which he ought to be poffeffed. If the purchase of them was confidered as a neceffary part of the expences of a clerical education, and provided for accordingly, many ingenious young men would have thofe refources, the want of which is a fubject of real uneafinefs. To fupply the defect, in fome degree, the project of parochial libraries was fet on foot by Dr. Bray, and an Act of Parliament paffed in the 7th of Anne. But we have reafon to lament that little attention is paid to fuch an inftitution; and we have feen in many veftries, a few old moth-eaten books, which only ferve to reproach the present times with negligence. One parifh, of which Mr. Bray was incumbent, is no exception.

It was formerly the practice to begin theological studies with the study of natural religion and Wollafton, Wilkins, Goodman's, Winter Evening Conference, and feveral other fimilar books were recommended. It feems to us better to begin with the Scriptures themselves, and to wave all useless enquiry, what could or could not have been known by the unaffifted reafon of man. For, in fact, it never was altogether unaffifted. Some general rules of duty feem to have been granted from the beginning, while the excellence and the application of fuch rules were left open to human prudence. But the most fanguine advocate of natural religion will find it inculcated as far as it is neceffary to be inculcated, by the facred penman. The wifdom of God in the creation and prefervation of the moral and intellectual world is largely infifted upon; and all the ftudies of the philofopher enable him only to furnish comments upon texts like these. The Heavens declare the glory, &c. His mercy is over all his works. I will give thanks for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. The law of the Lord is perfect, more to be defired than gold, &c.

We will now proceed to remark on particular parts of this useful work, hoping to be excufed if we fometimes differ in opinion from the learned prelate. The fubject of infpiration is fo interesting, that we wish the following paffage to be fully attended to:

"In fome cafes infpiration only produced correctnefs and accuracy. in relating paft occurrences, or in reciting the words of others; in other cafes it communicated ideas not only new and unknown before, but infinitely beyond the reach of unaffifted human intellect, and fometimes infpired prophets delivered predictions for the use of future ages, which they did not themselves comprehend, and which cannot be fully understood till they are accomplished. But whatever diftinctions we may make with refpect to the forts, degrees, or modes of infpiration, we may reft affured that there is one property, which belongs to every inspired writing, viz. that it is free from errorI mean,

I mean, material error, and this property must be confidered as extending to the whole of each of thofe writings of which a part only is infpired, for we cannot fuppofe that God would fuffer any fuch errors as would tend to miflead our faith, or pervert our practice, to be mixed with those truths which he himself has mercifully revealed to his rational creatures as the means of their eternal falvation."

In this and all other inftances, man feems to have been aided only fo far as was abfolutely neceffary. The imperfections of language, and the inaccuracies of minute circumftances are by no means to be taken into the account.

On the first volume in general, we have few observations to make. The Bishop is decidedly of opinion that St. Matthew's gofpel was not written originally in Greek, but in what was called Hebrew, that is, the language at that time fpoken by the Jews. The Bishop allows more than two years to our Saviour's miniftry.

The

All the gofpels are proved to be equally authentic. following obfervations on the ftyle and writings of St. Paul, fupported by a paffage from Dr. Paley's Hora Paulina will guard the young divine againft the erroneous affertions of Dr. Priestley, and they are as happily expreffed as they are juftly

ftated.

"There is a real connection and coherence in all his writings; and his reafoning, although it may fometimes appear defultory, will always be found to be correct and convincing. Instead of the beauties which arife from a nice arrangement of words, an harmonious cadence of periods, and an artificial ftructure of fentences, we have a ftyle at once concife and highly figurative, aud a ftriking peculiarity and uncommon energy of language. Whenever he fpeaks of the doctrine and energy of the Chriftian religion, enlarges upon the nature and attributes of the Deity, or terrifies with the dread of divine judgments, his ftyle rifes with the subject, and, while our minds are impreffed with the juftness and dignity of the fentiments, we cannot but admire the force and fublimity of the expreffions. Though he never departs from the authority of the apoftolic character, yet the fenfibility of his own heart frequently leads him to appeal to the feelings and affections of those, to whom he writes; and the zeal of his temper is fo conftantly apparent throughout his epiftles, that no one can read them with attention, without catching fome portion of the fire with which he was animated."

In the Bishop's opinion concerning 2 Pet. ii. we exactly concur, that it contains nothing inconfiftent with the acknowledged writings of St. Peter. The ftyle changes with the fubject-matter, and is very fimilar to that of St. Jude. Let the reader only compare our Saviour's invectives against the Scribes with his other difcourfes; he will find an equal differ

B 2

ence

ence.

language.

Honeft indignation fuggefts, apparently, inflated

"Iratufque Chremes tumido delitigat ore." HoR. Ar. P.

The first volume concludes with an abridgment of the History of the New Teftament.

The fecond volume opens with an account of the Translations of the Old and New Teftament. The reader is referred to Lewis, Johnson, and Archbishop Newcome.

In the fhort History of the Liturgy which follows, we fee, with regret, the unfortunate termination of the conference at the Savoy. The parties agreed to inform his Majefty, "that the church's welfare, unity, and peace, and his Majefty's fatisfaction, were ends upon which they were all agreed; but as to the means they could not come to any harmony." Where the principal blame lay may be collected even from Neal's Hiftory of the Puritans, who plainly fhews that conceffions were demanded, without number, on one fide and not any offered on the other.

