of them, in one place, where he fays, " that " if a man has never fo fincere a defign to vindicate the fame great doctrines, which are maintained and profeffed by his brethren, yet if he happen to step aside from the common track of human phrafes, and especially if he give an expofition of fome important Scriptures different from their fentiments, and the establish'd interpretation, he runs the risk of having the charge of heresy caft upon him, even while he labours by reasoning and clear ideas to defend thofe very propofitions which they themselves believe." If Mr. Watts has labour'd to defend the Trinity by reafoning and clear ideas, I hope, he will not pretend to fay, he has attained his end; for I muft own, I never found a writer lefs aim at reafoning, and very few have furnished us with more obfcure ideas. Who these brethren are, that he paffes fuch a bitter and fevere cenfure upon, I know not; but left the cenfure be extended to those against whom he might not defign it, I wish he had let us know, where we fhall find any number of fuch filly and four mortals, as he defcribes.

XII. In order to fhew the great advantage of his fcheme, Mr. Watts tells us," here the Sabellians, and all Unitarians may find the unity of the divine nature, not divided into three confcious minds, or three infinite fpirits, but diver

fified into God the Father, with his two diver

effential powers,, the Word and Spirit; here the Arians and Semi-Arians may read all the exalted properties of their Logos, i. e. the pre-exiftent foul of our Saviour;" who would not from hence gather, that Mr. Watts's fcheme is an odd and

" Differ. Part II. Pref. p. viii. * Differ. Part II. p. 110, 111.

confufed

confused jumble of the inconfiftent opinions of the Sabellians and Arians? how fair this y fcheme may bid for uniting thefe contending parties into one scheme of trinitarian doctrine, I know not, nor am I much concerned, becaufe I look upon it to be unfcriptural as well as theirs; but I hope ferious Chriftians will not think it worth while, to leave the ancient and catholic faith of the Trinity, for a scheme, that contains in it, as its proposer owns, the peculiarities of oppofite and contrary herefies.

The CONCLUSION,

I

HAVE now finished the remarks I judge proper, at prefent, to make on Mr. Watts's writings. He has intimated his defign to publifh, fome time or other, a differtation on the glory of Chrift, God-man, and another on the pre-existence of Chrift's human foul: I hope, he will be better advised, than to go any farther in this matter; if he fhould do fo, or if he should condefcend to take any notice of what I have wrote, (which I do not expect) I fhall, with the help of God, be ready to attend him: for if he goes on to write in the manner he has done, it will be no difficult matter for me to do juftice to the cause I have undertaken to defend. A lefs formidable adverfary than Mr. Watts, a man would not defire: it is hard to unravel the fophiftry of fome men, but there is none of this difficulty in engaging with him, for he has not, in his writings on the Trinity, fo far as I am able to fee, aim'd much at argument,

7 Page 110.

I сапа

I can, with great fincerity, fay, that it was not any disrespect to Mr. Watts, that moved me to write: for, tho' I have not the honour to be acquainted with him, yet I have a great yalue for him; but had he been my moft intimatę friend, I hope, love for the truth would have fway'd more with me, than perfonal respect. One reafon which had its great weight with me, to incline me to confider Mr. Watts's fcheme, was this; it is very clear and plain, that he has advanced the Sabellian, or Socinian hypothefis, with no other addition, than an extravagant fancy of a fuper-angelic fpirit, fupplying the place of an human foul in Chrift, which is the effence of old Arianifm. I take this to be the only real difference between his scheme and that of the Socinians; he does not, indeed, seem to me to know what he has been doing; therefore as I look upon him unwarily to have advanced, what I believe to be a great error, I think I may very well be justified, in appearing for the truth.

It has been the glory of the Diffenters of the congregational denomination, that no one pretending to be of their perfuafion, had ever printed any thing erroneous relating to the Trinity, till Mr. Wattspublished his books. It would have been very ftrange, if he had done it without animadverfion; and I confefs, I wonder'd I did not find several engage in the matter.

I was induced to this work by a defire I had, that the reproach of fuffering errors vented by any among our felves, to pals without controll, might not be fixed on us that diffent from the

a Nothing was publifh'd against Mr. Watts, till after my papers were actually finish'd for the press.

Church

Church of England. I know, we fhould render our felves justly odious to our friends of the nati onal establishment, who have, to their great honour, and the world's benefit, fhewed a zeal for the catholic doctrine of the Trinity, if a man's being of our number, fhould be a fufficient screen, for his advancing old and exploded errors in a new dress.

How Mr. Watts may refent the freedom I have used with him, I know not; but as he has started many things that need to be fupported, I cannot but think it is incumbent on him, either to prove his affertions from Scripture, or to retract what he has laid down: whether he will have the courage to attempt the direct proof of his fcheme from Scripture, or the ingenuity to retract it, if he finds it indefenfible, I must leave for time to discover: If his fcheme is true, he need not be afraid to favour the world with his proofs; and if he, upon due recollection, finds it attended with greater difficulties than at first he might imagine, it is but a neceffary piece of juftice, for him to declare this to the world, and fo to make fome fatisfaction for the great injury he has done religion, by vending falfe and precarious hypothefes for clear accounts of the Scripture doctrine. I leave these things to his ferious and impartial confideration: I muft, however, be fo free as to tell him, that if he fhould think it fufficient, to pass over what is objected to him, with a contemptuous filence, he will not act like a fincere seeker of truth, but will give reafon to fufpect, that he is too much guided by that spirit of pride, which has always had an influence on those who oppose the doctrine of the Trinity; but I have fo much charity, as to hope better things of him, tho' I thus fpeak.

In cafe Mr. Watts fhould think his scheme is not overturned, by what has been objected to him, if he will fairly go to work, he should not only fhew the infufficiency of the arguments, brought against him, but should give the pofitive proofs of his opinions from Scripture.

I. It will lie upon him to prove, that it is any way poffible for us, finite creatures, to gain adequate conceptions of an infinite Being, and confequently to acquire clear and bright ideas of the three divine perfons.

II. He ought to fhew, how, and wherein, the scheme he advances, differs from the Sabellian fcheme, or the Socinian, except in words, and his adding the fancy of Chrift's having a fuperangelic Spirit, to fupply the place of a human foul.

III. He should bring plain and pofitive proof from Scripture, that the one God is properly but one person.

IV. It may be expected of him, to make it evident, that the Scripture represents the Son, and holy Spirit, as properties, faculties, or pow ers of the divine nature.

V. It will be neceffary for him to manifeft, that the Scripture has ever given us any caution, against taking the personal afcriptions, which it applies, without difference, to Father, Son, and Spirit, in the fame fenfe, when applied to the Son and Spirit, as when applied to the Father.

VI. It will be incumbent on him to fhew, that there is the leaft countenance, directly or indirectly, given, in Scripture, to his fancy of a created Logos, or of a glorious fuper-angelic fpirit being to Chrift, instead of a human foul.

Thefe are things which Mr. Watts ought, in juftice to truth, (if he thinks what he has ad