nence: fo feverely juft is a third, that he pays tithes of mint, anife, and cummin; not however exceeding the righte oufnefs of the pharifees, who, the more fuccefsfully to devour the widow and fatherless, and to cover their other acts of impiety and immorality, made long and frequent prayers, ⚫ and failed twice every week, in many other refpects rigidly paying and exacting obedience, not to the ftrict letter alone of the Mofaical law, but to the numberlefs traditions of their elders.'

In the charges to his clergy, which immediately follow the fermons, he addreffes to them fuch admonitions and advices as he apprehended moft fuitable to the particular juncture of public affairs, whether political or ecclefiaftical. In the firft, delivered at his primary vifitation, which was not long after the happy fuppreffion of the most horrid and unnatural rebellion' of 1715, he complains of the great degene racy and corruption in the nation, a great depravation of moral as well as religious principles, and, in too many, of the most shameful contempt of all things facred, even of all those most folemn oaths and obligations, which in all ages and countries have been held inviolable.' He speaks with a proper contempt and abhorrence of popery, and disaffection to the excellent prince then on the throne; exhorts his clergy to promote union and concord, and urges feveral ufeful confiderations relating to their moral and religious conduct; one thing he tells them, which, in his opinion, ought to

be most frequently recommended, and moft earnestly prefied ' on men's confciences, is the daily exercise of religious du⚫ties in private families: which, fhould it once generally obtain, as without all difpute it ought every where to do, would foon of itfelf, and without any other affiftance, except the divine bleffing, put a stop to that deluge of profanenefs and irreligion which hath broken in upon us.' He obferves to them, that befide their general obligation, both as chriftians and as clergymen, they are farther required by one of the rubrics prefixed before our excellent liturgy, to fay daily the morning and evening prayer, either privately or openly, and therefore cannot be fuppofed unmindful of their duty in this refpect; but if by the pious labours and example of the clergy, this practice was once generally introduced into other families, the happy fruits of it would foon appear, by the manifeft increase of religion and good manners in all parts of the nation.'

In most of his charges, the good bifhop, however, delivers himself rather in a loofe and declamatory, than a judicious, connected, and folid manner; and blends fome generous and

free

6

free conceffions with weak fentiments and low phrafes, in-
dicating rather too flaming a zeal for fome favourite opi-
nions. He frequently points his artillery against fome emi-
nent perfons of the church of England, particularly Bishop
Hoadly, and Dr. Samuel Clarke and his friends. His brother
prelate he condefcends to treat with too little regard to delicacy
of fentiment, or decency of language. Dr. Sykes feems like-
wife the object of his refentment; yet, to that learned wri-
ter's judicious and complete "vindication of the innocency of
"error," againft the bifhop's mifreprefentations, he never
though fit to reply. Tho' we have carefully reviewed this
debate, we do not prefume to interpofe our judgment upon an
affair which hath been fo long before the public; by whom
the decifion hath been already and fully made. But we can-
not allow ourselves wholly to overlook the groundless feve-
rity of his cenfures on that scheme of the Trinity, which
he warmly oppofes; not duly recollecting how fully his ani-
madverfions recoil upon his own practice. To have differ-
ent objects of worship, or to worship any object but God,
is idolatry in the language of fcripture, where the rule is,
thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only halt thou
ferve; which words not only appropriate the worship and
service spoken of to the perfon of the father, whom alone
Chrift himself worshipped; but likewife explode the bishop's
own practice in worthip, who called upon the fon of David,
and the lamb of God, to hear him: and we prefume the bi-
fhop would not plead, that either the fon of David, or the
lamb of God, was perfonally and individually the fupreme
God; or that the fupreme father was confcious of the frailtics
and infirmities of mortality, and was perfonally and indivi-
'dually the fon of David, or the lamb of God; or that the
glory of the one felf-exiftent, independent, and unbegotten.
God and Father of all, and that of the derived and begotten.
fon, was numerically or fpecifically the fame, without any dif-
ference or inequality. Efpecially as in one place he intimates, that
the only begotten of the eternal father was not effentially pof-
feffed of original and infinite majefty, but for ever SITS at the
right hand thereof. Elsewhere, he fuggefts, that the Bangorian
principles, relating to fincerity, &c. had prepared the way for
licentious fcepticism, and did certainly end in downright infi-
delity. But he in other places declares, that there muft
fomewhere be a very great fault, when ANY ONE of the
⚫ meanest believers is excluded from communion, who defires
to embrace it on the terms which God hath prescribed-
VOL. XI.
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and that as the chriftian religion hath been completely publifhed to the world by our bleffed Lord and his apostles, NO ADDITION can be made to it without a new revelation; here then is no room for invention, &c.'

In his fixth charge he seems to attack and expofe the folly of the methodists, who appear to have more zeal than reafon or prudence; as reafoning themfelves out of the ufe of their reafon, and gradually finking into enthusiasm and fuperftition.

We decline to animadvert on fome errors in his pieces, in chronology and hiftory; but we cannot take leave of the archbishop without noting, that his remark, that before the birth of Jacob and Efau, God loved the former and hated the latter, can neither confift with the affertions of the prophet, Mal. i. 2-4. nor the reafonings of the apostle, Rom. ix. 13, in both which places thefe patriarchs are not confidered perfonally, but politically, as the fathers of families, and the founders of nations.

