he published a piece in 12mo. entitled, "The Blasphemer slain with the Sword of the Spirit: Or, a Plea for the Godhead of the Holy Ghost; wherein the Deity of the Spirit is proved, against the Cavils of John Biddle." In 1657, in that act at Oxford, when the Protector, Cromwell, resigned that chancellorship, and was succeeded therein by his son Richard, our Author was incorporated master of arts of that university, and on the first of April, the following year, he projected a plan for maintaining at those places some choice students designed for the ministry. In 1659, he wrote a letter, in one sheet 4to. to the Lord Charles Fleetwood, which was delivered to him on the thirteenth of December, in reference to the juncture of affairs at that time. In the same view of supporting the presbyterian power, he published also that year, in 4to. his

Quo Warranto: A moderate Debate about the preaching of unordained persons: Election, Ordination, and the Extent of the Ministerial Relation, in vindication of the Jus Divinum Ministerii, from the Exceptions of a late piece, entitled, The Preacher sent." In the title-page of Lis Quo Warranto, it is said to be written by the appointment of the provincial assembly at London. In 1660 he took a share in the Morning Exercise, which was then set up by those of the London clergy, who were thus puritanically inclined. The same year he printed a sermon upon John iv. 23, 24. preached before the Lord Mayor of London, against re-establishing the liturgy of the church of England;† and refusing to comply with the act of uniformity,

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* Among the sermons published in the volumes of this Exercise, there is one of our Author's upon the satisfaction of Christ; another about the right method of application to the sick for their good, on the part of ministers and people; a third upon detraction; and a fourth against an external and infallible judge in the church of GOD, in that against popery.

It was preached at St. Paul's on the twentieth of August this year, and printed with the title, " Evangelical Obedience." In the preface, he declares his printing it was occasioned by several calumnies cast on him about it; one of which was, says he, that I wished their fingers might rot that played upon the organs. In answer to this he alleges, that he only expressed his dislike of organs under the head, that carual worship is a great obstruction to edification; and the salvation of souls, he says, was by other things. "Better all the organs in the world to be broken, than one soul lost." And again, in speaking to the distraction bred by this way to spiritual worship, which ought to be done without distraction, he writes thus: "The more inveiglements there are to sense, the more disadvantage to the spirit. To instance in one thing, I appeal to the experience of any ingenuous person, whether curiosity of voice and musical sounds in churches does not tickle the

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formity, in 1662 he incurred an ejectment from his rectory; upon which occasion he printed a piece in Latin, entitled, "Vox clamantis in deserto." However, he submitted to the law with a commendable resignation. Being unmarried, he was free from the charge of a family; and enjoying a paternal estate of one hundred pounds per annum, he sat down to his studies, resolving to employ his pen in the service of religion in general, without regard to the particular disputes among protestants. In this view, meeting with suitable encouragement from all parties, he drew the design of a very laborious and useful work, and printed a specimen, which was approved particularly by Dr. Lightfoot, who also offered him assistance in the work. It was published by him in 1669, and the following years, under the title of " Synopsis Criticorum Bibliorum."

In the midst of this employment he found leisure to testify his zeal against popery, in a treatise concerning the infallibility of the church, printed in 1666, 8vo. which was followed by another the next year, 8vo. entitled,

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Dialogues between a Popish Priest and an English Protestant: wherein the principal Points and Arguments of both Religions are truly proposed, and fully examined." Besides these, he wrote A Seasonable Apology for Religion, on Matth. xi. 14. Lond. 1673, 4to. The first

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fancy with a carnal delight, and engage a man's ear and most diligent attention unto those sensible motions and audible sounds, and therefore must necessarily, in great measure, recal him from spiritual communion with God, seeing the mind of man cannot attend to two things at once with all its might [to each,] and when we serve God we must do it with all our might. And hence it is, that the ancients have, some of them, given this rule that even vocal singing [in churches] should not be too curious, sed legenti similiter quam canenti: And Paul himself gives it a wipe, Eph. v. 19. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody in your hearts to the Lord." We thought it not foreign to the design of these memoirs, to retail so much of our Author's discourse, as a specimen of his abilities in the way of argu, ment, which is part of the character of his genius as a preacher; and in the same view the following instance is produced, to shew of what kind were his persuasive talents. In recounting the signs of a carnal heart, in the spiritual worship of GoD, he gives this for one: you come to a sermon, what is most pleasing to you? what do you like best, and hear with the greatest attention? Is it some florid and elegant expression, some high and unusual notion, some historical passage, some acute sentence, and the like? or is it a spiritual discourse? a sin-discovering, and soul affecting, and heart-breaking passage ?" He had just before complimented his brethren the dissenters, upon account of these concerns, a humble, close-walking Christians. This sermon was reprinted in 1698, in 4to. under the title of "A Reverse to Mr. Oliver's Sermon of Spiritual Worship."

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of these pieces was reprinted in 1679. And the same year he observed his name in the list, among those that were to be cut off, printed in the depositions of Titus Oates concerning the popish plot; and an incident which befel him not long after, gave him so great an apprehension of his danger, that he thought proper to retire into Holland, where he died this year, about the middle of October, not without some suspicion of being poisoned. The incident was this: Having passed an evening at Alderman Ashurst's, he took one Mr. Chorley to bear him company home. When they came to the narrow passage which leads from Clerkenwell to St. John's Court, there were two men standing at the entrance; one of whom, as Mr. Poole came along, cried out to the other, 'Here he is; upon which the other replied, Let him alone, for there is somebody with him.' As soon as they were passed, our Author asked his friend, if he heard what those men said? and upon his answering that he had, "Well, replied Mr. Poole, I had been murdered to-night, had you not been with me.' It is said, that before this incident, he gave not the least credit to what was said in Oates's deposition. His body was interred in a vault which belongs to the English merchants at Amsterdam.

His Works. Besides what he published, he left behind him a manuscript of English annotations on the holy Scripture, which being carried on to the prophecy of Isaiah, the 59th and 60th chapters were afterwards added by Mr. Jackson of Moulsey; and several persons, who were friends to our Author's memory and religious sentiments, joined in undertaking to complete the whole according to his plan, of the following shares: Dr. Collings drew up the notes on the rest of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lamentations; as also those on the four Evangelists, the two Epistles to the Corinthians, and that to the Galatians; those to Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and the Revelations; Ezekiel, and the minor prophets, were done by Mr. Hurst; Daniel by Mr. Cooper; the Acts by Mr. Vinke; the Epistle to the Romans by Mr. Mayo; to the Ephesians by Mr. Veale; to the Philippians and Colossians by Mr. Adams; to the Hebrews by Mr. Obadiah Hughes; the Epistle of St. James, the two of St. Peter, and that of St. Jude, by Mr. Veale; and the three Epistles of St. John by Mr. Howe. These annotations were printed at London in 1685, in two vols, folio. And by these authors, we are told in the preface, that they had taken out of Mr. Poole's Synopsis, as much as was pro

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