R E C 0 M M E N D A T I 0 N S. To rhe Editor of KEACH'.s Metapbors. I With this Key, the eternal fovereign dif– tinguifhing Love of God-the everlafting I T gives me Pleafure, Sir, to find you are Covenant of Grace, otherways called the about to favor the World with a new Covenant of Redemption *-the DoCtrine ;Edition of this valuable Work, which has of the Trinity-the proper Deity of the been for a !ono- Time fcarce, and feldom to Son of God-the eternal .0Jvmtry and dtf– be purchafed ~t any Rare. tinet Perfonaliry of dw Holy Spirit-the It is well known, that Metaphors fhoulcj Fall of all Mankmq 111 Ac;lam thw Repre· be treated wirh the utmoft Care and Delifentative-rhe Guilt of <!ll the EleCt l.aid on cacy, or while the Laws of rrue Rhetoric Chrill: their Reprefenrarive, fo that their are broken, our Subject will be enervated Si.ns are accounted his, and his Righteouf– inftead of being enlivened, ~nd in the Room l)efs theirs, both by lmplltation-rhe abfo. of Liaht, Heat, Demonftration, and foothlure Necdlity 9f the fpeci&l l nfiuences of ing, ;elri~g Perfualion ; the Wh?l~ will derhe Spirit, to reg~ner.He, comfort, uphold aenerate mro a fngtd, fpintlefs, JeJune Haand fancbfy the PNple of God-the Cer– :'angue. tainty of th~ Bdiever'• Perfever~~ce ip Grace And indeed, if th'en only a Metaphor be t\> Glory-rh~ Spirituality qf the Old Tef– juft and complete, when nothing more .can tamenr Difpenfation-rhe exceeding Spiri– be added, but what equally appertains to tuality and Glory of the New~the M;ateri. Jomethino- elfe, nor any Thing withdrawn, als of a true Church-the charaCteriftic but fome~hing peculiarly belonging to the Features of a falfe one, efpecia,lly pf the Subject will be wanting. It muft be ac- Roq1ifh C:hur1=h, Babylon the Gr~at, the knowledgod, that Milton, Addifon, Young, Marher of Harlots-the Blifs of He~venand other our moll: mafterly \Vriters, have the Sorrows <;>f !iel\-with this Key, thefe i n fame lnftances been deficient, in others ' and O\ller Treafqres of Knowledge, which redundant: Faults thefe, from which pa\Jr a Flood of Brilliancy fhro..,gh the fcarcely any Author has kept himfelf quite Scriptllr~s, hove b~en \lnlQckecl to many free, however eafily and eagerly he may already, and I truft that the Spirit of Gad have difcerned thGm in others. will make ir ufeful to Generations yet unShould any one charge our Author with born. the latter of them, which is perhaps the I therefore take the Liberty, heartily to lefs cenfurable of the two, let it be rememrecommend it to my ya\mg Brethren in tile oored, that a Vine which never runs into Miniftry; to my Fellow-Chriftians, who Luxuriance, difcovers a want of Sap, and is prefer Senfe to Sound, the Truth .as it is in not likely to bear Fruit, whereas, that whofe Jelus, to meer Declamations, particularly– Branches run over the Wall, after pruning, to the Members of the Church, which Pro– becomes laden with the richeft C?luf1ers. vidence hath put under my Care, remindShould this Apology be accepted for ing them, that they are a Branch of that thoft who were as ambitious to be rhetorical Church of which Mr. Keach was Pafl:or, with Propriety, as to be juft in Sentiment, Mr. Keach being fucceeded in his paf1oral it may well be admi:ted for him, whofe De- Charge, by Mr. Benjamin Stinton, and Mr. fign was not fo much to pleafe the curious Stinton being the Predeceffor of rheir late and critical, as to profit the many, by detruly reverend and worthy Paftor Dr. veloping in an arrlefs Manner, the figuraJohn Gill; and, were the Freedom par– tive and metaphorical Parts of the facred donable, 1would affeCtionately recommend Volume. it-to all who love our Lord Jefus CJ.ri!t in But Speculation alide-this Work, in Sincerity and Truth. And if my Name, in my Opinion, contains a Fund of ufeful ConneCtion with others, will be llleful to -evangelical Matter, in which the Author propagate a Book I efteem, yoll may, if -freers as clear of the horrid Scylla of Antiyou pleafe, Sir, add to the above, and to . nomian DoCtrines on the one Hand, as of the Cloud of venerable \.Yirneffes who are the gloomy Chary_bdis of Arminian Tenets to give their Teftimonials of it. ·on the other. It IS a Key of great Worth, which admits you into the Prefence Cham– ber of the King, opens an infinitely valuable Wardrobe, a Cabinet of precious Gratzgt-Road, Sout~rwarh, Jewels, yea, the Palace of Truth itfelf. Mar.h 18, 1 77 8. 3 JOHN RIPPON. • 'I' hat there are not two Covenants, but one only; feems to be well fupported in :motber Piece alfo of our Author's, " THF. GoLDEN MINE," which I the rather.Mcmtion, as fhould be .glad to fee it, and Ais "-YaluableFolio on tke PAKABLiS, foon reprinted.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=