, The History of Tom Thumb, in Folio, with Dr Wagstaff's notes upon it.

Our author stiles himself a Confiftent Chriftian; for my own part, I cannot help being fo uncharitable (if it must be reckoned fo) as to call in question his Christianity; I take him to be a Heathen, and not a Chriftian, much less a confiftent one; fince he gives strong intimation of his belief of a fupreme and subordinate Deity, a fuperior God, and an inferior one; and both as the objects of religious worship. He fays, that God the Father is the fupreme and most bigb

Dialogue p. 11.

high God, and that Jefus Chrift the Son of God is not fo; but yet he is a God, and fuch an one as all men are commanded to worship; and, in confequence, there mu be two different Gods, two distinct Deities, the one fuperior, the other inferior, which are to be worshipped; and if we may worship two Gods, we may worship two hundred and if this is not heathenifm, and downright idolatry, I know not what is, But let him be admitted a Chriftian, if it can be, is he a confiftent one? No; does the mild, calm and gentle spirit of chriftianity appear in him? His dialogue is a standing proof against it. Are his notions confiftent with the doctrines of christianity? This is eafily determined; for if there are any doctrines peculiar to christianity, they are thofe he militates against. Is he confiftent with his character as a churchman? Far from it, he contradicts and opposes the Articles of the Church of England; he is no true fon of the church, but a degenerate plant, and ought to be rejected as fuch: though I am informed, it is greatly fufpected that he is a Prefbyterian preacher; and if fo, he has fhewn much infincerity and unfaithfulness, things not confiftent with a Christian, by taking upon him the name of a Churchman, and talking of our Church and you Diffenters: But be he what he will, a Churchman or a Diffenter, to me he appears to be a Pofture or Dancing-mafter; he fets up for a judge of gesture and action; he can tell you what motion is proper or is not for the pulpit or the stage, and no doubt elsewhere. The geftures of the Baptift preachers at Birmingham, it seems, are not agreeable; they do not behave fecundum artem; he represents them as very ridiculous and antic. One would imagine, from his account of them, that they have got into the way of the Quakers; yea, that their preachers are women preachers, nay, even that the old Sybils, Pythonesses, and Demon Propheteffes of the Heathens, were risen out of their graves, and were come to Birmingham, and there playing their old pranks. How eafy is it for perfons to put others in an odd and aukward dress, and then laugh at them?

But, to leave him poffeffed of his little diverfions, I proceed to confider what is more ferious, and ought to be treated with more regard and decency than this author has thought fit to fhew, namely, the doctrines which these preachers affert, and he oppofes. But before he brings them into the debate, he is pleased to give us his fenfe of Orthodoxy, and to explain fome paffages of fcripture,. which by the help of his Concordance he has collected together, where the word found is used, as applied to doctrine, Speech and faith. As to orthodoxy, I can affure this writer, that the Baptifts do not make any confeffion, catechism, articles, or any writings of men, as he fuggefts, the standard of it, but the Bible only; and though foundness of doctrine and uprightnefs of converfation ought

to go together, and the former has a tendency to promote the latter, yet they are two different things, which this author feems to confound; nor will the text in Pfalm cxi. 10. prove them to be the fame: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments. Doing the commandments of God according to his will, from a principle of love and gratitude, with a view to his glory, and without any dependence upon what is done for falvation, is indeed a proof of a man's having a good understanding of the will of God, of the way of falvation by Chrift, and of the doctrine of grace, which teaches men to deny ungodliness and worldly lufts, and to live foberly, righteoufy and godly in this prefent world. But then, doctrine and practice, knowledge and obedience, are diftinct things; and it is poffible for a man to have a confiderable share of speculative knowledge of gospel-truths, and yet not live uprightly in his life and conversation; and, on the other hand, to perform acts of morality as to outward appearance, and to be externally upright, fincere and good, and have no good understanding of the truths and doctrines of the gospel.

C

The paffages of fcripture cited out of the epiftles of the apostle Paul to Timothy and Titus, which speak of found doctrine, speech and faith, are to be understood of fuch doctrinal truths as are to be found in and gathered out of the word of God, which have a tendency to influence and promote, and, when attended with the Spirit of God, do really and powerfully influence and promote practical religion; but then they are distinct from that practical religion which they serve. Sound doctrine, in 1 Tim. i. 10. is the fame with the glorious gospel of the bleed God, which, though it no ways countenances, but is as contrary to whoring and lewdness, lying and stealing, malice and murder, as the law which is made for and lies against such as commit these things; yet it is diftinct from the law which forbids these things, and condemns perfons that are guilty of them. A found mind, or rather the spirit of a found mind, in 2 Tim. i. 7. is such a mind or spirit, that he who is poffeffed of it, is not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, ver. 8. and particularly of that glorious part of it, ver. 9. where our falvation and vocation of God are faid to be not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Chrift Jefus before the world began. The form of found words, in ver. 13. is distinct from faith and love, and the exercise of these graces, in which it was either heard, or to be held faft. It does not, indeed, mean the Affemblies Catechifm, nor any Church Articles, nor any words which man's wisdom teacheth; yet the Articles of the Church of England and the Affemblies Catechism, fo far as they agree with the words of fcripture, the words which the Holy Ghoft hath taught, ought each of them to be esteemed a form of found words, and to be abode by against all opposition; though this author rudely suggests, that they are what man's folly have taught; when,

e Dialogue, p. 8, 9.

