of one who, because of his own lufts, cannot endure found doctrine, will be fatisfied with a very equivocal exo neration. You know that when Arius was brought before Conftantine, to give in a written confeffion of his faith, agreeable to that of the orthodox, and called to fwear to the truth of it, his confcience was fatisfied with the filly evafion of laying his hand upon his breaft where he had a genuine declaration of his faith concealed, and folemnly protefting that he believed as he had written. Doubtlefs, the Doctor is waiting the event with the greatest anxiety. But however eafily his confcience may be fatisfied, the confciences of many others will be deeply affected. "What? (will they exclaim) bad as the church of Rome is, vari"ous and oppofite as the principles are which are maintain"ed within her pale, juftly as the deferves the character "of the Mother of Harlots, and her fupreme head that "of Antichrift; yet she never fuffered in any one of her "members a denial of the Lord who bought us." They tremble, and they tremble juftly, at a denial of the Deity of Chrift. From the propagation, from the toleration, and from the diffufion of this dreadful error, may the ruin of the seven churches of Afia be dated. Was it not Arianifm that converted thefe once glorious churches into "fynagogues of Satan?" When the ftars of the oriental church had fallen from heaven," were not " the candlesticks foon removed out of their places?" Was it not Arius who paved the way for Mahomet? Yes; it was not fo much the power of delufion, or the ravages of the fword, as the doctrine of a made god, that established the abominations of a falfe prophet. Was it not the blafphemy of Socinus which eclipfed the glory of the Proteftant church of Poland, in its very dawn? Yes; it was the doctrine of a deified man, that restored them to the embraces of the Mother of Harlots." It was the denial of the One Mediator which threw them back into the bofom of a church, that avowedly believes in, and worships a multitude of mediators, "which no man can number." And what friend of Jefus, what genuine fon of the church, nay, what lover of his country will not tremble for the church of Scotland! Well may they who, although they have not feen, have yet heard of the glory of "the firft house," weep with a loud voice when they fee not "the foundation of ( 147 ) 147) of the fecond" laid, but that of the first razed. This northern church was once a polar ftar for the direction of others when escaping from the shipwreck of Rome. Thy church, O Scotland, was once the joy and the envy of other churches! The refurrection of others was like that of Lazarus, with all the incumbrance of grave-clothes: but thy rifing was glorious, like that of thy Lord, who left the badges of his fepulture behind him. "How is the gold become dim! How is the moft fine gold changed! The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the "world, would not have believed, that the adversary and "the enemy would have entred the gates of Jerufalem." Had one predicted in the days of our zealous ancestors, That a member of the church of Scotland, while in communion with her, fhould openly deny the deity, and the atonement of the Son of God, that "the adverfary fhould enter" into the Holy of holies," to degrade the "Highprieft of our profeffion," they certainly would have rejected him as one who "prophefied lies," that he might "make the heart of the righteous fad, whom the Lord had not "made fad, and strengthen the hands of the wicked." σε Ye holy martyrs of the Lamb, who were once "burning and fhining lights," in this reformed church; ye, who, in adhering to your teftimony for Jefus in his mediatory character, as the only Head of the church, in oppofition to the ufurpations of the kings of the earth, "loved not your lives unto the death," but chearfully "refifted unto blood, ftriving against fin;" what would you fay, in what manner would you cry from " under the altar,' did you know that that very blood, by which you overcame, even the blood of the Lamb, is treated "as an unholy thing;" that "the Son of God is trampled under foot ;" that his divinity is denied, not by " the kings of the earth," with whom you wrefiled, but by fome who are members of that church which you once adorned, who are your fuc. ceffors in office, who have derived their minifterial powers in a direct line from you, who fit in the fame judicative courts which you once conftituted, and who occupy the very pulpits which were once filled by you? Well might the ftone cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber anfwer it!" “Thou, O Lord, haft brought a vine out of Egypt, "thou hast caft out the heathen, and planted it. The hills "were covered with the fhadow of it, and the boughs "thereof were like the goodly cedars. Why haft thou "then broken down her hedges, fo