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THE

PREFACE.
A CE.

MY CHRISTIAN BRETHREN,

In all theological controverfies our appeal lies to the Bible, which contains the writings of the infpired prophets, and of the apostles and evangelifts, who have recorded the precepts and doctrines of Chrift. To those who lived in the times in which these books were published, they were, no doubt, very intelligible; the language in which they are written, and the cuftoms to which they allude, being perfectly known to them. But what was eafy to them, a long courfe of time has rendered extremely difficult to us, who use a very different language, and whofe manners and cuftoms are fo exceedingly unlike thofe of the jews. On this account, it may puzzle the greatest scholar of the prefent age to make out the fenfe of a paffage of fcripture, which could not but have been perfectly understood by the moft illiterate perfon in that age. In this ftate of things, the ignorant and unlearned are very liable to wreft the fcriptures, as the apoftle Peter fays they ever have done, while good fenfe and found learning often maintain a very unequal conteft.

It is another unfavourable circumftance with refpect to the right understanding of the scriptures in this country, that the English translation of them was made at a time when the chriftian world was but juft emerged from the darkness of popery, and while the belief of all those opinions which are combated in the APPEAL was almost universally retained. Our tranflators, therefore, having been educated in the belief of, and in a reverence for, those particular opinions, and not having had their minds fufficiently enlightened to call them in question, it is no wonder that, without any ill defign, they should, in many places of their verfion, have expreffed their own sentiments, and not those of the apoftles. In all these cases a just translation is all that is neceffary to remove the errors into which a wrong tranflation has led us. But with respect to them, you, my brethren, who are not acquainted with the languages in which the fcriptures were originally written, muft neceffarily depend upon other perfons for the interpretation of them. You may however be able, in a great measure, to judge for yourselves concerning different tranflations, by confidering, if you will take pains to reflect upon the fubject, which rendering of a doubtful paffage. is most agreeable to the general ftrain of the scriptures, and to common sense.

Do not, however, immediately conclude that an interpretation of a paffage in scripture is unnatural, becaufe,

it may

becaufe, when it is firft proposed to you, feem to be fo; because this may arise from nothing but your having been long accustomed to underftand it in a different fenfe, and from having imagined, though without fufficient grounds, that the tenor of scripture favoured a contrary fenfe. The roman-catholics, I doubt not, think it very unnatural to interpret the words of our Saviour, This is my body, in any other than in the moft literal manner; and they think that our lord's faying upon another occafion, Unless ye eat the flesh of the fon of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you, abundantly confirms their interpretation.

Now, in this little treatife, I defire no greater indulgence in the interpretation of scripture than all proteftants think themselves juftified in taking, when they affert, that the meaning of these figu-` rative expreffions is, not that the flesh and blood,. but that the doctrine of Chrift is to be received and digested, that is, to be improved and practifed by us, in order to our final falvation. Since the very ftrongest figures of fpeech are manifeftly used in almoft all the books of fcripture, it must be very unreasonable to expect that the moft literal interpretation fhould always be the best.

I must farther apprize you, my brethren, that the paffages which I have attempted to explain, being, for the most part, highly figurative, are, on that account, peculiarly difficult to understand;

fo

fo that though I may not have hit upon the precife fenfe of the writers, there may be no doubt, from other confiderations, that the fense which I am combating is not the true one, which is quite fufficient for my purpofe. It by no means follows that because I am wrong, my adversaries are right. In these cafes there is the greateft room for criticifin, and diverfity of opinion. I have given what at prefent appears to me to be the real fense of every text of fcripture which I have taken into confideration, but I fhall gladly avail myfelf of the new lights, which may be thrown upon any of them in future editions of this pamphlet.

In the mean time, with great diffidence of my own judgment, I recommend what I have now written to your most serious and candid confidera- . tion; defiring that you would read it with your bibles at hand, turning to every paffage to which I refer, and reading what goes before and after it ; because I have no doubt but that, in this manner,› you will fee much more reason, if not to approve of my interpretations, yet to reject those of my: adversaries, than I have fuggefted in this treatise,. in which I have made a point of being as concise as I poffibly could, confiftently with perfpicuity.

The rapid fale of the Appeal makes me hope that, inconfiderable as the performance is, it has been the instrument of fome good, in the hands of that Being who works by small things as well as by great ones.

I. Of

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