apon; and though precision and accuracy of difcuffion are often wanting, yet there are many judicious reflections, and lively fallies of wit and fancy; fo that almost every class of readers will find fomething to entertain them. As to his Lordship's main Subject, viz. the doctrine of GRACE, fome licentious Readers will poffibly be tempted to think, that he has made of it, what Sir Richard Blackmore is faid to have made of REDEMPTION; be this, however, as it may, there is little difpenfation of GRACE in his treatment of poor John Wesley, whom he mauls without mercy. How this celebrated SAINT may edify under his correction, we know not; for our part, we can fearce conceive that he ever suffered more feverely from the buffetings of Satan himself, than from those of his Lordship.

The first thing we meet with in thefe little Shandean Volumes, is a very curious Advertisement, which has been fufficiently re-published and criticised in the News papers.

The Advertisement is followed by a Preface, wherein the Author explains the advantages arifing from the obfervance of the two following precepts of Solomon, viz. Answer not a fool according to his folly, left thou alfo be like unto him;-and anfwer a fool according to his folly, left he be wife in his own conceit. What his Lordfhip has advanced on this fubject, deferves the ferious attention of every Advocate for religion; and it were to be wifhed, that he himfelf had, on every occafion, fet an example of the conduct which he recommends.

We come now to the discourse concerning the Office and Operations of the Holy Spirit, which is introduced in the following Manner: The bleffed Jefus" fays our Author, came into the world ON THE PART OF GOD, to declare pardon and falvation to the forfeited pofterity of Adam. He teftified the truth of his miffion by amazing miracles, and fealed man's redemption in his Blood, by the more amazing facrifice of himself upon the cross.

"But as the REDEMPTION, fo procured, could only operate on each Individual under certain conditions of FAITH and OBEDIENCE, very repugnant to our corrupt nature, the bleffed Redeemer, on leaving the world, promifed to his followers his interceffion with the Father, to fend amongst them another divine Pérfon ON THE PART OF MAN, namely the HOLY GHOST, called the Spirit of Truth, and the Comforter; who, agreeably to the import of thefe appellations, fhould co-operate with man in eftablishing his FAITH, and in per

fecting

fecting his OBEDIENCE: or, in other words, should fanctify him to redemption.

"This is a fuccinct account of the Economy of Grace, entirely confonant to our most approved conceptions of the divine nature and of the human condition. For if man was to be reinftated in a free-gift which had been juftly forfeited, we cannot but confefs, that as, on the one hand, the reftòration might be made on what conditions beft pleased the giver; fo, on the other, that God would graciously provide that it fhould not be made in vain.

"An atonement, therefore, for the offended majefty of the FATHER, was firft to be procured; and this was the work of the Son; and then a remedy was to be provided for that helpless condition of Man, which hindered the atone ment from producing its effect, and this was the office of the HOLY GHOST: fo that both were joint-workers in the great bufinefs of reconciling God to man.

"What therefore I propofe to confider is, the office and operations of the Holy Spirit, as they are delivered to us in facred Scripture.

"His Office in general is, as hath been obferved, to establish our faith, and to perfect our obedience: and this he doth by ENLIGHTENING THE UNDERSTANDING, and by RECTIFYING THE WILL. All this is neceffarily collected from the words of Jefus, which contain this important PROMISE. I will pray the Father, (fays he) and he shall give you another COMFORTER, that he may abide with you for ever; even the SPIRIT OF TRUTH- He dwelleth with you and shall be -which is the HOLY GHOST, whom the Father. He fball TEACH YOU ALL THINGS. "By teaching us all things, under the joint characters of the Spirit of Truth and of the Comforter, we are neceffarily to understand all things which concern FAITH and OBEDI ENCE."

in you
fhall fend in my name.

These two diftinct branches of the Holy Spirit's office his Lordship confiders in their order. The method employed by divine wisdom in manifefting the operations of the HOLY GHOST, as the Spirit and Guide of Truth, comes first under

his obfervation.

The firft extraordinary atteftation of his defcent was at the day of Pentecoft, in the GIFT OF TONGUES. Befides the great and almoft indifpenfible ufe of this endowment on

Aa 3

the

the firft difciples of Chrift, who were to convey the glad tidings of the gofpel throughout the whole earth; the ele gance and propriety in the choice of this miracle, (his LordThip's own words) to atteft the real defcent of that Spirit who was to teach us all things, can never, we are told, be fuf ficiently admired; for words being the human vehicle of our knowledge, this gift was the fittest precursor of the Spirit of truth.

But this first opening fcene of wonders, which was to prepare and influence all the fubfequent acts of man's redemption, Dr. Middleton would, from a fign, reduce to a shadow; on which he feems to think, fancy fet itself to work, to produce a prodigy. The gift of tongues, according to the opi nion of this learned writer, was not lafting, but inftantaneous and transitory; not beftowed for the conftant work of the miniftry; but as an occafional fign only, that the perfon endowed with it was a chofen minifter of the gofpel: which fign, as foon as it had ferved that particular purpose, appears to the Doctor, to have ceafed, and totally to have vanished.

