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BR45 .B21 1812
Appeal to the Gospel or, An inquiry int
olin
3 1924 029 180 730
31924029180730APPEAL TO THE GOSPEL,
OR
AN INQUIRY
INTO THE JUSTICE OF THE CHARGE,
ALLEGED BY
METHODISTS AND OTHER OBJECTORS,
THAT
The Gospel is not preached by the National Clergy:
IN A
SERIES OF DISCOURSES
DELIVERED BEFORE
THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD IN THE YEAR 1812,
At the Lecture founded by
THE LATE REV. J. HAMPTON, M. A.
CANON OF SALISBURY.
BY
RICHARD MANT, M. A.
VICAR OF GREAT COGGESHALL^ ESSEX, AND LATE FELLOW OF
ORIEL COLLEGE.
“ I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God
“ unto salvation, to every one that believeth.”
“ Quod nos appellant haeretieos, est illud crimen ita grave, ut nisi videatur,
“ nisi palpetur, nisi manibus digitisque teneatur, credi facile de homine
“ Christiano non debeat.”
SECOND EDITION.
OXFORD,
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS FOR THE AUTHOR :
BOLD BY J. PARKER ; AND BY F. C. AND J. RIVINGTON, J. MURRAY,
AND J. HATCHARD, LONDON.
1812.TO THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE AND RIGHT REVEREND
the fruit of ftudies, commenced when I had
the benefit of your Lordfhip’s inftru&ions from
the theological chair. They are defigned as a
humble tribute to what I believe to be the
tr^uth of that Gofpel, a difpenfatioji of which
was committed to me by your hands; and for
my fidelity in the preaching 'of which, my
prefent fituation in your diocefe makes me>
refponfible, under CHRIST, to your epifcopal
jurifdiction.
Thefe confiderations induced me to fignify
a with, with which you have been gracioufiy
pleafed to comply, that I might be permitted
JOHN RANDOLPH, D. D.
LORD BISHOP OF LONDON.
My Lord,
following Difcourfes are
a 2IV
DEDICATION.
to fend my Lectures into the world under the
fan<ftion of your Lordthip’s patronage; alfured,
at the fame time, that an attempt, which has
for its object to refcue from mifreprefentation
fome important articles of our holy Faith, and
to vindicate the great body of the national
Clergy from much unmerited afperlion, cannot
be fo properly infcribed as to one, whofe high
dignity is accompanied with correlponding
exertions for promoting the welfare of our
pure and apoftolical Church, and, therein, of
genuine Chriftianity.
I am,
My Lord,
Your Lordfhip’s much obliged
and very dutiful Servant,
Oriel College,
May, 1812.
RICHARD MANT.PREFACE.
HAYING in the following Inquiry ventured
on a fubjed, in itfelf perhaps of an invidious
character, I am anxious to avoid all unne-
ceffary occafion of offence; and would there-
fore befpeak the candour of my readers on
two or three particular points.
An enemy to controverfy, as fuch, and ef-
pecially an enemy to the bitternefs of contro-
verfy, it has been my earned: defire to abftain
from all intemperance of manner and of lan-
guage. Firmly perfuaded of the truth of
thofe dodrines, which I have been defending,
I have endeavoured to plead for them with
firmnefs, but without afperity. If I have
been occafionally betrayed into an oppofite
condud, and induced to employ expreffions,
unworthy of my Chriflian profeflion, I beg
that fuch language may be looked upon as
never uttered; or at lead may be regarded
with indulgence, as the effed of human
weaknefs, and not of a deliberate intention to
offend.
In order to afcertain the fentiments of thofe,
whofe allegations I have undertaken to ex-
amine; I have principally had recourfe to thePREFACE,
vi
w.
writings of the Founders of Methodifm, and
of the moft eminent among thofe Minifters
of the Eflablifhment, who, like the profelTed
Methodifls, have been diflinguifhed (I think
unduly) by the appellation of Evangelical or
Gofpel Preachers. From the writings of thefe
authors, to which have been added, as ne-
ceflary to the fame purpofe, fome of the
works of Auguftin and of Calvin, my quota-
tions are neither few nor fcanty. In making
them, I truft it will appear that I have a&ed
honeflly; and that I am not anfwerable for
the guilt of mifreprefenting or perverting the
fentiments of others, for the benefit of my
own caufe. At the fame time, it may be
proper to add, that, as there are probably
comprifed under the general defcriptions of
our accufers, many individuals, who do not
fobfcribe to the opinions which their brethren
have avowed, I requeft that my remarks may
not be underflood to apply to any man, far-
ther than as he efpoufes*the fentiments of
thofe, whofe works are particularly noticed.
As to my filence concerning a late publica-
tion by a learned Prelate, and the obferva-
tions to which it has given occafion, it appears
refpedful to flate, that the materials of the
following Lectures were colleded, and indeed
the Le&ures themfelves were nearly com-
pleted in their prefent form, before the “ Re-'PREFACE.
vfi
** futation of Calvinifm” was announced. For
the compofition of my Difcourfes I had avail-
ed myfelf of a feafon of comparative leifure,
which more numerous and preffing parochial
engagements have fince prevented from re-
curring : fo that, had it been my with, it
would hardly have been in my power, to de-
vote due attention to the examination of any
freth publications. The truth however is, that
it was not my with to be indebted to fo recent
a production; efpecially to one, which, from
the exalted Ration and well-known character
of the Author, might be expeCted to be re-
ceived into general circulation. Although by
earlier works, therefore, I have endeavoured
to profit, without fcruple or referve, (of which
I hope that this general acknowledgment will
be deemed fufficient, if at any time I have
omitted to fpecify my obligation,) I deter-
mined to deny myfelf the fatisfaCtion, for the
prefent, of reading the “ Refutation,” that I
might at once avoid both the temptation, and
the fufpicion, of being indebted to it.
Perhaps it may be thought, that I fliould
have aCted a more prudent part, if I had de-
clined my own attempt, on the appearance of
the Bithop of Lincoln’s work. Had I been
apprifed of his Lordthip’s undertaking at an
earlier period, it is mod; probable that: I ihould
never have engaged in mine : or, when I firRVia	PREFACE.
^ •
became acquainted with that undertaking,
had not my Difcourfes been defigned for a
Ipecific purpole, and my intention of being a
candidate for that particular appointment been
declared, the work would then probably have
been relinquished. After all, riotwithftanding
the publication alluded to, if I do not magnify
the importance of the Inquiry, in which I
have been occupied, I am willing to think
that it may not be altogether ufelefs. The
courfe of my fubjedt has led me to notice
fome particulars, which can hardly have en-
tered into a “ Refutation of Calvinifm and
even with refpedt to thofe, which are common
to both inquiries, the more fuperficial exami-
nation of the Predeftinarian fyftem, to which
my limits and my abilities have confined me,
may (by the bleffing of God) be /lot unpro-
fitable to thofe, who have not opportunity for
Itudying his Lordlhip’s more elaborate produc-
tion. ,
I have only to add, that being defirous of
comprifing the whole of my obfervations in
the body of the work, inftead of throwing
any part of them into notes, I found that
moll of the following Difcourfes had run to a
greater length than was adapted to the pulpit,
and therefore fhortened them in the delivery.CONTENTS.
SERMON I.
INTRODUCTORY DISCOURSE.
l Cor. ix. 16.
Though I preach the Gofpel, I have nothing to
glory of: for necejfty is laid upon me;
yea, wo is unto me, if I preach not the Gof-
pel.	P. 1.
SERMON II.
CHRISTIAN WORKS A NECESSARY CONDITION OF
SALVATION.
Matt. xix. 16, 17.
And behold, one came and faid unto him, Good
Majler, what good thing Jhall I do, that I
may have eternal life P
And he faid unto him, Why callejl thou me
goodP there is none good but one, that is,
God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep
the commandments.	P. 5Q.X
CONTENTS.
SERMON III.
CALVINISTIC PREDESTINATION NOT THE DOC-
TRINE OF THE GOSPEL.
Luke xiii. 23, 24.
Then faid one unto him, Lord, are ther.e few
that he favedP And he faid unto them,
Strive to enter in at the jlrait gate: for many,
I fay unto you, will feek to enter in, and
Jhall not he able.	P. 113.
SERMON IV.
CALVINISM INCONSISTENT WITH THE DIVINE
ATTRIBUTES, AND WITH THE GENERAL CON-
DITIONS OF THE GOSPEL COVENANT.
John iii. 16.
God fo loVed the world, that he gave his only -
begotten Son, that whofoever helieveth in
him Jhould not perifh, hut have everlajling
life.	P. 181.
SERMON V.
THE OPERATIONS OF THE HOLY GHOST NEITHER
IRRESISTIBLE, NOR PERCEPTIBLE.
John vii. 37, 38, 39.
In the lajl day, that great day of the feajl, Je-
fusftood and cried, faying, If any man thirjl,
let him come unto me, and drink.CONTENTS.
ii
He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath
faid, out of his belly Jhall flow rivers of liv-
ing water.
But this fpake he of the Spirit, which they that
believe on him Jhould receive. - P. 255.
{
SERMON VI.
REGENERATION THE SPIRITUAL GRACE OF BAP-
TISM.
John iii. 5.
Jefus anfwered, Verily, verily, I fay unto thee,
Except a man be born of water and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of
God.	P. 327.
SERMON VII.
Y
A SPECIAL AND INSTANTANEOUS CONVERSION NOT
NECESSARY FOR CHRISTIANS.
Matt, xviii. 2, 3.
And Jefus called a little child unto him, and
Jet'him in the midfl of them,
And faid, Verily, I fay unto you, Except ye be
converted, and become as little children, ye
f Jhall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
r.	p.389.CONTENTS
xii
SERMON VIII.
ASSURANCE OF ETERNAL SALVATION, AND UN-
SINNING PERFECTION, NOT THE PRIVILEGES
OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN.
Matt. v. 3.
BleJJed are the poor in fpirit; for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.	P. 439.
SERMON IX.
CONCLUDING DISCOURSE. GENERAL REMARKS.
1 Cor. ix. 16.
Though 1 preach the Gofpel, I have nothing to
glory of: for neceffity is laid upon me;
yea, wo is unto me, if I preach not the Gof-
pel.	P. 4Q5.EXTRACT
FROM
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT’
OF THE LATE
REV. JOHN BAMPTON,
CANON OF SALISBURY.
-----“ I give and bequeath my Lands and
“ Eftates to the Chancellor, Matters, and Scholars
<c of the Univerlity of Oxford for ever, to have and.
“ to hold all and Angular the faid Lands or Eftates
“ upon truft, and to the intents and purpofes hferein-
“ after mentioned ; that is to fay, I will and appoint
“ that the Vice-Chancellor of the Univerfity of Ox-
“ ford for the time being fhall take and receive all
“ the rents, iflues, and profits thereof, and (after all
“ taxes, reparations, and neceflary deductions made)
“ that he pay all the remainder to the endowment
<c of eight Divinity LeCture Sermons, to be efta-
<c blifhed for ever in the faid Univerfity, and to be
“ performed in the manner following:
“ I direCt and appoint, that, upon the firft Tuef-
“ day in Eafter Term, a LeCturer be yearly chofenu
EXTRACT FROM
1 —
“ by the Heads of Colleges only, and by no others,
“ in the room adjoining 'to the Printing-Houfe,
“ between the hours of ten in the morning and
“ two in the afternoon, to preach eight Divinity
“ Ledture Sermons, the year following, at St.
“ Mary’s in Oxford, between the commencement
“ of the laft month in Lent Term, and the end of
“ the third week in Adi Term.
££ Alfo I diredl and appoint, that the eight Di-
ee vinity Ledture Sermons fhall be preached upon
“ either of the following Subjedls—to confirm and
“ eftablifh the Chriftian Faith, and to confute all
££ heretics and fchifmatics—upon the divine au-
££ thorityfof the holy Scriptures—upon the autho-
“ rity of the writings of the primitive Fathers, as
“ to the faith and pradtice of the primitive Church
“ —upon the Divinity of our Lord and Saviour
“ Jefus Chrift—upon the Divinity of the Holy
“ Ghoft—upon the Articles of the Chriftian Faith,
££ as comprehended in the Apoftles’ and Nicene
“ Creeds.
£t Alfo I diredl, that thirty copies of ‘ the eight
££ Divinity Ledlure Sermons fhall be always printed,.
££ within two months after they are preached, and
<£ one copy fhall be given to the Chancellor of the
££ Univerlity, and one copy to the Head of every
££ College, and one copy to the Mayor of the city,
“ of Oxford, and one copy to be put into the Bod-
leian Library; and the expence of printing them
“ fhall be paid out of the revenue of the Land or
“ Eftates given for eftablifhing the Divinity Lee-CANON BAMPTON’S WILL.
15
tl ture Sermons; and the Preacher fhall not be paid,
“ nor be entitled to the revenue, before they are
“ printed.
te Alfo I directt and appoint, that no perfon lhall
te be qualified to preach the Divinity Ledlure Ser-
“ mons, unlefs he hath taken the degree of Matter
“ of Arts at leaft, in one of the two Univerfities
<e of Oxford or Cambridge ; and that the fame per-
“ fon lhall never preach the Divinity Ledlure Ser-
“ mons twice.”INTRODUCTORY DISCOURSE.
i Cor. ix. 16.
Though I preach the Gofpel, I have nothing to glory
s of: for necejjity is laid upon me ; yea, wo is unto
me, if I preach not the Gofpel.
OUR bleffed Saviour emphatically defcribed
the purpofe of his miniftry, when, applying to
himfelf a remarkable prophecy of Ifaiah, he
declared; “ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
** becaufe he hath anointed me to preach the
“ Gofpel to the poor3.” And he employed the
fame appropriate expreffion, when, having de-
legated to the Apoftles the commiftiqn, which
he had received from his Father, and having
conferred upon them the gift of the Holy
Ghoft, he bade them, “ Go into all the world,
“ and preach the Gofpel to every creature b.”
Agreeable to the example and command-
ment of the Matter was the conduct of the
Apoftles: both of thofe, who received their
* Luke iv. 18.	b Mark xvi. 15.
