That when Almighty God dictated the first Chapter of Genesis to Mofes, and came to the 26th Verse, Let Us make Man; Mofes was startled, and pray'd him to alter that Expression, left it might be interpreted of a Plurality of Gods; but was answered, Write as I command you: So I fancy if you had been the Amanuenfis to the Apostles, you would have propos'd to them to alter those sacred and inspir'd Writings, which so expressly afsert the Divinity of the Son and Holy Ghost; and they would have answered you, as God did Mofes, or as St. Paul tells the Corinthians in the Case of the Lord's Supper, What I deliver to you I I Cor. xi. received of the Lord; and as he tells the Ephesians, I must not 23. Shun to declare unto you all the Counsel of God; for there will arise Acts xx. Men speaking perverse Things, &c. and other Foundation can no v. 27. Man lay, than what is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Ver. 30.
1 Cor. iii.

To conclude: Faith, says the Apostle, is the Evidence of II. Things not seen, not to be judg'd by our Sense or shallow Rea- Heb. xi. r. Soning grounded upon it: Hardly do we guess aright at Things Wisd. ix. that are upon Earth, but the Things that are in Heaven, who hath 16. Searched out? For the more thou searchest, the more thou shalt mar- 2 Efdr. iv. vel, at the infinite Wisdom and Goodness of God in visiting his 26. Creatures, till we come to see him as he is, and to know him even I John iii. as we are known.

2.

I pray God to enlighten your Eyes, that you may know at 1 Cor. xiii. least in this your Day the Things which belong to your Peace: And 12. God grant that we may meet in Communion with the Church Luke xix. of God here, and with the Saints hereafter: That beginning 42. our Praises upon Earth, we may be admitted to join with the Eph. i. 18. heavenly Choir in eternal Alleluiahs, to the Glory of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, One God, Blessed for ever. This is the surest Mark, I can give you, of Friendship And that

P. 38.

POSTSCRIPT.

I Controversy, but not properly the subject

HERE fome Things in your Letter relating to this

of it, which I have not taken notice of in the foregoing Letter, though they feem more particularly address'd to me than all the reft; and therefore I will now tell you what you may expect from me concerning them.

You wish that I may be a happy Means of bringing all the Parts of our 'old genuine Christianity to such a fair, open and ' impartial Examination, as you have propos'd.

If you mean, as you ought, that Method, which in all Ages has been the Practice of the Church in determining Controverfies, I heartily concur with you; and we have in our happy Constitution that Method establish'd by Law: The Convocation is a Part of the Parliament, and as of Right it must be summon'd with the Parliament; so that Summons will be rendred infignificant and nugatory, if they are not permitted to fit and aft in taking Care of that Flock of Christ, of which the Holy Ghoft has made them Overseers, and which the Laws of the Land have committed to them; especially at a Time when the Dotrines of our most holy Faith, and the Apoftolical Institution of the Government of our Church, are so virulently attack'd, and in so open and infolent a Manner.

It was the Advice of Mecenas to Augustus, never to suffer any Innovation in Religion; because the Peace of the State depended upon it: That Prince had Peace in all the World; but what Disturbances, what Miseries, Innovations in Religion have caus'd in this Nation, the History of the last Age informs us sufficiently; and how fatal the Feuds and Animofities, occafion'd by the Pretenders to Religion, in this may be, no Man can foretel, every good Man fears.

Now whatever ill Ufe has been made of the Text for fuffering the Tares, which were sown by the Enemy, togrow up with the Weeat; yet furely we are not to lay our selves to fleep on purIje to give the Enemy an Opportunity to sow them. The Jews reckon

reckon they are forbid even by the Law of Moses to revile the Gods of other Nations, which were no Gods: But that the Son of God, whom we, and all Christendom, adore as the God of our Salvation, should be revil'd, trampled upon, and put to open Shame by those of our own Nation, in Contempt of the Laws of the Land as well as of God, uncontroul'd, without any Animadverfion, without giving the proper Champions of our Faith an Opportunity to refute and reclaim them from their Errors, is so unaccountable a Proceeding both in Prudence and Religion, that I will hope a speedy Remedy will be apply'd to it; and that those, who are in Authority, will free themselves not only from the Suspicion, but from the real Guilt too of being Partakers of other Men's Sins; for, qui non prohibet, cùm potest, jubet: And therefore that they will advise his Majesty to give the Fathers and Paftors of our Church Leave to speak for themselves, and indeed for the King: For Defender of the Faith is not an empty Title. The Defense of the Church of England, and the holy Religion profess'd in it, is the Foundation of the Revolution, and of His Majesty's Succession to the Throne. And, after all our Experiments, this Church will be found to be, as was faid of the Sanctuary, The Excellency of our Strength, and indeed of all the Ezekiel Protestants in Europe; who, as much as they want our Support, xxiv. 21. will have little Reason to think we shall be much concern'd for them, with whom, in some Points we differ, if we shew but little Zeal for our common Christianity, in which we agree.

