account of the length of my difcourfe, I wished him to do. Not fucceeding in this, I took an opportunity fome time after the prayers were begun, of retiring into the card-room, for the fake of looking over my discourse, and ftriking out fuch parts of it as could best be omitted. When this was done, I returned to the prayers before they were quite finished. Still, however, my difcourfe was confiderably longer than ufual: but I was heard with the greatest attention, nor did I perceive any marks of disapprobation from any of the company. I concluded the fervice with a fhort prayer, addreffed, as moft of the prayers in the liturgy of the church of England are, to the Father only; fo that if this was a contradiction to the trinitarian forms in the fame liturgy, fome of the prayers in this book are contradictory to the reft. After the fervice, I was thanked not only by General Stratton and Mr. Sligo in the name, as they faid, of the company, but by many of the most respectable perfons prefent, fome of whom avowed religious fentiments with refpect to the trinity very different from mine; and in confequence of a previous invitation by the Provost of the university of Dublin, I dined at the Grand Hotel, where fome of the particulars of my fer mon, being new to part of the company, were the subject of conversation, and every thing that I heard was much in favour of it. Several clergymen were present at my difcourfe, and one of them, I was told, expreffed much approbation of it. Others, it appears, were much offended at my being asked to preach on this occafion, and one of them, I was told, made an attempt, but without fuccefs, to exprefs his difapprobation, in a difcourfe compofed on purpofe for the Sunday following. This, however, I did not know at the time, for the next morning I proceeded on my journey, and left the place. Much of the offence that I gave on this occafion was by taking upon me' (as this dignitary fays) to perform a part of the ministry of the 'church of England, in a place of that defcrip tion.' Now, not to obferve, that the place in which I preached was not confecrated, and that the appropriation of the building to the offices of any particular mode of religion was not a thing to be confidered by me, but by those who applied to me to officiate in it, I fee no reason why chriftians of the most oppofite fentiments may not meet to worship together, and edify one another, on principles that are common to them all, avoiding the introduction of any that would give offence. If I had an opportunity (which I would by no means decline) decline) of preaching before a fociety of high calvinifts, or the most rigid catholics, I would do it in fuch a manner as not to offend any of them, and yet I fhould have a fufficient choice of topics on which to difcourfe. For the most important articles, not only of christian practice, but also of chriftian faith, are thofe in which all who ever called themselves chriftians are, and always were, agreed; nor fhould I have any scruple to defire any christian minister, of whatever denomination, to preach for me, if I knew him to be a man of fense and difcretion, who would observe the fame rule of prudence in my pulpit, that I fhould make a point of doing in his. I am not forry to have this opportunity of faying that I and my congregation gave this proof of our liberality in this refpect the very laft year, by inviting Mr. Berington, a catholic priest in the neighbourhood of Birmingham, to preach our annual Sunday-school fermon. All the subscribers to that charity were convened on the occafion, after it had been the fubject of much converfation feveral weeks before; and on my propofing it, it was cheerfully and unanimoufly acceded to; and one of the company very pleasantly and properly faid that, as the devotional part of the fervice on that occafion would fall to me, he hoped that on that day I would omit praying for the downfal of antichrift; 3 antichrift; which I very readily engaged to do. The invitation was accordingly fent, and as the reader will fee, by a copy of the letters which he will find fubjoined to this Preface, was very properly received, though it was not complied with, for prudential confiderations, which I hope will not exist long. I fhould have been afhamed of any congregation to which I officiate, had they made any difficulty of acting fo liberal a part. We did not defire Mr. Berington to celebrate mafs, or to do any thing else in which we could not concur with him; nor, I am confident, would he obtrude upon his audience any fentiments that he knew would be difpleafing to them; and then what objection could there be to his principles as a catholic, when they did not appear? A Jew, or a Mahometan, might recommend charity, and what chriftian could object to hear him do it, if he did it well? From officiating in our places of public worship no men of sense, and of good moral characters, are excluded by any forms of confecration. We are ready to accept of the fervices of any person by whofe difcourfes we can hope to be edified. Would all chriftians act upon this generous principle, and be ready to meet on every piece of ground that was common to them, true catholicifin would be greatly promoted, prejudices would would much fooner die away, and truth, which we are all equally interested in discovering, would have a much better opportunity of prevailing over error than it now has. To the Rev. Mr. Berington. It is with peculiar fatisfaction that I communi+ cate to you the very hearty and unanimous re queft of the subscribers to our Sunday school, to give us a fermon at the New Meeting, on any Sunday that shall be most convenient to yourself, within about a month from this time, when a collection will be made for the purpose, in aid of our fubfcription. We have all been charmed with your excellent and liberal tract on the subject, and we wish to fhow the world that, different as our persuasions are, we can meet together on the common principles of christianity and benc volence, With very great respect, I am, Birmingham, 04. 28, 17999 Yours fincerely, J. PRIESTLEY, Mr. |