B2	IntroduBory Difcourfe.
commiffion at his hands, before he afcended ;
and of him, to whom a limilar difpenfation
was miraculoufly committed, after the afcen-
fion of Chrift. To the Jew firli, and after-
wards to the Gentile, they were indefatigable
in preaching the Gofpel: in the execution of
this office, they confidered and reprefented
themfelves to be acting, as they really were,
in obedience to the exprefs commands of God r
they executed it, therefore, as a matter, not of
etlbiee, but of neceffity: not as a voluntary
exercife, of the performance of which they
might boaft; but as a folemn talk, by the
omilfion or negleift of which they would be
difgraced: not as a gratuitous undertaking,
for which they might claim a recompense;
but as a bounden duty, which it were crimi-
nal to relinquifh. “Though I preach the
“ Gofpel,” fays St. Paul, in the energetic lan-
guage of my text, “ I have nothing to glory
“ of: for neceffity is laid Upon me; yea, wo
“ is unto me, if I preach not the Gofpel.”
Nor did they efleem themfelves more bound
to preach the Gofpel in general, than to preach
it in its purity; uncorrupt, and unpervefted-
If difgrace and wo were to be their lot,
ihbiild they negleSt to preach it; an equal pu-
nifhment appears to have been apprehended ;
by them, if they departed from its fimplicity,
and blended falfehood, or error, with the truth <Introductory Difcourje.	3
of Chrift. Such is the purport of the autho-
ritative fentence of the fame animated Apo-
ftle. " Though we,” he pronounces to his
Galatian converts, “ Though we, or an angel
“ from heaven, preach any other Gofpel unto
<c you than that which we have preached
“ unto you, let him be accurfed0.” And, as
if he were fearful that the fentiment would
not be fufficiently impreffed upon his difci-
ples, he deliberately repeats it in the follow-
ing fentence with equal clearnefe and preci-
ilon : “ As we faid before, fo fay I now again,
If any man preach any other Gofpel unto
M you than that which ye have received, let
“ him be accurfed.”
Diftinguithed from the firft preachers of
Chriftianity, inafmuch as they neither derive
their commiflion immediately from Chrift, nor
are.empowered to confirm the word “ by fig ns
" and wonders and mighty deeds,” the fuc-
ceeding minifters of the Gofpel are yet on the
iame footing with the Apoftles in a very im-
portant refpect. To them, in common with
the Apoftles., “ a difpenfation of the Gofpel is
committed d.” Neither fele&ed from their
ibrethren hy the perfonal interpofition of Chrift
on earth, nor called to be his minifters by the
Special appointment of a voice from heaven.4	Introdu&ory Difcourje.
they have not their office impofed upon them
by that neceflity, which affigned to the Apo-
ftles their more diftinguifhed ftations. To un-
dertake the miniftry of the Gofpel is volun-
tary on the part of its preachers now. But
when they have been once legitimately called
and ordained to that miniftry, and have wil-
lingly taken upon themfelves the duties which
are annexed to it, it is then no longer matter
of choice, whether or not they will be preach-
ers of the Gofpel. As opportunities prefent
.themfelves of publiflhing the good tidings of
<falvation through Chrift, and of leading men
to the knowledge of the truth in him, it is the
duty of us, who are engaged in the miniftry,
to be found a&ive at our pofts. “ Our hand
“ is to the plough,” and it is not permitted Us
•	to “ look back e.” The fword of the Spirit is
intrufted to us ; and it is our bufinefs to wield
it. Thus inlifted under the banner of Chrift,
“ Though we preach the Gofpel, we have no-
“ thing to glory of: for neceflity is laid upon
“ us; yea, wo is unto us, if we preach not
“ the Gofpel.”
Like its firft preachers alto, we are bound
to preach it in the fame purity, wherewith it
hath been delivered to us from the fountain of
*	light and truth. The will of God, which was
* Luke ix. 6a.introductory Difcourfe.	5>
revealed to the Apoftles in general by the
mouth of Chrift, and to St. Paul in. particular
by a more fpecial difpenfation, is delivered
down to us in authentic documents, written
under the infpiration of the Holy Ghoft.
From thofe documents the matter of our
preaching is to be drawn ; and wo unto us,
if we preach any other Gofpel, than that
which we have fo received.
• Under thefe circumftances, no charge can
be devifed againft the minifters of Chrift, of a
more difgraceful or a more capital nature,
than that they are not Preachers of the Gof-
pel. As therefore it is of fo grievous a cha-
racter to thofe, againft whom it may be di-
rected, it proportionally becomes every man,
who may be* difpofed to advance it againft
any minifters of Chrift, to be well aflured
of the grounds, on which he advances it.
“ Whereas they call us heretics,” obferved a
learned apologift of the Englifh reformation,
“ that is fo grievous a lin, that unlefs it can
“ be feen, unlefs it can be handled, unlefs it
“ can be grafped by the hands and fingers, it
“ ought not eafily to be believed of a Chriftian
•• m„f."
f Nam quod nos appellant haereticos, eft illud crimen
ita grave, ut nifi videatur, nifi palpetur, nifi manibus digi-
tifque teneatur, credi facile de homine Chriftiano non de-
beat. Juelli Apologia. Enchiridion Theologic. vol, i. p. 200.6	lntrodu&ory Difcourfe.
Whether fuch circumfpedtion is at all time#
obferved, is highly queftionable. Certain how-*
ever it is, that the charge itfelf has been of
late, and is at prefent, perpetually advanced
againft a great majority of the minifters of the
Church of England. Some of our own bre-
thren in the miniftry, who are attached to
certain peculiar tenets, and who in confe-
quence claim the appellation of Evangelical or
Gofpel preachers, thereby exclude, by impli-
cation at leaft, if not exprefsly, from a ftiare
in that appellation thofe of their fellow-la-
bourers, whofe opinions and ftyle of preach-
ing do not correfpond with their own. It is
no lefs notorious, that a large body of men,
who have rifen to be, according to their own
imaginations, minifters of the ^Goipel, (how
legitimately it is not my prefent purpofe to
inquire;) and multitudes befides, who refort
to them in fearch of that fpiritual improve-
ment, which, as they allege, they defpair of
procuring at the mouth of a regularly ordain-
ed priefthood ; make no fcruple of pronounc-
ing, in the broadeft and moft unequivocal lan-
guage, that the Gofpel is not preached in our
Church.
Upon this pretext Methodifm arofe and
hath been maintained. In avowed oppofition
to the parochial Clergy, and the authorifed ru-
lers of the eftablithed Church, to “ heathenifhIntroduHory Difcourfe.	7
“ priefts and mitred infidels,” (for in the lan-
guage of cenfure the Methodifts have not been
diftinguifhed for their temperance,) the found-
ers and abettors of the fchifm have gone forth,
“ to difpel the grofs darknefs of ignorance and
“ ungodlinefs ; and to fpread the light of the
“ Gofpel over a benighted land.” The na-
tional Clergy, as a body, have been, and con-
tinue to be, lligmatifed, as “ ignorant of evan-
“ gelical truth ;” as preachers of “ Popifh and
“ Socinian tenets ;” as “ fubftituting a hea-
“ thenifti morality for the doctrine of Scrip-
“ tUre ;” and as “ corrupting, fophifticating,
“ and mutilating'the truth of God.” In the
vocabulary of thefe modern- reformers, Me-
thpdifm and the Qofpel are fynonymous termss.
And fo exclufively do they aifume the appel-
lation of Preachers of the Gofpel, and fp. arro-
gantly do they withhold it from others, that
no minifterial qualification will exempt a man
front this awful charge, unlefs his views of
Scripture fhould happen to coincide with their
own. “ I have feen it aborted in print,” faith
a learned prelate, “ by ope qf thefe felf-fent
** apofiles, that the Gofpel was firft preached
£ See the works of Wefley, Whitefield, and other Me-
{hodifts, throughout. See alfo <f Sermons and Extracts
by Edmund Outram, D. D. Public Orator of Cambridge,”
containing a ufeful colle&ion of extracts from the works
of Armini^n and Cajyiniflip Methodifts.8	Introdu&ory Difcourfe.
" on a certain day in a parifh, where, to my
“ own certain knowledge, every dpty of a
“ minifter of the Gofpel has been regularly
“ performed by a diligent confcientious cler-
** gymanh.”
By this fentence it is evident, that the mat-
ter of the difcourfes, delivered by the miniflers
of the Church of England in general, is the
mark at which their accufers aim. And it is
' ■ -	■ *>
either intended to be alleged againfi: them,
that they renounce, and are apoftates, from the
Gofpel, inftead of which they fubftitute a ftyle
•of preaching of a different character; a charge,
which is pregnant with that " wo,” denounced
by the Apoflle in my text; or it is intended
to he alleged, that the Gofpel is corrupted and
perverted in their hands ; an accufation, no
lefs than the other, of a moft alarming and
tremendous nature, if we call to mind the
warning of the fame Apoflle, that fuch perfons
are to be held “ accurfed.”
We may however cherifh the hope, that
our preaching is not obnoxious to fo grievous
a charge as that which is here levelled againfi
us. And without calling in queftion the pu-
rity of our accufers’ motives, and without
putting upon their oppofition any harfher con-
flrudtion than charity muft allow, we may ad-
h Bifhop Randolph’s Charge at Bangor, 1808. p. 15. ■IntroduBory Difcourfe.	9
mit a belief, that their zeal, whencefoever it
may originate, and to whatever end it may be
directed, is at leaft “ not according to know-
“ ledge With this perfuafion, a love of
truth and of juftice will fecond a becoming
regard to our own characters and welfare, if
we endeavour to maintain our ground againft
the atfaults of our opponents j and thould we,
in repelling from ourfelyes the awful charge,
that we preach not the Gofpel, be driven to
advance what may appear like recrimination,
Chriftian charity, we truft, will authorife a
meafure, which is not prompted by a fpirit of
wanton tioftility ; but is provoked by unme-
rited aggreffion, and rendered neceflary by
felf-defence.
An inquiry into the juftice of the charge,
that the great body of the national Clergy do
not preach the Gofpel, is propofed for the
fubjedl of thefe difcourfes. Confident, as I
truft it is, with the exprefs intention of the
Founder of this lecture, and worthy of the
ftricteft attention of thofe, for whofe benefit
the lecture appears to have been more imme-
diately defigned, it is at the fame time un-
queftionably a fubject of very great and gene-
ral concern. May it pleafe Almighty God for
Chrift’s fake to give us the help of his Holy
1 Rom; x. a.10	IntroduSiory Difcourfe.
Spirit, and profper the inquiry, if it be honed- 4
ly directed to the promotion of the Gofpel of
his Son !
On all matters of religious controverfy, and
on this, in common with others of the fame
nature, appeal mud be made to the facred
writings, as the only authentic records of the
truth. Thefe are the fource, from which our
arguments mud principally be derived ; andjf
thefe are the teft, to which all our reafonings
mull ultimately be referred. “ Holy Scrip-
“ ture,” as our Church exprelTes it, “ contajn-
“ eth all things neceflary to falvation ; fo that
“ whatfoever is not read therein, nor may be
*' proved thereby, is not to be required of any
“ man that it fhould be believed, as an article
" of the faith, or be thought requifite or ne-
“ ceffary to falvation k.”	,
But whilft we regard the Scriptures as the
only infallible criterion of found doctrine, I
would add a falutary and feafonable caution,
as to the ufe and application of them. It is
the duty of every Chriilian, and it is the privi-
lege of every Proteftant, to “ fearch the Scrip,-
“ turesfor in them we read our title to
eternal life, and they are they which teftify of
Chrift: but it is not every man, who is duly
qualified, at lead: on controverted points, tq
51 Art, yj.Introductory Difcourfe.	11
explain them to advantage. “ Scripture/’ faid
a very learned man, " is given to all to learn;
" but to teach, and to interpret, only to a
“ few1.”	" Ignorance of the Scriptures,” as
St. Jerome remarked many ages lince, “ is the
“ mother and nurfe of all error m.” But error
is never more widely fpread, or more deeply
rooted, than when a familiarity with fcriptu-
ral language is millaken for a knowledge of
Scripture: when, (as the fame father defcribes
the Hate of religion in his own time, and
would that the defcription did not apply to
ours !) “ perfons of whatever age, fex, or con-
“ dition, all arrogantly claim the privilege of
“ interpreting Scripture; wreft it, mangle it,
“ teach before they have learned it; and with
" a certain facility and boldnefs of fpeech
“ loudly proclaim to others, what they them-
“ felves do not underftand n when, like
1 Haleses Golden Remains, p. 13.
m So quoted by Bp. Ridley. See his Life by Gl. Ridley,
book vi. p. 470. The paflage alluded to, appears to be
as follows : Propterea errant, quia fcripturas nefciunt; et
quia fcripturas ignorant, confequenter nefciunt virtutem
Dei, hoc eft Chriftum. Hieron. Comment, in Matt, xxii,
n Sola Scripturarnm ars eft, quam fibi omnes paflim
vindicant: hanc garrula anus, hanc delirus fenex, hanc
faphifta verbofus, hanc univerfi prsefumunt, lacerant, do-
cent, antequam difcant:—et quadam facilitate verborum,
immo audaCia, edifferunt aliis, quod ipfi npti intelligunt.
Hieron. Paulino. Ep. ciii.12
Introdu&ory Difcourfe.
“ thofe rafh prefumers,” of whom St. Auftitf
complains, “ in fupport of their ungrounded
“ opinions, they pretend the authority of thefe
“ facred books, and repeat much of them even
“ by heart, as bearing witnefs to what they
“ hold ; whereas indeed they do but pro-
“ nounce the words, but underftand, neither
“ what they fpeak, nor whereof they af-
“ firm °.”	j
In order to form “ a workman that needeth
“ not to be afhamed, rightly dividing the word
“ of truth p,” not only are much zeal and dili-
gence neceflary in fearching the Scriptures;
but much ftudy alfo in preparatory exercifes •
much care in comparing them ; much judg-
ment in applying them ; much difcriminatiori
in diftinguifhing between paflages of a limit-
ed, and thofe of an univerfal and perpetual
import; much humility and fobriety of mind
0 Quid enim moleftiae triftitiaeque ingerant pl-udentibus
■fratribus temerarii praefumtores, fatis dici non poteft:
cum, fiquando de prava et falfa opinione fua reprehendi
et convinci eoeperint ab eis, qui noftrorum librorum auc-
toritate non tenentur ; ad defendendum id quod leviffima
temeritate et apertiffima fallitate dixerunt, eofdem libros
fanftos, unde id probent, proferre conantur; vel etiam ,
memoriter, quae ad tefilmonium valere arbitrantur, multa ,
inde verba pronunciant, non intelligentes neque quae lo-
quuntur, neque de quibus affirmant. Auguft. de Geneji
ad literam. lib. i. c. xix. tom. iii. p. 130. ed. Bened.
