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heavenly Father; and when the Chriftian opens its hard cold hands, and looks into them, there are to be found gracious letters full of love, bearing an invitation to come home, a call from the new Jerufalem to come up and fee. When death with the one hand covers our eyes, and deprives of the light of the ftars, with the other it rends in pieces the vail, and fo makes way for our being fet immediately under the refreshing beams of the Sun of righteousness, without the least appearance of a cloud through the long days of eternity. Now that his way is in the fea, and his path in the deep waters, and his footsteps are not known, we must believe loving-kindness in all the myfterious paffages of Providence: we fhall in due time see a wheel in the wheel, and be taught how to decipher the dark characters; we fhall, with an agreeable furprise, perceive an allwife Providence in all its intricate, oblique, and feemingly-contrary motions, to have been a faithful fervant to the divine promife; fo that we muft fay Amen to Heaven's difpofals, and cry out in the dark and gloomy night, Hallelujah. I fhould certainly make an apology for giving you fo much trouble, but allow it to be written to the Lord's prifoner of hope with you, as I defign it, though the direction bears your name. The fault of its length will, I hope, appear lefs when taken in that view. My affectionate refpects to Mrs Bofton, with yourself, are of fered, by him who is, Very dear Sir, yours very affectionately, in the ftraiteft bonds, H. DAVIDSON.

No 10. A letter from Profeffor Hamilton to the Author, referred to p. 434. 1. 12. at Hamilton.

Vir Reverende, Frater dilectiffime,

Tuas Aug. 13. datas accepi, et cum delectatione perlegi: nam multa continent attentione digna; et quod ad levandos fcrupulos meos, circa certitudinem et utilitatem ftigmatologiæ Hebraica, profunt, quamvis non poffum dicere illos penitus fublatos effe; utinam poffem. Scio autem te optâre ut fincere tecum agam, nec cupere affentationes blandientes, quas nec mihi cordi eft dare, nec tibi, ut puto, accipere. Verum, ut antea, in meis, fine fuco, id quod vere mihi animi fuit de opere tuo lubens teftatum feci, ita nunc rurfus idem repetam; nempe, illud infigne documentum præbere indefeffæ tuæ diligentiæ, et improbi laboris, in eo concinnando; nec non quod, ex bono et laudando animi affectu erga divina eloquia, molimen illud arduum et onerofum fufcepifti, et profequutus es, in duobus illis voluminibus de ftigmatologia facra; quæ, ut voluifti, perlegi; et tibi ago gratias, qui id agendi facultatem mihi dederis. Nunc autem infuper addam, exceptionibus meis in præmiffis epiftolis de hoc opere non obftantibus, nihil a me obfervatum fuiffe, dum opus illud perlegerem, quod, quatenus judicare potui, contrarium erat doctrinæ pure theologiæ in

noftra

noftra vel aliis ecclefiis reformatis receptæ: et, fi contigerit il-
lud opus publicum fieri, opinor minime indignum effe erudito-
rum feria attentione, quo origo et autoritas accentuationis He-
braicæ penitus confiderentur et examinentur, ut aliquid repe-
riatur cui ut certo fidendum in tanta tamque gravi quæftione,
de qua docti hucufque adeo difputarunt. Hæc funt quæ tuis
fupra memoratis refpondere lubuit; quæ fpero te benevolenter
accepturum, ut quæ proveniunt ex animo optime erga te dif-
pofito. Quod reftat, omnia faufta tibi precatur, et fincere op-
tat, Vir Reverende, Frater dilectiflime,-tui obfervantiffimus,
tibique deditiffimus,
GUL, HAMILTON.

Datum Edina, Nov. 20. 1728.

No 11. Extract of a letter from Mr Grant to the Author, dated
June 8. 1730, mentioned p. 471. 1.6. at Fourfold
State.

