lviii The PREFACE. intrants into the miniflry) from being the teft of orthodoxy. IT was a cuflom with the Belfaß- fociety, at their meetings, to have a fermon preached upon fome article of natural, or revealed religion. Mr. Abernethy, at their delire, preached one upon Rom. xiv. 5. Let every man be fully perfuaded in bis own mind. In this he explained the rights of private judgment, and the foundations of chriflian liberty, very much to the fatisfac- tion of his hearers. The fermon was pub- lifhed, and has been efleemed an excellent performance : But it greatly increafed the jea- loufies which were then growing up. Some favourite points refpe Ling church power, and the terms of chriftian communion, were firuck at in it, and a very great cry was railed. Some papers were publifhed againft it, and the fociety publifhed defen- ces of it : But I do not mean to give the reader a hiftory of the debates and con - troverfies which followed upon this. They were loon brought into the general Synod, and continued from year to year, íb11 in- . creating till they ended in an unhappy rup- ture in the year i 726 ; the Synod at laft, determining
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