P % Tim. ii. 15.13
Introdu&ory Difcourfe.
in explaining more mylierious points of doc-
trine; and efpecially.a freedom from allpre-
pofleffions, and a fteadfaft attention1 to the fa-1
cred volume, as one great whole ; confiding
indeed of a variety of parts, but all the various
parts of which neceflarily depend on, and har-
monife with, each other.
That fuch caution is reafonable will appear
to thofe, who reflect upon the various perfons,
iby whom ; the various perfons, to whom, and
for whofe ufe; and the manifold variety of
local, temporary, and other circumftances, un-
der which they were written: at the fame
time bearing in mind, that they relate to fpiri-
itual things, fome of which it furpalfes the ca-
pacity of the human underftanding fully to
comprehend ; but that they all proceed from
' one unerring fource, “ the Father of lights,
“ with whom is no variablenefs neither tha-
“ dow of turning11and that they are all di-
rected to one fimple and harmonious end,
*“ the bearing of witnefs. unto the truth'.”
Nor is it only from the reafonablenefs of
the.cafe, that I would inforce this falutary
caution in examining and interpreting the
Scriptures: but I feel juftified in inforcing it,
by the exprefs tellimony of an infpired Apo-
ltle, that in . the epiftles of St. Paul, or in the
r John xviii. 37.
s James i. 17.14	Introductory Difcourfe.
fubjeds of his epiftles, (for the fenfe varies
with the original text,) “ there are fome
*e things hard to be underftood, which they
“ that are unlearned and unftable wrell, (^e-
“ Sxovtriv, put to the rack, unnaturally drain
“ and torture,) as they do alfo the other Scrip-
“ tures, unto their own dettrudion And
this caution I accordingly confider to be, as it
were, the anchor of the orthodox belief, which
many difregarding “ have been tofled to and
“ fro, and carried about with every wind of
" dodrine1and have unhappily made fhip-
wreck of the true “ faith, which was once de-
“ livered unto the faints'1.”
Of fuch importance indeed is this caution
to be conlidered in fcriptural inquiries in ge-
neral, and fo peculiarly feafonable in the in-
quiry, which is propofed for the fubjed of
thefe ledures ; that I beg your attention,
whilft, at the rilk of anticipating, for the fake
of a comprehenlive view, fome remarks which
may hereafter reeur more in detail, I proceed
to enlarge on it to fome extent in this intro-
dudory difcourfe; and to lay before you a
general ftatement of the principles, on which
I conceive that the charges of our aflailants
-may be repelled, and the evangelical eharadesr
of our preaching be defended and maintained.
8 2 Pet. iii. 16.	‘ Eph. iv. 14,	u JudeIntroductory Difcourfe.	IS
I propofe accordingly to place before your
view feveral rules, which may be regarded of
the greateft benefit towards a fatisfadory in-
terpretation of the Scriptures; and, having
made an application of them to topics, on
which Chriftians are for the moft part agreed,
lhall fubjoin examples of their application to
more controverted points.
But here, before I proceed to a particular
ftatement of the rules to be propofed, I muft
he allowed to proteft moft decidedly againft a
claim, advanced by certain religionifts, who
affume to themfelves exclufively a fupernatu-
ral illumination in the explaining of Scrip-
ture ; a claim, which is, if I miftake not, af-
ferted for themfelves, and denied to us, by a
large proportion of our accufers. It is ob-
vious, that the admiflion of fuch a claim muft
at once fuperfede all rational inveftigation in-
to any controverted matter; for it were vain
to exped, that any argument thould weigh
with him, who believes himfelf to be guided
by an infallible monitor within him. The
claim therefore carries with it a plain proof of
its weaknefs; for it is a claim, which one man
may advance as fairly as another; and if they
do fo in mutual oppofition, where is the crite-
rion that is to decide ? How far the weak nets
of the claim is exemplified in the two great
leaders of Methodifm, who maintained, each16	Introdu&ory Difcourfe.'	,
that he was under the guidance of . the Spirit?
and each that his adverfary preached another;
gofpelx: and of whom one at leaft confefled,
that he had been at times under a ftrong de-;
lufion, is a queftion, to which I may hereafter;
have occafion to revert.
< It is a further proof of the weaknefs of this
plea, a proof, which however, I fear, that the
perfons in queftion will hardly be perfuaded
to admit; that the claim is founded upon a
mifapprehenfion of that very book, which
they would fain reprefent themfelves divinely
enlightened to underftand. Admirable to this
efFedt are the words of the ever-memorable
Hales ; and the more worthy of our notice,
as they were delivered at a period, the very
counterpart of the prefent times in ecclefiafti-
cal infubordination and licentioufnefs ; and
God grant, the comparifon may not be pre-
ferved in their moft melancholy and calamitous
refult! “ As for thofe marvellous difcourfes of
“ fome, framed upon prefumption of the Spi-
tf rit’s help in private, in judging or interpret-
“ ing of difficult places of Scripture, I muft
“ needs confefs I have often wondered at the
“ boldnefs of them... .The effedts of the Spi-
* See the Enthufiafm of Methodifts and Papifts com-
pared, part ii. Pref. xxi. Wefley’s Fourth Journal, p. 78.
Coke’s Life of Wefley, p. 214. Nott’s Hampton Lec-
tures, p. 248. note.Introdu&ory Difcourfe.	1 f
“ riti as far as they concern knowledge and
" inftru&ionf are not particular information
" for refolutiori iri any doubtful cafe," (for this
u were plainly revelation ;) but, as the angel*
“ which was fent unto Cornelius, informs him
" not, but fends him to Peter to fchool; fo
“ the Spirit teaches not, but ftirs up in us a
“ defire to learn; defire to learn makes us
** thirft after the means; and pious fedulity
“ and carefulnefs_ make us watchful in the
“ choice, and diligent in the ufe of means.
“ The promife to the A'poftles of the Spirit*
,e which fhould lead them into all truth, w7as
made good unto them by private and fecret
** informing their underftandings With the
te knowledge of high and heavenly iliyfteries,
which as yet had never entered into the
“ conceit of any man* The fame promife is
“ made to us, but fulfilled after another man-
" ner. For what was Writteri by revelation
“ in their hearts, for our inftru&ion have they
written in their books. To us for informa-
“ tion, otherwife than out of thefe books, the
“ Spirit fpeaks not. When the Spirit regene-
“ rates a man* it infufes rio knowledge of any
** point of faith* but fends him to the Church,
“ and to the Scriptures. When it ftirs him
up to newnefs of life* it exhibits not unto
“ him an inventory of his fins, as hitherto uri-
“ known; but either fuppofes them known in18	Introductory Difcourfe.
“ the law of nature, of which no man can be
“ ignorant, or fends him to learn them from
“ the mouth of his teachers. More than this,
“ in the ordinary proceedings of the holy Spi-
“ rit, in matter of inftru<ftion, I yet could
“ never defcry. So that to fpeak of the help
“ of the Spirit in private, either in dijudicat-
“ ing, or in interpreting of Scripture, is to
“ fpeak they know not what. Which I do
“ the rather note, firft, becaufe by experience
“ we have learnt, how apt men are to call
“ their private conceits the Spirit: and again,
*' becaufe it is the efpecial errour, with which
“ St. Auftin long ago charged this kind of
“ men, ‘ by fo much the more prone are they
‘ to kindle fchifm and contention in the
' Church, by how much they feem to them-
* felves to be endued with a more eminent
‘ meafure of Spirit than their brethrenwhilft
“ (as St. Bafil fpeaks) under pretence of infpi-
“ ration, they violently broach their own con-
*' ceitsy.”
Leaving then thefe extravagant pretenfions,
as warranted neither by reafon nor by Scrip-
ture; but trufting rather, that the holy Spirit
will vouchfafe his blefling upon the confcien-
tious employment of the means, which he
hath provided for our inftruftion, let us pro-
y Golden Remains, p. 19.Introductory Difcourfe.	19
ceed to confider the principles, which appear
beft qualified to guide us in our inquiries.
^ And here the firfl rule, which I thall pro-
pofe, is this; that in our interpretation of
Scripture we be regulated, as far as poffible,
by its plain and literal fenfe. It were unne-
ceflary to dwell long upon a principle fo felf-
evidently juft.; a principle, let it be obferved
in palling, which ought to be efpecially che-
rithed by Proteftants, fince it was one motive
of our reparation from the church of Rome,
that the had added to Scripture her glolfes as
canonical, to fupply what could not be proved
from the plain text of Scripture: and fince
by the application of it a road was opened to
the removal of her corruptions, and to the re-
iteration of the pure dodtrines of the Gofpel.
The negledt of it hath been fertile in error.
But for this negledt, the Romanift had not
thought of juftifying his impiety, in offering
religious worfhip to any being but God, or in
attributing the office of Mediator between God
and man to any other being than Chrift:—
the Quaker would not have renounced the
facrament of baptifm ; nor the Anabaptift ex-
cluded infants from partaking in it; nor the
Calvinift have denied its regenerating grace:—
Pelagius would not have denied the corruption
of human nature; nor Novatian have pre-20	Introductory DifcourJB.
tended to perfection and purityzthe Do*
cetas, and other heretics of old, would not
have quettioned the aCtual fufferings of the
Saviour of mankind8; nor the Socinian the
atoning efficacy of thofe fufferings; nor the
Calvinift have limited their efficacy to a com-
paratively fmall portion of mankind; con-
tending, that Chrift did not die for all nien,
and that God is not willing that all men
fhould repent and be faved. “ I hold it,” faid
the judicious Hooker, “ for a moft infallible
“ in rule expofitions of facred Scripture, that,
“ where a literal confirmation will fland, the
“ farthefl from the letter is commonly the
“ worfl. There is nothing more dangerous
" than this licentious and deluding art, which
" changeth the meaning of words, as alchymy
“ doth, or would do, the fubflance of metals;
" maketh of any thing what it lifleth; and
" bringeth in the end all truth to nothing b.”
2. Whilfl we take the plain fenfe of Scrip-
ture for our leading guide in the interpretation
of it, allowance mufl fometimes be made for
its idiomatical and figurative diCtion; efpe-
cially where an abfurdity would follow from
adhering to the literal fenfe.
2 Barrow’s Works, vol. ill. p. 239.
a Mofheim’s Eccl. Hift. cent. vi. part ii. ch. 5.
b Eccl. Polity, book v. f. 59. vol. ii. p. 244. Oxf. edit.Introductory Difcourfe.	21
With this latitude of interpretation we uni
derftand the fixth petition in the Lord’s Pray-
er, “ Lead us not into temptation agreeably
to a fcriptural form of fpeech, which rep re-
lents a perfon as doing that, which he fufFers
to be done; and according to a reading taken
by St. Cyprian from an old Latin copy, Suffer
us not to be led into temptation. “ For
“ what ?” as hath been well demanded : “ Doth
“ God lead man into temptation ? God forbid!
“ for God is not the caule of evil; but we
~'4‘ will call upon him, that, of his manifold
“ mercies, he may not fuffer us to be tempt-
“ edc.” So alfo with refped to “ them, that
“ are loft,” thofe abandoned men, “ in whom
“ the God of this world” (that is, as St.Chryf-
oftom expounds it, not the Devil, but the
good God himfelf) “ hath blinded the minds
“ of them which believe notd.” “ How thep
“ did God blind them ?” faith St. Chryfoftom :
“ not working in them to that efted; away
“ with the thought; but by permiflion and
•“ conceflion e,” for fo,.remarks the learned Bar-
c Ti yap; Qeog Ewayei uvSpamov eig nsiparpov; py yevoiro'
ov yap amog raiv xaxoov b Oeog' aKka naguxate<rop.ev avrov, 1m
rotg nohKotg avrov oix.rtpp.oig py\ sa<ri) r\pag ■vretpaaSyvcu. See
Taylor’s Life of Chrift, part ii. fe£l. xii.
d * Cor. iv. 3, 4.
e Hwg ovv erv<p\ot)<rev ; ovx evegy^crag sig rovro, artayr aX\’
zQstg xai frvyymptflag. Chryf. in 3 Cor. iv. 4. Horn. viii.
c. 3. Op. tom. x. p. 494. ed. Par, 1733.62	IntroduBory Difcourfe.
row, who cites the comment, the Scripture is
Wont to fpeakf. So again with refpedfc to the
declaration, that God “ hardeneth whom he
“wills.” But how doth he harden them?
furely not by an irrefiftible influence from
above, as from the literal fenfe of the words
might at firfl be imagined; but by fufFering
obftinate finners to follow the bent of their
own perverfe difpofitions ; by fufFering them,
as it is el few here faid, to “ harden their own
“ heartsh.” In the fame manner that God
commands the Prophet to “ fhut the eyes” of
thofe, whom two Apoftles, St. Matthew and
St. Paul, or rather whom our Saviour and St.
Paul, deferibe as “ cloflng their own eyes ■
and that he is related in another place to have
“ moved David” to commit a crime, which lie
permitted him to commit in compliance with
the provocation of Satan k. “ Whereas,” ob-
ferves Melan£thon, “ from the fayings, I will
“ harden the heart of Pharaoh, and whom
•“ he will he hardeneth, the unlearned argue
that God is the efficient caufe of fin ; to this
“ and the like phrafes we muft anfwer, It is
“ molt certain, that verbs a&ive according to
“ the Hebrew idiom often fignify permiffion,
f Barrow’s Works, vol. iii. p. 339.	4
s Rom. ix. 18,	h Exod. viii. 32.
