1704. MR THOMAS BOSTON. 141 and indeed he was íäll on the other fide of thequeftion. Wehad then tome of the fame arguments; that, afterwards in the year 1723, were caft up before the fynod, in Mr Wilfon's affair : but thefe difputes marred not our friendthip, he being hill pleafed to call me to afl'ilt at the communion with him in Eymouth, though heufed not to be with me at Simprin on that occalon. The worthy Mr Colden alto had a.diffi'culty to admit what I advanced on the firit queftion aforefaid t but after tome reafoning, he owned there was fome weight in that argument, if believers were liable to eternal wrath in,the cafe mentioned, they behoved to be fb, either by the law and covenant of works, or by the gofpel, and covenant ofgrace : not the firft, for believers are dead to it ; not the fecond, for that it condemns no man. As for the fubjeót of baptilin ; after I was fettled among the people of Sirnprin, and had entered clofely on my work, finding forme of them grofsly ignorant, and hardly teachable in the ordi- nary way, and calling in mymind whatcourfe to take with fuch, I drew up in writing a little form of catechifing in the fundamen- tals, in Ihort queftions and anfwers, on deign to teach it them privately in my houfe. I do nift well remember the progrefs of that affair ; nor do I well know where thèfe queftions are ; but afterward I ufed the fame, in the cafe of my little children, in the firft place; when they became capable of inftruétion. Among other fuch grofsly ignorant, there was one, who daring his child to be baptized, I could not have freedom to grant his delire for fbme time : neither am I clear, whether, when the child was bap- tized, it was baptized on a fatisfying account of the fundamental principles from him or his wife.. Whatever had laid the founda- tion of filch fcrupling, I was, by means of fuch ftraitening in prac: tice, brought clofely to confider that point. And having pur- pofely ftudied the queftion, Who have right to baptifin, andare to be baptized? I wróte my thoughts thereon alfo. And being one day in converfation on that head with Mr William Bird, dif- fenting minifter in Barmoor in England, he prefented to me Ful- wood'sdifcourfe of the vifiblechurch, for clearing me. Bringing home the laid book with me, I contidered it, and wrote alfo fome anitnadverfrons on a part of it. From that time I had littlefond- nefs for national churches aridly and properly fo called, as of equal latitude with the nations; and withed for an amendment of the conftitution..of our own church, as to the membetfhip thereof. There were, betides thefe, other two queftionsI bellowed tome thoughts on, in like manner. The one, Where bath fin its lodg- ing-place in the regenerate ? the occafion whereofwas adifcourfe with Mr Mair on thathead : but I doubt if I havewell underftood hint in that point. The other, Why the Lord Puffers fin to re- main in the regenerate? which had its rife from a particular' ftraitening on that head in my own private cafe; as before nar rated. No. 4.
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