CONTENTS. PAGE Introductory Chapter to the Seventh Edition, CHAP. I.-On the Grounds of Religious Union which subsist 142 which they appear to be making of the same restricted path-my object in publishing the following statement of thought and sentiment will be answered, and I shall rest satisfied in the comforting persuasion, that my labour (which I trust has been a labour of love) has not been in vain in the Lord. Here it may be proper for me to remark, that, while the various subjects considered in the present work are discussed in distinct dissertations, and while it may be hoped that these, when separately read, will be found intelligible, it has been my endeavour to maintain, throughout the work, one continued train of reflection and argument; and to do this in such a manner as that the several parts of the series might be closely connected with each other, and that all might tend in harmony to the same general conclusion. Such having been my plan, I may now venture to request the reader to abstain from forming a final judgement of any particular section or chapter, until the whole volume shall have passed under his review. Since, lastly, the views which I have attempted to unfold are of a nature entirely religious, it has, of course, been necessary for me largely to refer to that sacred Book, to the test of which all religious opinions are rightly brought, since it was given by inspiration of God, and contains a divinely authorized record, both of the doctrines which we ought to believe and of the duties which we are required to practise. In thus referring to the Holy Scriptures, I have often found occasion, on critical points, to appeal to the decisions of various commentators, both ancient and modern. While, however, I have not hesitated thus to avail myself of the well applied learning and useful researches of these writers, I wish to take the present opportunity of expressing my conviction, that, for the most important practical purposes, the common English version of the Bible may be understood with sufficient precision without the aid of the critic or the annotator. Above all, may it ever be remembered, that if the Scriptures of Truth are to make us "wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus," that spiritual eye must be open in us, which alone is capable of a just and efficacious perception of their divine contents: for it remains to be an incontrovertible truth, that as no man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him, “even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO THE SEVENTH EDITION. In presenting to my young friends and the public at large, a new edition of the "Observations," I wish to make a few remarks on its contents, as well as on some subjects with which they are connected, and which I deem to be of vital importance to the welfare of our religious body. First, with respect to the language and style of the volume-I have endeavoured to simplify many of the sentences, and have exchanged a number of long words of foreign origin, for others which are at once shorter and plainer. The experience of more than ten years, since the work was first published, has convinced me of the importance of aiming, as far as possible, at a simple style, that the meaning of the writer may be clear to all men; and especially to a large class of readers, who have not enjoyed the opportunity of much mental cultivation, but to whom religious truth, in all its branches, is, I trust, increasingly precious. Frequent complaints having been made to me of the title of the work, I have ventured in the present edition to take the somewhat unusual step of changing it; and for the term "Peculiarities," in the title page, I have substituted "Distinguishing Views and Practices." The reader will observe that in the present edition, I have added' some new passages and notes, which I have marked with two asterisks. These are the results of farther reflection and observa |