' Compare If. vi. 10. Matt. xiii. 15. and A&s xxviii. 27.
k Compare 2 Sam. xxiv. 1. and 1 Chron. xxi. 1.Introductory Difcourje.	23
*s not efficiency: As, lead us not into tempta-
■* tion, that is, fuffer us not to be overcome
** when we are tempted1.”
With the feme latitude of interpretation we
underftand the fourth petition in the Lord’s
Prayer, “ Give us this day our daily bread:”
amounting to no more than a petition, that
God will enable us to procure our fuftenance,
provided we duly exercife the faculties we en-
joy. And thus, in a fcriptural fenfe, it is
with all the gifts of God. He u giveth riches;”
but it is “ the diligent hand, that maketh
rich:” he “ givSth wifdom but it is “ the
" man of underftanding, who hath itm:” he
giveth faith and repentance, not by infufing
them into the mind by an irrefiftible adt of di-
vine grace, but by fupplying us with means
1 pi-imam indurabo cor Pharaonis, hoc ita citatur, cum
fit verbum a£tivum, ut indofti ratiocinentur inde, Deum
effe caufam efficientem peccati: ad banc phrafin et fimiles
refpondendum eft; Certifiimum eft, Ebraica phrafi verba
adtiva faepe fignificare permiflionem, non effe&ionem:
Ut, ne nos inducas in tentationem, id eft, non finas nos
opprimi, cum tentamur. Melanth. de Caufa Peccati.
Opera, vol. ii. p. 238.
Poftea ait, quem vult, indurat: Ubi nota fit Ebraea
phrafis, in qua verba aftiva fepe permiflionem fignificant:
indurat, id eft, finit efle durum, &c. Ejiifd. in Epijl. ad
Rom. ix. vol. iv. p. 160.
1,1 Compare Ecclef. v. J9. with Prov. x. 4. and Ecclef.
ii. 26. with Prov. x. 23. And fee Whitby’s Difcourfes
on the Five Points, p. 277.24
Introductory Difcourfe.
and motives fufficient for their attainment.
Nay, more : in fcriptural phrafeology, God is
often faid to do a thing, when he does that,
which has a proper tendency to the effect,
and is fufficient to produce it; although the
effect may not be produced by reafon of fome
defetft or negledt in us, in whom it fhould
have been wrought. “ I have purged thee,”
faith the Lord to Jerufalem, “ but thou waft
“not purged".” “The goodnefs of God,”
faith St. Paul, “ leadeth thole to repentance,
“ who continue in the hardnefs and impeni*
tency of their hearts0.” Ifloid fuch is the
purport of thofe proriiiles to believers in feve-
ral parts of Scripture; not that the Lord will
abfolutely keep them from falling; but that
he will bellow on them that affillance, which
is necelfary for their fecurity, provided they
be not wanting to themfelves. “ The Lord is
“ faithful, who lhall ftablilh you, and keep
“ you from evilp:” “ Being confident of this,
“ that he which hath begun a good work in
“ you, will perform it until the day of Jefus
“Chriftq:” “Who lhall confirm you unto
“ the end, that ye may be blamelefs in the
“ day of our Lord Jefus Chrift1:” and if there
be any other palfages of fimilar import, they
0 See Rom. ii. 4, S.
q Phil. i. 6.	•
n Ezek. xxiv. 13.
P a ThefT. iii. 3.
1 1 Cor. i. 8.
Introductory Difcourfe.	25
may be well explained by the comment of
Grotius on the laft of the preceding, God will
do, “ quod fuarum eft partium,” all that is re-
quifite on his part, towards bringing you to
happinefs ; if ye for your parts " continue in
“ the faith grounded and fettled, and be not
“ moved away from the hope of the Gof-
“ pels.”
Miftakes may often be avoided by fuch an
allowance for the peculiar phrafeology of the
Scriptures, and a difcreet qualification of their
plain, literal fenfe. The qualification indeed
(I repeat it) ought to be made with difcretion:
but ftill I apprehend, that the foregoing in-
ftances will fhow its propriety ; and that the
following will prove the negleCt of it to be
productive of error. It was from inattention
to this principle, that many of the early Chrif-
tians, mifapprehending the warnings of Chrift
and of his Apoftles, imagined the day of judg-
ment to be'at hand. It was a negleCt of this
principle, which gave birth to fome of the
monftrous enormities of the firft Anabaptifts
It is a negledt of this, which leads the Anti-
nomian to rejeCl the moral as well as the ri-
tual law of Mofes, and to renounce the autho-
rity of even the Ten Commandments : which
s Col. i. 23.
1 Molheim’s Ecclef. Hift. cent. xvi. fe£t. iii. part ii.
chap. 3.	;26	Introductory Difcourje.
betrays the Romanift into the irrational and
idolatrous extravagance of tranfubftantiation:
which affords the Calvinift a fupport for his
gloomy doCtrine of reprobation : and which
would, by parity of reafon, make it the duty
of every follower of Chrift to extinguish all
natural affection in his breaft, and convert into
foes all thofe of his own houfehold. For
why may we not contend, that no man can
be a difciple of Chrift, who doth not, in a lite-
, rial fenfe, “ hate his father and mother and
“ wife and children and brethren and lifters®,”
as well as the Calvinift may contend that, in a
literal fenfe, “ God hated Elau x ?” The truth
is, the word, which in each cafe is the lame,
has but a comparative force. We are to hate
our relations in comparifon of Chrift; or, as it
is explained in the parallel paffage of St. Mat-
thew, we are to love them lets than Chrift y;
fo as not to fuffer a regard for any earthly
connection to interfere with our duty as Charif-
tians. And thus God is, faid to have hated
Efau ; that is, to have loved him lefs than
Jacob, whom he chofe in preference to the
firft-born ; according to the faying in Genefis,
that “ Leah was hated,” where the meaning
evidently is, what is expreffed in the pre-
ceding verfe, that Jacob “ loved Rachel more
“.Luke xiv. a6.
Rom. ix. 13.
y Matt. x. 37.Introdu&ory Difcourfe.	27
than her z.” “ The Jews,” obferves a learn-
i Hebraift, “ ufe to exprefs comparifons by
negatives, or rejecting the thing lefs wor-
thy3.”
3. I proceed to remark, that for the right
nderftanding of Scripture, and efpecially of
ontroverted texts, it may fometimes be ne*
effary to look beyond our own verfion of the
tible, and to feek afliftance from the original
criptures : perhaps, becaufe our excellent
ranflators did not at firtl exprefs themfelves
/ith fufBcient precifion ; perhaps, becaufe the
inguage, which they employed, has in fome
egree deviated from its former fgnideation ;
erhaps alfb, becaufe their minds may have
een bialTed by certain prepofleffions in favour
f particular opinions, which are no otherwife
ound upon our belief, than as they can be
roved by the pure word of Scripture.
It is generally agreed that the phrafes,
Take no thought for your lifeb“Take
1 no thought, faying, what fhall we eatand
gain, “ Take no thought for the morrow;”
re a very inadequate expolition of our Sa-
iour’s precept ; the true intent of which
nuft be fought in the original paffages, pj p-
ipvttTe, (a,yi	be not anxioufly careful.
z Gen. xxix. 30, 31.	a Lowth on Hofea vi. 6.
' b Matt. vi. 25, 31,34-28	Introductory Difcourfe.
And many a well-difpofed and humble Chris-
tian would be preferved from much needlef9
alarm and Scruple about the performance of a
bounden duty, if he were aware, that when
St. Paul declares, that “ he that eateth and
“ drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
<f damnation to himfelf0,” the Apoftle employs
a word	which means in a general lenfe
judgment, as it is rendered in the margin of
our Bible,
By an application of this rule we may con-
fute Some at lead; of the arguments, and ex-
,'pofe Some of the errors of our aflailants ; al-
though it may be more generally neceflary to
conduct our defence upon a larger Scale. If,
for inftance, the Anabaptift objedt to the bap-
tifm of infants, on the ground of our Saviour’s
declaration, “ Except a man be born again
we reply, that the original paflage is of uni-
verfal extent, without any limitation of age,
euv yv\ rig	except one be born again.
If he objedt, that, according to our Saviour’s
com million to his Apoftles, “ Go teach all na-
“ tions, baptizing them,” an infant is inca-
pable of baptifm, for he is incapable of being
taught; we anfwer, that the original corn-
million would be more corredtlj7 rendered, as
it is conllantly rendered in all the Oriental
c j Cor. xi. 29.Introductory Difcourfe.	29
Vedions d, make difciples of, or difciple all na-
tions, fia,9-tiTevo-et,Te ttumtu tol e&vti. Or if he con-
tend, that the total immerfion of the body is
effential to baptifm, we call upon him to
prove, how the word in our Saviour’s com-
mlffion muft of neceffity bear that conftruc-
tion, when the fame word is elfewhere em-
ployed by two of the facred hiftorians, to ex-
prefs only the wathing of the hands e.
Upon the fame principle may be removed
fome difficulties, which our verfion may be
thought to countenance, on the queftion of
Calviniftic predeftination. When Paul preach-
ed to the Gentiles at Antioch, we read that
“ as many as were ordained to eternal life,
“ believed o<rot qo-av TSTctypevoi us ^cotjv cuamov { ;
the meaning of the writer would probably
have been more accurately given, if it had
been faid, as many as were difpofed, or pre-
pared ; as were in a right difpofition, or pre-
paration, for eternal life, believed : a tranfla-
tion, which Whitby fupports by feveral in-
ftances of the like lignification of the word;
and of which Pyle pronounces after Grotius,
that He that feeth it not is blind s. However
d Beveridge’s Works, vol. i. p. 305.
e Luke xi. 38. and Mark vii. 4, 5. See Wall’s Hift. of
Infant Baptifm, part ii. chap. viii. fe&. 6. p. 319.
f A6ts xiii. 48.
e See Whitby’s Commentary on A£ts xiii. 48. and3o	Introdu&ory Difcourje.
this may be, and whatever colour the Predef-
tinarian may think is given by our verfion to
his favourite opinions, before he avails himfelf
of the text in fupport of thofe opinions, it is
at lehft incumbent upon him to prove, what
we apprehend is incapable of proof, that rne
original can be fairly conftrued into a refe-
rence to the divine decrees, confidered as abfo-
lute and independent of God’s forefight of the
difpofition of the people. I fay, independent
of God’s forefight of the difpofition of the
people : that the people were well difpofed to
receive the truth, ev&eroi sis tijv (2a<riXeia.v tov Qeov^,
according to a phrafe, which Wolfius, and
after him Parkhurft, confider to be equivalent
with that before us, is a fad, which appears
on the face of the narrative: that they became
fo in confequence of an abfolute decree, is a
mere begging of the queftion ; an aftumptioh
of that, which is the very thing required to
be proved.
If this pafTage is produced as a fandion for
the dodrine of Calviniftic eledion, another
may be cited as a fandion for its correlative,
the dodrine of Calviniftic reprobation ; each
with the fame femblance, and each with as
little fubftance, of reafon. St. Jude fpeaks of
Pyle’s Paraphrafe with his note. See alfo Parkhurft in
VOC. T«TTW.
h Luke ix. 6%.Introductory Difcourfe.	31
“ ungodly men, before of old ordained to this
“ condemnation5;” the expreffion is the fame
as the former, in the Englith verfion; but not
in the Greek: ol 7raXui 7rpo’yeyact.pfiem eis tcvto rq
xQifAa.-, not made and ordained by God to be
punilhed; much lefs, ordained by God to fin*
and fo to punifhment; but prcefcripti, accord-
ing to the vulgar Latin ; profcribed in fome
public record, fome programma, as certain
commentators interpret itk; or forethewn*
written of, or defcribed beforehand, to be de-
ferring of condemnation for their ungodlinefs,
as it is explained by others1; conformably to
the ftri<ft import of the original expreffion,
and to the illuftration in a fubfequent verfe,
that “ Enoch prophefied of thefe.”
As it may be clearing our way on fome fu-
ture occafion, I would take the prefent oppor-
tunity of remarking, that there are two or
three other texts of this defcription, of which
a fimilar explanation is requifite. St. Peter
defcribes men, “ which thimble at the word,
“ being difobedient, whereunto alfo they were
“ appointed,” ets o kou ere&ticruv™: an expreffion
probably of the fame force as that of w^oyer
ypttpfMm, juft quoted from St. Jude; men,
whofe ftumbling had been declared and fore-
1 Jude ver. 4.	k See Parkhurft in voc. npriypafui.
1 See Whitby in loc. m i Pet. ii. 8.32	IntroduBory Difcourjb.
told by the Prophets and by Chrift himfelf;
or who had been appointed to Humble at the
word, as a punithment for their difobedience i
and St. Paul fpeaks of “ God enduring with
“ much long-fuffering the veflels of wrath,
“ fitted to definition x.a,tvi(>Tiiry,evct tic ara-
Xuav": difpofed perhaps, or fitted, for deftrucj
tion ; as thofe who were before reprefented to
be tera.yy.tvoi, prepared or difpofed for eternal
life; or as thofe, whom St. Paul elfewhere
defcribes as “ purging themfelves” from falfe
dotrines, and fo becoming “ veflels unto bo-
“ nour":” after the fame manner thefe veflels
of wrath are fitted by themfelves for deftrac-*
tion, by their fins and impenitence, fc after
“ their hardnefs and impenitent hearts trea*
" furing up unto themfelves wrathP,” as the
Apoftle fpeaks in a former part of the fame
epiftle: for let it be carefully obferved, that
there is not a fhadow of reafon for fuppofing
it to be the intention of the text, to afcribe
the effect to the agency of the Almighty,
and that, as Whitby remarks from (Ecume-
nius, the old ecclefiaftical interpretation of the
words was adverfe to fuch a fuppofitionq.
n Rom. ix. 1%.	° a Tim. ii. ai<
P Rom. ii. 4, 5.
1 Whitby on the Five Points, p. ai. Ei; 6 xai eTefytravi
oux to; onto too ©sou si; touto a^cogiir/xsi/oi; sigtjTai* ou8s//,ia yap
an tot amoAeia; wu.%01 too 'btuvtu; otv$gco7rou; dsAovro; trcaSijvaiIntroductory Difcourfd,	33
’ Once more ; “ the. Scripture faith Unto Pha-
** raoh, Even for this fame purpofe have I
*■ raifed thee up, that I might fliew my power
“ in thee, and that my name might be de-
“ dared throughout all the earth1:” not raifed
thee from the birth; not created thee on pur-
pofe for thy everlafling deftrudion, according
to the fyfiem of Calvin : but raifed thee up,
ejjrfiyeipeb, from the plagues which would have
cut thee off, as the murrain cut off i thy. cattle;
made thee to Hand, and preferred thee from
the merited punifhment, that thou mighteft
eventually be deftroyed by an even more me-
morable and exemplary difafter. Such a fig-
nification of the word is warranted by feveral
paffages in the New Teftament; and accords
both with the Hebrew text, as is noticed in
the margin of our Bible, and with the Septua-
gint and other verfions of Exodus’.
