Christianity, and therefore he deduceth them from Scripture, and the purest ages of the church; and at the same time endeavours to make such an impression upon their minds, that they might pursue their duty with some warmth; which he doth with so much more authority by how much it appeareth that he was affected himself with what he delivered to others. But I shall not enlarge upon this subject farther than to recommend to the reader the following letter of Dr. Lupton, who hath handled this matter with great exactness. He preacheth at present one of the most celebrated lectures in London with such an universal approbation, that those who opposed his coming into that post declare themselves in the first rank of his admirers. This learned, judicious, and pious divine, was early formed under bishop Bull: the first-fruits of his ministry in the church were in the station of his curate, whereby he enjoyed all those advantages which he recommends with so good a grace to all other candidates of divinity; and the world now perceiveth the admirable use he made of such an excellent pattern, since he is thereby himself become a fit model for the preachers that are rising in this generation°. Besides, his intimate knowledge and acquaintance with bishop Bull's method qualified him to make the truest judgment of the excellency of his sermons, which was the reason of my application to the worthy doctor; upon which account I persuade myself I shall have the thanks of the judicious reader, when he shall have perused the answer which the doctor was pleased to write me upon that occasion. [Birch, in his Life of Tillotson, seems to hint that this high encomium was not merited.] Dr. Lupton's let ter to Mr. SIR, YOU are pleased to demand my thoughts of bishop Bull. I do not remember any remarkable concerning passage in his life, but what is already laid before you by other hands. Nelson, bp. Bull's sermons. It is a great satisfaction to me, upon many accounts, that his sermons will be published, and particularly for this reason, that they will be, in several respects, an excellent model to be observed by young clergymen in writing sermons. He abhorred affectation of wit, trains of fulsome metaphors, and nice words wrought up into tuneful, pointed sentences, without any substantial meaning at the bottom of them. He looked upon sermons consisting of these ingredients, which should be our aversion, and not our aim, as empty, and frothy, and trifling, as inconsistent with the dignity of serious and sacred things, and as an indication of a weak judgment; for he was not so censorious as to imagine, either that the authors of them do seek the praise of men more than the praise of God, or that they do, out of vanity, attempt to make up the real want of good sense, by a shew of good words. Indeed true wit, justly applied, doth deserve the utmost praise, in sermons as well as in other discourses and yet there are many instances of wit, properly so called, to be found in sermons, which ought not by any means to appear there. In saying this, I do not reflect particularly upon the sermons of any one author, but upon this general rule, well known to every judicious clergyman, that whatsoever instance of wit, though pure, doth affect the imagination alone, or doth in any respect divert the mind from a religious disposition, ought not to be admitted into religious discourses, because it is repugnant to the end and design of them, and prevents their proper effect. That which would justly challenge the utmost applause in common conversation, or upon the stage, may with equal justice be exploded from the pulpit. The proper use even of true wit doth require the very best judgment: and in both did this learned prelate excel, though he used the first very sparingly in his sermons; but the second was abundantly demonstrated in every one of them. For every one comprised the principal truths which belonged to the subject, and those were ranged into the most natural and easy order, illustrated with the utmost clearness, confirmed with the utmost strength of reasoning, and expressed in the most plain and significant words. And such a rich vein of piety did run through the whole, as would have rendered it acceptable and delightful to any man, who is sincerely religious, though it were not attended with those shadows of beauty and ornament, which are too often thought to be the best parts of a sermon. Fineness of language and brightness of thought, so much talked of, are very agreeable, and highly to be esteemed, when they are enlivened and actuated by a spirit of piety: but when this is wanting, the brightest discourse will leave men void of spiritual understanding; for there is natural understanding, and there is spiritual understanding. A sermon may be very ingenious throughout, and therefore heard or read with all that kind of pleasure which ingenious writings are wont to give us, though it may not in the least contribute to the knowledge of any one religious truth, or to the regulation of any one passion. And if another sermon is so happily managed, that it will answer one of the great ends of preaching, that it is apt either to inform the judgment, or raise the affections from objects which are earthly and temporal, to those which are heavenly and eternal; that ought to be accounted an excellent discourse, though it should not be adorned with artful turns of words, or other marks of wit, and accuracy of language; because every performance is more or less perfect, as it is more or less conducive to its main end. Those therefore who are censorious enough to reflect with severity upon the pious strains, which are to be found in St. Chrysostom, bishop Beveridge, or bishop Bull, may possibly be good judges of an ode or an essay, but do not seem to criticise justly upon sermons, or to express a just value for spiritual things. I shall the more easily hope that you will excuse me for running such a length in these observations, because the foundation of them is laid in those thoughts which you proposed to, Sir, Your most affectionate, Nov. 25, 1712. WILLIAM LUPTON. An account Bull's dis courses. And the cerning the LXXXII. As to those discourses which accompany of bishop the forementioned sermons, the first, relating to the doctrine of the catholic church for the first three first, con- ages of Christianity concerning the blessed Trinity, blessed Tri- in opposition to Sabellianism and Tritheism, was drawn up at the request of a person of quality, a lord of a very eminent character; who having seriously P [Lord Arundell.] nity. considered that controversy at the time when it was debated between Dr. Sherlock, then dean of St. Paul's, and Dr. South, found himself not clear in the sense of the first and purest ages of the church, in reference to that great mystery. The method his lordship pitched upon to relieve himself under these doubts, was to apply to Dr. Bull, that great master of primitive antiquity; but his lordship having no particular acquaintance with the doctor, communicated his thoughts to his worthy friend Mr. Archdeacon Parsons, rector of Odington in Gloucestershire this reverend clergyman, being a neighbour, and intimately known to Dr. Bull, engaged him to comply with his lordship's request, and to endeavour to give him that satisfaction, which he had hitherto in vain sought for. It is true, that the ill state of Dr. Bull's health did for some time delay that answer which his lordship impatiently expected; but as soon as the doctor's recovery gave him ability and leisure to apply his thoughts to that momentous subject, he drew up the short tract which is now published; and as soon as he had finished it, he enclosed it in a letter to Mr. Archdeacon Parsons, in order that it might be conveyed to my lord, which accordingly was done, with the letter which Dr. Bull wrote to the archdeacon upon that occasion. Which being communicated to me by the reverend Mr. Doughty, the lord's chaplain, I insert it in this place as a proper entertainment for the reader. DEAR BROTHER, Avening, Aug. 3, 1697. Dr. Bull's IT hath pleased God to visit me ever since Easter letter to last, till within these three weeks, or thereabout, Parsons. archdeacon |