Thus, Sir, I have re-affumed the argument which you have animadverted upon, and, I think, it will appear to every impartial reader, that I have given a plain, a fair, and a true reprefentation of the cafe. And, I beg leave to obferve, that I have confidered it in its own proper circumftances, as it ftands related in the hiftory, without annexing to it, or reafoning from any foreign circumftances, which did not attend the cafe. And therefore, I wonder how you could, as in your title page, call it Mr. Chubb's cafe of Abraham; and at the conclufion of your remarks, fpeaking of me, you fay, "it is, or at least

feems to be, neither Abraham's, nor Ifaac's, but a cafe of his own imagination"; as if 1 had introduced, and argued about a foreign cafe, and not the very cafe of Abraham as it is related in the hiftory.

Having ftated the cafe, and fhewn the force of my reasoning upon it, I now proceed to examine what you have offered against it. The fum of which, I think, is contained in the two following particulars. First, you fay, page 31, "I lay down this fuppofition, that

there was no circumftance that could ren"der it fit that Ifaac fhould die." Again, page 33, you fay of me, "Whereas Mr. Chubb

fuppofes, that there could not be any cir"cumftance, which could render it proper "that Abraham fhould take away the life "of Ifaac." Again, page 42, you declare it to be my fuppofition, viz. "That it was • abfo

abfolutely impoffible that there could be cir"cumftances, which might render it fit that Ifaac fhould die." Again, page 44, you fay of me, that I "all along only fuppofe, "that there could be no circumftance that "could render it fit that Ifaac fhould die." This propofition, viz. [that no circumstance could poffibly attend the cafe, which could render it fit that Ifaac fhould die,] you fay, that I have all along supposed it, that I have taken it for granted, that I have laid it down as a first principle, and you confider it as that, upon which the whole ftrength of my reasoning depends. Secondly, you endeavour to fhew, that the forementioned fuppofition (which you charge upon me) is groundless; by introducing a variety of circumstances, which you fay, would have rendered it fit that Ifaac fhould die. And thus you fuppose the force of my reafoning is deftroyed.

As to the first point you have advanced, viz. that I have all along fuppofed, and taken for granted, and laid it down as a first principle, and reafoned from it, viz. that there was no circumftance, that could render it fit that Isaac fhould die; and, that it was abfolutely impoffible that there could be circumftances, which might render it fit that Ifaac fhould die, and the like; this is a mistake. I have not fuppofed, nor taken for granted, nor laid down as a first principle, nor reafoned from any fuch propofition; but have plainly and evidently fuppofed, and allowed the

contrary,

Thus, page " And whilft

(viz. Ifaac's)

contrary, as appears from my words themfelves, in the tract you refer to. 30, my words are as follow. no circumstance attended his "cafe, which might render his life injuri"ous to the common happiness; or any o"ther ways render it fit that he should die." Here you fee, Sir, that I have been fo far from fuppofing, and taking for granted what you fix upon me, that on the contrary, I have in exprefs words allowed, that Ifaac's life being injurious to the common happiness, (by which I mean, that if by his wicked actions, he had been a common enemy to the common good,) was a circumftance, which if it had been his cafe, might have rendered it fit that he should die. And not only fo, but I have farther allowed, that any otherways: by which I mean, that if by any other circumftance than that of Ifaac's wicked bebaviour, his life fhould have fo come in competition with the publick good, as that one of thefe muft of neceffity have given place to the other; then, any fuch circumstance (if any fuch there could have been), might, for any thing I have faid or fuppofed to the contrary, have rendered it fit that Ifaac should die. But then, by the publick good, I mean the publick good of the inhabitants of the globe only, and not the publick good of. the inhabitants of any other globe; it being, I think, exceedingly weak and idle to fuppofe, that Ifaac's life did, or could come in com

petition

petition with the publick good, of the inhabitants of any other planet, or remote region of the univerfe. When I read your remarks, I was furprized to find, that you had afferted of me as above, and had repeated it over, and over. This led me to read attentively all that I have written upon the subject; and with my utmost care, I cannot find any thing, which gives the leaft countenance for what you have pretended; but the contrary is exprefly allowed, as in the citation above.

Having fhewed that what you have offered against me, in the first place, is perfectly groundless, I might very juftly excufe my felf from taking any notice of what you have urged against me in the fecond; because fuppofing you have proved your point, it makes nothing against me. I have not only fuppofed, but proved that no circumftance [did] attend the cafe, which rendered it fit that Ifaac fhould die: but then, I have not fuppofed, and therefore I was not concerned to prove that no circumftance could [poffibly] attend the cafe, which might render it fit that Ifaac fhould die. And therefore, if you could produce a thousand circumstances, in which it would have been fit for Ifaac to die, fuppofing he had been under any of those circumftances; yet all this would be foreign to the argument, and it would make nothing against me; because they are fuch circumftances, as the cafe of Ifaac was not concerned with.

But

But least you should still imagine, that what you have farther offered against me is just in itself, and pertinent to your purpose, I therefore proceed,

Secondly, To examine the feveral circum-. ftances you have produced, as they lie fcattered in your fermon, and which you suppofe, if they or any of them had been Ifaac's cafe, would have rendered it fit that he should die. Which circumftances I think, are as follow: First, If Ifaac had been a very bad man, had rendered himself an enemy to the common good, and a plague and peft to mankind; or, fecondly, if God had foreseen that this would be the cafe; or, thirdly, if God was difpofed to translate him from one part of his dominion to another, to answer the purpose of a general good; or, fourthly, if God had been difpofed to take him into heaven (as St. Paul) there to fanctify him for his chofen veffel, and ordain him his minifter, to return to this world, and deliver his will to mankind; or, fifthly, to recompense the lofs of this world's goods to him; or, fixthly, to manifeft God's own glory; or, Seventhly, to exemplify the father's obedience, or the fon's fubmiffion, for their improvement and that of pofterity; or, laftly, if God had intended to raise him from the dead, in order to evince the poffibility and certainty of a future refurrection, and to inftruct the world in the affairs of another life. Thefe, Sir, are the circumstances you have produced, and (I