By what I have now faid, and in the foregoing Letter, you may easily conclude, what my Opinion will be of your Demand of an open Toleration: If the Lord Jesus be a Creature, and you worship him, 'tis Idolatry: If he be God, and you deny him, 'tis Blasphemy. And what Punishment Almighty God ordain'd for both these Sorts of Offenders you know. What Texts have you to quote for an Exemption from those Penalties; or, at least, such as the Laws of the Land inflict? What can we say in Confcience for an Indulgence, and thereby, in some Measure, establishing these Iniquities by a Law? When the Jews affaulted the Christians, and were beaten * * i. e. By even before the Judgment-Seat, 'twas no small Reproach to the Greeks. Gallio, that he cared for none of those Things. Shall the States Arts xviii. of the Realm out-do that stupid Governor, and even countenance, 17. nay authorize Affaults upon the Lord Jesus himself? Thus we should expose our selves to that fevere Rebuke, These are the Z ch. xii Wounds, which I receiv'd in the House of my Friends.

But if this were not the Cafe, with what Face can Arians ask such Favour from any who have ever read the History of their Barbarities? I might say, They have taught us a Lesson against themselves; but I am far from inferring from thence a Retaliation; but surely 'tis a prudent, and, in this loose Age, a necessary Caution, hot to admit such Enemies within

F2

6.

P. 40, 41.

Acts xx.

27.

within our Walls, nor make it possible for them ever to be in a Condition to practise the like again.

As for that wonderful Book, as you call it, p. 40. The • Apostolical Constitutions, by which you would have the Do&rine, • Discipline, Government, Worship and Canons of the Church amended; or rather that it might be admitted entirely as an • Original Rule and Standard in these Matters: I am not learned enough to argue from Authorities that This is not genuine; but I have some Things against the Use You have made of it, and which you defire others and the whole Church of God to do too.

You your self say, p. 41. That you believe it to be genuine, and for the main uncorrupt. I cannot well reconcile these Two: For if there be any known Corruptions in it, then it is not genuine and Authentick; or at least it must be purg'd of those Corruptions, before it can be of any Authority: And how shall we diftinguish them? I know you have a short Rule for it, viz. Whatever does not fuit with your Opinion is corrupts and by the fame Reason, whatever does not fuit with your Adversaries Opinion, must be judg'd by them to be corrupt: And at this Rate the whole must be laid aside ; and indeed it is very fit it should be so.

For how can This be a Rule and Standard, which must it felf be try'd by some other Rule, before it can in Reason be admitted to be so? And if in the Scriptures the Whole Counsel of God hath been made known to us; if, as in the 6th Article of our Church, they contain All Things necessary to Salvation, or as St. Paul says, are able to make us wife unto Salvation, What need have we to seek for another Rule? Or to heap to our selves 2. Tim. iv. Teachers, having itching Ears? For 'tis, as St. Paul tells us, an

2 Tim. iii.

15.

3.

Evidence, that we will not endure found Doctrine.

But I will suppose your Quotations out of this Book, (for I have not compar'd them) are, not like your other Quotations, but, in all Respects, right and fair: Then if these are inconfiftent with the avow'd Writings of the Apostles, as most certainly they are; Which of the Two thall a Man, that is to form his Faith, be guided by ? Those Writings which are acknowledg'd by Both to be genuine, and written by Inspiration; or those, which are controverted? The Choice is Easy; and besides the genuine Scriptures being first written, St. Paul says, tho' an Gal. i. 8. Angel from Heaven should preach any other Gospel than that which we have preach'd unto you, Let him be accursed.

But suppose you could answer every Objection to this wonderful Book, (which I am confident you cannot as a Scholar; and am sure you cannot reconcile or maintain the Contradictions in it to the true Scriptures) I pray you to consider the Confequence of it, and the Mischief you do to Religion by the Attempt of it; for the genuine Scriptures and this Book cannot both be true; but if both be afferted and made out to be of equal Authority, the Consequence must be (and wicked Men, Atheists

and

and Deists will not fail to infer it) that we must believe neither; for tho' one Part of a Contradition must be true, yet a Witness, who affirms both Parts, is never believ'd, but is set aside as a false one in all Courts of the World; because one Part of what he says must be falfe; and there can be no Reason or Obligation from him to believe one Part of what he says more than the other: So that if the Apostles have really writ or dictated both the facred Books and the Constitutions, they must lose all Credit of Inspir'd Writers, and consequently you have furnish'd a sufficient Argument to set aside all reveal'd Religion: So that I may justly say of this Book, as the Roman Prætor Liv. 1. 40. Petillius did of That of the Laws of Numa Pompilius; which, like This, was dug out of Rubbish; that it was fitted only to diffolve all Religion; or rather that This forms a Religion that is it self fit to be diffolu'd, and therefore should be burnt, as That was by the Senate, rather than brought into the Canon of the Scriptures, which we are sure are the Word of God.

The Jesuits in China have form'd a new Gospel, representing our Saviour only in his most exalted State, concealing his Crucifixion: On the other Hand, you are depreffing him into a Creature, not concealing, but denying his Deity. They might have learnt a better Lesson from St. Paul, of glorying only in the Cross of Christ; and St. John hath told You, that he who denies Gal. vi. 14. the Son is Antichrist: They take away the Means of our Salvation, I John ii. You take away the Power, by which he can bestow and give it to us: They speak some Truth, but not the whole Truth: You deny the Truth, which, St. John says, is no less than making God I John v. a Liar, by not believing the Record which God gave of his Son.

22.

10.

FINIS.