virtually fubfcribes a creed drawn up in these terms: fo that the fame reason that will confine creeds to the precife phrafes of fcripture, will confine fermons unto them alfo; and then reading must be all that is meant by preaching. ea, the argument feems much stronger in the cafe of preaching than in the other: for, in a creed, a man, or a society, exprefs their own opinion only, and declare what they think truth; in which there does not seem to be the leaft hazard in their ufing their own words; but in a fermon, the preacher pretends to deliver the mind of the Holy Ghoft, and tell what he hath revealed unto the people; which would give at leaft a more plaufible ground for reftricting him to feripture-expreflions. Yea, fo extremely unreasonable is this notion, that it feems to be a confequence of it, that we fhould never write or speak at all about any religious fubject, otherwife than by repeating the fcripture; fince we may always atteft with our hand what we affirm to be our opinion with our mouth.

And indeed it is fcarce poffible for our adverfaries themselves to fhun a contradiction of their notions in their own practice, as the non-fubfcribers met at Salters-hall feem to do, at that very time when they must have had that principle full in their view, and would readily be moft cautious not to counteract it. I thought it very pleasant to take notice, that after all the clamour raised against declarations of faith in other words than thofe of fcripture, their advices to the Exeter people begin with two articles concerning churchcommunion, expreffed in other words than those of the facred oracles. "We are (fay they) clearly "of opinion, firft, That there are errors in doc"trine of that important nature, as will not only warrant, but even oblige, a Chriftian congre gation to withdraw from the minister, or mini

N

❝fters,

66

fters, that maintain and defend thefe doctrines; "2dly, That the people have a right to judge for themfelves what thefe errors are, and when they are fo taught and propagated, as will juftify them in withdrawing from fuch their mi"nifter*." Which two propofitions are fubfcribed by a great many hands; by doing which, they in fo far evidently declare their belief concerning thefe two questions of church-communion, and private judgement, as much as if thefe articles had been ingroffed with a Confeffion of Faith, and it fubfcribed by them. Or if there be any terrible thing in the name of a creed which startles them, (though thofe would feem extremely fuperftitious fears which are begot by a word), let any church declare their opinion as to the other articles of religion to the fame purpofe, as is done with refpect to thefe two points, and we fhall be fatisfied; being affured, that whatever external denomination may be put upon it, it will be all in effe& that is meant or intended by Confeffions of Faith.

This opinion likewife hath a very unfavourable afpect towards all tranflations of the Bible, and feems to make it abfolutely impracticable for fuch as are unacquainted with the Hebrew or Greek languages ever to declare their faith, and give a public affent to the doctrines of the gofpel, tho' it be an evident command of our Saviour to all Chriftians, upon proper occafions, to confefs him and his gofpel before men, and to bear witness to the truth.

Every body must own, that the Bible written in the original tongues alone, confifts, in a strict fenfe, of thofe phrafes made ufe of by the Holy Ghoft, and they only can be called the words of

* Vide Advices and Rules agreed to at Salters-hall, March Ap. 1718-19.

divine revelation; and that no tranflation, for example, no English phrafes whatfover, can have. any title to that name, or pretend any dignity and authority of fcripture expreffions, except only as they are a juft interpretation of the Hebrew and Greek, and in fo far as their fignificationcorrefponds to and gives the true fenfe of the original and we hope it cannot be denied, that if, inftead of this, an ignorant interpreter, or cunning deceiver, who was refolved at any rate to promote his favourite fchemes, fhould tranflate a paffage of the Greek New Teftament into fuch English phrafes as did not agree to the original, nor exprefs the fenfe of the infpired writer, it were extremely abfurd to call thofe English phrafes fcriptural words, or reckon that a man who affented to them, affented to the words of the Holy Ghost. When, therefore, a perfon fubscribes a text as it is found in our English verfion, and defigns to declare his faith thereby in fcriptural phrafes, becaufe he thinks thefe only should be used in fuch cafes, he must be fuppofed neceffarily, by his fubfcription, to approve of our verfion of that text, rather than any other, and do what is virtually a declaring, that he thinks the true meaning of the original expreffed thereby; which is the fame thing, as to all intents, as if he fubfcribed the articles of any particular church in other terms than thofe of fcripture, or gave his affent to the Confeffions of a party which he liked beft.

To give a clearer idea hereof, it may not be improper to illuftrate it by one inftance: A plain Englishman that understands nothing befides his native tongue, makes a declaration of his faith in fcripture-expreffions only; and amongst others, for that purpofe, he makes of the Apoftle's

N. 2

words,

Which

words, Rom. ix. 5. ὧν οἱ πατέρες, καὶ ἐξ ὧν Χρισὸς τὸ κατά σάρκα, ὁ ὧν ἐπὶ παντων Θεὸς εὐλο γητὸς εἰς τὰς αἰῶνας. Αμήν. Which original expreffions of the infpired writer may be rendered two ways: first, Thus, as our verfion hath it, Whofe are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Chrift came, who is over all, God bleed for ever: or, 2dly, thus, Whofe are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Chrift came; God, who is over all, be blaffed for ever. two tranflations are pretty different. By the words of the first, the deity of Chrift feems to be plainly enough afferted; by thofe of the fecond, that truth is not affirmed, because they may be well enough applied to God the Father. Now the words of both thefe tranflations cannot be denominated fcriptural phrafes; only he that fubfcribed one of them did in reality make ufe of fcripturelanguage; while he that affented to the other ufed words of human invention, fince there was no juft foundation for them in the original language of the infpired penman: and, confequently, when a perfon makes choice of thofe English phrafes which he reckons most agreeable to the mind of the Holy Ghoft, does not he thereby in effect declare that he thinks the Calvinift or Socinian tranflation preferable to the other, and fo, to all effects and purposes, as much determines the fenfe in which he takes that fcripture, as if he had explained it in words of his own, and fubfcribed them as an article of his faith?

It is known to all thofe who have any acquaintance with controverfy, how much all queftions as to the doctrines of religion depend upon the manner in which the principal texts relating to them ought to be tranflated; and it is a defect in language that they do not almoft entirely do fo: for

could

could we free our phrafes of all ambiguity, and ufe words in a determinate fignification, that for we might certainly know what we mean by every expreffion, the chief controverfy would then be,. in what way fuch a text fhould be tranflated; becaufe, by that means, it would be known what were truth and what were falfehood; and then Confeffions of Faith might be fo framed, that the chief thing imported by our fubfcribing themfhould be, that we believe fuch and foch texts: ought to be fo tranflated; and that the interpretation given of them by the oppofite fide, is erroneous, and contrary to the mind of the Holy Ghoft; or, which is the fame thing, our Confeflions would confift of thofe determinate words whereby one perfon or party thought the original texts fhould be tranflated, and upon that account called them fcripture-phrafes.

Would not Confeffions of this kind be attended! with all the fuppofed bad confequences; would! they not be invefted with the fame authority, calculated for the fame purpofes, and built upon the fame foundations with our present creeds? And! as the cafe juft now obtains (when no language: hath the advantage to be thus perfectly clear andi determinate) with refpect to the fcheme of decla-rations of faith favoured by our adverfaries, it is plain, that the words of no tranflation can be reckoned feripture-phrafes, but in fo far as they agiee exactly to the original; that therefore as man can never be defired to fubfcribe any paffage: of our English Bible, if he fancy that it is not rightly interpreted, more than he can be defiredi to affent to an article in words of human compo-fure; for fo the words of that text will appear to him; and that, for any fociety to expect that he fhould fubfcribe thefe English phrafes, because they appear to them to be truly fcriptural,, is no

N° 3