No 6. APPENDIX. 439 friend Mr John Gra 's letters, that you had been pleafed to read the fpecimen of the effay on the Hebrew accentuation, lately feet from this place ; that you relifhed the defign of that effay, and (hewed a favourable inclination in the matter. This was unto me ground of thankfulnefs to the Sovereign Difpofer of all, and natively iffued in determining to do myfelf the fa- tisfaótion of expreffing, by a line, the warm fenfe I have of your favour, though I cannot pretend to the honour of your acquaintance. It is very natural to think, that filch work falling, ` juft becaufe fö it teemed good in the fight of the Father,' to the (hare of an obfcure perfon, living in a defert, exercifed«with a variety of pea-Canal and domestic triad, and under force un- common difadvantages betide, muft needs with him remain in ohfcurity, unlefs it obtain the countenance of one of your Honour's character in the learned world ; and that efpecially at this time of day, when, in the depths of fovereign wifdom, fo many learned men -ofall denominations reckon any fuch work a mere laborious trifling ; becaufe they believe not the divine ori- ginal and authority of the points themfelves, on which the effay is made. That I was led to the ftudy.of the Hebrew accentuation, was owing purely to the condu& of Providence, bringing Crofs's Taghmical Art into my hand ; and through the divine favour falling on the fcent, I was carried into the belief of the divine original and authority of that accentuation as (tigmatological ; Peeing glaring evidence of the fame, in my reading.of the facred Hebrew text, (pining bymeans thereofwith its own intrinfic light.. And therefore I am inclined to think, that, after all that has been Paid, on both fides of the queftion, by the learned, the molt habile method ofconviaion therein, is to " come and fee ;.'' and that a happy e,. plication, or genuine' reprefentation of the nature of the accentuation of the Hebrew Bible, in its natural and artlefs contrivance, is the only thing wanting to pròeure it the fame awful regard with the other parts of the facred text. This is what is aimed at in the efläy, though. I am not fo weak as to think I have fully reached it: but I have the fondnefs to ima- gine, that, being brought forth to the public view, it might pollibly minifter occafion unto force learned men to enter into a further confideration of that matter ; and fo fet ft at length in a due light, to the increafe of fcripture- knowledge in the churches of Chrift. I have now tent off the Englifh copy of the effay, hoping that through the favourable condnc`t of Providence, it may come fafe to London. It is what I wrote at firft, while I was not dreaming of putting it iür Latin ; the which- I was afterwards engaged in, by the advice of force, for whofejudgment I had a great deference. And in cafe of its coming fife to my friend's No. TO. 3I 4
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