PREFACE, TO " USEFUL AND IMPORTANT QUESTIONS CONCERNING JESUS THE SON OF. GOD FREELY PROPOSED, &c. IT cannot be of much importance for the reader to be informed who waë. the writer of these papers: Yet if it will be any satisfaction, the author himself presumes to say, it is one who has spent many years of his life indiligent enqui- ries into the sacred doctrines of the gospel, by a constant and laborious search of the holy scriptures, nor is he ashamed to add, with continual application to the God of all light and grace for the instruction of his holy Spirit that he migbt bet- ter understand the things discovered in his word. hie also takes the freedom to say, these papers are the product of that part of life when the powers of mind and body were in full vigour. The author has sometimes been ready to suppose, that several of the ques- tions here proposed, may be very useful towards the further explaining some of those parts of scripture which hove been less studied, especially concerning God the Father, and the divine and human natures of his Son Jesus Christ, whom to know, to trust in, and to love, is eternal life ; and he thinks be can safely appeal to God concerning the honesty and sincerity of his own endeavours, to give a faithful answer to ail these enquiries, according to the clearest light he could find in the holy scriptures. Ile has one favour to beg of his readers, and that is, that theywould not examine any of these papers by the mere dictates of theirown reasoning powers, for the subject is a mere matter of divine revelation; nor that theywould take the sentiments or schemes of elder or later writers, whether schoolmenorfathers or divines; of any party, for the perfect test of truth and orthodoxy in these sacred subjects. Yet he freely and delightfully confesses these following articles borrowed from the Athanasiaa creed, viz. We believe and confess the Lord Jesus Christ the Sonof God, is both God and man; God of the same substance with the Father and man of the substance of his mother, born into the world ; perfect God and perfect man; of a reasonable soul, and human flesh subsisting together: Equal to the Father, as touching his godhead, and yet inferior to the Father, as touch- ing his manhood : One, not by conversion of the godhead into the flesh, but by takingof the manhood into God, no as to become one personal agent, or one per- son; and as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, no God and man are one Christ, who suffered for our salvatibo, &c. Though I freely and cheerfully acknowledge all this, yet I takeno human writings for a testof the divinity or truth of my opinions: And I could wish all my readers would lay aside all other teachers, besides the mere writers of the holy scriptures, in such enquiries where the light of these divine truths will also shine brightest, which are not to be known by the mere light of nature, but are entirely to be learned by the revelation of God to his Sou Jesus Christ, and tohis holy apostles. And if this practice be sincerely pursued, the author humbly hopes these papersmay find acceptance among the diligent and honest enquirers after the truth, no far at least as to have his unwilling mistakes pitied and forgiven, and his sincere endeavours accepted, to make known the scripture to his fel- iowchristiana in those important articles that relate to God the Father, and
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=