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Edinburgh, March 17. 1775:

PROPOSALS for printing, by Subscription,

LETTERS and JOURNALS, written by the deceased Mr ROBERT BAILLIE, Principal of the University of Glasgow.

To which is prefixed. Some account of the Au-thor's life; taken from the archives of the church of Scotland.

CONDITION S..

I. The book will be printed in two volumes large octavo, on a good Demy paper, and a fine Small-Pica type

II. Each volume will amount to near 500 pages, and the two volumes will be delivered to fubfcribers, fewed, for 8 s.

III. A fmall number will be printed on a fine Demy paper, and delivered to fubfcribers, fewed, at half a guinea each book.

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IV. The MS is already given to the printer, and the book will be ready to be delivered to fubfcribers about the beginning of September next.

Subscriptions are taken in by WILLIAM GRAY, front of the Exchange, Edinburgh; by RoBERT AITKEN Schoolmafter at Anderston; and by all others intrusted with proposals.

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Ta time when Creeds and Confeffions of Faith are fo generally decried, and not only expofed to contempt, as useless inventions, without any force and efficacy to promote the interests of truth and religion; but are loaded, by many writers of diftinguished wit and learning, with the most fatal and dangerous confequences; and reprefented as one of the most plentiful fources of thofe angry debates, and fierce contentions, which have for fo many ages diftracted the Chriftian church; we thought it might be of fome ufe, and a fuitable enough Preface to a new edition of the Confeffions of Faith, &c. embraced by this church, to give a fhort account of the end and defign of compofures of this nature, and of the chief purposes which the Chriftian churches intended to promote in framing and publishing their feveral Confeffions: and it is hoped thefe will be found to be fo confiderable for their number and value, as to convince the impartial reader, that there is no occafion for treating them with difdain or neglect; and that we are juftly to be excufed, who retain a veneration and esteem A

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of them, as works both founded on reason, and fupported by many advantageous confequences.

And fince creeds in general are not only of late years undervalued as mean and ufelefs, but exclaimed against as unjust, arbitrary, and inconfistent in their frame and tendency with the liberty of mankind, and the noble freedom of the Chriftian faith, we fhall endeavour to vindicate the prefent practice of the church of Scotland, and the ufe which the at least makes of her Confeflion; wipe off the afperfions which have been thrown on her by writers, who, how juftly foever valued on many accounts, yet appear not so thoroughly acquainted with our conftitution, or perhaps not altogether impartial in their fentiments of it; and, laftly, we shall answer fome of the most plaufible objections which have been made against the using Confeffions as a means of preferving the Chriftian doctrine from impure mixtures, and of preventing the breaking in of herefies and diforder into the church. After all which, it will be eafier to determine, if they ought to be accounted arbitrary impofitions, and deftructive engines of fpiritual tyranny, and the luft of power, over the confciences of men; or if they be not rather very confiftent with all the privileges and freedoms of a man, or a Chriftian.

The feveral purposes which the churches defigned to promote by their Confeffions, may be reduced to these three,

1. Some of them were of a very general and extenfive defign; having a regard, not only to the whole body of Chriftians, but to all men, even their enemies, who had any knowledge of them.

2. Other uses of thefe Confeflions peculiarly refpected the minifters of the gofpel, who were obliged to declare their affent to the doctrines contained in them.

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3. Confeffions of Faith were alfo defigned for purposes of a more extensive nature than the fecond, and yet not fo general as the firft clafs; namely, fuch as refpected the whole body of the people, as well as the ministers; but were particularly calculated for the members of that church to which the Confeffion belonged, and had a fpecial regard to them, more than to the whole world, or to other Christians who were members of other churches.

In examining a little these things, we fhall have occafion to confider all that is proper to be observed in a work of this nature.

PART. I.

Containing thofe purposes of Confeffions which were of the most general and extenfive nature, and had a regard, not only to the members of the parti cular churches which framed them, but to the whole world.

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IRST, Some ends of Creeds and Confeffions

were of a general and extensive nature; being intended to reach, not only the whole Chriftian church, but to make an impreffion on the world round about it,, which maintained a different religion. And of this fort there were feveral confiderable designs in view.

I. THAT which feems to have been moft directly intended by the feveral churches who have framed Confeffions, was, to publifh a fair and authentic account of the doctrine which they maintained, whereby a juft idea of their religion might be given to the world, who fo frequently mistake or mifreprefent the opinions of one another,

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ther, and the afperfions and calumnies that were thrown upon it by adverfaries might be wiped off. This was one main end of the Creeds compofed by the primitive church, and by our fathers at the Reformation; and it is a purpose that our Confeffion is very neceffary to.

There are too frequent occafions to observe, that all fects and parties are biaffed by undue prejudices against one another. Self-love, which is fo deeply interwoven with our natures in this degenerate state of things, and fhows its power in the whole train of our thoughts and actions, infenfibly determines us to entertain a fond opinion of any scheme or party which we are engaged in, and to look at it in a flattering, though it should be a falfe light; and at the fame time to take up mistaken notions of our adverfaries, impute abfurd opinions to them which they never entertained, and paint the errors they may have been really led aftray by to the disadvantage, and more crooked and deformed than the life. And as this inhuman and uncharitable treatment of one another is owing rather to the temper of our minds, than any particular principles of the doctrine which we embrace, it may be equally charged upon perfons of every fide, who have not learned to fubdue their own spirit, nor endeavoured to govern their paffions by reason, and fweetened their tempers by humility, and meeknefs, and charity; virtues which have become as admirable for their rarenefs, as for their excellency.

It is this which, amongst the numberless crowd of authors, makes it fo very difficult to find one that does juftice to an adverfary, or treats his perfon with gentleness, or even good manners, and his opinions with an open and candid impartiality; and thofe who have been at all acquainted with controverfy,

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