and his apostles, or on the inspired writings of their historians, to make them comply with his system, and the christianity he would make.

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The unmasker's second particular, p. 76, tells us, "That though this one proposition or article be men❝tioned alone in some places, yet there is reason to "think and be persuaded, that at the same time other "matters of faith were proposed. For it is confessed, by all intelligent and observing men, that the history "of the scripture is concise; and that in relating matter "of fact, many passages are omitted by the sacred penmen. Wherefore, though but this one article of "belief (because it is a leading one, and makes way " for the rest) be expressly mentioned in some of the gospels, yet we must not conclude thence, that no "other matter of faith was required to be admitted of. "For things are briefly set down in the evangelical "records, and we must suppose many things which " are not in direct terms related."

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Answ. The unmasker here keeps to his usual custom of speaking in doubtful terms. He says, that where this one article that Jesus is the Messiah, is alone recorded in the preaching of our Saviour and his apostles; "We "have reason to be persuaded, that at the same time "other matters of faith were proposed." If this be to his purpose, by matters of faith, must be meant fundamental articles of faith, absolutely necessary to be be+ lieved by every man to make him a christian. That such matters of faith are omitted, in the history of the preaching of our Saviour and his apostles, by the sacred historians; this, he says, "we have reason to be per"suaded of."

Answ. They need be good reasons to persuade a rational man, that the evangelists, in their history of our Saviour and his apostles, (if they were but ordinarily fair and prudent men,) did, in an history published to instruct the world in a new religion, leave out the necessary and fundamental parts of that religion. But let them be considered as inspired writers, under the conduct of the infallible Spirit of God, putting them upon, and directing them in, the writing of this history of the

gospel and then it is impossible for any christian, but the unmasker, to think, that they made any such gross omissions, contrary to the design of their writing, without a demonstration to convince him of it. Now all the reason that our unmasker gives is this: "That it is "confessed by all intelligent and observing men, that "the history of the scripture is concise; and that in relating matters of fact, many passages are omitted "by the sacred penmen."

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Answ. The unmasker might have spared the confession of intelligent and observing men, after so plain a declaration of St. John himself, chap. xx. 31, Many "other things did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, "which are not written in this book." And again, xxi. 25, "There are also many other things that Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose the world could not contain the books that "should be written." There needs, therefore, no opinion of intelligent and observing men to convince us, that the history of the gospel is so far concise, that a great many matters of fact are omitted, and a great many less material circumstances, even of those that are set down. But will any intelligent or observing man, any one that bears the name of a christian, have the impudence to say, that the inspired writers, in the relation they give us of what Christ and his apostles preached to unbelievers to convert them to the faith, omitted the fundamental articles, which those preachers proposed to make men christians; and without a belief of which, they could not be christians?

The unmasker talks after his wonted fashion; i. e. seems to say something, which, when examined, proves nothing to his purpose. He tells us, "That in some

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places," where the article of "Jesus the Messiah is "mentioned alone, at the same time other matters of "faith were proposed." I ask, were these other matters of faith all the unmasker's necessary articles? If not, what are those other matters of faith to the unmasker's purpose? As for example, in St. Peter's sermon, Acts ii." Other matters of faith were proposed with "the article of Jesus the Messiah," But what does this

make for his fundamental articles: were they all proposed with the article of Jesus the Messiah? If not, unbelievers were converted, and brought into the church, without the unmasker's necessary articles. Three thousand were added to the church by this one sermon. I pass by, now, St. Luke's not mentioning a syllable of the greatest part of the unmasker's necessary articles; and shall consider only, how long that sermon may have been. It is plain from ver. 15, that it began not until about nine in the morning; and from ver. 41, that before night three thousand were converted and baptized. Now I ask the unmasker, Whether so small a number of hours, as Peter must necessarily employ in preaching to them, were sufficient to instruct such a mixed multitude so fully in all those articles, which he has proposed as necessary to be believed to make a man a christian; as that every one of those three thousand, that were that day baptized, did understand, and explicitly believe every one of those his articles, just in the sense of our unmasker's system? Not to mention those remaining articles, which the unmasker will not be able, in twice as many months, to find and declare

to us.

