short declarations of their King and lawgiver himself, or to hunt after them through the infinite contradictions, the numberless perplexities, the endless difputes of weak men in several ages, till the enquirer himself is lost in the labyrinth, and perhaps fits down in despair or infidelity. If Christ be our King, let us shew ourselves fubjects to him alone, in the great affair of confcience and eternal salvation, and, without fear of man's judgment, live and act as becomes those who wait for the appearance of an all-knowing and impartial judge, even that King whose kingdom is not of this world. Much to the same purpose, in oppofition to the pretended authority and infallibility of the church of Rome, and her boasted tradition, Dr. Chandler says, 66 we have no full and certain account of the doctrine taught by Christ and his Apostles but from the records of the New Testament; and as these contain the whole revelation of the gospel, all that we are to believe and practise as Christians, it is an undeniable consequence, that we can no otherwise demonstrate our subjection and fidelity to Christ, as Lord and lawgiver in his church, than by our care in acquainting ourselves with the facred records of truth, and religiously adhering to them, as the only rule and standard of our faith and worship *; the adhering to which is an essential note of the Christian church +. This therefore is the only true antiquity, to which as Chriftians we are to appeal ‡. The church of God, the true church of Christ, is built entirely upon the scriptures ||. The Christian church is properly represented as one body, or a society, incorporate by the charter of the gofpel under Jesus Christ, as fupreme head and governor §. For, as Mr. Leavesly says, Chrift and his Apostles, by preaching and delivering * Dr. Chandler's Notes of the Church, p. 13, † 15, ‡ 21. the the gospel truth, and by warning us against false and deceitful workers, call all men every where to adhere to the truth as it is in Jesus *. The Bible, then, or the Old and New Testament, is acknowledged by all Protestants, as the canon, the rule, the only rule of faith and practice. I shall close the whole with that remarkable paragraph of Chillingworth, which whoever hears or reads, as the language of one converted from Popery by the study of the scriptures, cannot help being greatly pleased with it. Addressing himself to a writer of the Romish church, he thus pleads the Proteftant cause, "Know then, Sir, that when I say the religion of Protestants is in truth to be preferred before yours; as on the one side, I do not understand by your religion the doctrine of Bellarmine or Baronius, or any other private man amongst you; nor the doctrine of the Sorbonne or of the Jesuits, or of the Dominicans, or of any other particular company or society amongst you; but that wherein you all agree or profess to agree, the doctrine of the council of Trent; so accordingly on the other fide, by the religion of Protestants, I do not understand the doctrine of Luther or Calvin, or Melancton, nor the confeffion of Augsburg or Geneva, nor the catechism of Heidelberg, nor the articles of the church of England; no, nor the harmony of Proteftant creeds and confeffions; but that wherein they all agree, and which they all subscribe with one accord, as the undoubted perfect rule of their faith and actions, that is, the Bible. The Bible, I say the Bible only, is the religion of Proteftants, whatsoever else they believe besides it: and the plain, irrefragable, and indubitable consequences of it, well may they hold as matters of opinion, but as matter of faith and religion, neither can they with coherence to their own grounds believe it * Leavesly on Reformation, p. 36. C 4 themselves, themselves, nor require the belief of it of others, without most high and schifmatical presumption. I, for my part, after a long, and (as I verily believe and hope) impartial fearch of the true way to eternal happiness, do profess plainly that I cannot find any rest for the fole of my foot, but upon this rock only. I fee plainly, and with mine own eyes, that there are Popes against Popes, councils against councils, fome fathers against others, the same fathers against themselves, a consent of fathers of one age against a consent of fathers of another age, the church of one age against the church of another age. Traditive interpretations of scripture are pretended; but there are few or none to be found. No tradition but only of scripture can derive itself from the fountain, but may be plainly proved to be brought in, in fuch an age after Chrift, or that such an age it was not in a word, there is no fufficient certainty but of scripture only for any confidering man to build upon. This, therefore, and this only, I have reason to believe, this I will profefs, according to this I will live, and for this, if there be occasion, I will not only willingly, but even gladly, lose my life; though I should be forry that Christians should take it from me. Propose me any thing out of this book, and require whether I believe or no, and seem it never so incomprehenfible to human reafon, I will subscribe it with hand and heart, as knowing no demonftration can be stronger than this, God hath faid fo, therefore is it true. In other things, I will take no man's liberty of judging from him, neither shall any man take mine from me. I will think no man the worse man, nor the worse Christian, I will love no man the less, for differing in opinion from me; and what measure I mete to others, I expect from them again. I am fully assured that God does not, and therefore men ought not to require any more of any man than this: To believe the scripture to be God's word, i word, to endeavour to find the true sense of it, and to live according to it *. I can fee no reason, says a judicious author, for undervaluing revelation, in order to exalt reason, nor on the other hand to disparage reason, since they jointly concur in furnishing us with the most noble and unexceptionable principles of religion. What but revelation gave to Wollaston so much the superiority over Cicero in his delineation of the religion of nature, particularly with regard to the unity and moral perfections, and providence of the Deity, and the duties owing to him? All this will be readily acknowledged by Proteftant Christians of every denomination, while others perhaps do not easily perceive the reasons upon which this principle of their faith is founded, and they raise a variety of objections to the authenticity, perfpicuity, reasonableness, and excellency of the Christian revelation; the most confiderable of which will be taken notice of in a following section. I shall, first, endeavour to afcertain the proper import of the term Truth, its importance, &c. Truth is a term used in a variety of Truth defined. senses, and applied to different sciences and subjects. Logical truth is the conformity of things with the ideas themselvest. Moral truth is the conformity of words, gestures, and actions, with the heart ‡. Mr. Chambers defines logical truth to be in direct oppofition to falfhood, and is applied to the propofitions which answer, or accord to the reality of the thing, whereof fomething is affirmed or denied ||. And Mr. Wollaston says, those propositions are true, which express things as they are, or truth is the conformity of those words or signs by which things are expressed to the things themselves §. Truth, likewife, signifies veracity, or a conformity of words to thoughts, pure, Quoted by Mr. Wright in his Sermon at Salter's hall against Popery, page 52. † Martin. ‡ Ibid. || Chambers. § Wollaston. * or or unadulterate; exactness or conformity to rule; reality, as opposed to fiction; honesty, integrity, &c. || It is used for the doctrines of the gospel, Gal. iii. 1. as opposed to Jewish ceremonies, John, i. 17. and as the genuine or original, as opposed to spurious *. These are fome of the principal senses in which it is used; but as the right use of reason, in the enquiry after truth, is what constitutes the science of logic, variety of other definitions and distinctions relative to this subject may be seen in peculiar treatises on that subject. The different senses in which I have confidered truth, or to which this term is applied, convey to our minds an idea of its nature and importance, and that there is a real essential and absolute utility and advantage in the poffefsion of it. Indeed the pursuit and acquisition of Importance truth is of infinite concernment to mankind; of Truth. hereby we become acquainted with the na ture of things, both in heaven and earth, and their various relations to each other. It is by this means we discover our duty to God and our fellow-creatures; by this we arrive at the knowledge of natural religion, and learn to confirm our faith in divine revelation, as well as to understand what is revealed. Our wisdom, prudence, and piety, our present conduct, and our future hopes, are all influenced by the use of our rational powers in the search after truth †. The love and defire of truth is a principle implanted in the nature of man; it has generally an easy access to unbiassed minds, and will assume its empire and triumph over error, even in spite of popularity, interest, and undue influence from others; and religious truths have been often known to arm the mind with integrity, superior to the severest perfecution. Hence Polybius, the Roman historian, observes, that Johnfon. * Cruden. truth |