all, confiderations of fubordinate and inferior im portance, when contrasted with the positive duty I owe to God, to the gospel of Jefus, to my fellowchristians, and to myself.

It is no light matter to profess our religion in infincerity and hypocrify. We are enjoined by high authority to worship God in fpirit and in truth. And fhall worldly temptations prevail upon any one, who seriously profeffes himself a christian, to worship any other than the one true God, Jehovah, the Father of all, while he believes that fame felf-existent and all-powerful Being to be God, and none other befides him? Or, fhall we approach the great fearcher of hearts with that duplicity and deceit which is not to be allowed in our dealings and intercourse with our fellow men? Or, fhall we think to amend the matter by addreffing our private prayers to the God and Father of our lord Jefus Chrift, in compromise for our having publicly prayed, in the language of the church, to a trinity of Gods, or to the man Chrift Jefus, who lived among us, and died upon a crofs, and who himself renounced all adoration and worship? Shall we pray unto a man, though the most holy and excellent that ever lived on the earth, and thereby elevate the creature to the dignity of the creator, and take, from the unchangeable and only God and governor of the world, any of that praise and thanksgiving which we are enjoined to give unto him, and unto him only, and which are so peculiarly and eminently his own? Or, through our earnest defire

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to continue in the established church, fhall we prove our faith by mental reservations in the courfe of public worship, fo that while we affent to one prayer, we reject another, or, poffibly, divide a third, approving the former, and rejecting the latter part? Or, rather, shall we not, in all true fimplicity and finglenefs of heart, as St. Paul writes, pray with the fpirit and pray with the understanding alo? (1 Cor. xiv. 15.)

I am ready to own, that my compliance in the ufe of thofe things which I did not approve, was at one time relieved by the confideration, that fuch compliance was only official, or minifterial. This argument, however, failed to afford fatisfaction, on further reflection upon the ftrict integrity and fincerity abfolutely neceffary for divine worship.

I never did read, in the public fervice, the creed, vulgarly called the creed of Athanafius, confidering it, to fay the leaft, as entirely foreign to every good end of chriftian edification. And it is now about ten years fince I entirely omitted the litany and Nicene creed, without giving any offence to my congregation, confining the exercise of my miniftry in the morning fervice to my parish church of Swinderby, and an adjoining one in the county of Nottingham; thinking, at that time, that by taking upon myself the penalties of the law, I thereby released myself from my engagement to conformity. This expedient of omitting fome of the most offenfive parts of the public liturgy was afterwards fuperfeded,

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by confidering my unconditional promise of conformity in a stronger point of view, than I had before beheld it.

But, befides the force of this obligation, the remedy was in itself infufficient, because the trinitarian expreffions and forms of worship, and express prayer to Jefus Chrift, occur fo frequently, and are fo Elended and united throughout the fervice, that there is no fatisfactory relief to be had by partial omiffions, without breaking in upon, and interrupting, the regularity and order of the prayers, and confequently difperfing, or confounding, the pious affections of many ferious and devout perfons. Therefore, after something more than two years, I refumed the accustomed conformity to the ordinary parts of the public fervice.

From that time to the present I have continued to profecute my inquiry, and have affiduously attended, in hopes of fome fatisfaction, to the many defences of the doctrine of the trinity. The refult has, however, been my entire conviction of the divine unity in its utmost extent, and an increased fenfe of the importance of thefe great truths, that GOD IS ONE, and HE ONLY to be worshipped.

Under the accumulated influence of this fixed opinion, entertained after fucceffive examinations, under many doubts, and much anxiety of mind, my continuing to minifter under a form of religious worship confeffedly trinitarian, or tritheistic, became more feriously grievous. The carneft defire to

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worship the one God, and Father of all, in the fimplicity of the gospel revelation, gained additional ftrength and power over my mind; and my continuance in a practice fo repugnant to my convictions, was every day more and more intolerable.

It has been fuggested, on fimilar occafions, that to engage an affiftant, whose opinions would lead him to a conscientious conformity to the fervices of the church, would remove all perfonal difficulty. This expedient was alfo no lefs infufficient to my relief than the former ones; for I fhould then have been neglectful of my duty in the place appointed me; and indirectly affenting, by the employment of another, to that which I did ftill difbelieve. And I must then have abfented myself from all public worship of almighty God, or have entirely forfaken the people of whom I had taken the charge. And this I fhould have done, for no better reason than because I wished to enjoy the emoluments of my preferment, while I fcrupled to discharge the duties annexed to my fituation; and fhould have fet an example of the most disingenuous dealing, and of a neglect of the ordinances of God.

Thus, after the moft deliberate confideration of all arguments, and after paffing several painful years in much folicitude and apprehenfion of incurring the displeasure of almighty God, I had but ene choice to make, if ever I hoped for his approbation. I, therefore, in obedience to the fulleft convictions of my

mind, have refigned my miniftry and preferments in the church of England.

I fhould be much concerned, if any good man fhould fo interpret this feceffion of mine from the worship of the church established, as if I thereby, in the most remote degree, took upon me to blame, or condemn, thofe who may continue their miniftrations in it, even though their opinions on certain doctrines may nearly approach to my own.

I am fenfible, from what has paffed within myfelf, how differently fimilar convictions operate in different ftates of the mind, and how very long a man may be prevailed upon to go on doing things in which he blames himself, from regards to a family, or to more diftant kindred, and to various other local circumftances, which cannot easily be explained to others; and the ftill greater difficulty, at a certain time of life, of finding bread for a family any where else.

I am thankful now, and I truft I fhall always be fo, whatever be the event as to this world, that I have been brought out of a fituation, in which I went on, from day to day, condemning myself, and that it has pleafed divine providence to lead me to a station, where I may ftill bear my teftimony to the truth and holiness of the gospel, and have the fatisfaction of being united to a congregation of chriftians, affembling at the chapel of Effex-Street, London; where prayer is avowedly made to the only true God, the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift; and where I fhall ftill have more caufe to be thankful, if my labours

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