29. A Dialogue between Ifaac Walton and Homologiftes: in which the Character of Bishop Sanderson is defended against the Author of the Confeffional. 8vo. Pr. 15. Fletcher.

In the year 1650, an oath of engagement was framed by the parliament in these words: "I A. B. do promife, that I will be true and faithful to the commonwealth of England, as it is now established, without king or lords."

Upon this occafion, a queftion was put to Dr. Sanderson, whether a royalift, who had taken the oath of allegiance to king Charles I. might confcientioufly take this engagement.

He answers, that this oath admits of two fenfes, one stricter, the other more moderate. The ftricter is this: "I acknowledge the fovereign power of this nation, whereunto I owe al legiance and fubjection, to be rightly flated in the houfe of commons, wherein neither king nor lords (as fuch) have, or henceforth ought to have, any share. And I promise that I will perform all allegiance and fubjection thereunto; and maintain the fame with my fortunes and life, to the utmost of my power."

The more moderate is the following.

"Whereas, for the prefent, the fupreme power in England [under which power I now am] is actually poffeffed and exercifed by the house of commons, without either king or lords; I promise that, fo long as I live under that power and protec tion, I will not contrive or attempt any act of hoftility against them; but living quietly and peaceably under them, will endeavour myself, faithfully in my place and calling, to do, what every good member of a commonwealth ought to do, for the fafety of my country, and prefervation of civil fociety therein."

The doctor then endeavours to prove, that the latter was moft probably the fenfe of the impofers. But for his answer he has been cenfured by the author of the Confeflional, who (as the charge is stated in this Dialogue) alledges,

That what he hath given as the more probable fenfe of the engagement is evidently not fo;

That he himself did not believe his conftruction of it to be fuch as the impofers intended, or would allow ;

That, if his querift was doubtful about the meaning of it, he ought in confcience to have referred him to these imposers ;. That in reasoning upon the engagement, he is inconfiftent with his own doctrine concerning the covenant;

And, That the defign of this tract on the engagement was to encourage prevarication with a ftate-oath among the friends of the exiled king.

The author of this piece defends Dr. Sanderfon, against these

feveral

feveral charges, and more particularly endeavours to fhew, that the impofers, for political reafons, were contented, that the latter fhould be the declared fenfe of the engagement.

He has introduced Ifaac Walton, who compofed the life of bishop Sanderson, as one party in the Dialogue; to the other he has given the name of Homologiftes; and as far as the Confeffional is refponfible for any thing said by him, it is either referred to or quoted. The subject is debated in a liberal and ingenious manner.

30. Remarks upon the Rev. Mr. Whitefield's Letter to the ViceChancellor of the University of Oxford; in a Letter to the Rev. Mr. Whitefield. By a late Member of the University of Oxford. 8vo. Pr. Is. Fletcher.

This is a very judicious and fpirited answer to Mr. Whitefield's letter.

31. A Letter to a young Gentleman under Sentence of Death. 8vo. Pr. 3d. Nicoll.

A piece of the quinteffence of methodifm, worked up into Salve for a fore confcience,'

32. The Creed of Eternal Generationifts. Compiled from the Writings of fome of thoje fenfible, confiftent, and orthodox Gentlemen. By Ifaac Harman. 8vo. Pr. 6d. Johnson.

*

This writer has collected fome of the dogmas and pofitions of Dr. Gill, Mr. Brine, and others, concerning the fuppofed eternal generation of Jefus Chrift; and, by setting them in oppofition to one another, has represented them as a system of contradictions.

33. The Invalidity of Schifmatical and Heretical Baptism proved from Reafon, Scripture, Councils, and Fathers. By Orthodoxus." 800. Pr. 6d. Steare.

This writer tells us, that heretics and fchifmatics are no part of the church; that they are under the influence of the devil, and in communion with him; that they constitute a fociety. with him at their head; that into this fociety they can only initiate; and that true baptifin is only to be had where there is. a true church. Now the church, fays he, is a fociety of people profeffing the fame faith, and living under the fame laws. This fociety, however much difperfed, muft live in a unity of faith and famenefs; their faith muft be the, doctrines. and precepts revealed by Chrift, and taught by his apoftles

and

and their fucceffors, and always received as fuch every where, and by all people."

If the condition, expreffed in the latter part of this paragraph, be neceffary to conftituté a true church, there can be no true church upon earth; for it is impoffible to mention any creed, or fyftem of doctrines which all people receive as the genuine doctrines of Chrift: confequently, upon this writer's principles, there can be no fuch thing as true baptifin.

The diftinguishing characteristic of this author is an intemperate zeal for the point he undertakes to establish.

34. The real Antiquity and Authority of the Church of Rome vindicated and proved from the Scriptures of Truth, &c. 800. Pr. 1s. 6d. Johnson.

The following paragraph will be fufficient to convince every reader of understanding, that this performance is a piece of nonfenfical trumpery.

How greatly mistaken, and blafphemous are they, who take upon them to teach men, faying, God's word is a dead letter; and that, men must have another spirit, befides the word to understand the word. Thus like Pharaoh's gentlemen, or fellows of his royal fociety, Nebuchadnezzar's wife men, our modern reviewers, with our fpiritual teachers, dare be blafphemous enough to take upon them the giving an account of the Spirit, feparate from the Word, by their expofitions and fpiritual teachings, as immediately infpired, or directly fent from heaven, but are no wiser than the fellows of Pharaoh's royal fociety, or modern reviewers, &c. Happy the man not overtaken by thefe fpiritual gentlemen, nor by the reviewers or fellows of Pharaoh's royal fociety, &c. but fimply gives heed to the word of God, as the very mind of God, and all that is neceflary to make men happy in time, and in eternity.'

