Monarch. Now if they fhou'd reply upon him, Truth, Lord: But may not the Superfcription be changed; and K. Wm's Image put instead of thine? Or may not that Tribute-Penny bear thy Image on one Side, and King William's on the other? I must confefs, this wou'd fo much out-do the Craftiness and Hypocrify of the Jews, that I must leave Himself to make them the proper Answer, when they come to give this Excufe for fo inexcufable a Practice.

ALL THIS is plain, and can never receive any Answer, which will not upbraid the Confcience of him who makes it, with a Sufpicion at leaft of his appearing in Defence of a Doctrine which ftrikes at the Vitals of Chriftianity. I have now put the Matter upon fo fair an Iffue, that no more need to be faid upon the Subject, for the Satisfaction of all, excepting fuch as are refolv'd not to be convinc'd.

The Subject it felf, I fay, is plain and natural : And 'tis the Cavils and Objections rais'd from Weakness of Underftanding, or fix'd and settl'd Prejudice, which darkens and perplexes it, and makes it neceffary for me to purfue it farther, and trace it through that Mift, which hath been rais'd to cloud and obfcure it. Tho' all Objections which have been made, are fhameful ly Trifling and Frivolous; and that nothing hath, or can be faid against this Doctrine, which may not eafily be obviated from what hath been already faid, by any of a fincere Heart, and but moderate Understanding: Yet fince the Weakness of fome, and the Perverseness of o

thers

thers, make it neceffary; fuch as they are, I fhal here confider them.

I. And firft, The Word DEAD in the Question, and other Parts of the Difcourfe, is that with which the Enemies of this Doctrine have made the greatest Noife; and yet after all, there is no more in it than this; They have wickedly added the Word NOW Dead to all thofe Places, and then charge me with their own Blafphemous Thought: Whereas my Meaning, and my Expreffion is, of a Perfon ONCE Dead, p. 8. And I explain this fully, p. 9. where I Affign that of Chrift's being now alive, and only having Immortality, as the higheft Aggravation of their Guilt, who Drink in Remembrance of a merely Mortal Creature. I tell them again, when I fpeak of Chrift, I mean him who was Dead, and is Alive: Was ONCE Dead; truly Dead, as K. Wm is now, or as any Person ever was, or fhall be. And 'tis in Remembrance of him fo Dead, that we Drink in the Eucharift, wherein we fhew forth the Lord's Death. So that I Spoke properly, and 'tis They who Thought blafphe moufly. Let them take all the Blafphemy upon themselves, with this additional Aggravation of the bafeft Difingenuity, in Publishing of it to the World, and Charging it upon an Innocent Perfon, into whofe Heart it never enter'd, and from whofe Pen or Tongue it never dropt.

As for those who are really fo weak, that they cannot think or fpeak of Chrift as Dead, with, out imagining him fo ftill; in Pity to them, I will change the Word DEAD, and fay, DEPARTED THIS LIFE, or Gone to another World,

World. And I do this the rather, because they are our Saviour's own words of himself, Job. 13.1. Now before the Feast of the Paffover when Jefus knew that his HOUR WAS COME THAT HE SHOULD DEPART OUT OF THIS WORLD, UNTO THE FATHER. Which hour of his departure, being spoke of the Death he was to undergo the next day, and not of his Afcenfion into Heaven, fhews with how great Propriety the expreffion is us'd in this Difcourfe. And fure this Departure is neceffarily included in drinking in Remembrance both of our Saviour, and of K WM.

But fay they, if K- Wm is dead, and CHRIST alive where is the Parallel? There is no Parallel at all; nor ever can be between a living Saviour, and a dead King. No, the Parallel is between drinking in Remembrance of one, and of the other; and herein is their Guilt and their Sin, viz. That the Actions are Parallel, and the Perfons to whom they are perform'd not fo; and the greater disparity there is between the Perfons, the greater their Sin in applying the fame Action to a dead Monarch, which is to be apply'd only to the living God. That Chrift rofe from the Dead, and afcended into Heaven; and that K-W did not rife from the Dead, nor afcend bodily into Heaven is true. Nay more Chrift is God, and K-W-ma Man; and therefore thofe who contend for this great difparity in the Perfons, and yet affert that they may indifferently drink in Remembrance of either, are condemn'd out of their own Mouths; they acknowledge the Action

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Action to be done to Chrift as God; and yet that they may do the very fame to K-W as a Man.

II. Another fubtile obfervation on my wording of the Question, is my calling it an Action in itself finful now under the Gofpel. This was no flip of my Pen, but defign'd to obviate that very Abfurdity it is charged with; and which it wou'd have been liable to, as I firft wrote it, viz. an Action in its own Nature finful now under the Gospel. They who catch at this Objection, don't diftinguish between an Action in its own Nature Sinful, which runs in their Heads; and an Action in it felf Sinful. In its felf there, was faid on purpofe to feparate the Action it felf from all concurrent Circumstances which might make it accidentally finful, or be any farther heightning or aggravation of the Sin; fuch as 'the doing it with a Factious or Seditious defign; or to expofe the Eucharift, or Chriftian Religion; or out of a Spirit of oppofition to their Bishop, or Minifter, &c. The words, Under the Gefpel, were added to fhew I did not fuppofe drinking to the Memory of a Perfon departed this World to be a thing in its own Nature Sinful; for then it wou'd have been fo before the Gofpel, and continued ever fo; but that it became Holy by being appointed the most folemn Inftance of Gospel Worfhip; and therefore moft unholy in it felf when Defecrated to the Remembrance of any but Chrift; and that no Design or Intention of the Perfon can alter the Nature of that Action.

I never

I never cou'd yet know how Men wou'd have the Queftion mended; if they don't like it, i freely leave it to them to word the Queftion how they pleafe, fo they do not make it another Queftion, and then they will find that nothing of my Reasoning fails.

III. Another grand Objection is, That in fome Places, I fay the Action of drinking in Remembrance of a Perfon departed this World is Sacramental, and in other Places that it is not Sacramental. Anf. That when the Action is apply'd to Chrift in the Eucharift 'tis truly Sacramental; when apply'd to K-W- it makes it not Sacramental, but is a deteftable Abuse of that Action which is in it felf Sacramental. That drinking in Remembrance of Perfons departed this World, excepting only in Remembrance of Jefus Chrift, is a Sacramental Action ufed Unfacramentally, i. e. Profanely and Impioufly, which fingly confider'd, as I faid before, is a fufficient Anfwer to all the Objections can poffibly be made. This feeming Inconfiftency fo much infifted on, is juft fuch another Piece of Sophiftry, as if one feeing Horfes kept within Confecrated Walls, fhou'd ask you whether it was a Church or a Stable? If you fay a Church, he asks you, how can that be when 'tis apply'd to Horfes? If you fay 'tis a Stable, he is quick upon you, No! it was Confecrated to the Worship \of God; and then Laughs at your Contradi ction and Nonfence. Whereas, when he will give you the hearing, you have this plain Anfwer to make; namely, That it is furely a Church because Dedicated to the Worship of God; but

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that