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pronounce that his Hiftory of Ireland is a very valuable performance, and beyond comparison fuperior to any other history of that country. It is written, perhaps, with as much variety as the nature of the fubject, not always in itfelf the most advantageous, could well admit. The ftyle is perfpicuous, manly, ftrong, and generally elegant. The few inaccuracies which occur, are capable of an easy amendment.

It would have been an additional recommendation to the work, if there had been running contents in the margin, and if the dates of the year had been placed at the top of the page. The authorities, likewife, might have been referred to with greater precifion.

K.

ART. XIII. The Apology of Theophilus Lindjey, M. A. on refigning the Vicarage of Catterick, Yorkshire. 8vo. 35. Johnfon. 1774.

TH

HE title of this performance cannot fail to excite the curiofity of the Public. For a clergyman to refign his living, except from a view to better preferment, or for fome other purpofes merely of a worldly nature, is indeed an uncommon phænomenon; and it is natural to enquire what are the caufes of fo extraordinary a conduct. In the cafe of Mr. Lind fey, his only motive appears to have been a principle of inte grity. He hath declined to officiate any longer as a minifter of the church of England, because he cannot confcientiously use the forms of its worship. Every man of honour and virtue will feel the moral excellence of fuch a behaviour.

But while juftice is done to Mr. Lindley's uprightness, it may ftill be matter of enquiry, how far the reafons upon which he hath acted will fand the teft of fober examination. We mean his reafons in point of intellectual wisdom and judgement: for with regard to that higher fpecies of wisdom which has a reference to the approbation of the Supreme Being, and to a future ftate, the man who, with a mistaken confcience, gives up his all to thefe great objects, is infinitely wifer than the whole tribe of ftatefmen, politicians, philofophers, divines, and bishops, who fo readily facrifice their fcruples to what they are pleased to call public utility; which fame public utility is always found to have a remarkable and happy coincidence with their own private emolument. A perfon's motives may be right, while his opinions are wrong. It was proper, therefore, in Mr. Lindfey to lay his cafe before the world, that it may be feen how far he has truth, as well as integrity, on his fide.

The Apology is divided into fix chapters. The first contains fome strictures on the origin of the doctrine of the Trinity, and the oppofition which it met with, to the time of the Reformation. In the fecond, the fate of the unitarian doc

trine,

trine, in our own country more especially, from the era of the Reformation, is particularly confidered. The defign of the third chapter is to prove, that religious worship is to be offered to the One God, the Father only. The fourth recites the causes of the unhappy defection among Chriftians from the fimplicity of religious worship prefèribed in the Scriptures of the New Teftament. In the fifth, it is fhewn how an union in God's worthip may be attained; and the fixth gives a defcription of the Writer's particular cafe and difficulties.

It is usual with us, in reviewing any treatise, to follow the order of the work itfelf. But, in the prefent inftance, we fhall reverse that method, and begin with the laft chapter; that we may be able to gratify our Readers, as early as poffible, with the Author's account of his own fituation and conduct.

As far as my memory goes back, fays he, I was impreffed from my early youth with a love of truth and virtue, a fear of God, and a defire to approve myfelf to him, which have never left me to this hour, though not always equally governed by them, nor improving fo great a favour and bleffing from God as I ought to have done.

'After the usual time spent at school and in the university, I entered into the miniftry of the gospel, out of a free and deliberate choice, with a full perfuafion, that it was the best way in which I could ferve God, and be useful to man, and with an earneft defire that I might promote these the great ends of it,

Some things in the xxxix articles of our church I always difapproved. And I remember it ftruck me at the time, as a strange unneceffary entanglement, to put young men upon declaring and fubfcribing their approbation of fuch a large heterogeneous mals of positions and doctrines as are contained in the liturgy, articles, and homilies; efpecially, as I had obferved, that none but those called Methodifts, who were then much (poken of, preached in conformity to them. But I was not under any fcruples, or great uneafinefs on this account. I had hitherto no doubts; or rather, I had never much thought of, or examined into the doctrine of the Trinity: but fuppofed all was right there.

Some years after, many doubts concerning that doctrine, which had fprung up in the mind at different times and from various causes, compelled me to a clofer study of the fcriptures with regard to it; for the state of fufpenfe I was in was very uneafy to me. The more I fearched, the more I saw the little foundation there was for the doctrine commonly received and interwoven with all the public devotions of the church, and could not but be disturbed at a discovery so ill fuiting my fituation. For in the end I became fully perfuaded, to use St. Paul's exprefs words, Corinth. viii. 6. that there is but one

God,

God, the Father, and he alone to be worshipped. This ap peared to be the uniform unvaried language and practice of the Bible throughout. And I found the fentiments and practice of Chriftians in the first and beft ages correfponding with it. In a course of time afterwards, in the progrefs and refult of this inquiry, my fcruples wrought fo far as to put me upon actually taking fome previous fteps, with a defign to relieve myself by quitting my preferment in the church. What prevented this refolution from taking place, and being compleated, I go on to relate.

1. Destined early, and educated for the miniftry, and my heart engaged in the fervice, when the moment of determination came, I felt a reluctance at cafting myfelf out of my profeffion and way of usefulness, that quite difcouraged me. This was probably heightened by my being alone at the time, having no intimate friend to confult or converfe with, and my imagination might be shocked by the strangeness and fingularity of what I was going to do, fuch fubjects then, upwards of fifteen years ago, not having been fo much canvaffed or become fo familiarized as they have been fince. These apprehenfions, I am convinced, had great fway at the time, and not any worldly retrofpects or motives, by which I was never much influenced. And befide, I had then a profpect of not being left intirely deftitute of fupport, if I had gone out of the church.