As this interpretation may be applied to purposes Dr. Middleton never intended, our Learned Author enters into a distinct and careful examination of it, and fhews it to be derogatory to the operation of the Holy Spirit. He concludes this part of his fubject with the following words: "Thus far with regard to this extraordinary defcent of the Holy Ghoft, as the GUIDE OF TRUTH. And this being as well the FIRST-FRUITS as the TYPE and SEAL of all infpired knowledge, the facred hiftorian thought proper to give us a circumftantial relation of the fact. The other endowments of the Spirit of truth he hath mentioned only occafionally. So that had not the fubject of one of St. Paul's epiftles led the writer to enumerate thefe various gifts, as they were afterwards diftributed amongst the faithful, we fhould have had a very imperfect knowledge of them.”

His Lordship now proceeds to explain briefly the nature of thofe gifts, which St.. Paul tells us, were feverally diftributed amongst the faithful, viz. the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, the gifts of healing, prophecy, working of miracles, difcerning of fpirits, &c.- -The Apoftles themfelves, we are told, had all thefe gifts in conjunction; exercifed them in fuller measure; fupported them by additional revelations; and poffeffed them by a more lafting title,

See Dr. Middleton's Effay on the Gift of Tongues.

But

But for a fuller account of their nature, and their use, we are referred to Scripture itself, which contains the hiftory of their various fruits. As the richeft of these fruits is the infpiration of fcripture itself, our Author felects this for the fubject of what he has farther to fay of the primitive operations of the Holy Spirit; efpecially as this hath, in these our latter times, been called in question.

He observes, that the Miniftry of the firft Preachers of the Gofpel confifted in thefe two parts; 1, the temporary and occafional inftructions of thofe Chriftians whom they had brought to the knowledge of, and faith in, Jefus, the Meffiah; 2dly, the care of compofing a written rule for the direction of the church in all ages. Now it being allowed that they were divinely inspired in the discharge of the temporary part; it must be very strong evidence indeed, we are told, which can induce an unprejudiced man to fufpect, that they were left to themselves in the execution of the other. Their preaching could only profit their contemporaries: for inftructions conveyed to future ages by tradition are liable to be loft and forgotten; or, what is worfe, polluted and corrupted with fable. It is reasonable, therefore, to think, that the Church was provided with a. WRITTEN RULE.

His

- His Lordship goes on to prove, that all the feriptures of the New Teftament were given by inspiration of God; he expofes the extravagance of certain opinions concerning fcripture inspiration; and endeavours to fettle the true notion of it. opinion is, that the Holy Spirit fo directed the pens of the divine writers, that no confiderable error fhould fall from them; by enlightening them with his immediate influence in all fuch matters as were neceffary for the inftruction of the Church, and which, either thro' ignorance or prejudice, they would otherwife have reprefented imperfectly, partially, or falfely; and by preferving them, in the more ordinary ways of providence, from any mistakes of confequence, concerning thofe things whereof they had acquired a competent knowledge by the ordinary way of information. In a word, by watching over them inceffantly; but with fo fufpended a hand, as permitted the ufe, and left them to the guidance of their own faculties, while they kept clear of error; and then only interpofing when, without this divine. affiftance, they would have been in danger of falling.

THIS our Author thinks the only idea of fcripture infpiration which agrees with all appearances, and which will fully

A a 4

anfwe:

anfwer the purpose of an infpired writing, viz. to afford an INFALLIBLE RULE for the direction of the Catholic Church. He proceeds to examine what Dr. Middleton has advanced, in the Effay above mentioned, concerning the lan guage of fcripture.

"We should naturally expect, the Doctor fays, to find an infpired language to be fuch as is worthy of God; that is, pure, clear, noble and affecting, even beyond the force of common fpeech; fince nothing can come from God but what is perfect in its kind; in fhort, the purity of Plato, and the eloquence of Cicero. Now, continues he, if we try the apoftolic language by this rule, we shall be fo far from afcrib ing it to God, that we fhall fcarce think it worthy of man, that is, of the liberal and polite; it being utterly rude and barbarous, and abounding with every fault that can poffibly deform a language.

"Thefe triumphant obfervations are founded, our Author fays, on two propofitions, both of which the Doctor takes for granted, and yet neither of them are true. The one is, that an infpired language muft needs be a language of perfect eloquence; the other, that eloquence is fomething congenial and effential to human fpeech. His Lordship endeavours to fhew the falfhood of both; and as what he has advanced on this fubject will, we are perfuaded, be deemed the moft valuable part of his work, we shall make no apology for, giving our Readers a full view of it.

"With regard to the first propofition," fays he, "I will be bold to affirm, that were the STYLE of the New Teftament exactly fuch as his very exaggerated account of it would perfuade us to believe, namely, that it is utterly rude and barbarous, and abounding with every fault that can poffibly deform a language, this is fo far from proving fuch language not divinely infpired, that it is one certain mark of this original.

"I will not pretend to point out which books of the New Teftament were or were not compofed by those who had the Greek tongue thus miraculoufly infufed into them; but this I will venture to fay, that the ftyle of a writer fo infpired, who had not (as thefe writers had not) afterwards cultivated his knowledge of the language on the principles of Grecian eloquence, would be precifely fuch as we find it in the books of the New Teftament.

"For