clear, full, and glorious display of his infinite perfections, worship they know not what. But, by his method of reafoning on this fubject, it would appear his meaning is, that till Jefus was glorified, and the true character of God, as he is pleased to fpeak, fully manifefted in him, none could have fuch a discovery of him, as to be capable of worshipping him in an acceptable manner; and that till then, all who pretended to worship God, muft have worshipped an unknown God, or worshipped they knew not what. If it is really fo, what fhall we think of the faints under the Old Teftament, or of the apoftles and difciples of Chrift before he arose from the dead, and entered into his glory; at least of fuch of them as were not favoured with that remarkable vifion of his glory which Peter, James and John had on the Holy Mount Muft it be faid that all those worshipped they knew not what? If it fhould be alledged, that the faints under the Old Teftament, and the difciples before the refurrection of Chrift, faw his glory, and the glory of God in him, through the glafs of the word and promife of God; I grant they did; but then they had other conceptions of him than thefe of a glorified man, or of a man that was to be glorified; for they faw his divine glory, beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. But any conceptions of this kind, according to our author's notion, muft be accounted imaginary; becaufe, if we may believe him, there cannot be a higher or more grand idea of the object of worship than that of a glorified *man. Thus it will be difficult to free the apostles from the charge of ignorance, and prefumption in extending or elevating their conceptions of the object of worfhip beyond what God has been pleased to reveal, or make known, to angels or men men concerning the fame. On comparing this with the foregoing article of Palamon's Creed, in which, upon the matter, he afcribes a body to the Deity, one would be tempted to fufpect, that he intended to infinuate, that the Scripture does not warrant us to form any other idea of the fupreme Being than that of a GLORIOUS MAN; which, however agreeable to the notion of the old Anthropomorphites, and fome Socinians in later times, is not only unfcriptural, but impious and blafphemous. After all, our author's affertions and reafonings on this head of the object of worship, are fo mystical and unintelligible, that it is hard to know what to make of them; and indeed, when strictly examined, I cannot find that they contain any thing but a jumble, or confufed heap of words, without ideas or any determinate sense; and fo I leave them, till he fhall be pleafed more fully to explain himfelf, and declare his fentiments concerning this matter in fuch language as may be intelligible to perfons of an ordinary capacity; or till he fhall think fit to emerge out of his favourite depths*. * It may be observed that Palamon has his depths as well as the popular preachers. The depths they speak of are, ra Bain re, which by the Apoftle are called anğıxhara di ôdoì dvrỡ, the deep things of God, and his ways that are untraceable or past finding out, incomprehenfible by any finite understanding; but Palamon's depths are depths of error, myfticifm, ambiguity and abfurdity, intended to intangle and overwhelm the fimple and ignorant, fo as to make them lofe all juft views of the falutary truths and doctrines of the gofpel; and therefore may properly enough be called a fan re Zararã, or the depths of Satan. AR ARTICLE III. WHAT has been commonly taught, and believed among Chriftians concerning a covenant of works made with man in a state of innocency, to which fyftematic writers, and mony other Chriftian teachers, are wont to oppofe the covenant of grace, is not only unprofitable, but hurtful; and the diftinction ufually made betwixt the covenant of works and the covenant of grace is fo far from illuftrating, or helping us to form any clearer or more diftinct conceptions of revealed truth concerning our state before God, or the method of acceptance with him, that it has a quite contrary effect, and ferves to fet afide, obfcure, and confound the capital diftinction fet before us in the apoftolic writings betwixt the old and new covenant, or betwixt the covenant ratified by the blood of bulls and goats, and the new covenant in Christ's blood. REMARK S. HE author of the letters does not, indeed, in express terms deny, that there was any fuch tranfaction between God and Adam, as is ordinarily called the covenant of works; yet I think it is evident from what he fays, p. 354. of his letters, that he rejects what has hitherto been taught and believed among Chriftians concerning it, as unneceffary and ufelefs, and is willing to have it exploded as a fyftematic or fcholaftic dream. Here again he chimes in with his old friends the Socinians, and their faithful allies the Remonftrants, with others of the fame kidney; who, for the fake of fome favourite hypothefis on which they have thought proper to form their different fchemes of Chriftianity, have been bold to affirm, that there was no fœderal tranfaction betwixt God and Adam in a ftate of innocency; or at least that, in the covenant made with him, he did not sustain the character of a fœderal head to his pofterity. But as this truth concerning the covenant of works made with Adam, and his foederal headship in respect of his pofterity in that covenant, and others nearly connected with it, have been clearly proved from Scripture; and the cavils of thofe gentlemen against the fame fufficiently answered by many Proteltant writers; it might have been expected, that the letter-writer would have confidered, and made fome reply to their arguments, before he prefumed fo confidently to reject their fentiments, concerning a matter which must be acknowledged to be of very great importance, and nearly to affect the foundations of all religion. He is pleafed indeed to fay, that what they teach on this head ferves to fet afide, obfcure, and confound the capital diftinction fet before us in the apoftolic writings, betwixt the old and new covenant; but as he hath not told us what that old covenant was to which the new is oppofed in the writings of the apoftles; whether we are to underftand by it the moral law, or the law of the ten commandments, with its penal fanction, published to the children of Ifrael from Mount Sinai; or the whole of that typical difpenfation which the church was under before the coming of the Meffiah; neither has he offered the leaft proof in fupport of his extraordinary affertion concerning the diftinction commonly made betwixt the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. To affert or deny, it seems, is enough with this gentleman, for for he feldom puts himself to the trouble either of proving what he affirms, or confuting what he impugns. And therefore, one would think, it is very ungenerous in him to be fo much offended with others for discovering a sense of their own importance; a piece of vanity which, he thinks, he has reafon to charge the popular preachers with, and feverely condemns in them; efpecially as it muft be evident to every intelligent and unprejudiced reader, that there are many paragraphs, yea whole pages in his book from which there is scarce any thing to be learned, but that the author certainly had a very high conceit of his own understanding and abilities. But though a fimple denial might be a fufficient reply to his confident affertions, which he does not fo much as attempt to prove, by any fair method of argumentation; it may not be improper to inquire a little more narrowly into what he delivers as his opinion concerning the two covenants of works and grace, and the diftinction ordinarily made betwixt them, which he treats with fo much contempt. I prefume it will not be denied, that God made man upright; that, as a creature capable of moral government, he was neceffarily fubject to the law of his Creator, and bound to yield perfect obedience thereto, in whatever way it might be revealed or made known to him; and that he was originally endued with fuch a perfect knowledge of his Maker's will, as was fufficient to inform him concerning the whole extent of his duty towards him, in the circumstances he was then placed in; as alfo with full power and ability to yield all that obedience that was required of him. Now it is equally certain, that no obedience he performed, or could perform to the law of his Creator, could of itself merit, or intitle him to any reward or fur |