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much daily prevail, by the reading of that treatise, 1675. set himself to write an answer in English, to that part of it which chiefly concerned himself. Which answer was afterwards published by him, under the title of An Endeavour to rectify some prevailing Opinions contrary to the Doctrine of the Church of England: by the author of The Great Propitiation. In the preface to which, the reader is made acquainted, " that about half a year after that “he had published some sermons, entitled The "Great Propitiation, whereto was added that short "discourse aforesaid, concerning justification by faith, in the sense of St. Paul; there came forth "a learned book called Harmonia Apostolica, writ"ten by Mr. George Bull, which quite crossing the interpretation he had given of St. Paul, he was "occasioned by some occurrences, which it con"cerned not the reader to know, to write the sub"stance of those reflections upon it for some private "use." For he telleth us, they were written without any design of printing them, within three months after the coming forth of the said book; but were not published till about two years after, when he observed how fast some opinions got ground in the Church of England, contrary to his exposition thereof; which was attributed by him, in a great measure, to Mr. Bull, and more especially to the latter part of his performance.

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For Mr. Truman could find nothing to object against the former part of it, nor even against several chapters of the latter; nay, he condemned Mr. His cenGataker for writing against him in this point, affirm-different

how

from that

1675. ing, that he did not give the right interpretation either of St. James or St. Paul; and for the proof of Mr. Ga- hereof, he referred his reader to his own discourse taker, and how favour-before-mentioned, and even to Mr. Bull also, whom Mr. Bull. he allowed to have written satisfactorily in many

able to

How be

agreed and

things, and to have sufficiently refuted his hypothesis for the reconciliation of these two apostles, however ingenious this might possibly appear at first view. Now, nothing could happen more honourable to Mr. Bull, than this testimony from an adversary in his favour, recommending his book to be read by all such as were willing to have a clear and full view of the controversy; yielding so great a part of it to contain a fair explication and vindication of the truth; and preferring his performance to that of one who appeared after him, not without several considerable advantages and assistances from the learned notes of an eminent divine, and celebrated critic, that for many years together had made this his particular study. Whether The Way to Truth and Peace, which was published under the name of Mr. Charles Gataker, in order to a reconciliation between St. Paul and St. James concerning justification, were really his own or his father's, is not material to be knownk: but it is certain that both Mr. Bull and Mr. Truman did agree in this, that it was already answered sufficiently before ever it did appear; and that neither truth nor peace could solidly be established by the way therein taken.

i

These two go more than half way together, being disagreed perfectly agreed about faith, and not disagreeing in the exclusion of several sorts of modern reconcilers:

with Mr.

Bull.

i London, 4to. 1670.

k [See p. 135.]

but they differ about the law, and the true extent of 1675. its notion; or they seem at least to differ more than perhaps they really do. For that which Mr. Bull calls ipsissimum Evangelium, or the very Gospel, is called by Mr. Truman the Law, in the most perfect sense of it. And hence, according to one, the Gospel may very truly be said to be a law of most perfect obedience; while, according to the other, the Mosaical law may as truly be said to be such; that is, with different respects and views. The one is very large in shewing the defects of the law, and how it both wanted an external help for encouragement of perfect obedience to it, being the promise of eternal life; and an internal one, being the gift of the Holy Ghost: and the other is no less so, in shewing the perfection of it, and how it wanted neither one help nor the other. And as Mr. Bull hath many strong arguments for the disability of the law, either to work true sanctification in man, or to lay hold on eternal life: so hath Mr. Truman many others for the ability of the same law, as taken in his sense, in order to attain these very ends. It is certain, that they had both of them different views; but it is not quite so certain that they both had always different opinions, when they expressed themselves after different ways. And of this it were easy to give instances, if it were here necessary.

concurred

the very of

But moreover, there were besides Mr. Truman, How some not a few others, and those both learned and pious, with him in in Mr. Bull's own judgment, who were not able so fence taken, perfectly to digest the seventh chapter of his second for whom dissertation, which treateth of the twofold defect of had otherthe law of Moses, and maintaineth, that this law esteem.

Mr. Bull

wise an

1675. cannot absolutely and without any consideration be called a rule of perfect obedience. Some there were more violent than the rest, of whom he complaineth, that they made very tragical outcries against him, as if by such an hypothesis as this, "the whole system of orthodox divinity should be "shaken, yea, broken to pieces, and utterly de

66

stroyed; and that the very foundations both of "Law and Gospel were hereby at once undermined " and overturned." As for them that were not so outrageous, but shewed themselves to be of a true Christian temper, and not far from the truth, our learned harmonist was ready and willing to give them all the satisfaction that was in his power; professing at the same time that he did not insist on this matter as necessary for the reconciliation of St. James with St. Paul; but that he did submit it to better judgments, having only made the proposal for the sake of truth and peace, with a desire that it might be freely and impartially considered. Indeed, as he proposed his opinion to the learned, not to the vulgar, by writing in a language which none but the learned understood; so he expected, that they who should undertake to answer his arguments, would follow also his method therein, and not trouble the heads of the weak and the unlearned with doubtful disputations, and matters above their reach to judge of with any exactness, by appealing to them in their own native language; and this when the controversy was at first otherwise laid, and brought up from the pulpit, and consequently from the common people, to be debated and decided by the learned. Therefore he was not at all pleased that Mr. Truman should bring it down again.

came to

Bull in

ther than

Indeed, it would seem very absurd for any one to 1675. answer a Latin treatise in English; and especially How he if it were purposely written in Latin, that it might write not fall promiscuously into the hands of the common against Mr. English readers, for fear of disturbing their brains English rawith certain arguments not suited to their capacity; in Latin. as plainly was the case of Mr. Bull. But then, on the other side, it must be owned, that Mr. Truman had published, the very same year in which Mr. Bull's Harmonia Apostolica appeared, and some months too before it, his treatise of the Great Propitiation, which had been well received by some learned men of the Church of England, and particularly by that great and zealous assertor of primitive antiquity, bishop Gunning, who for the sake thereof desired to be acquainted with the author, though a dissenter. So that he was really the first of the two in this controversy, wherein they were both engaged unknown to each other. And besides this, as the said Harmonia Apostolica was the first-born of Mr. Bull's productions, so was likewise The Great Propitiation of Mr. Truman's, and both alike favoured by them as such. In the treatise of the former, which was last printed, we have the sum of what he preached at several times, set forth for the use of the learned, together with a very learned vindication thereof, from Scripture, reason, and antiquity, in a language and style proper only to them: but in the treatise of the latter, which was first printed, there is contained the substance of several sermons preached upon that great article of our religion, and made public in the same language in which they were

London, 1669.

L