of words depend wholly upon the meaning which the fpeaker or writer affigns them. In fo far, therefore, as any language is unknown, or any words of a known language are of an indeterminate fignification, they must be in fo far abfolutely ufelefs; and the perfon who uses them, with out a clear explication, had juft as good have faid nothing.

If, therefore, any fcripture-phrafe be understood by the world fo as to mean different things, if the perfon who speaks in thefe terms refufes to inform me in which fenfe he takes them, he might as well fpeak Chinese; and very plainly mocks me, while he calls that a declaration of his faith and when one pretends to fatisfy me, by affenting to a place where Chrift is called God, and yet will not inftruct me what he means by the word God, whether what is ufually understood by that word when applied to the Father, or only a metaphorical deity, as the Socinians take it; in fuch a cafe, might he not as well, inftead of the word God, put down an Indian one, fince he would with equal clearness exprefs his thoughts in both cafes ? To make, then, fuch an ufe of the phrafes of the holy oracles fufficient, or at all allowable, is fo far from confulting their glory, that, on the contrary, it is turning them into charms and amulets and it may be as reafonably affirmed, that a few of thefe words written on a piece of paper fhould cure a man of difeafes, as that, by the help of them, when the meaning of the perfon is indeterminate, he can be cleared from the fufpicion of herefy.

Methinks that then only a regard is paid to divine revelation, when the truths published by it are believed, and the words of it are understood, the fame way that they were defigned by the Holy Ghoft; without which an affent to them is to not purpose,

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purpose, nor can be called an affent to the holy fcriptures. When two perfons, a Socinian and a Calvinift, fubfcribe a paffage of the facred oracles, whereby they really defign to teftify their belief of contradictory propofitions, while they agree in the words, I would fain know if both of them may be faid to believe and receive that fcripture? if one of them, who impofes fuch a fenfe upon the words, as, instead of a truth, to mean by them the very error condemned by the Holy Ghoft, does, by his fubfcription, in the leaft teftify his belief of Chriftianity, or any of its doctrines and if thefe words, when they have no determinate meaning affixed to them, can to any valuable purpose be reckoned the words of the Holy Ghoft, or fcripture-expreffions ? or do not they rather become abfolutely infignificant, and nothing but a dead letter? Thefe phrafes can then no more be accounted divine revelation, or claim any honour and regard, than a body without a fpirit can be accounted a man, or a fkin Stuffed up with ftraw can be looked upon as an animal and to look upon the affenting to thefe phrafes as a fufficient declaration of a man's faith, a receiving of the fcriptures, or a confefling of Chrift and his gofpel, feems to be grofsly fuperftitious, and must be built upon the fame foundations with the Popish doctrine of opus operatum. It is attributing I know not what magical virtue unto certain founds, and combinations of letters, without a fixed meaning, as if they could demonftrate a man a Chriftian, or an orthodox believer, whenever they were pronounced or fubfcribed ; and, confequently, by turning fcriptural phrases into a kind of charms and fpells, it is the higheft injury, and the moft infolent contempt than can be poured out upon them, and a reviving of a worfe than the ancient Pharifaifm, by whom fo

;

mighty a regard was pretended to the letter of that law the spirit whereof they had destroyed.

Nor can it be alledged, in answer to this, that though these two fubfcribers of a scripture-phrase which they refufe to explain, may really design to give their affent by the fame deed to contradictory propofitions, that yet each of them may have a diftinct apprehension of his own meaning, and a determinate notion of that which he takes to be the intention of the infpired penman; which is enough to free them from the charge of ufing. thefe fcripture-words as a charm, or imagining. that founds, without a fignification, are poffeffed of any real value or efficacy. For this does not in the leaft touch the difficulty. A man, according to the apoftle's rule, may have faith to himfelf; but when he pretends to make a declaration of his faith, he muft calculate it for his neighbours, and make it fo that I may understand his meaning, else it entirely lofes its end. Words are not intended to reprefent a man's thoughts to himself in such a cafe he might modulate his voice what way he pleafed, and when he pronoun-red the most barbarous and unknown founds, be: thinking on any subject he fancied most.

But words are evidently the expreffions of our' thoughts to others; and in the prefent cale they' are means whereby another may be informed concerning my faith; and confequently they must be: plain and determinate in their fignification: which I am fure a phrafe taken by the fubfcribers in very different fenfes can never be, unless they fix upon the fense in which they understand them and if this be denied, the perfon as really speaks in an unknown tongue to me as if he ufed Malabarick words. The man who spoke with tongues, men-tioned by the apostle, 1 Cor. xiv, no doubt un-derstood what he meant, and might edify himfelft

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thereby

thereby; but then it was ridiculous for fuch a fpeaker to talk to others; for he truly fpake not unto men, but unto God; for no man underftandeth him, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying. And if the apostle thought that fuch fpeakers would be accounted mad, by the unlearned and unbeliever who fhould come in among them, what thoughts must he have entertained of thofe who would pretend to confefs their faith, and give an account of their doctrine to others, in an unknown tongue, or, which is the fame thing, in phrafes which they knew had double fenfes affixed to them by the world, without determining the fenfe which they took them in? Surely that they were poffeffed with a more extravagant fancy than the others.

The Papifts, I doubt not, will reckon themselves under unufual obligations to thefe gentlemen: for never could any thing be invented more plaufible to recommend prayers in an unknown tongue, than the forming creeds in the fame language; for indeed the first feems to be a much fairer prac tice. Prayers may be understood by the priest, who puts them up in the name of the congregation; and they are immediately addreffed to God, who certainly understands them equally in all languages and if the opus operatum were of any efficacy, fuch prayers would be very serviceable. But public confeffions of one's faith are defigned for others, and directed immediately to the people; and therefore, if they be drawn up in ambiguous words, that is, words which it is doubtful what the speaker means by them, they are in a peculiar meafure ridiculous.

When we profefs the truths of the gospel, give a reafon of our hope to one that afks us, and pretend to fatisfy others about a matter of fo great importance, if in any cafe, we should then use the

greatest

greatest clearnefs of expreffion and openness of mind; and what the Apoftle with fo much plainnefs and importunity writes to the Corinthians concerning them that prophefied, feems to hold with an uncommon force in the prefent question, and to be extremely applicable to our purpose, 1 Cor. xiv. 3. "He that prophefieth, fpeaketh unto men "to edification, and exhortation, and comfort;" ver. 7. "And even things without life giving "found, whether pipe or harp, except they give 66 a diftinction in the founds, how fhall it be "known what is piped or harped?" ver. 8. " For "if the trumpet give an uncertain found, who "fhall prepare himself to the battle?" ver. 9. "So likewife you, except ye utter by the tongue "words easy to be understood, how fhall it be "known what is fpoken? for ye fhall fpeak into "the air." ver. 11. "Therefore if I know not "the meaning of the voice, I fhall be unto him "that fpeaketh, a barbarian; and he that speak"eth fhall be a barbarian unto me." I am fure it would look like a more precife régard to the fcriptures, and every way as fatisfactory, to confine one's felf to the original, and when making a confeffion of his faith to an ordinary congrega tion, to speak Greek, as to pronounce or fubfcribe the phrases of an English translation, which have very contradictory meanings impofed upon them, while he refuses to give any account of his sense of them.

It will be acknowledged by all fides, that there is, or ought to be, fuch a thing as unity of faith among Chriftians; and that they may join toge ther in the profeffion of the fame common religion; and that their publifhing declarations of faith, or creeds of any kind, is defigned to teftify their agreement and communion therein. Now I would fain know, when a Socinian and-a

Calvinift