4. Without confining ourfelves however to
a fingle paffage, and at the fame time without
ffretching our view over a wide extent of
Scripture, an attention to the immediate con-
text will often enable us to convid error, and
to difcover the truth. If for inftance the fo-
lemn affertion of our Saviour, “ I fay unto
fipa&smTaj, aXXx rotg eccutou; ctxeiii] opyys xxrripTixo<ri xaj y ctitei-
Setx s7n))toXooS>)cre, xxi sig fjv Trxgttrxevxtrxv kxvrovg tx£iv sTe$>)<r«V"
OEcumen. in i Epift. Pet. Comment, vol. ii. p. 496.
r Rom. ix. 17.	‘ See Whitby in loc.
D34	Introdu&ory Dijcourfe.
“ you, That every idle word that men lhall
“ fpeak, they lhall give account thereof in the
“ day of judgment*,” were to be underftood
ftri&ly of ufelefs and unneceflary words, it
would be impoffible to converfe with inno-
cence. But the context thews that they are
detigned for fuch as “ an evil man brings out
“ of the evil treafure of his heartwords,
not limply unprofitable, but wicked and per-
nicious. If'again damnation were the punilh4
ment denounced on the unworthy communi-
cant at the Lord’s Supper, the apprehenfion of
fo dreadful a penalty might operate with Tea-
fon on the tender confidence; which maybe
relieved by; learning, what the context evi-
dently points out, that the word, which has
been already obferved to mean judgment ge-
nerally, can in this place only mean judgment
of a temporal kind?.
“ Stand fall in the liberty, wherewith Chrift
“ hath made us free,” fays the Apoftle to the
Galatians ; “ and be not entangled again with
“ the yoke of bondage V’ The fchifmatic
catches at the text, and ufes it as a cloke of
malicioufnefs, to fkreen him in choofing what-
ever form of religion is agreeable to his fancy;
and in reje&ing the legitimate authority of
thole, who have the fpiritual rule over him:
‘ Matt. xii. 35,36. a 1 Cor. xi. 30. x Gal. v. 1.35
Introductory Dijcourje.
Hot confidering, what the few preceding or
the two following verfes would be fufficient
to (how, that the liberty and the bondage, of
which, the Apoftle fpeaks, are a freedom from,
and a fubjeCtion to, the yoke of circumcifion,
and the other ordinances of. the Mofaic law.
“ Be ye perfeCt,” fays our blelTed Lord to
his difciples, “ even as your Father, which is
“ 4n heaven, is perfect7.” Hence the Me-.
thodift thinks to derive a fupport tb his opi-
nion, that 'believers may attain to perfection
in this life,, fa as to be abfolutely freed from
the dominion of tin. * Upon this opinion I
thall have occafion to defeant hereafter: I
mention it at prefent, in order to exemplify
the principle before us, by remarking, that
the precept, taken in connection with the paf-
fage, which precedes, and from which it is a
manifeft conclufion, “ Be ye therefore per-
“ feCt,” is to be underftood as referring, not
to univerfal perfection, but to a forgiving and
merciful difpofition ; and in faCt appears to be
only equivalent to the correfpondent paffage
in the narrative of another Evangelift, “ Be ye
“ therefore merciful, as your Father alfo is
“merciful2.”
There are feveral infulated paflages, which
are often applied in fupport of Calviniftic pre~
7 Matt. v. 48,
D 2
z Luke vi. 36,B6	Introdu&ory Difcmrjb,
deftination, in a fenfe incompatible with their
context. I forbear at prefent to fpecify them1.
Of one however in particular I would remark,
that, whatever difficulty may attend it, when
taken by itfelf, the context fupplies a moft fa-
tisfa&ory folution. Allow the literal inter-
pretation of the phrafe, “ that God hardened
“ the heart of Pharaoh,” no fupport is thereby1
furnithed to the doctrine of abfolute irrelpec-
tive reprobation. It was before the plagues
began to be Inflicted, that the Lord announced
to Mofes, that he would “ harden Pharaoh’s
“ heart8;” but it is at the fame time a re-
markable fad:, that the threat was conftantly
fufpended, iri Order (as it appears, and as was
the cafe with refpeCt to the people of Nineveh
under a fentence of deltruCtion palled on them
by the Almighty6,) that Pharaoh might have
it in his power to “ fet his heart” to the
judgments, which God was executing upon
him, and to be obedient unto the word of the
Lord. Five plagues had already been wrought
in his prefence by “ the finger of God ;” and
he had continually and perverfely hardened
his heart againfi; thofe teftimonies of almighty
power, which his very magicians, whom he
had called in to rival them with their en-
chantments, were reluctantly compelled to ac-
a Exod. iy. 31.
b Jon. iii. 4,5, io.IntrodvMory Difcourfe.	37
knowledge; before the fentence of the divine
wrath was accomplifhed againft him, and
“ the Lord hardened his heart, as he had
“ fpoken unto Mofesc.” The meafure of his
iniquity was now full; and he had rendered
himfelf by his own hardnefs and impenitent
heart a veffel of wrath, fo well fitted for de-
ilru&ion, that God would now have cut him
off, as a punifhment for his fins, but that he
rather chofe to endure him with much long-
fufferihg, in order that he might thereby give
a more confpicuous teftimony of his wrath,
and make his power to be more illuftriouily
known. Let it be allowed then, that God did
literally harden Pharaoh’s heart; it muft alfo
be allowed, that this his final obduracy was
not the refult of God’s abfolute irrefpe&ive
will; but was drawn down upon him by his
own previous obftinacy and numerous provo-
cations. That he hardened his own heart,
was his fin; that the Lord hardened it, was
his punifhment: it was an a6t of righteous re-
tributive juftice upon an impenitent and obfti-
nate finner, who had defpifed the riches of
God’s mercy and forbearance, and challenged
the feverity of his anger.
• 5. But further; as it is our bufinefs to •
“ compare fpiritual things with fpiritual V’ we
r Exod, ix. iaf.
d r Cor. ii. 3.38	Introdu&ory Difcourje.
fhould be cautious not to fix our thoughts on
fome detached paflage, and pufh it to its ut-
raoft extent; but fliould rather examine, whe-
ther fome other may not occur, which has a
tendency to modify the former, and which
(as part of the fame divine revelation) has an
equal claim to our regard. For, as our twen-
tieth Article obferves, “it is not lawful fo to
“ expound one place of Scripture, that it be
“ repugnant to another.”
“ Rejoice evermore*,” is an apoftolical pre-
cept ; agreeably to which our Lord hath af-
fured us with indifputable truth, that “ his
“ yoke is eafy, and his burden is lightf:” but
he alfo with equal truth pronounces a “ bleffing
“ on them that mourn8;” and warns us, that
“ if any man will come after him, he muft
“ deny himfelf, and take up his crofs daily,
“ and follow him \” Corredt as each of thefe
fentiments unqueftionably is, and confident as
they are with one another, they may be con-
verted into occafions of practices, totally at
variance with themfelves, and with the fpirit
of the Chriftian religion. Whilft from the
former the worldly man may deduce a feem-t
ing fandtion for indolence and inadlivity, and
in the latter the afcetic may perceive an obli-
e i Theff. v. 16.
S Matt. v. 4.
f Matt. x. 30.
h Luke ix. 23.39
Introductory Difcotirje. .
gation to unremitting penance and mortifica-
tion ; the fober minded Chriftian, by a dif-
creet comparifon of their refpe&ive imports/
fees an injunction to deny himfelf every vi-
cious enjoyment, and every recreation, which
may interfere with his fpiritual improvement;
and at the fame time an encouragement to
perfevere with cheerfulnefs in the purfuit of
that wifdorn, “ whofe ways are ways of plea-
“ fantnefs, and all whofe paths are peace.”
The fame rule may not unaptly be applied
to reconcile the feemingly hoftile doctrines of
grace and free-will. “ A new heart will I
“ give you,” faith the Lord God to his people
Ifrael, “ and a new fpirit will I put within
“ you; and I will take away the ftony heart
“ out of your flefh, and I will give you a heart
<“ of flefh: and I will put my fpirit within
“you, and caufe you to walk in my ftatutes,
“ an<| ye fhall keep my judgments, and do
“ them1.”* But what fays the Prophet in an-
other place? " I will judge you, O houfe of
“ Ifrael, every one according to his own wa}'s,
“ faith the Lord God. Repent, and turn your-
selves from all your tranfgreflions; fo ini-
“ quity fhall not be your ruin. Caft away
“ from you all your tranfgreflions, whereby
\
' Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27.49	Introductory Difcourfe*
“ ye have tranfgreffed, and make you a new
“ heart and a new fpiritk.” From a partial
Survey of fuch paflages as the former, the Ma-
nichaean or the Calvinift may argue, (and I fee
not how, with this confined view of the fubr
je£t, we are to meet his argument,) that man
is a mere paflive machine, whofe inclinations
and whofe conduct are regulated by a power,
independent of his will, and fubverfive of his
free agency. And why may not the Pelagiat#
or the Socinian conclude, with equal reafon,
from fugh paflages as the latter, that the free
will of man is abfolute; and that he is capa-
ble of repenting, and turning from his tranf-
greflions, and making himfelf a new heart and
a new fpirit, without any Supernatural aid ?
The fadt is, the truth lies between the two
pofitions; and a comparifon of them Serves to
point it out. For the renewing of the fpirit
of a man, neither the divine grace, nor the
hfiman will, is inefficacious. God works; and
man muft alfo work. “ God by his fpecial
“ grace preventing us doth put into our minds
“ good defires ; and by his continual help we
“ bring the fame to good effect1or, to ex*
prefs the doctrine in one Sentence-of inspira-
tion, we mutt “ work out our own Salvation.
k Ezek. xviii. 30, 31,32.
1 Colled for Eafter*Introdu&ory Difcourje.	41
** with fear and trembling: for it, is God,
“ which worketh in ns, both to will and to
“ do, of his good pleafure m.”
6. In the comparifon of independent paf-
fages, it is obvious to remark, as we proceed*
that we fhould be careful to explain the more
obfcure and difficult by the clearer and more
eafy. “ The Holy Ghoft,” as Bithop Hall ob-
ferved in his dhcourfe before the Synod of
Dort, “ ought to be the judge of all contro-
verfies; and thofe padages or texts in the
“ Bible, which feepi to mention things ob-
“ fcurely or elfe tranfiently, ffiould be tried
“ by thofe others, that fpeak out more plainly
V and clearly, and treat of the matters with
“ delign **.” A diftinguiffied Prefbyter of our
Church hath noticed, that this rule “ was laid
“ down, although not ttri&ly followed, by St.
** Augudin °it were well, if the modern
profelfors of that father’s doctrines judged it
more worthy of their attention.
Our Lord had faid to his Difciples, “ How
“ hardly ffiall they that have riches, enter into
•m Phil. ii. I a, 13.
n Brandt’s Hift. of the Reformation in the Low Coun-
tries, iii. 32. book xx.
0 Daubeny’s Guide to the Church, p. 88. Ubi autem
apertius ponuntur, ibi difcendum eft, quomodo in locis
intelligantur ’ obfcuris. Augujt, de Doil. Chri/l. lib. iii.
cap. xxvi.42	IntroduBory Difcourje.
“ the kingdom of Godp :” but when he found
them aftonifbed at what probably' appeared
“ a hard faying,” he explained his intention
by fubjoining, “ how hard it is for them, that
ff truft in riches, to enter into the kingdom of
“ God.” And he hath been gracioully pleaf-
ed by his holy Spirit to illuftrate, for our be-
nefit, many other pofitions, the intent of
which we might otherwife have failed of ap-
prehending.
Thus fhould we experience any perplexity
about the interpretation of that controverted
paflage, “ He will have mercy on whom he
“ will have mercy, and whom-he will he har-
“ denethqand conceive it capable of de-
noting an arbitrary and irrefpective will in
God’s dealings with mankind:	our under-
ftanding may be enlightened by fuch plain
declarations as thofe which ftate, that “ bletfed
” are the merciful, for they fhall obtain mer-
“ cyrthat “ God refifteth the proud, and
“ giveth grace to the humble"that.“ the
“ mercy of the Lord is from everlafting to
“ everlafting upon them that fear him, and
ec think of his commandments to do them1
and that on th5 other hand, “ Becaufe when
“ the Gentiles knew God, they glorified him
P Mark x. 23, 24.	s Rom. ix. 18. r Matt. v. f.
s James iv. 6.	* Pfalm ciii. 17, 18.IntroduBbry Difcourfe.	4 a
“ not as God, neither wer£ thankful; for this
“ caufe God gave them up unto vile affec-
tions11;” that becaufe “his people would
“ not hearken to his voice, and Ifrael would
“ none of him, fo he gave them up unto their
“ own hearts’ luft, and they walked in their
“own counfelsx:” and generally, that “he
“ refufeth to hear thofe, who have fet at
“ nought his counfel, and would none of his
“ reproof; for that they hated knowledge*
“ and did not choofe the fear of the Lordy.”
Or fhould we imagine that the Apoftle,
under the fimilitude of a potter “ making one
“ veffel to honour and another to dishonour z,”
intended to infinuate an unconditional election
on the part of God in his dealings with indivi-
duals ; the explicit declaration of the Propheta
might convince us, that the fimilitude was in-
tended to illuftrate the dealings of God with
refpeit to nations ; and thofe alfo, not always
at lead: unconditional, but liable to be influ-
enced by the conduit of the nations them-
felves, even to fuch an extent, as for his pur-
pofes to be faid to be altered, and his promife
to be broken.
Or fhould we fuppofe, that “ the purpofe of
u Rom. i. 21, 26.	x Pfalm lxxxi. u, ia.
y Prov. i. 25, 29. See the whole palTage.
z Rom. ix. 21.
a Jer. xviii. i—n. and compare Numb. xiv. 30, 34.44r	Introductory Dijcourfe.
“ God according t<5 eledtion V’ noticed by St.
Paul, bad refpect to the perfons of Jacob and
Efau c; the unequivocal language of Mofes and
of Malachid might fhow, that it related to the
nations, which lhould fpring from them; ac-
cording to the remark of Irenaeus, that the,
conception of Rebecca was a prophecy con-
cerning the two nations.