But I did not enough reflect, that when unlawful compli ánces of any fort are required, the first dictates of confcience, which are generally the righteft, are to be attended to, and that the plain road of duty and uprightnefs, will always be found to lead to the trueft good in the end, because it is that which is chalked out by God himself.

2. Many worthy perfons, and fome of my own acquaintance, whofe opinions varied little from mine, could nevertheless fatisfy themselves fo as to remain in the church and officiate in it. Why then, it often occurred to me, and others did not fpare to remonftrate, why must I alone be fo fingularly nice and fcrupulous, as not to comply with what wifer and better men could accommodate themselves to, but difturb others, and diftrefs myfelf, by enthufiaftic fancies, purely my own, bred in gloomy folitude, which by time, and the free communication and unfolding of them to others, might be difperfed and removed, and give way to a more chearful and enlarged way of thinking? It was worth the while at leaft to try fuch a method, and not rafhly to take a step of which I might long repent.

3. It was fuggefted, that I was not author or contriver of the things impofed and complained of. All I did was minifterial only, in fubmiffion to civil authority; which is, within certain limitations, the authority of God, and which. had impofed

thefe

thefe things only for peace and public good. That I ought not only to leave my benefice, but to go out of the world, if I expected a perfect ftate of things, in which there was no flaw or hardship. That if there was a general tendency in what was established to ferve the interefts of virtue and true religion, I ought to reft fatisfied, and wait for a change in other incidental matters that were grievous to me, but not generally felt by others. That in the mean time, I had it in my power to forward the defired work, by preparing men's minds for it, whenever there should be a difpofition in the state to rectify what was amifs. Therefore, if I could, in any way of interpretation, reconcile the prefcribed forms with the fcripture in my own mind, and make myself easy, I was not only juftified, but to be commended.

Thefe confiderations all together, were of weight to divert me then from the thought of quitting my ftation in the church, and brought me in time to remain tolerably quiet and easy in it. Not that I now juftify myself therein. Yea, rather I condemn myself. But as I have humble hope of the divine forgiveness, let not men be too rigid in their cenfures; let those only blame and condemn, who know what it is to doubt; to be in perplexity about things of the highest importance; to be in fear of caufelessly abandoning a ftation affigned by providence, and being found idle and unprofitable, when the Great Mafter came to call for the account of the talent received.'

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Mr. Lindsey goes on to relate the farther methods he took to fatisfy his own mind; and to persuade himself that he might innocently continue in a church where there were many things which he disapproved, and wished to have amended, as he knew not where he might be in any degree alike ufeful; after which he proceeds as follows:

Thus I went on in the discharge of my duty, till a few years ago, when from fome providential awakenings, I fecretly but firmly refolved to seek an opportunity to relinquish a situation, that was now become not very fupportable to me.

I could not now fatisfy myfelf with Dr. Wallis's and the like foftenings and qualifications of the Trinitarian forms in the liturgy. I wondered how I had been able to bring myself to imagine, that I was worshipping the Father in fpirit and in truth, John iv. 23, 24. whiift I was addreffing two other perfons, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghoft, and imploring favours feverally of them in terms that implied their perfonality and diftinct agency, and deity, as much as that of the Father.

If invocations fo particular, language fo exprefs and perfonal, might be fifted and explained away into prayer to one God only; I might by the like fuppofals and interpretation bring myfelf to deify and pray to the Virgin Mary, taking her,

as

as the Papifts do, to be now alive and beatified in heaven, and maintain that I was still only praying to the one God, who was thus invoked in his creature that was fo nearly united to him.

It appeared to me a blameable duplicity, that whilft I was praying to the one God the Father, the people that heard me, were Jed by the language I ufed, to address themselves to two other perfons, or distinct intelligent agents; for they would never subtilize fo far, as to fancy the Son and Holy Spirit to be merely two modes, or refpects, or relations of God to them.

• As one great defign of Our Saviour's miffion was to promote the knowledge and worfhip of the Father, the only true God, as he himself tells us, John xvii. 3. I could not think it allowable or lawful for me, on any imagined profpect of doing good, to be inftrumental in carrying on a worship, which I believed directly contrary to the mind of Chrift, and condemned <by him.

If it be a rule in morals, quod dubitas, ne feceris; it is fill more evident, that we are not to do any thing that we know to be evil, no, not to procure the greatest good, Rom. iii. 8. For God does not want my finful act. It would be impious to fuppofe, that he cannot carry on his government, and promote the felicity of his creatures, without it. And although in his providence he may bring good out of my evil, he will not let the doer of it go unpunished. And if any thing be evil and odious in his fight, prevarication and falfehood is fuch; and most of all an habitual courfe thereof in the moft folemn act a creature can be engaged in, the worship of him, the holy, all-feeing God.

It is related in the life of Archbishop Tillotfon, that his friend Mr. Nelfon having confulted him by letter from the Hague, in the year 1691, with regard to the practice of those Nonjurors, who frequented the churches, and yet professed that they did not join in the prayers for their majefties: "As to the cafe you put, replied his Grace, I wonder men fhould be divided in opinion about it. I think it is plain, that no man can join în prayers, in which there is any petition, which he is verily perfuaded is finful. I cannot endure a trick any where, much less in religion"

The Archbishop may be held by fome to be too severe a cafuift. But if it was his opinion, that a man who, after the Revolution, continued attached to the late King James, could not confiftently or honeftly frequent a communion of Chriftians where their Majefties King William and Queen Mary were prayed for: what would he have replied, thought I often with myfelf, in the cafe of one, who was not barely prefent, but was the mouth of the congregation in offering up prayers to God, which were believed to be derogatory and inju

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