which may be bent to serve or fupport any Opinion. It tempts us to turn the brightest Discoveries, and the peculiar Glories of it into mere Leffons of Morality. When we explain away one of the moft evident and fubftantial Doctrines of it at this rate, it gives us a fort of Effrontery and ungodly Courage to oppofe the most exprefs Truths which are written in Scripture, if we can poffibly construe and tranflate them into another Senfe. It introduces a fort of prophane Hardiness into the Confcience, and imboldens us to renounce the moft evident Leffons of St. Peter, Paul, and John, and deny the Truth of them even to the very Teeth of the facred Writers.

Such a Practice as this fhews our great Unwillingness to submit our Opinions to the Dictates of Heaven, and argues an unbecoming Pride of our own reafoning Powers. It draws us into the very Spirit as well as the Sentiments of Socinus and his Followers, who have ventured to affirm, If it should be written in the Holy Scriptures not once only but often, that Chrift made Satisfaction to God for Sin, I would not therefore believe the Matter as you think. And again, Even the greateft Force is to be used with fuch Words rather than take them in the obvious Senfe. Thus fpeaks Socinus in his Treatife of Satisfaction, and in his Epiftle to Balcerimicius. How evident is it that fuch Men refufe a Subjec

tion to the Revelation of God himself, nor will they abide by the Decifions of Scripture when it doth not fpeak fuch Things as fuit their unhappy Relish? And 'tis a very daǹgerous Thing to enter into this Temper and Spirit.

Peter and the beloved John, when they treat of their Mafter's Death, affert with frequency and great ftrength of Expreffion, that Doctrine which their Mafter himfelf thought proper to give fome Notice of in his Life-time. 'Tis true, he mentions it more fparingly, because their Prejudices then were not able to bear it, John xvi. 12. I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot - bear them now: but when they were fill'd with the Spirit of Wisdom and Knowledge, they publish'd and explain'd their Master's Doctrines more at large; they then tell us of his bearing our Sins on his Body on the Tree, of his redeeming us by his precious Blood as a Lamb without blemish, of the sprinkling of the Blood of Jefus upon us, of our being wash'd from Sin in his Blood, and redeemed unto God thereby; and ufe the fame fort of Language which St. Paul, who learnt his Gospel alfo by the Revelation of Jefus Chrift, and who acquaints us that he gave up his Life a Ranfom for finful Men, that his Blood was fhed for the Remiffion of Sins, that he was made a Curfe for us that he might redeem us from the Curfe of the Law, which pronounces Death upon E 3

every

every Sinner, and that he has taken away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself, and made Peace by the Blood of his Crofs between God and Man. But the Indulgence of Agrippa's Scheme encourages us to contradict Chrift and his Apostles at once, by taking away the obvious and natural Senfe of their Words, under a Pretence of making their Doctrine more honourable and more conformable to the Nature and Reafon of Things.

When a Man has once perfuaded his Confcience to deny this Doctrine of the Propitiation of Christ for Sins, which is fo plainly taught in Scripture, and in fuch various Forms of Speech, what is there of Doctrine in the New Teftament which they may not deny or turn into an Allegory and Figure? I fhould be ready to fear that neither the perverfe Sentiments of Mr. Woolfton, who turned the Miracles of Christ into Allegory, nor any other idle and unfcriptural Scheme of Interpretation would be very hard to defend upon fuch Principles, and after fuch a Step as this. If the Propitiation of Sin by the Sufferings of Chrift may be thus interpreted away by pretended Figures, and explained into the Doctrines and Duties of mere natural Religion, what may not Jewish Tropes and Figures be capable of doing? What Doctrine is there that they canno. evaporate and c'estroy?

In short, if we accuftom ourselves to fuch

Interpretations of Scripture as Agrippa makes ufe of, 'twill gradually lead us into fuch a grofs Abuse of Words and Phrafes, that we may bring our Confciences and our Lips frequently to speak one thing and mean aɲ-other: And if Christ and his Apoftles mean no more when they preach the Gospel to the Jews or Gentiles in all thefe facrifical Phrafes than what Agrippa pretends, I fear Men will be tempted to fet up for a Defence of loofe and large Equivocation upon the foot of Tropes and Figures, and make Chrift and hisApostles their Pattern and their Example.

And that I may multiply no more Par ticulars on this awful and difpleafing Subject, I add in the left place, that this unhappy Doctrine brings even the Salvation of our Souls into Queftion and Danger. I would not dare pronounce damnable Herefy or De-ftruction where Chrift or his Apostles have not pronounced it; and yet I would not venture to approach within the sweep of such a Sentence. I fhould be dreadfully afraid of standing under the Terror and Vengeance of that Text, Heb. x. 26. If we fin wilfully after that we have received the Knowledge of the Truth, there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sins, but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery Indignation which shall devour the Adverfary. The Cafe here defcribed feems to be this: The Sacred Writer had been difcourfing in the beginning of this Epiftle

F. 4

Epiftle about the Dignity of the Person of our Bleffed Lord, and had introduced him in the following Chapters into his glorious Office of an High-Priest: But in the 9th and 10th Chapters he defcribes very particularly his becoming a Sacrifice for the Sins of Men, and fhews how he made Atonement for our moral Tranfgreffions in the fight of God as the Lord of Confcience, even as the Blood of Bulls and Goats under the Jewish Law made Atonement for legal Defilements or ceremonial Faults before God as King of their Nation, or as vifible Head of their Church. This is called, Heb. ix. 13. Sanctifying the unclean to the purifying of the Flesh; and he then argues, How much more fhall the Blood of Chrift, who thro' the eternal Spirit offered himself without Spot to God, purge your Confcience from dead Works, or Works deferving Death, that you may ferve the Living God.

And to make it further appear that this is not a mere Matter of Speculation or Opinion, he fubjoins a further practical Use of it in the 10th Chapter; when he had finished this Doctrine in the 18 v. he fhews us in the fucceeding Verfes what use we are to make of it; and that is to enter into the Holieft,or addrefs the God of Heaven with Confidence by the Blood of Jefus, and draw near to him in full Affurance of Faith, having our Hearts as it were fprinkled with his Blood of

Atone