Or fhould we be led to doubt of the extent
of the atonement made by Chrift, by fucft
paflages as date, that he “ laid down his life
“ for his fheep *“ for his friends, who do
“ his commandments1;” for his ‘'church';”
and that “ he gave his life a ranfom for
“ manyh;” and thence to infer that he did
not die for all; other plain declarations may
convince us, that, although eventually he died
for a part only, inafmuch as a part only com-
plies with the conditions, on which his blood
is made effectual to falvation; yet fuch paf-
fages were not intended to limit the atone-
ment made by his death; for that he died to
fave not his friends only, but “ his enemies;”
not for the Church of God only, but “ for the
b Rom. ix. ii.	c Gen. xxv. 23.
d Mai. i. 2, 3, 4. Ex quibus manifeftum eft,--partura
Rebeccas prophetiam fuiflfe duorum populorum. Iren. Mb.
iv. cap. 38.
c John x. 15.	f Ibid. xv. 13, 14.
6 Eph. v. 25.	b Matt xx. a8.Introdu&ory Difcourfe.	45
“ unjuft, that he might bring them to God
hot for the fheep only, that heard his voice,
but for the flieep “ that were loftnot for
the many only, but “ for all1for all men ;
for every man ; for the world, the whole
world; not in the Calviniftic fenfe of all forts
of men, or fome men of all forts, the world of
*the eletft, and the like ; but in their plain and
obvious fenfe, of the whole race of mankind,
as contradiftinguithed from believers ; that as
all had finned and fallen thort of the glory of
God, and by the offence of one judgment
came upon all men to condemnation, fo by
the righteoufnefs of one the free gift might
come upon all men unto juftification of life.
Or fuppofing again, that it were not evident
to our apprehenfion, what St. Paul meant to
convey by “ the Spirit dwelling in us,” and
by our being “ led by the Spiritkand that
we were tempted to miftake*the nature of his
influence, as the enthufiaft does, and refer it
to fome imaginary internal feeling; we might
be corrected by his ftating exprefsly in an-
other place, that “ the fruit of the Spirit is
“ love, joy, peace, long-fuffering, gentlenefs,
“ goodnefs, faith, meeknefs, temperance 1
> Rom. v. 8, io. i Pet. iii. 18. Matt, xviii. ia. I Tim.
ii. 6. a Cor. vt 14. Heb. ii. 9. John xii. 47. 1 John ii. a.
Rom. v. ia, 18.
■ k Rom. viii. 9,141	1 Gal. v. aa.45
Introductory Difcourfe*
as well as by the declaration of our Saviour
with.refpetft to thofe, who pretend to fpiritual
gifts, that “ by their fruits we fhall know?
“ them m.”
Nor fhall we fufFer ourfelves, on the autho-
rity Of a few texts of doubtful or erroneous
interpretation, to be feduced into the Mora-
vian and Methodiftical tenets, that a true*
Chriftian has a fenfible and certain'affuranee
of falvation, and is incapable of fin; or ta
adopt the doctrine of the Antinomian, that
God fees no fin in believers; while we bear in
mind the clear admonition of St. Paul, “ Let
“ him that thinketh he ftandeth, take heed
“ left he fall";” and the no lefs intelligible and
univerfal confefiion of St. John, “ If we fay
“ that we have no fin, we deceive*, ourfelves,
“ and the truth is not in us°.” •t-.-" *■	•	■
7. A farther rule, which I would propofe to
afiift us in our interpretation of Scripture, un-
lefs indeed it be confidered as a fpecial modifin
cation of one of the foregoing, is, that wrhere
the fame term is employed at different times
and under different circumftances, we ought
not to be fatisfied with one independent de-
feription, but fhould compare and combine
them together.
It is in purfuance of this principle, that we
m Matt. vii. 20.
" 1 Cor. x. 12.
0 1 John i. 8.introductory DiJ'courJ’e.	47
« •
believe in three perfons united in one God-
head ; and’in the union of the divine and hu-
fnan natures in the perfOn: of Chrift. And it
was from a difregard of this principle, that
Noetus aflerted, that the Father had united
himfelf with the man Chrift, and was born
and crucified with him; and that Sabellius
pretended there was no difference between
the perfons of the Trinity, but that they were
all one perfon under* three namesp: that Nef-
torius divided Chrift into two perfons ; and
Eutyches confounded in his perfon his two
natures : that Arius denied, him to be truly
God; and Apollinaris affirmed, that he was
not really manq.
I would apply this principle to the much
controverted queftion of juftification. “ We
“ conclude,” fays St. Paul, “ that a man is
“juftified by faith, without the deeds of the
“ law1.” And again, “ Knowing that a man
“ is not juftified by the works of the law, but
“ by the faith of Jefus Chrift V’ On thete,
and fome fimilar texts, the Solifidian fattens :
he overlooks, or defpifes, the teftimony of an-
other Apoftle, who affirms that “ by works a
P Moflieim, Cent. iii. part ii. chap, v.
q See Bifhop Horne’s Sermon on the Word Incarnate,
Difc. vol. j. p. 305. Moflieim, Cent. v. part ii. chap, v,
and Cent. iv. part ii. chap. v.
r Rom. iii. 28.
s Gal. ii. 16.43-	Introductory Difcourfe*
*' man is juftified, and not by faith only’;’*
ahd who thrice within a few fentences pro-
nounces, that " faith without works is dead0;”
he treats the epiftle, wherein this teftimony
occurs, and which appears intended to obviate
the falfe conclufions likely to be drawn from
St. Paul’s words, as what Luther once la-
mented that he had called it, an epiftle of
ftraw: he goes fo far perhaps, as to accufe the*
divinely infpired author “ of falle teftimony,
“ of lying, of Gontradi&ing the Holy Spirit,
“> the Law, the Prophets, Chrift, and all the
“ Apoftles*,” and fo he perfifts in an imreferv-
ed and unqualified affirmation, that we are
juftified by faith alone.
Now as the epiftle of St. James, not lefs
than thofe of his brother in the Apoftlefhip,
forms part of the facred canon ; furely it
would be both fafer and more becoming, in-
ftead of confining ourfelves to the teftimony
* Jam. ii. 34.	u Ibid. 17, 30, 36.
x Imo repertus eft non nemo, qxd eo audacias atque
adeo impietatis prooeffit, ut in Authorem ejus epiftolae,
cui Jacobi nomen infcribitur, calamum liberius ftrinxerit,
eumque falfitatis ac mendacii arguerit. Is fuit Althame-
rus, qui (citante Grotio) in Scriptorem, non modo inno-
xium, fed et divinum hsec verba indignabundtis effudit.
Direfte (inquit) in Scripturam agit; citat Scripturas fal-
fo 5 et folus Spiritui fandto, Legi, Prophetis, Chrifto,
Apoftolifque omnibus contradicit. Bulli Harm. Apojii
Introd. fed. 3.»Introdu&ory Difcourfe.	49
of one alone, to compare and combine the de-
clarations of both Apoftles, as conftituting
confident portions of the fame holy revelation.
And the refult of fuch a comparifon would
probably be a convi&ion, that there is no in-
confiftency in the pofitions of the two facred
writers ; but that “ faith,” in, St. James’s ac-
ceptation, fignifies an inactive belief in the
truths of the Gofpel, not producing holinefs
of life, and, in St. Paul’s, faith in Chrift com-
prehending Chriftian holinefs; that by “works,”
St. James intends a religious and charitable,
that is a Chriftian, life ; and St. Paul, the per-
formances of man in his natural ftate, or a
compliance with the outward ordinances, and
fometimes with the moral obligations, of the
Mofaic law : and that the pofition is accord-
ingly true in one fenfe, but not in another, as
that is true of Chrift in his human nature,
which is not true of him in his divine.
Election too, that other Shibboleth of a
party, has two diftincSt fcriptural fignifications,
analogous to thofe borne by “ the kingdom of
“ heaven.” As the kingdom of heaven fome-
times fignifies the whole body of profefledChrif-
tians in this world, and fometimes “ the aflem-
“ bly of juft men made perfect” in another; fo
by the eledt are intended fometimes all thofe
perfons, who are in covenant with God, and
profefs his religion, as all the people of the
ESo	IntroduSiory Difcourfe.
Jews under the old difipenfetion, and dll Chrif-
tians under the new; fometimes they alone
are intended, who give all diligence to make
their lives agreeable to the do&rine, which
they profefs, and are ehofen by God to eternal
life on a forefight of their faith and obedience.
However plainly the doctrine of God’s elec-
tion being abfoliite and unconditional may be
aflerted in the former fignification of the term ■,
the Scriptures give no fan&ion to the doc-
trine, if applied to the latter.
8. Thefe interpretations will be confirmed
by the application of another rule; namely,
that we give diligent attention to the defigii
and fcope of the compofition, which we are
examining; inftead of fixing upon it an arbi-
trary conftru&ion, foreign perhaps from the
object of the author, and perhaps alfo incom-
patible with his principles. “ It is a general
" and uncontefted rule,” as Archbifhop Sharp
remarks, “ in the interpreting of Scripture and
“ all other writings, that the fcope of the au-
“ thor and the fubjeft matter of his difcourfe
“ is to fix and limit the fenfe of all his-proper-
“ fitions fo that though a propofition be feem-
“ ingly univerfal, yet it is to be 'extended no
“ farther than the fubjeft matter that is treat-
“ ed abouty.”
T Archblthop Sharp's Works, vol. iv. p. 274.Introductory Difcourfe.	51
That he might not*do unneceifaiy violence
to the feelings and prejudices of the Jews;
and, at the fame time, that he might open to
their minds Almighty God’s intention of ad-
mitting the Gentiles to a full fliare in the pri-
vileges of the Gofpel covenant; our blefted
Lord employed the parable of the labourers in
the vineyard. The tinner, eager to avail him-
felf of any pretext for deferring the amend-
ment of his life, would fain conlider the para-
ble as pointing to individual penitents, and
the reward bellowed on the labourer, who had
wrought but one hour, as an emblega of for-
givenefs, promifed to a late, it may be a death-
bed repentance. His hopes are fallacious : as
far at leaft as this parable is made the bafis of
them ; for it has not any reference to Chrif-
tians, or to repentance at all.
Equally fallacious is the doctrine of faith
independent of Chriftian works, to which I
have been juft alluding; and that other kin-
dred tenet of the abfolute election of indivi-
duals to eternal life, and the confequent re-
probation of others : fallacious, iriafmuch as
they reft on an aflumption, that St. Paul was
arguing for a different conclufion from that,
which we apprehend to have been the real
fcope and defign of his epiftles. For, whereas
the hypothefis of our adverfaries muft proceed
upon the opinion, that he was diftinguifhing52	Introductory Difcourfe.
between faith, and works, as parts of the fame
difpenfation; the defign of the Apoftle appears
to have been, to diftinguifh between the two
difpenfations of Mofes and of Cbrift: and,
whereas in the latter cafe their hypothecs pre-
fumes upon his arguments having a perfonal
tendency; he appears in reality to be vindi-
cating the juftice of God in the election of
nations, generally to be the inftruments of his
providence; and more especially of fuch, as he
then chole to be the repofitories of the Cbrif-
tian faith.
9. Much additional light may be thrown
upon the fubjedt of our inquiries, by an atten-
tion to the time, the perfons, and other cir-
eumftances, with which it is connected : as
Bithop Latimer remarked from St. Aufiin,
" The circumiftances of the Scriptures en-
“ lighten the Scriptures, and one Scripture
“ doth expound another to a man that is ftu-
" dious, well-willing, and often calling upon
“ God in continual prayer \”
When the malefactor addrelTed himfelf to
his expiring Redeemer, (in whom perhaps he
had never before had an opportunity of de-
claring his belief, and whom perhaps he had
never before heard or feen;) and in the feafon
of his diftrefs, when his very Apoftles had all
z Life of Ridley, p. 45a.IntroduBory Difcourfe.	53
forfaken him and fled, openly confeffed his di-
vine character, and implored his compaflion;
“ Lord, remember me, when thou comeft into
“ thy kingdomaour Saviour gracioufly ac-
cepted him, and faid, “Verily, I fay unto thee
“ To-day fihalt thou be with me in paradife.”
■But would it not be a moil delufive and mif-
chievous inference, were we to contend from
this for the efficacy of the death-bed repent-
ance of one, who had pafled his life in deny-
ing and dishonouring Chtift ?
Or becatife, in allufion to the Jews, who re-
jected God’s gracious offers of mercy, and
were therefore rejected from being his people,
our Saviour pronounced, that “ many are call-
“ ed, but few chofen ^are we therefore to
admit the predeltinarian doCtrine, that a fmall
part of mankind is abfolutely eleCted by God
to everlafting happinefs, from which the great
bulk are abfolutely rejected ?
Or becaufe St. Paul, who was “ a chofen
“ vefleT” of Chrift for the propagation of the
Gofpel, was infiantaneoufly converted to a be-
lief in the truth by a heavenly vifion ; are we
to expeCt, that the hardened tinner will now
experience an inftantajpeous converfion from
his fins, by an irrefiftible aCt of divine grace ?
a Luke xxiii. 43, 43.	b Matt. xx. 16,
* Ads ix. 15.54	Introductory Difcourf&.
-if Or becaufe the Apollle defcribes his Gentile
converts, previouHy to their admidion into the
Chriflian Church, as “ dead in trefpaffes and
“ tins, aliens from the commonwealth of If-
“ rael, and Grangers to the covenants of pro-
“ mifedare we now to addrefs a congrega-
tion of baptized believers, as unregenerate:
thereby dripping Chrift’s holy ordinance of its
facramental charader ; and, by an ad: of our
individual authority, annulling the covenant of
God ?
Or becaufe the holy Spirit operated in an
extraordinary manner on the Apoftles and firft
Chriltians, are we to glory in his irreflftible
and fenlxble impulfes; and to affirm, in the
language of Methodifm, that " the Spirit is
“ vilibly poured out in our affemblies;” thmt
“ the Holy Ghofi: deffcends in a glorious man-
“ nerf’ that he “ comes like a rufhing mighty
“ wind, and moves over the whole congrega-
“ tion or that “ the great God in a glorious
<c manner fills and Overfhadows our fouls
that “ the Holy Ghoft comes upon us, and the
" power of the Higheft overfhadows usthat
“ we daily experience the outgoings and in-
“ comings of the Holy Spirit in the fanduary
“ of our heartsand that “ we can feel him
tf daily filling our fouls and bodies, as plainly
d Eph. ii. i. ia.IntroduSory Difcourje.	55
“ as we feel the air which we breathe, or the
“ food we eate ?”