He says, "That in some places," where the article of "Jesus the Messiah is mentioned alone, at the same "time other matters of faith were proposed:" Let us take this to be so at present, yet this helps not the unmasker's case. The fundamental articles, that were proposed by our Saviour and his apostles, necessary to be believed to make men christians, are not set down; but only this single one, of "Jesus the Messiah :" therefore, will any one dare to say they are omitted everywhere by the evangelists? Did the historians of the gospel make their relation so concise and short, that giving an account in so many places of the preaching of our Saviour and his apostles, for the conversion of the unbelieving world, they did not in any one place, nor in all of them together, set down the necessary points of that faith, which their unbelieving hearers were converted to? If they did not, how can their histories be called the Gospels of Jesus Christ? Or how can they

serve to the end for which they were written? Which was to publish to the world the doctrine of Jesus Christ, that men might be brought into his religion. Now I challenge the unmasker to show me, not out of any one place, but out of all the preachings of our Saviour and his apostles, recorded in the four Gospels, and in the Acts, all those propositions which he has reckoned up as fundamental articles of faith. If they are not to be found there, it is plain, that either they are not articles of faith, necessary to be believed to make a man a christian; or else, that those inspired writers have given us an account of the gospel, or christian religion, wherein the greatest part of the doctrines necessary to be believed to make a man a christian, are wholly omitted. Which in short is to say, that the christianity, which is recorded in the Gospels and the Acts, is not that christianity which is sufficient to make a man a christian. This (as absurd and impious as it is) is what our unmasker charges upon the conciseness (as he is pleased to call it) of the evangelical history. And this we must take upon his word, though these inspired writers tell us the direct contrary: for St. Luke, in his preface to his gospel, tells Theophilus, that having a perfect knowledge of all things, the design of his writing was to set them in order, that he might know the certainty of those things that were believed amongst christians. And his history of the Acts begins thus: "The former treatise [i. e. his gospel] have I made, O Theo"philus, of all that Jesus began to do and to teach." So that, how concise soever the unmasker will have his history to be, he professes it to contain all that Jesus taught. Which all must, in the narrowest sense that can be given it, contain at least all things necessary to make a man a christian. It would else be a very lame and imperfect history of all that Jesus taught, if the faith contained in it were not sufficient to make a man a christian. This indeed, as the unmasker hath been pleased to term it, would be a very lank faith, a very lank gospel.

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St. John also says thus, of his history of the gospel, chap. xx. 30, 31, "Many other signs truly did Jesus,

"in the presence of his disciples, which are not written "in this book :" so far his history is, by his own confession, concise. "But these," says he," are written "that ye might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the "Son of God; and that, believing, ye might have life "through his name." As concise as it was, there was yet (if the apostle's word may be taken for it against the unmasker's) enough contained in his gospel, for the procuring of eternal life, to those who believed it. And, whether it was that one article that he here sets down, viz. That Jesus was the Messiah, or that set of articles which the unmasker gives us, I shall leave to this modern divine to resolve. And, if he thinks still, that all the articles he has set down in his roll, are necessary to be believed to make a man a christian, I must desire him to show them to me in St. John's gospel, or else to convince the world, that St. John was mistaken, when he said, that he had written his gospel, that men might believe that "Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God; "and that, believing, they might have life through his name."

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So that, granting the history of the scripture to be so concise, as the unmasker would have it, viz. that in some places the infallible writers, recording the discourses of our Saviour and his apostles, omitted all the other fundamental articles proposed by them to be believed to make men christians, but this one, that Jesus was the Messiah; yet this will not remove the objection that lies against his other fundamentals, which are not to be found in the histories of the four evangelists; nay, not to be found in any one of them. If every one of them contains the gospel of Jesus Christ, and consequently all things necessary to salvation, whether this will not be a new ground of accusation against me, and give the unmasker a right to charge me with laying by three of the gospels with contempt, as well as he did before charge me with a contempt of the epistles; must be left to his sovereign authority to determine.

Having showed that, allowing all he says here to be as he would have it, yet it clears not the objection that lies against his fundamentals; I shall now examine