The part of this work which feems most valuable is, an expofition of the 39th articles; for though we have many excellent treaties on particular doctrines, yet it does not appear, that we have any plain fatisfactory comments on the whole number, taken collectively. Neither Bishop Burnet nor Dr. Hey, are fuited to beginners. Under the first article, we are informed, with truth,

"That thofe who acknowledge the divinity of Chrift and the Holy Ghoft, are never called hereticks by any writer of the three first centuries; and, furely, this circumftance, is a ftrong proof that the doctrine of the trinity, was the doctrine of the primitive church, and more especially, fince the names of thofe who first denied the divinity of Chrift, and of the Holy Ghost, are tranfmitted to us, as of perfons who diffented from the common faith of chriftians."

The Bishop expreffes a wifh that divines, in treating this myfterious fubject, had confined themselves to the expreffions of fcripture. If they have, by any diverfity of expreffion, attempted to communicate more than was revealed, they are certainly in the wrong. But as long as they obferved the due limits of enquiry, a difference of expreffion was not only allowable, but abfolutely neceffary; for, whoever explains, muft ufe terms different from that which he undertakes to explain, and he must bring into one focus, the fcattered rays of information, to be collected from the feveral parts of the Old, and New, Teftament. The divinity of the Son and Holy Ghoft, is proved by his Lordship, by adducing paffages of feripture,

fcripture, very full and appofite to his purpose. The refinements of Socinus are ably and properly expofed. Due attention is paid to the Apocryphal books, which protestants feem in practice to difparage for fear of falling into the error of the Church of Rome. The Bishop, will excufe us for pointing out a flight mistake. In reciting thofe apocryphal writings, which the church does not read, he mentions the fong of the three children, which is one of the hymns incorporated into the church fervice, and occafionally used by the Clergy, though the Te Deum is more general. In confidering the tendency of the prefent age, to detract from the Old Teftament, we are always happy to meet with paffages enforcing the harmony between the two; fo that the reader will not be displeased with the following extract:

"What, fays Justin Martyr, is the Law? The gospel predicted. What is the Gofpel? The law fulfilled. I have often afferted, fays Chryfoftom, that two covenants, two handmaids, two futers, attend upon one Lord. Chrift is announced by the Prophets; Chrift is preached in the New Teftament. The old Teftament declared before-hand the new, and the new interpreted the old.”

The Bishop thinks, that the damnatory clauses in the Athanafian Creed had better have been omitted. Yet, ftill he allows, what we prefume amounts to the full intent of thefe damnatory claufes," that if any man perfeveres in the deliberate commiffion of known fin, he has no right to falvation, and that if a man, through obftinacy and prejudice, through a wilful mifapplication or neglect of the talents with which he is endowed, finally rejects the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel, when they are fairly and fully proposed to him, he has no right to expect falvation; in either cafe, he must be left to the uncovenanted mercy of God." The truth is, the enemies of the Church have put a conftruction on the clauses which the never intended, and it might not be amiss if a fhort comment was prefixed to the Creed, to prevent tender confciences from a too-common deception, by which vincible and invincible ignorance are confounded.

On the much agitated queftion, concerning grace and free will, we have three good quotations, one from Veneer, another from the neceffary doctrine published by Cranmer, and another from Jortin. From the laft, more especially, it is juftly faid, "thus do the doctrine of divine grace, and the doctrine of free will or human liberty, unite and confpire in a friendly manner, to our everlafting good. The first is adapted to excite in us faith, gratitude, and humility; the second, to awaken our caution, and quicken our diligence."

Concerning

Concerning the fin against the Holy Ghoft, we differ from the Bishop, and we believe that it was directly charged on the people who afcribed the miracles of Chrift to the power of Satan. Mark iii. 28. 29. are quoted, and by. a fingular overfight, the 30th is left out. The whole paffage then ftands, Verily Ifay unto you, all fins shall be forgiven unto the fons of men, and blafphemies wherewith they fhall blafpheme. But he that fall blafpheme against the Holy Ghost, hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. Because they faid he hath an unclean Spirit. If the rejection of evidence was the crime, was the evidence of miracles weaker during our Saviour's life-time, than it was afterwards?. are not miracles afcribed to the Holy Ghoft in many parts of Scripture? and do we difparage the power and divinity of the Father and Son, by fo doing? If we examine the nature of this fin, we fhall find it the utmost perverfion of the human mind, for it was the defence of palpable contradiction and abfurdity; it argued an intellectual darknefs, incurable, but by counteracting every diftinction of right and wrong, incurable by all the ordinary means of information.

Perhaps more is faid on the Article of Predestination than may be abfolutely neceffary, and we most perfectly agree with our author in the following obfervation: "Rather than bewilder ourselves in the inextricable difficulties of fuch contemplations, to which our limited faculties are by no means. competent, we fhould exclaim with the pious and humble · Pfalmift, fuch knowledge is too wonderful and excellent for us, we cannot attain unto it.

Under the 18th Article, it is obferved, that it was formerly the custom to condemn errors under the form of pronouncing accurfed. The fame form is found in feveral parts of Scripture. And the perfons, against whom an anathema was pronounced, were excluded from communion with the church of Chrift. If this obfervation had been better attended to, St. Paul's wifh to be accurfed would have created neither debate nor surprise.

Under the 22d Article, the Bishop proves that images, fo far from being ufed before the 5th century, were abfolutely forbidden. For in the beginning of the fourth, the Council of Illibeus declared, that pictures ought not to be placed in churches, "but that which is worshipped, fhould be painted upon the walls."

The author has clearly proved epifcopacy to be a primitive inftitution, and fixes the date about the year 64, when -Timothy was made bishop of Ephefus..