If thefe be errors, as I believe them, and on
fome future occafion fhall attempt with God’s
good bleiling to prove them, to be; they arife
in a great degree from inattention to the rule
of interpretation now before us; which directs
us to confider, not only what is faid, but the
various circumftances, under which it is fpoken:
a rule, to the neglect of which fome of the
moft extravagant peculiarities of Methodifm,
both in opinion and in practice, may be re-
ferred.
10. To the foregoing rules for the interpre-
tation of Scripture, only one more remains to
be added; which however is of the moft ex-
tenfive application and utility: I mean, that
no doctrine, however fpecious, is to be admit-
ted as part of the Gofpel, which is not agree-
able to the general tenour of the Whole; in
conformity with the prudent decifion of our
Church in her 17 th article, that “ we muft re-
“ ceive God’s promifes in fuch wife, as they
e< be generally fet forth to us in Holy Scrip-
“ ture.”	v
This, as I have already faid, is of the moft
extenfive application : nor do I conceive, that
e See Whitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 202. 223.380. 237.
163.166. 265. 8tc.	d56	Introdu&ory Difcourje.
any of the popular dodlrines, of faith indepen-
dent of Chriftian works ; or Calviniftic predef-
tination ; or irrefiftible grace ; or the percep-
tible influence oft the Holy Spirit; or regene-
ration, diftinguiftied from the inward fpiritual
grace of baptifm ; or an inftantaneous and fpe-
cial converflon; or a full and infallible afliir-
ance of falvation ; or a finlefs perfedtion in the
true Chriftian ; can in any way ftand,its teft.
Thefe are the points, upon which the charge,
that we are not preachers of the Gofpel, prin-i
cipally turns ; and to which therefore your at-
tention will be directed in the fucceeding lec-
tures. I am well aware, that moft, if not all,
of thefe lubjeHs have been often and ably dif-
cufled; and that the theological ftudent, who
withes to inveftigate them thoroughly, muft
be referred to other fources for more ample
fatisfadtion. Still to bring the fubje&s for-
ward in'tbmething of a connected form, and
for the fpecific purpofe, which has been
ftated; thereby to direct the thoughts of the
younger part of this aflembly to the prefent
ftate of religious opinions amongft us, on
which, it is efpecially neceflary, that they
Ihould be .informed; to apprize them of the
nature of the objections, which are perpetually
alleged againft the great body of the national
Clergy; and to furnifli them, if it may be, with
fome leading principles, by which thofe objec-Introductory Difcourfe.	57
tions may be repelled ; with the view, not of
fuperfeding, but of encouraging, more exten-
five inquiries on the matter# in debate; has
appeared to me an attempt, calculated to pro-
mote the knowledge of the true Gofpel of Je-
fus Chrift. It is with this defign, that I have
ventured tp engage in my prefent undertak-
ing : however weak and imperfect may be the
execution in other refpe&s, at lead: I truft, that
it will not be difgraced by that intemperance
of language, and that acrimony of inventive,
which fometimes mark the accufations, that
have been levelled againft us. To “ fpeak the
“ truth in lovef,” Ihould be the refolution,
under divine grace, of every follower, and
much more of every minifter of Chrift. Zea-
lous as we may, and ought to, be in the pro-
pagation of our religious opinions, it is our
duty, as “ the fervants of the Lord, to be gen-
“ tie unto all men, patient and forbearing, in
“ meeknefs inftrudting thofe that oppofe them-
te felves s.” And that man ftrangely miftakes
the manner of fpirit he is of, who knows not,
that peaceablenefs, and gentlenefs, and mercy,
as well as purity, are infeparable chara&eriftics
of f< the wifdom that is from abovehand
that Chriftian charity ought never to be facri-
1 Eph. iv. 15.	s a Tim. ii 24, 25.
h Jam. iii. 17.58	Introductory Difcourfe.
ficed even for the promotion of evangelical
truth.
Now unto God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Ghoft, three perfons in the unity
of one Godhead, be afcribed all might, ma-
jefty, and dominion, henceforth and for ever.
Amen.DISCOURSE II.
Matt. xix. 16, 17.
♦
And behold, one came and/aid unto him, Good Majler,
what good thing Jhall I do, that I may have eternal
life?
And he faid unto him, Why callejl thou me good?
there is none good but one, that is, God: but if
thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
This reply of our Lord is judged capable of
two interpretations. By Calvin it is conftrued
into an intimation, that eternal life is not to be
attained by obedience to the laws of God \ As
if Chrift had faid, If thou wilt enter into life,
keep the commandments; but thou canft not
keep the commandments: therefore thou canft
do no good thing, that thou mayft have eter-
nal life. The other interpretation is that
which is famftioned by our Church; who re-
prefents Chrift as “ declaring by thefe words,
“ that the laws of God be the very way, that
* Calv. Inft. lib. iii. cap. xviii. §. 9.6o ChriJUan Worlts a necejfary
“ doth lead to everiafting life;” and accordingly
pronounces, “ that this is to be taken for a
“ mod true leffon, taught by Chrift’s own
“ mouth, that the works of the moral com-
“ mandments of God, be the very true works
“ of faith, which lead to the bleffed life to
“ comeb.”
Of thefe two very different iignifications the
former has nothing to recommenjJ it, but the
fuppofition; that the inquirer was defirous of
eftablithing a prefumptuous claim to falvation
upon the fancied merit of his own righteouf-
nefs: a fuppofition, which feems to derive
lefs fupport from the narrative of the facred
hiftorian, than from the hypercritical refine-
ment of the commentator. Of the latter, and,
I think it may be fafely added, the more ob-
vious fignification, the circumftances will war-
rant us in afferting, that it is more agreeable
to the general tenour of our Lord’s inftruc-
tions; to the general franknefs and fimplicity
of his character; to the high efteem, which he
uniformly expreffed and encouraged for the
moral law; and to the cheerfulnefs, and per-
fpicuity, with which he communicated infor-
mation in the great affair of man’s happinefs ;
than an interpretation which changes the
b Homilies; Second Part of the Sermon of Good
Works, p. 41. Oxford edit. ■' ,<j:Condition of Salvation.	6l
whole character of the reply; which tends to
difparage thofe commandments, “ the lejaft of
“ which whofoever (hall break and fhall teach
“ men fo,” is pronounced by Chrift himfelf to
be “ the lead; in the kingdom of heaven c
which is calculated to perplex the mind, and
deaden the exertions, of the devout inquirer
after happinefs; whilft it invefts a clear and
merciful exhortation of Him, who is “ the
“ light and life of the world d,” with the illu-
five and myfterious obfcurity of an oracular
refponfe.
Influenced in our judgment by fuch con-
fiderations, and fan&ioned withal in our in-
terpretation by the authority of our pure and
evangelical Church, we maintain the indifpen-
lable neceflity of obedience to the moral law,
as a condition of eternal falvation : and urging
upon our hearers the obligation of their bap-
tifmal vow, whilft we call upon them on the
one hand to believe all the articles of the
Chriftian faith, we fail not to warn them on
the other, that “ if they will enter into life,
“ they muft keep the commandments.”
That “ the children of this world,” indiffe-
rent to their everlafting welfare, ftiould turn
away from fuch “ preachers of righteoufnefs,”
might excite more concern, than aftonilh-
* Matt. v. 19.
d John i. 4. viii. 12.62 Chrijlian Works a necejfary
ment: but that “ the children of light,” that
Chriftians, who profefs to be, and many of
whom (we doubt not) really are, folicitous for
the falvation of their fouls, fhould “ forfake
“ the aflembling of themfelves together” to
exhortations fuch as thefe; that they fhould
condemn the preacher, as a fetter forth of
ftrange do&rines; and reprobate his interac-
tions, as a departure from the Gofpel of Chrift:
a cafe like this would furely not be expected ;
and; unlefs on indifputable evidence, would
fcarcely be admitted to exift.
To obviate however any charge of mifrepre-
lentation, with refpedt to the conduct of our
accufers ; and at the fame time to prevent my
own fentiments from being mifunderftood; it
appears defirable, that the cafe, which is to be
propofed for our prefent confideration, fhould
be flated with greater precifion.
I fuppofe it, then, to be the practice of the
generality of our national clergy, in difcharge
of their duty as preachers of the Gofpel, to
divide their attention between faith in the
Chriflian dodtrines, and the practice of Chrif-
tian holinefs, or good works : to imprefs them
with equal earneftnefs upon their hearers: to
defcribe them, as jointly and equally necefiary
to the attainment of everlafting life: to repre-
fent them, not as meritorious caufes, (God for-
bid !) but as indifpenfable conditions of happi-Condition of Salvation.	63
nefs : in a' word, to publilh in their difcourfes,
what the Church appoints them to pronounce
in the Liturgy, “ the abfolution and remilfion
“ of fins to all them, that truly repent and un-
“ feignedly believe Chrill’s holy Gofpelfo
that as the venerable Latimer more largely ex-
prefles the pofition of the Church, “ whofoever
“ from the bottom of his heart is forry for his
“ fins, and* lludieth to leave them, and live
“ uprightly, and believeth in our Saviour, con-.
“ felling that he came into this world to make
“ amends for our fins; this man or woman
“ lhall not perilh, but have forgivenefs of fins,
“ and fo obtain everlalling lifee.” OlFence is
taken at our preaching, as an unfcriptural ex-
pofition of the terms of the Chrillian cove-
nant: we are told that our jullification and
falvation are to be wrought by faith alone, in-
dependently of good works; that faith is all
in all; and that, by uniting with faith any
other condition or qualification for happinefs,
we forfeit our title to the appellation of Mini-
flers and Preachers of the Gofpel.
The Calviniftic Founder of Methodifm boldly
demanded, “ Who dares aflert, that we are
“ not jullified merely by an a6t of faith, with-
" out any regard to works, pall, prefent, or to
* Latimer’s Sermons, vol. i. <p. 371.	• ‘ •
*64 Chrijlian Works a necejpxry
“ comef?” He condemns the aflertion, that
good works are a neceflary condition of our
being juftified in the fight of God, as “ a new
“ gofpel,” which “ he is fure is not what the
“ Apoftles preached; and which is as contrary
“ to the doctrine of the Church of England,
“ and the whole tenour of the Gofpel, as light
“ is contrary to darknefs:” and for this caufe
he reprobates " the generality of^he Clergy
„ “ of the Church of England, as preachers of a
“new gofpel, as blind guides;” and laments
over a venerable Prelate of our Church, as no
better than “a Roman Cardinals.” His Ar-
minian antagonift affirmed, that “ the condi-
“ tion of our juftification is faith alone, and
“ not good workshthat “ the moll deftruc-
“ tive of all thofe errors, which Rome, the
“ mother of abominations, hath brought forth,
“ compared to which tranfubftantiation and a
“ hundred more are trifles light as air, is, that
“ we are juftified by works, or (to exprefs the
“ thing a little more decently) by faith and
“ works'.” The charge continues to be main-
tained, not only by their followers, but by
f Whitefield, Third Journal, p. 2. Enthufiafm of Me-
thodifls and Papifts compared, part ii. p. 151.
S Works, vol. iv. p. 15, 16, 28.
h Wefley’s Journal, N°. IV. p. 17*
‘ Ibid. N°< III. p. 89.c condition of Salvation*	f)6
feme Oven df, our own brethren, morfe im4
mediately in the bofom of the Chufeh. One
member of our Ettablithment cenfures thofe,
“ who look to a righteoufnefs of their own,
“ made up of terms, qualifications, conditions,
“ and fuch like trumpery, for acceptance with
“ Godk.” Another condemns, as unfcriptural,
the notions of thofe, who “ dare proudly and
♦‘arrogantly teach, that obedience to Jefus
“is the condition of falvation $” and depre-
cates “ zeal for holinefs,” unlefs accompanied
with his favourite notions of falvation, as “ a
“ dreadful delufion1,” A third vehemently pro4
tefts againft all duties,‘all obligations, as ne-
ceflary to falvation; and pronounces, that
“ the fingle qualification, expected by Chrift,
“ is, that a man believe the Gofpel1”.” And.
it is not without an air.of fupercilioufnefs and
contempt, that the advocate of that ‘party in
the Church, which aflumes to itfelf the exelu-
five denomination of evangelical Minifters, no-
tices “ the do&rine of the moft orthodox of
“ his opponents at their moft orthodox mo-
“ ments; that is, that we are juftified by faith
Pietas Oxonienfis, p: 73.- ad edit, by Sir Richard Hill.
Hr. Nowel’s Anfwer to ditto, p. 124.
1 Maton's Spiritual Treafury, edited and recomriiended
by the Rev. W. Romaine, p. 91. and 29.
m Prop againft all Defpair, p. 15. by Robert Hawker,
D. D.	}m
Chrijlian Wbrks arieceffary
“and"good, works together; or,fays he, “ as
'‘ they bften expreis it, that faith and good
“works are the conditions of sour juflifica*
“ tionn.”	i
Now I can have no fcruple in admitting the
truth of the dodtrine, that “ we are jullified
“ by faith only.” It is the dodtrine of Scrip-
ture* it is the dodtrine of the Reformation':
it is the dodtrine of the Church of England :
I for ohe have fet my hand to it, in what I
believe to be its feriptural fignification; and,
if it be fcripturallymnderllood, I would forfeit
that hand, rather than renounce the dodtrine.
In order then to fet “this important dodtrine
in its proper light, Ifhall endeavour to prove,
i ll, That the falvation and jollification, men-
tioned in the palfa^es alluded :to, are noticed
with’a view to the admiffion of Chriftians
into favour and covenant with ^Godfand not
immediately to their ultimate forgivenefs and
admiffion into everlalling happinefs :—And
2dly, That the faith, by or through which
alone they are faid to be laved and jollified, is
not intended to fignify faith in dppofltion or
contradillindlion to good, that is to fay, to
Chrillian works. The former of thefe propo-
rtions I conceive to be of primary importance
n True Churchmen afoertained, p. 217. by the Rer. J.
