QUESTIONS &c.

QUESTION I.

DEAR SIR.

E, your Brethren in Chrift, are at your requeft here af fembled in the presence of God, and of this Congregation, to acknowledge, receive, and approve you, in the full exercise of that chri

ftian Miniftry, for which you have been prepared by a regular and learned education; and we do it with the greater pleasure, as during feveral years you have given fatiffactory proof of your abilities, and qualifications for it, as an Affiftant Minifter in this Church.

We pretend to no dominion over your faith, or authority to invest you with any new powers or rights, by the impofition of our hands; which we retain only as an ancient Rite or Ceremony whereby we bear our public and folemn teftimony, that we esteem you worthy of that facred Miniftry which you have chofen to devote yourself to, and † A

of

of discharging all the Paftoral Duties without exception, which Chrift has appointed to be performed in his Church, recommending you to God by prayer, and to the Church of Chrift by our unanimous fuffrages.

We prefume not to offer to you any articles of faith or religion in the words of men, or canons of human contrivance, for your affent and fubfcription. But as there is a propriety in the thing itself, and as it is the religion of Chrift only, in its native and uncorrupted fimplicity, of which we would be understood to approve and declare you a Minifter, will you give us, on this occafion, your own ideas of the general Plan of that excellent and divine religion of Jesus Christ, which has been, and is from henceforth, by this folemn dedication of yourself to it, to be the chief and important fubject of the your life?

labours of

ANSWER.

In the view, Sir, that you are pleased to represent it, I readily confent to lay before you, and this affembly, a general account of the religious principles which I profess, and apprehend I have drawn from the pure foun tains of religious knowledge.

By the exercise of my rational powers upon myself and other objects, I am led into the firm belief of the existence of an eternal, independent, immenfe Being, which we call God, poffeffed of infinite power, wisdom, and

goodness,

goodness, with all conceivable, all poffible perfection of nature, character, and ftate the original caufe of all other Beings, the fource of all the excellence, perfection, and happiness that obtain in the universe; the Preferver of the whole world, the righteous Governor and Judge of moral agents, amongst whom is the race of mankind.

But the character and moral government of this glorious Being, especially his dispensations towards the human race, with their duty, are more particularly and clearly represented in the Scriptures, which are of divine original, and contain a juft account of all neceffary truth relating to religion.

From them I learn, that the fupreme Governor of the world, to fhow his difpleafure against fin, banished our first parents from Paradife in which he had placed them, for disobedience to a pofitive prohibition; and inflicted upon them the penalty threatened to their tranfgreffion, though not without giving them the promise of a deliverer from the evils to which they had subjected themselves and their pofterity.

In the fucceeding ages of the world this promife was repeated for the encouragement of well difpofed perfons; and various means were made use of by the wife and merciful God, to preferve or reftore true religion amongst men; particularly it was renewed to Abraham, one branch of whofe family he chofe and diftinguished from the rest of the

world

world by peculiar laws and rites of worship, to convey to pofterity the knowledge of this promise with feveral important doctrines and duties of religion.

At the time appointed by infinite wisdom, as moft proper for it, he fent the long expected perfon into the world, to fave men from perdition, and bring them to everlasting

life.

The well-beloved Son of God, in obedience to his Father, and from compaffion to mankind, took flesh, and was born of a Virgin, lived in a mean condition, converfed familiarly with men, taught the great doctrines and duties of true religion, then very much unknown and neglected, corrupted by traditions, and human inventions; illuftrated by his own temper and conduct the pure doctrines and rules of duty which he taught, feting an example of ftrict purity, of warm benevolence, of fublime piety, of univerfal holiness; and proved alfo his divine commiffion and character, as the Meffiah, by miraculous works.

Thus did this divine Teacher proceed for a confiderable time, glorioufly difplaying the excellency of the divine perfections and government, and his own good will to mankind, till he was feized by wicked men, who unjustly condemned and crucified him. But the violent oppofition which they made to his caufe, and the evils they inflicted on his perfon, were fo far from fruftrating the great

defign

defign on which he came into the world, from puting a stop to the exercife of his piety to God, and his beneficence to men, that they afforded him an opportunity of promoting it in the most effectual manner; for as by these last sufferings he fet us an example of a fteady adherence to the caufe of righteoufnefs, under the greatest natural and temporal evils that can befall us, fo in death he gave himfelf for us an offering and a facrifice to God of a sweet smelling favour.

Nor did he long remain under the dominion of death, for on the third day he was raised again by the mighty power of God; appeared to, and converfed with many of his difciples, especially the Apostles, who were particularly appointed to be witneffes of this great event, by which he was declared in the most convincing manner, to be the Son of God and Saviour of the world. And after converfing with them feveral times for the fpace of forty days, and inftructing them in the things relating to the kingdom of God, commanding them to profelyte all nations, baptizing them into the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft, teaching them to obferve whatever he had commanded them; he was taken up into heaven from among them, and feated at the right-hand of the Majesty on high, as a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance and remiffion of fins unto all people.

Vefted