when, it is well known they were both of them drawn up by men of great learning and judgment, gravity and piety. A fine Churchman, or a pretty Prefbyterian parfon this! Sound doctrine, in 2 Tim. iv. 3. is the word of the gospel, which the apoftle exhorts Timothy to preach conftantly, ver. 2. the fame with the truth, and stands opposed to fables, ver. 4. by the conftant preaching of which, watching in it, and abiding by it, Timothy would do the work of an evangelift, and make full proof of his ministry, ver. 5. Sound doctrine, in Titus i. 9. is the faithful word of falvation alone by Chrift and his righteoufnefs, which is to be held faft in fpite of all gainsayers, unruly and vain talkers, fuch as our author declares himself to be. To be found in the faith, ver. 13. is opposed to giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men, ver. 14. to infidelity, and a mind and confcience defiled with bad principles, ver. 15. which it is no wonder should be attended with bad practices, notwithstanding their profeffion of knowing God when they have no regard to the Lord Jefus Chrift, ver. 16. Sound doctrine, in Titus ii. 1. is diftin&t from the practice of virtue and morality, and the rules thereof, given to both fexes, to young and old, in the following verfes: these are not the found doctrine itself, but the things which become it, as this author might have learnt from the text itfelf. To be found in faith, ver. 2. is firmly to believe the doctrine of faith; to be found in charity, is to love the Lord, his people, truths and ordinances, with all the heart and foul; and to be found in patience, is chearfully and conftantly to bear whatever we are called to fuffer for Christ's fake and his gospel. Sound fpeech, ver. 9. is the doctrine of grace delivered in the wholesom words of our Lord Jefus, without corrupting the word of God; fpeaking it with all faithfulness, integrity and fincerity, as in the fight of God. Upon the whole, it is eafy to observe that the contexts of these feveral texts do not countenance the expofition this writer has given of them I fhall now attend to what he has to object to thofe doctrines which he undertakes to oppose and refute; as,

I. The doctrine of Chrift's deity and equality with the Father. In his debate on this fubject, I obferve the following things:

1. That he holds that Jefus Chrift is a God, but not the most high God. The reason why he believes him to be a God, is, because the Father has given him. divine perfections, univerfal dominion. or headship, authority to judge, and has commanded all men to worship him; but he thinks he cannot be the most high God, because there is but one most high God, who is the God and Father of Chrift; for both to be fo, appears to him a contradiction, and he cannot be-lieve two contradictory propofitions; and befides Chrift, before he became man,

f Dialogue, p. 11.

came.

came from the Father, was fent and employed by him, he obferves; which would be a thought abfurd and blasphemous, and to be abhorred, if he was the fupreme God. To all which I reply; if the Father has given to Christ divine perfections, for which reason he is God, or a God; he has either given him only fome divine perfections, or all divine perfections; if he has only given him some divine perfections, then he is imperfectly God, or an imperfect one; if he has given him all divine perfections, then he must be equal to him; and, indeed, all that the Father bath are his ; not by his gift, or as arising from and depending upon his will and pleasure, but by neceffity of nature, as being his own and only begotten Son. Univerfal dominion, or headship and authority to judge, are indeed given to him, not as the Son of God, but as the Son of man. Again, if the Father only is the most high God, and Christ is a God, that is, a God inferior to him, whom he has commanded all men to worfhip; then there are two diftin&t Gods, objects of religious worship, directly contrary to the exprefs words of the first command, Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. Moreover, if the most High over all the earth is He whofe name alone is Jehovah, and Christ's name is Jehovah; if the fame things which prove the Father to be the most high God, are faid of the Son, as they are, why may he not be thought to be the most high God equally with the Father? To say, indeed, that there are two fupreme or moft high Gods would be a contradiction; or to say that the Father is one moft high God, and the Son is another most high God, would be two contradictory propofitions. But who fays fo? We fay, that Father, Son and Spirit are the one most high God; and to say and believe this, is not to say and believe two contradictory propofitions, for there is but one propofition, and no contradiction in it. Once more; though Christ, before his incarnation, came from and was fent by the Father as the angel of his prefence, to redeem Ifrael out of Egypt, to lead them through the Red fea and wilderness into Canaan's land, yet this no ways contradicts his proper deity and equality with the Father; for though he agreed to be fent, as an equal may by agreement be sent by another, and which may be thought and faid of the divine perfons in the Godhead, without abfurdity and blafphemy; and though he condefcended to take upon him an office for the good of the people of Ifrael; yet he appeared with full proof of proper deity, of his equality with the Father, from whom he came, and of his being with him the one most high God; for he calls himself the God of Abraham, the God of Ifaac, and the God of Jacob, Exod. iii. 6. and I AM THAT I AM, ver. 14. and Jehovah fays of him, that his name was in him, chap. xxiii. 21. and intimates that he could, though he would not, pardon iniquity, which none can do but the most high God.

John xvi. 15.

Exod. xx.

2. 1