that all they who pafs "by the way do pluck her? The boar out of the wood "doth wafte it, and the wild beaft of the field doth devour it. Return, we beseech thee, O God of hofts, look "down from heaven, and behold, and vifit thy vine! "Look down from heaven and behold, from the habita❝tion of thy holinefs and of thy glory: Where is thy zeal, and thy ftrength, the founding of thy bowels and ❝of thy mercies towards us? Are they reftrained?" I am, Reverend and Honourable Gentlemen, Your most humble fervant, A FRIEND TO TRUTH. AN AN INQUIRY into the Tendency of the So- NESS. WHILE the first edition of thefe Letters was in the prefs, it appeared to the author that he ought to have paid more attention to the high claims made by the doctrine contained in the Practical Effay, as to its influence in producing holinefs. It was not then in his power to fup. ply the want; and it is now lefs neceffary, as others have illuftrated the vanity of its pretenfions in this respect. But it may not be fuperfluous to fubjoin to the preceding elucidations of the genuine nature of the doctrine, a few thoughts on its certain tendency, especially, as the hearts of the fimple are in great danger of being deceived by "good words and fair fpeeches: And as the natural influence that any doctrine hath on the practice, is one leading criterion by which the great Apoftle of our profeffion hath taught us to "try the fpirits;"-" By their fruits ye, fhall know them." I. The Socinian doctrine reduces the fupreme ftandard of holinefs, by the injury it does to the divine perfections. The plan of redemption, as implying a real atonement, exhibits thefe in a glorious and majestic light. It discovers unparalleled Wifdom. For no creature could have conceived a scheme according to which the injured attributes of God fhould have been, not merely vindicated, but ineffably glorified, and yet the tranfgreffor faved. Therefore, angels themselves defire to learn from the church" the manifold wifdom of God." But what tranfcendency of wifdom can be difcovered in the choice of one man, as an example of holiness to all ethers; while, according to the account given by Socinians, many others have displayed as much, nay, more patience and fortitude than he, though, at least, on an equal foot, as to feverity of fufferings?The holy fcripture reprefents the crofs of Chrift as "the power of God," because here fin was condemned, death. abolished, 1 abolished, Satan deftroyed, the covenant confirmed, an er verlafting righteousness brought in, and all faving bleffings purchased. But where is the aftonishing difplay of power, if Jefus died as a mere man, through the weakness of nature; if fin was not condemned, which never could be the cafe if not imputed to him; if by our own obedience we are yet to procure deliverance from the wrath of God, and from the power of fin, of Satan, and of death? The Chriftian doctrine represents the holiness of God as so perfect, that he would not fpare his only begotten Son, when he found fin lying on him by imputation; that "it pleafed the Lord to bruife him." But the Socinian hypothefis denies the infinite evil of fin, objectively confidered, and exhibits it as a trivial matter, which may in many inftances be difpenfed with.-According to the former, juftice appears to be a neceffary perfection of the divine nature; the vindication, nay, the very exertion of infinite holiness, in accomplishing the deftruction of that which is infinitely abominable. According to the latter, God is under no neceffity of punishing what he hates, cannot "dwell with,' cannot behold; but, on the contrary, under a neceffity arifing from a certain debilitating compaffion, which would be a blemish in the character of an earthly judge, of dwelling with fin, of patiently fubmitting to the greateft infults, of fuffering his law to be contemned with impunity, of allowing his government of the world to run into the utmost diforder; or at any rate, of compounding with the finner, on his own terms, for the injury done, and of accepting repentance as a fufficient reparation to the law, and reafon for the relaxation of its righteous fentence. He must fuffer all his glorious perfections to be trampled on, left in taking vengeance he fhould trample on a worm. The King of kings cannot be allowed the fame privilege with the petty fovereigns of this earth, whofe right to punish those who tranfgrefs their laws is never called in queftion. Multiplied and enormous as the crimes are, which are daily committed against human laws; their multitude and enormity would fo be fo increased, as to endanger the very existence of human nature, were this mild, innoxious and fym-' pathetic doctrine applied to them.-The one doctrine reprefents the threatenings of the law as true, as meant to warn finners of their danger, and of the necellity of fleeing from |