At the conclufion he says, " It amounts to a demonstration, that the prefent church of Rome is antichrift, is that beaft; the mafs book is that image to the beaft, agreeable to the pa gan worship; and her, that is, the beaft's infallibility and authority, is from the dragon, which dragon is the devil. Thus the real antiquity, power, and infallibility of the church of Rome is vindicated, and proved from the fcriptures of truth.'

35. Remarks on the Public Service of the Church; with fome Directions for our Behaviour there. By a Clergyman of the Church of England. Highly proper to be underflood by People of all Ranks and Ages. 8vo. Pr. 6d. Hooper. As many people are guilty of miftakes and improprieties, in the performance of divine fervice, in the church, this writer,

to obviate all irregularities of this nature, has drawn up a feries of obfervations on the Liturgy, interfperfed with occafional directions to the congregation: and, for the benefit of the common people, has thrown them into a compendious. form. Some of thefe remarks are his own; others are extracted from Biffe's Beauty of Holinefs.

For the entertainment-or, confidering the nature of the work, we should rather fay-for the edification of our readers, we fhall present them with three or four of his directions, rélative to the behaviour of the people during the time of divine. fervice.

Let thofe who are troubled with any violent cough, omit attending on public worship, till fuch time as they are better; for, in fuch cafes, God will readily accept of their private devotions, when done with a confcientious and pious intention.

• This alfo fhould be done by fuch perfons as cannot attend church without taking an infant in their arms: for what attention can they pay to divine fervice, who are conftantly bufied in quieting a child, whofe frequent noife is not only a trouble to themselves, but a difturbance to the whole congregation?

I muft openly condemn any kind of trifling, fuch as adjufting of the drefs, counting of money, cutting the nails, reading dif ferent parts of the prayer-book, and many other things of the like nature, as I have, from time to time, obferved, in the courfe of divine fervice. In this they take advantage from the height of the pews, hugging themfelves in being obfcured from the fight of others: but let fuch perfons remember, they are in the prefence, and under the immediate eye of God, who is nicely watchful of all their actions and thoughts, and will punish the offender, at a time when he leaft expects it.

• Another thing I have often obferved, and which I cannot help taking notice of, which is, that of people's starting up at the leaft extraordinary noise: if a book or stick but fall, or a dog but bark, (which animal fhould be fhut up at honië, and not fuffered to enter the church, it not only being wicked and profane, but frequently a great difturber of devotion) I fay, let a ftick but fall, a dog but bark, or any other like trivial accident, and you fhall have twenty perfons starting up,. even from their knees, in the midst of a prayer, and stretching out their necks, to fee what is the matter, to the great contempt of worship, and the manifeft deftruction of devotion. Whenever I fee this happen, I cannot but conclude, that fuch people have not a fpark of piety, or the leaft fenfe of religion; and am fecretly led to wish, they would rather stay at home, than come to church, to make a inock of God, and disturb ..her people; for fuch behaviour, as every other of the fame

kind

kind I have mentioned, is not only bidding a defiance to Got and good men, but to good fenfe and good manners.

Too

One other thing I muft take the liberty to mention, and I have done; that is, the improper ufe of the fan, which, I fear, indulges too many with an opportunity of hiding, under the pretence of modefty, or that of veiling their faces from the infpection of others; (an idle cuftom this, as both face and hands should be held open, and directed up towards heaven). I fay, I fear it indulges too many with an opportunity of hiding, under thefe pretences, their mock prety, or, what is little different, their impious arowfinefs, or wilul indevotion. often have I seen the profaneft levities, and most indecent fooleries, committed behind that fashionable machine: it may, perhaps, be of fingular service at other times, and in other places, by concealing a whifper, fparing a bluf, or preventing a confufion; but in the houfe of God, where every one should collect their scattered thoughts, as if they were going to die, they fhould not have the leaft temptation to the contrary. It were fincerely to be wifhed, therefore, that the female part of every congregation would, for the future, leave this temptation to levity at home; for a truly devout worshipper can never want a guard against wanderings.'

In this extract we evidently difcern the air and manner of that enterprifing genius, who has converted Hogarth's prints into lectures of morality.

36. The Principles of Infidelity and Faith confider'd in a comparative View. Two Difcourfes preached before the University of Oxford, at St. Mary's in the Morning, at St. Peter's in the Afternoon, on the First Sunday in Lent; March 21, 1768. By John Rawlins, M. A. of Chrift Church. 8vo. Pr. 15.

Fletcher and Co.

This writer gives us a general view of the various ill-concerted fchemes of Atheifts and Deifts, and fets in an oppofite light the advantages which arife from a tue Chriftian faith. He then confiders fome of the principal pleas of unbelievers; and concludes with an application to the friends of revealed religion.

These Discourses are ingenious, though there are some paffages in them which an accurate and elegant writer would wish to correct. They may be very ferviceable to young ftudents in divinity, as they contain a fynopfis of the chief controverfies now fubfifting between unbelievers and Christian writers.