The third volume contains four and twenty lectures in Latin, delivered in the public schools, where he refided as regius profeffor of divinity, about thirty years; the principal fubjects of them relate to the defence of revelation against unbelievers; in which the truth, infpiration, excellency, and usefulness of revealed religion in general, and chriftianity in particular, are distinctly reprefented: to which are added, two orations; one at the public commencement at Oxford, July 13, 1713; the other to the convocation of the province of Canterbury, Dec. 10, 1741.

ART. XLI. Sixteen Sermons formerly printed, now collected into one volume. Of the evils faljely imputed to chriftianity, in two Sermons.-On the queen's acceffion day.-Of Jubjection to the higher powers.-The unhappiness of abfolute monarchy.—St. Paul's behaviour to the civil magiftrate.-Of the extremes of implicit faith and infidelity, in four fermons.-The delufion of proteftants. The restoration made a bleffing.-The nature and duty of a public fpirit.-The nature of the kingdom of Christ. -At the funeral of Mrs. Howland.-On Jan. 30, before the houfe of lords. To which are added, Six fermons upon public occafions, never before printed. The nature and duty of moderation.-Of God's dealings with finful nations.—The duty of praying for governors.-Of the government of God's providence. -The mifchief of inteftine quarrels.-The confideration of our latter end. By Benjamin lord bishop of Winchester. 8vo. 5s. Knapton.

THIS

HIS able and worthy prelate's character, as a writer, is above any praises we can beftow: we fhall content ourfelves, therefore, with obferving only, in general, that there are few writings in the English language, wherein there is greater plainnefs and perfpicuity, greater energy and ftrength of reafoning, or a more free and mafterly manner, than in most of his lordship's. As to thofe fermons that were formerly printed, we need fay nothing; the public is fufficiently acquainted with them. The fix additional ones are plain, practical difcourfes, without any affectation of elegance, in regard to the language, or refinement in point of reafoning.

The fhort account his lordship has, in his preface, given of all the fermons in this collection, may not be unacceptable to our readers: it is as follows.

The two first of them were preached at St. Swithin's church, in the year 1702, where I then officiated for Mr. Hodges, the worthy rector of that parish, during his abfence at fea, as chaplain-general of the fleet. They were occafioned by the great fury in party matters, which then raged: and were honestly defigned to fhew, that the violences of chriftians ought not to be charged upon the chriftian religion itself. "The third fermon was preached at the church of St. Peter's Poor, on the acceffion-day of Queen Anne to the throne, • March 8. 1704-5, when I thought it my duty to take that first opportunity, after my coming thither, of declaring against the abufes of that day. The printing of it was entirely owing to the earnest requeft of fome of the chief parifhioners, who heard it. When it appeared, I was much abused in a pamphlet, for what they thought fo well of, by a then neighbouring clergyman, to whom I gave no anfwer,, ⚫ but by a private letter to a friend of his.

The fourth is, that sermon about magiftrates and subjects, preached at St. Lawrence's, on Sept. 29, 1705, which was followed by a long controverfy upon the fubject of it. was called to it by the accidental mention of me, by a friend, to Sir Owen Buckingham, then lord mayor, with whom I had "not myself the least acquaintance. The reader has heard, if not read, enough of this long ago. I fhall fay no more of it in this place, than that, from the date of this fermon, near fifty years ago, a torrent of angry zeal began to pour ⚫out itself upon me; which, tho' for the prefent, indeed, very difagreeable, yet opened a way to fuch explications of the doctrine of it, and reafonings about it, as have produced what, at the end, makes me not to repent of having ⚫ preached it.

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The fifth was preached at the affizes, in March 1707-8, at Hertford, at the requeft of the high-fheriff, Sir Richard Houblon. The fubjects of it, the happiness of the present eftablishment, and the unhappiness of abfolute monarchy, were ⚫ pointed out to me, too ftrongly to be neglected, by the public writings of that time; particularly thofe of Mr. Lefly, then much celebrated by many.

The fixth was preached at the fame place, at the fummer affixes in 1708, at the request of the fame gentleman. The fubject is St. Paul's behaviour to the civil magiftrate: which was chofen by me, on account of many paffages, relating to that apostle, in the political controverfies in thofe days very • warmly handled, and therefore not unfeasonable.

The four next fermons, about the duty of enquiry, and the extremes of implicit faith and infidelity, were preached at my parish church, in the year 1712, on occafion of the many writings published about that time, which feemed, on one hand, to attack the chriftian religion itself; and, on the • other, to discourage a free examination of it.

The eleventh, called The prefent delufion of many, &c. was preached at St. Peter's Poor, Nov. 5, 1715, and was occafioned by the rebellion then on foot, and the unaccountable conduct of many proteftants with relation to it, which fufficiently juftified the title given to the fermon, when it was, at the defire of many, immediately printed.

The twelfth was preached on May 29, 1716, at St. James's chapel, at the request of the then lord almoner, to whose care the fermon of that day belongs. All that I shall fay of it is, that the subject of it, viz. the restoration made. a bleffing by the proteftant fucceffion, which had then just taken place, must be allowed to be as pertinent to the day · as any that could poffibly have been thought of.

The thirteenth was preached to the fociety of the gentle< men of Wales, March 1, 1716. The fubject of it, the nature and duty of a public fpirit, I thought particularly of importance at that time; and I can truly fay, was chosen without the leaft thought of reflecting on any one man, or fet of men, more than another; but entirely with a view to the duty of all equally, to have a facred regard to the good of the whole, and to facrifice all their paffions to that.

The fourteenth is the fermon concerning the nature of the kingdom of Chrift, which is known too well, by the many public debates occafioned by it, to need any word about it here. At whofe request it was commanded to be published,