My former letters to our worthy and dear friend Mr Hogg, will give you a tolerable account of that rare gentleman Sir Richard Ellys, and of your obligations to him; tho' I own it is much above me to give either his character, or exprefs how much you are obliged to him. But I cannot help faying, that I do fincerely think, that there is ground of many thanksgivings to fovereign grace, that we have in our island a gentleman of his rank, (being one of the first for birth and efate in England), and one of the ableft scholars in it, who, I hope and am perfuaded, is fuch a pleafant fcholar in Chrift's fchool, and is let in to the wonders and glories of free grace, and whofe foul thirfts after further and further difcoveries of the purity and beauty of the gospel. He has many a time warmed my heart, to hear him fpeak of that fubject. He fpeaks indeed of grace like one that has feen its glory, felt its power, and tafted its sweetness. There is one amongst many lovely accounts he was pleased to communicate to me, which I am fatisfied will be pleafing to you, viz. that when he was a bigotted Arminian, God was pleased to give an old gentlewoman, of an understanding entirely weak as to every thing but free grace and the mystery of Chrift, an uncommon concern about him, at whofe notions of Chrift and grace he was wont to laugh. However, a fovereign and gracious God made this weak woman conquer this Goliath, and teach this Rabbi. O! with what refpect he talks of her memory! and O! what a glorious demonstration does he reckon fuch a one of the reality of divine teaching, who knows nothing of the world, has weak understanding of all the concerns of human life, but knows more of the myfteries of the kingdom of heaven than thousands of scholars, nay, and thoufands of divines! She died full of the faith and hopes, that God would take care of

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him, and keep him by his power through faith to falvation. Your Fourfold State has engaged his heart to you: he has made prefents of it to feveral of his friends, and made another great man, Sir John Philips, purchase it, who fays, free grace is his Bible, and admires your book, reads it daily himself, and makes all his family read it. This gentleman, Sir Richard affures me, is a man of great worth, and has a great concern about the declining of religion, and has a noble public fpirit for doing good.

No 12. A letter from the Author to Sir Richard Ellys, Bt, mentioned p. 470. l. 14. at Ellys.

Honoured Sir,

Etterick-manfe, June 13. 1730. IT was no fmall encouragement to me, to find by my good friend Mr John Grant's letters, that you had been pleased to read the fpecimen of the Effay on the Hebrew accentuation, lately fent from this place; that you relifhed the defign of that ellay, and thewed a favourable inclination in the matter. This was unto me ground of thankfulness to the Sovereign Disposer of all, and natively iffued in determining to do myself the fatisfaction 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 fuch a work falling, ‘just becaufe fo it seemed good in the fight of the Father,' to the share of an obfcure perfon, living in a defert, exercised with a variety of perfonal and domeftic trials, and under fome uncommon difadvantages befide, muft needs with him remain in obfcurity, unless it obtain the countenance of one of your Honour's character in the learned world; and that especially at this time of day, when, in the depth of fovereign wisdom, fo many learned men of all denominations reckon any fuch work a mere laborious trifling; because they believe not the divine original and authority of the points themfelves, on which the effay is made.

That I was led to the study of the Hebrew accentuation, was owing purely to the conduct 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 ftigmatological; feeing glaring evidence of the fame, in my reading of the facred Hebrew text, fhining by means thereof with its own intrinfic light. And therefore I am inclined to think, that, after all that has been faid, on both fides of the question, by the learned, the most habile method of conviction therein, is to "come and fee;" and that a happy explication, or ge

nuine representation of the nature of the accentuation of the Hebrew Bible, in its natural and artless contrivance, is the only thing wanting to procure it the fame awful regard with the other parts of the facred text. This is what is aimed at in the effay, though I am not fo weak as to think I have fully reached it but I have the fondness to imagine, that, being brought forth to the public view, it might poffibly minifter occafion unto fome learned men to enter into a further confideration of that matter; and so set it at length in a due light, to the increase of scripture-knowledge in the churches of Christ.

