vinity protestants see in the altar, that they should pay it religious honours. As much Sir, am I at a loss, when endeavouring to reconcile to reason and good sense another of your additional beauties and splendours of public worship, viz. bowing at the name of Jesus. As for that passage of the Apostle, Philip. ii. 10.---That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, the learned men of your church, I presume, universally disclaim it, as not in the least authorising or enjoining this practice. Your great Dr. Nichols vindicates your church from such an uncouth and ridiculous abuse of this text, and affirms that it is not once mentioned in any of your ecclesiastical constitutions as to this matter; and adds, that you are not so dull as to think that those words can be rigorously applied to this purpose. But if this text be acknowledged, not in the least, to authorise or require this act of worship, what shadow of argument, Sir, can you possibly bring, either from reason or scripture, which shall so much as seem to support it? Why then does your church command, Canon XVIII. that, when in time of divine service the Lord Jesus shall be mentioned, duly and lowly reverence shall be done by all persons present? Is not this, Sir, by your own confession, an act of will-worship, a commandment, an invention of men, not in the least founded upon the authority and will of God! But why, Sir, must this lowly reverence be made at the name of Jesus, and not at the name of Christ, at the name Immanuel, Jehovah, or God? Is there not in all these, something at least as venerable and worthy of peculiar honours; indeed something much more so than there is in the name of Jesus? a name not at all peculiar to our blessed Saviour, but which was * Defence, &c. Part II. page 319. common to him with a great many other men? But, if this peculiar reverence must be made at the name of Jesus, why not at all times whenever it is mentioned, at least in public worship? Why in the creed only, which is but a human composition, and not every time it is read from the gospels and epistles, which were indited by the holy Spirit? But I press no farther a point, which, I believe, few of your own church think capable of a rational and solid defence. I have now finished my reply, Sir, to the letters with which you have publicly honoured me, and have with freedom set before you the chief difficulties and objections which keep me in a state of separation from your church. If, by calm and fair argument, you can shew my objections to be weak and futile, I shall with pleasure become your convert, and readily obey the calls of worldly interest and honour. But, as you Sir, have the dignities, emoluments, and powers of this world on your side, you must give us leave to think, at least till we are better taught, that we have TRUTH on our's; TRUTH, which is great, and which will finally prevail. Nor, am I Sir, without hope, that upon an impartial review of the merits of the cause between us, omnipotent TRUTH may even bend your mind towards us, and dispose you, like one who has the honour of being called the great Apostle, to join yourself to those you once censured and despised. What though we have not the honours and profits of this world, to draw you to our communion, are we, on this account, the less likely to be the genuine apostolic church of a crucified, despised, insulted Jesus? Hath he not expressly told us, that his kingdom is not of this world:* that whoever will come after him, must deny himself, *John xviii. 36. and take up his cross: * that not many mighty and noble are called? Are not the witnesses to TRUTH to prophecy, cloathed in sackcloth, ‡ till the promised times of refreshing come from the appearance of Christ? Is not the pure apostolic church, the true spouse of Christ, represented in the Revelations, as a woman driven into the wilderness,||| i. e. in an afflicted and forsaken state, whilst the corrupt and antichristian church (the apostate church of Rome) is caressed and enriched by the kings of the earth, § glittering in all the pomp and splendour of this world, wantoning in luxury, power, and wealth? Does TRUTH need the charms of earthly grandeur to recommend it, or the force of civil power to spread or to establish it? · Was it thus the blessed gospel was at first propagated,made itsway, and prevailed over all the earth? No: worldly grandeur and power, have generally, you well know Sir, if not always, been extremely injurious to it; have enervated, obstructed, and, under pretence of improving, have greatly corrupted and depraved it, and have robbed it of its native beauty, glory, and strength. High dignities and preferments, mitres and thrones, lordships and large revenues, have a mighty force, you will own, Sir, to bias and pervert the mind in its searches after TRUTH. These' are not the means which the God of TRUTH uses to draw the mind to it; but you know they are the means, which the great enemy is wont to use, to seduce the mind from it. It is, therefore, I apprehend, Sir, no presumption at all in favour of any church, that it shines with all the glory of worldly honours and wealth. This the prophetic scriptures very clearly describe as the state of the false church, whilst the true church of Jesus Christ, his genuine and faithful followers, are to be a little despised flock; a sect, every where spoken *Mat. xvi. 24. Rev. xii. 14. + 1 Cor. i. 26. Rev. xi. 3. against; in the world it is to have tribulation, till the expected happy period when it shall be the Father's good pleasure to give them the kingdom. Let not then, the low estate of our interest, as to the present world, at all frighten or discourage you, Sir, from casting in your lot among us. The world passeth away, and all its glories and pomp will soon vanish like a dream before the descending son of God, whom we stedfastly expect. And then to be found faithful, and to have adhered with unshaken loyalty to the only Lawgiver, Lord, and King of the church;---to have denied ourselves any worldly honours, preferments, or profits, out of conscience towards him; ---to have been separated from mens' company, cast out and reproached, because we would not make a sacrifice of our virtue and integrity, to the applause of the many, or the favour of the great,---will yield divine comfort, and procure immortal honours in the everlasting kingdom of God. Pardon me, Sir, if I am here acting a little out of character, and seeming to invade your office; for, I am extremely ambitious of engaging so ingenious a gentleman among us. These, Sir, are the prospects with which dissenters support themselves under all their disadvantages with regard to the present world. They remember whose disciples and followers they are; who it is that hath said, in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men; who hath strictly charged them to call no man upon earth master, because ONE only is their master, even Christ; and, finally, who it is. that hath promised, that, if any man shall forsake house or brethren, or sisters, or children, or lands, for hisname's sake, he shall receive a hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life. I now conclude, Sir, with beseeching you very carefully to remember, that the controversy be K tween us depends absolutely and entirely upon the decision of this single point: Is there any other lawgiver or king in the church of God, to whose authority and command, as to things of religion, christians are bound to submit, BESIDES Jesus Christ? Or, is there not? If there be no other lawgiver besides Jesus Christ, no other king, no other authority, to whose decrees in point of doctrine, and to whose injunctions in point of worship, christians are obliged, and ought to submit, then the dissenters, in every impartial judgment, will be, must be, justified: then they act right: then they ought to be commended, and will surely be rewarded, for adhering loyally and firmly to the ONE only king and Lord of the church; and for faithfully opposing the claims of any other power; and for refusing obedience to the injunctions of any other lawgiver; and the decisions of any other judge, who hath made other articles of faith, other terms of communion, other rites of worship, BESIDES and ABOVE those which Christ himself has made. For, to illustrate the case---If any foreign Prince should pretend to make laws, and pre ́scribe rules of action to the people of these realms, and should exact obedience to his injunctions from the subjects of the king of Great Britain, I ask, would not your allegiance to him, your only sovereign, require and oblige you to make your protest against any such laws, and to refuse your obedience to them? But is not the church a province in which Christ alone is king, as much as these realms are the dominions only of the king of England? If any human potentate, then shall rise up in the church, and shall claim authority and dominion over the consciences of Christ's subjects,---authority, as to things of faith, to decree what he hath not decreed,---and dominion, as to things of worship, to appoint rites and institutions which he hath not appoint |