per to pronounce an univerfal Sentence of Condemnation upon these Men. I grant fome of my Expreffions may have been too pofitive, warm, and fevere, and I fhall think more of your manner of reasoning, in order to enlarge my Charity towards Perfons under great Errors. But what would you fay, Sir, to one who pretends to be a Minister of the Gofpel, who denies thefe Doctrines, and preaches to the People Agrippa's Creed? For my part, I declare my Opinion freely, I cannot believe him to be a Minifter of Christ or his Gospel, and I fhould think it my Duty to difcourage his Preaching to the utmoft, and perfuade all my Friends to avoid him as they would avoid Poison, or the Peftilence. I think 'tis preaching another Gofpel, as St. Paul calls it, Gal. i. 6---9. or fuch a Perversion of the Gospel of Chrift, that if any Man whatsoever, or an Angel from Heaven fhould preach it, I believe the great Apostle would fay, Let him be accurfed.

Truly, Sir, reply'd Charistes, tho' I have learnt to attend with Reverence and Profit upon the Labours of Minifters who have had very different Sentiments upon many Points in Christianity, yet I think I should never encourage Men to fet up for Ministers of the Gofpel, who renounce two of the chief Doctrines for which a Gospel Ministry feems to be inftituted, who abandon two of the chief Mediums by which Sinners are in

:

vited and encouraged to repent and return to God, and who leave out of their Preaching the two chief Bleffings for which Christ and the Spirit were reveal'd to the World. I could never think it my Duty to give them any Countenance in their Work: I could never fay God speed, left I should be Partaker of their evil Deeds. Yet fince I am not an Apostle, I would not pronounce a Curfe upon them, but I would pray for them with fincere and hearty Addreffes to the MercySeat, that they might be taught better themfelves before they proceeded to teach others, left if the Blind lead the Blind thro' a falfe Way, in the midst of Day-light and Sunbeams and many Warnings, they should both fall into the Pit and perifh in their chofen Darkness.

May the God of Light and Truth open the Eyes of all fuch as go aftray, guide them into the Paths of Grace and Peace, and incline them to fubmit their Souls to his Conduct in the Way to Happinefs! May they be fo wife as to take heed, that they refift not any Degrees of Scriptural Light breaking in upon their Minds in their Searches after Knowledge, 'left they provoke God to aban.. don them to their own Darkness for ever. He is a jealous God, tender of the Honours and Offices of his Son, and of the Dignity of his bleffed Spirit in his Divine Operations. Far be it from me in the midft of my charitable

lift up

ritable Language, to fpeak any thing that fhould encourage the dangerous Opinions of Agrippa and his Difciples: But I heartily thefe Petitions for them, that the good Spirit of God would fhew them their Miftakes, and recover them from every Snare of the Devil. May he release their Souls from every criminal Prejudice, and guard their Enquiries from every dangerous Error, that being converted to the Faith of Jefus, as our great Sacrifice of Atonement, and seeking and enjoying the fanctifying Influences of the Holy Spirit, they may become honourable Profeffors of the Gofpel in the peculiar Glories of it, and being thus train'd up for Heaven, may at last be poffefs'd of compleat Salvation!

These pious Wishes of Chariftes were pronounced with fuch an Air of Devotion and Goodness, that all the Gentlemen present added their hearty Amen to them. Ferventio was fo much pleafed with all his Discourse and his agreeable Manner, that fince he found Chariftes amidst all his Charity maintain'd a Zeal for the Truths of the Gospel, he took a good liking to the Man, and entreated further Acquaintance with him. Here the Converfation ended, and the Company broke up with mutual Civilities.

The EN D.

APPENDIX.

To be added to Page 67, and to be inferted just before the four laft Lines.

66

B

EFORE Paulinus had proceeded further with his feveral Queries to Agrippa, Ferventio ftopt him with this Speech: "Sir, there is another erroneous Senfe put upon the ftrong and plain Expreffions of Scripture, concerning Chrift's making an Atonement or Propitiation "for Sin by his Sufferings and Death: Dr. Whitby calls it a Socinian Glofs, in his An"notations on 1 Peter ii. 25. and reprefents "it in these Words; they fay, Chrift tock a

66

way our Sins by his own Body crucify'd upon "the Cross, procuring our Abfolution from them "by his Sufferings; not that he underwent the

Punishment of our Tranfgreffions, but because "bis voluntary Death prevailed with God to "give him Power to abfolve his Servants at "the laft, and to Reward them with Eternal "Glory. And I am told, faith Ferventio, "this Opinion grows much in Vogue in our

66

Days, both in Preaching, in Writing and "Converfation; and fome People are not. "afhamed to pronounce and defend it as the "trueft and jufteft Senfe of thefe Scriptural "Phrafes, tho' they have not yet found out eng I

66

"Single

"Jingle Text in all the Bible where this is the plain Meaning of any of thofe Expreffions.

66

66

Now, Sir, I would be glad to hear from your Lips what are your beft Arguments to re"fute this Socinian Glofs as Dr. Whitby calls it.'

I would fay thefe three Things (answer'd Paulinus :) First, It is very strange that this must be the true Senfe of thefe facrifical Phrafes, when this Senfe does not appear plainly in any one Scripture. However if it must be fo, let it be fo in the Old Teftament as well as in the New; let there be fome Shadow of it found among the Levitical and Typical Sacrifices of Atonement, as well as in Jefus the fubftantial one; otherwife the Types and the Subftance will have no likerefs to one another in thofe very Actions and Circumstances, whereby Atonement för Sin is made, and which are afcribed to both Type and Substance in the fame Phrafes.. Now let thefe Interpreters tell me, which of the Sheep or the Goats, which of the Rams or the Bulls, that were facrificed to attone for Sin, ever received Power to abfolve Sinners, or ever were made Judges or Rewarders in any Sense.

'Tis very evident that fo far as this forced Senfe is introduced upon the Expreffions of Chrift bearing our Sins on the Crofs, and his making Atonement for Sin, fo far there is an utter departure from the true and obvious Meaning of the fame Expreffions, when apply'd to the Typical Sacrifices; whereas in the Senfe which I have given, the fame Ideas

belong