I have now fent off the English copy of the effay, hoping that, through the favourable conduct of Providence, it may come fafe to London. It is what I wrote at firft, while I was not dreaming of putting it in Latin; the which I was afterwards engaged in, by the advice of fome, for whose judgement I had a great deference. And in cafe of its coming fafe to my friend's hand, I humbly intreat, that, if your affairs will permit, you will be pleased to take the trouble of glancing it over; to the end you may have a more clear view of the nature of the work, and may be fully fatisfied in the point of your affording or denying it your countenance: for, bating fome alterations which I found ground for making, when the Latin copy was written, the former is the fame with the lat

ter.

If, upon perufal of the English copy, your favourable inclination fhall continue, I will prefume to beg your advice to Mr Grant, as to his management of the affair.

The weight and importance of the matter, and the juftice of allowing one to exprefs a due gratitude, will, I hope, plead excufe for offering you the trouble of this from a stranger; who craves leave to fubfcribe himself,-Honoured Sir, - your Honour's very obedient, most humble fervant, T. BOSTON.

N° 13. Sir Richard Ellys's Anfwer, referred to p. 487. 1. 28. Dec. 16. 1730.

SIR,

I received yours with great pleasure; and can affure you, it is not for any want of refpect that I have been fo long in returning you my thanks for it. Believe me, from what I have read of yours, and the character I have from others concerning you, I have the highest regard for you. The Fourfold State, which I went through with much fatisfaction, has given me no small idea of your piety; and I have some reason to think, your Effay on the Hebrew accentuation may in time give the learned world as great a value and efteem for your knowledge in that abftrufe part of literature. I cannot pretend to much depth in any part of learning; in this I must own myself en

2

tirely

tirely ignorant but this I know, if it fucceeds, it is a glorious work, as it must neceffarily be fubfervient in the highest degree towards fettling our minds, and compofing our differences, in these fad diftracted times. Has Providence directed you to rules for the afcertaining the sense of scripture, or at leaft for reducing it in fome good measure to a greater certainty than heretofore? For my own part, I had rather be author of fuch a book, than master of the Indies.

After I have faid this, Sir, I hope I need not add much to affure you, I will do whatever lies in my power to serve you in this noble defign. The very failing in an attempt of this nature has its merit :

Magnis tamen excidit aufis,

you know, is given as no mean character.

The fpecimen has been fhewed to Meff. Schultens and Abraham Gronovius, the two beft judges of that fort of learning at Leyden, or perhaps in all Holland. I fhall not trouble you with their anfwer, our common friend Mr Grant having undertaken to fend it you verbatim; but this I must say, it pleafed me. The fpecimen is, I fuppofe, before this time, in the hands of Mr Loftus at Rotterdam, who has promised me to examine it himself, put it into the hands of others, and then give me his and their impartial fentiments.

And now, Sir, I have a favour to beg of you, or rather I infift upon it, that you think of me fometimes in your most retired hours. It is what I defire with fome earnestness; and reckon I have a fort of right to it, as being your hearty wellwifher and friend, though unknown to you, as well as, dear' Sir, your very humble fervant, R. ELLYS.

No 14. A fecond letter from the Author to Sir Richard Ellyss mentioned p. 487. l. 15. at retentis.

Honoured Sir, Etterick-manfe, Dec. 31. 1730. OFTEN have I been made to adore that fovereign gracious hand, which pointed into the much-neglected path travelled in, in the MSS. fome time ago fent from hence; and which, in dependence upon him, opened a paffage through feveral thickets there, in which I found myfelf entangled; having frequently been in fuch a fituation therein, that when I had fet down one foot, I knew not where to fet down another. But when, by the divine favour, I had got through it in fome meafure, fuch as was comfortable to myself, and might, I apprehended, be of fome ufe to the church of God, my friendless circumstances were perplexing. Thefe have for feveral years been matter of exercife to me; and, I am not afhamed to own,

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