Overton.v UondiMm of Salvation*,	67
to the argument, and the latter to bear upon
it with much collateral -force. Having there-
fore endeavoured to clear our way in the firll
place by the ellablilhment of their truth, I
lhalli then feel myfelf at liberty to make'fuch
remarks, as will occur upon a general furvey
of the queftidn. »
As a preliminary Hep however, it may here
incidentally ibe remarked, that I ufe the words
“ jullified” and “ faved” indifcriminately. I
do fo, beeaufe they appear^0 me to be fo ufed
in Scripture; and to be fo adopted by our
Church, as on other occalions, fo more efpe-
qially in the indifcriminate application of the
terms, .** jullification” and “falvation,” as the
title of one of her Homilies. Thus much at
lead: I take to be certain, that perfons are re-
prefented as being both jullified, and faved, on
their admiffion into the Chrillian covenant:
jullified*, or accounted righteous before God
by . virtue of the imputed righteoufnefs of
Chrill; faved, or delivered from the penalty
of fin, by the ranfom of Chrill’s death, origin-
ally paid for mankind in general, and now fpe-
cially applied to themfelves.
In the firll place, then, Chriftians are re-
prefented as jullified, or*Taved; as placed in
a Hate of junification, or falvation; as being
elleemed jull for the merits of Chrill; as be-
ing faYedL.jfFom the guilt, dominion, and pu-68
Chri/lian Works a nebejfaty
nifliment of fin ; and as being reconciled to/
and admitted into favour with, God ; when
they originally become partakers of the Gof-
peL covenant: or as our Church explicitly af-
firms in her Catechifm, that by baptifm they:
are “ called to a ftate of falvationand in
her Homily, that they are juftified when theyj
are baptized®.
I might reft the proof of this pofitiofi on a
general reference to any one of St. Paul’s
epiftles; which I feleft in preference to the
other books of the New Teftament, becaufe,
as it is to his authority that we are referred
for the dodtrine of juftification by faith alone,
his authority is the moft unqueftionable for
deciding, what he meant by juftificatidn. And
I might be fatisfied with a candid anfwer to
the following queftion, Whether Chriftians in
general are not perpetually mentioned by him,
as already juftified or faved.
It may however be more convincing, if I
adduce a few of the numerous paffages, in
which the do&rine is plainly aflerted. •
“ By grace are ye faved through faith P,”
fays the Apoftle to the Gentile converts at
Ephefus: rather, ye have been favedj e<?e a-srua--
fJUVOl.	»:::
“ Being juftified by faith, we have peace
• i .'init ’ ■> ill*
'1 •j ■:	P Eph. ii. 8-
0 Homilies, p. 24. OxF. Edit.n Condition of Salvation'. 6g
with God,” is his language to the converted
Jews ' at Romeq:	«c 7n<rsus, having
^heen jujiified, we have peace. To the fame
Romans he fays, “ We arefaved by hoper;”
rather, wejVere faved, etrud-yipev.
God “ hath faved us, and called us with an
“ holy calling',” he affirms in his epiftle to
Timothy, con nesting their being put into a
Rate of falvayon, with their being called to a
profeffion of the Gofpel.
In his epiftle to Titus, he unites talvation
and juftification, defcribing them* as the fruit
of baptifmal regeneration, and as the intro-
duction to the inheritance of eternal life:
According to his mercy he faved us, by the
“ wathing of regeneration and renewing of the
ff Holy Ghoft, which he fhed on us abunr
“ dantly through Jefus Chrift our Saviour;
y that being juftified by his grace, we thould
y be made heirs according to the hope of eter-
y nal life1.”
A fimilar combination occurs in his firft
epiftle to the Corinthians, to whom he fpeaks
of their juftifi^tion as a pa ft event, coupling
it with baptifmal regeneration and fanCtifica-
tion : ** Such were fome of you ; but ye are
wathed, but ye are fanCtified, but ye are juf-
•i Horn. v. i.
s a Tim. i. 9.
F 3
1 Ibid. viii. 24.
‘ Tit. iii. 5, 6,7.7o	ChHftiaM Works a neCeffary
“ tified in the name of the Lord Jefus, and by*
“ the Spirit of our God".” The allufion is
in a pa ft tenfe, and fhould have been render-
ed accordingly : iiyicur&riTe; e^tKeucoS-^re, ye have
been, or were fan&ified ; ye have been, or were
jtijiified.
To the Corinthians again he fays, that they
are now in a ftate of lalvation, making their
continuance in it conditional, or dependent
upon the conformity of their condiiCt to his
inftruCtions : “ I declare unto you the Gofpel
“ which I preached unto you, which alfo ye
“ have received, and wherein ye ftand: by
which alfo ye are faved, if ye keep in me-
“ mory what I preached unto you, uhlefs ye
“ have believed in vainx.”
To the Romans again he mentions their
juftification, as an event already palled, under
the figure of freedom from fin ; and defcribes
it, as obliging them to holinefs and righteouf-
nefs in this world, and as conducting them to
everlafting life: “ Being made free from fin,
“ ye became the fervants of righteoufnefs y
and a few verfes below, “ Being made free
“ from fin, and become fervants of God, ye
“ have your fruit unto holinefs, and the end
“everlafting life*:” having been made free,
u i Cor. vi. ii.
y Rom. vi. 18.
1 Ibid. xv. i.
* Ibid. v. 22.71
Condition of Salvation.
and, having beenjjiade fervants, e^tuBefuBmei,
and, Jov^aBems ; pointing, as it Ihould feem,
to fome remarkable time, namely, their ad-*
million into the Chriftian Church.!
To the Colofiians he fpeaks of their recon-
ciliation to God, alfo as a paft event, to be fol-
lowed by holinefs of life, and by fteadfaftnefs
in the faith and hope of the Gofpel: “ You
-** that were fometime alienated, and enemies
“ in your mind by wicked works, yet now
“hath Chx'iii reconciled in the body of his
“ fiefh through death, to prefent you holy,
“ and unblatncable, and unreproveable in his
“ light, if ye continue in the; faith grounded
** and fettled, and be not moved away from
“ the hope of the Gofpel
Agreeably to thefe feveral inftances of the
application of fuch phrafes to particular per-
fons and focieties, he defcribes the whole body
of Chriftian a by the appellation of “ the faved,,?
owfyftem, in oppolition to unbelievers : “ the
*■* preaching of the crofs is to them that perilh,
“ fpolilhnefs,; but unto us which are faved,”
rvs.h- raQ/tevoif n/uiv, “ it is the. power of Godb.”
And St. Luke alfo, in the Ads of the Apoftles,
employs the lame term to denote believers in
general, when he fays, that “ the Lord added
b i Cor. i. 18.
F 4
a Col. i. 21, 23, 23.n
Chrijlian Works a necejfary
“ unto the Church daily*3,” Dot fuch as fhould
be faved, as our verfion renders the paflage, ac-
cording neither to the letter, nor to the fpirit;
of the original; but thus a-co^evov?, theJ'aved,
or, as Parkhurft t,ranflates it, thofe that were
fated.	•
From thefe paffages, which I have felected,
becaufe they exhibit the doCtrine to be efta-
blifhed in feveral points of view, and in con-
nection with various parts of the Gofpel dif-
penfation, I apprehend it to be made fuffi-
ciently clear, that the juftification or falvatibnj;
mentioned in many paffages of Scripture^
which ftate us to bejuftified or faved by faith
alone, has refpeCt to the admiflion of Chrif-
tians into favour and covenant with God :—-
(“ This,” as our Reformers fay, “ is the very
plain ordinary way, by the which God hath
“ determined, that man being of age and com-
ing to chriftendom, fhould be juftified. For,
“ as for infants, it is to be believed that their
“ juftification is wrought by the fecret opera-
“ tion of the Holy Ghoft in their baptifm,
“ they being offered in the faith of the Churoh.
“ And this juftification may be called the firft
juftification, that is to fay, our firft coming
** into God’s houfe, which is the Church of
" Chrift, at which coming we be received and
c Afts ii. 47.• Condition of Salvation*	73
xe admitted to be of the flock and family of
“ our Saviour Chriftd:”)r—and that it has not
view to their ultimate forgivenefs and ad2
miflion to everlafting happinefs, qgmept in as
far as they comply with the conditions, which
at that time they engage to perform. '#■ "
“ We may obferve,” (I employ the words of
that profound theologian Dr. Barrow,) “ that
“ in the Scripture ftyle thofe perfons are faid
" to be faved, who are only in a way towards
“ falvation, although they do not arrive thi—
•“ ther; and the means conducing to falvation
“ are faid to lave, although their effedt may
“ be defeated ; a-a^opem and o-eo-ucrftevoi are
“ terms applied to all Chriftians; and Chrift is
“ 0 <ru<rctf, he that hath laved them, although
V fome of them sm*i tm^tva-av, have believed in
■“ vain or to no effedl, forfaking and renounc-
ing their faith ; and baptifm ' faves them
fC who partake it, although being walhed, they
tc return to their wallowing in the mire Y?
Again ; “ It was the Apoftles’ method,” he
remarks, “ to declare and inculcate the main
“ points of the Chriftian hiftory and dodtrine,
“ attefting to the one and proving the other
** by teftimonies and arguments proper to that
“ purpofe: and whoever of their hearers de-
d Neceflary Doctrine and Erudition for any Chriftian
Man, 1543. Article.of Juftification.
e If. Barrow’s Works, vol. iii, p. 324.	*74 Chrijlian Works a neceflary
“ dared himfelf perfuaded of the truth of
“ what they taught, that he. did heartily affent
" thereto, and refolved to profels and pradife
u. accordingly, him, without more to do, they
prefently baptized, and inflated him in the
“ privileges appertaining to Chriftianity; or,
“ in St. Paul’s language, did juftify him, ac-
“ cording to their fubordinate manner, as the
“ miniflers of Godf.” And the fame very
learned writer elfewhere remarks, what might
lerve to cut fliort a great deal of unneceffary
controverfy on this, point, that “ the juftifica-
“ tion, which St. Paul difcourfeth of, feemeth
“ in his meaning, only or efpecially to be that
“ ad of grace, which is difpenfed to perfons
at their baptifm, or their entrance into the
“ Church ; when they openly profeffing their
“ faith, and undertaking the pradice of Chrif-
“ tian duty, God moft falemnly and formally
*e doth abfolve them from all guilt, and ac-
“ cepteth them into a flate of favour with
“ himg.”	; •
The inference to be deduced from this doc?
trine, in connedion with our prefent fubjed,
is obvious. Whatever St. Paul may mean,
when he affirms, that we are juftified or faved
by faith ; and however exclulive juftifying or
faving faith may be admitted to be, or how-
f If. Barrow’s Works, vol. ii. p. 45.
e Ibid. vol. ii. p. 64.Condition of'Salvation*	75
ever completely (to ufe the language of the
Homily) faith ftiutteth good works out from
the office of juftifving that exclufion will
not djaply to the conditions, the obfervance or
difregard of which affeCts our attainment of
everlafting life.
I now proceed to my other propofition,
that the faith, by or through which we are
faid to be faved or juftified, is not intended to
fignify faith, in oppofition or contradiftinCtion
to good, that is to lay, to Chriftian, works.
Now if the former cafe be eftablifhed, the
latter appears to follow of courfe. Good
works, by which I mean Chriftian works, and
by whicrh none but Chriftian works can be
meant in a difcuflion of the prefent fubjeCt,
(for “ good works,” as the Homily affirms,
“ cannot be done without a lively faith in
<c Chrift\”) fuch as obedience, godlinefs, hbli-
nefs, charity, or by whatever term or terms it
may be thought proper to fignify the fruits of
a Chriftian faith, could not have been per-
formed by men, before they became Chrif-
fians; arid of courfe could hardly have been
intended by the Apoftle in his contemplation
bf a blefting, which was annexed to their ad-
miffion into the Chriftian Church.
But as a clear view of this propofition is at
h Page 2$. Oxf. edit;6 CJariJliari Works a necejjary
leaft of much fecondary importance; and as
the illuftration of it may ferve to throw Jight
at the fame time upon the former cafe, relat-
ing to the time of our juftification in the*Apo->
file’s fenfe ; I propofe to confider more fully
the three feveral cafes, in which he a Herts;
that we are juftified, or faved, by faith, with-
out works or without the deeds of the law.
I. To meet the arguments of a heathen,
who, reafoning “ after the tradition of men,
“ after the rudiments of the world*’,” might
contend againft the Gofpel on the plea of its
being unneceflary ; and urge the light of na-
ture, as a fufficient guide for their conduct,
and the goodnefs of their lives, as a fufficient
ground of expe&ing the divine favour ; we
may conceive the Apoftle warning his Gentile
converts in the following manner, to “ beware
“ left any man fpoil them through philofophy
“ and vain deceit.”
It is true, that although God was not pleaf-
ed to favour you, and the reft of the heathen
world, with an efpecial revelation of his per-
fections ; “ he neverthelefs left not himfelf
“ without witnefs among you, in that he did
“ good, and gave you rain from heaven and
“ fruitful feafons, filling your hearts with joy
u and gladnefs “.” And although he was not
1 Col, ii. 8.
k A&s xiv. 17.Uondition of Salvation.	1ft-
pleafed to favour you with an efpecial revela-
tion of his will; he neverthelefs “ made you
“ a law unto yourfelves, by giving you a con-
“ fbience, which bore witnefs in your hearts,
* and thoughts which accufed or elfe excufed
“ one another1.” But then, as to the know-
ledge which you had of the Deity, when you
“ knew God, you glorified him not as God,
“ but changed the glory of the uncorruptible
“ God into an image made like to corruptible
“ man, and to birds, and four-footed beafts,’
“and creeping things’".” And as to the dif-
charge of your moral duty, and the warnings
of your confidence, you provoked God by
your wickednefis to withdraw his afiiftance'
from you ; fo that you have been “ given over
“ to vile affe&ions, and to a reprobate,” or
undificerning, “ mind, to do thofie things which
“ are not convenient",” and to “ work all un-
“ cleannefs with greed in efs °.”	“ You walked
“ in the lulls of the flelh; yoU fulfilled the
“ defires of the flelh and of the mind; you
“ were by nature the children of wrath, and
“ were dead in trefp'afleS and finsp.”
What was to become of creatures in fuch
a finful and abandoned Hate ? The anger of
God, “‘whom you did not like to retain in
1 Rom. ii. 14,15. m Rom. i. ai, 23.
® Eph. iv. 19. p Eph. ii. 1, 3.
n Ibid. 26, 28.7-8 Chriflim Works a necqffhry
“your knowledgeV’ was fallen mpani your
the arm of God, “ who will render to; every
“ man according to his deedsr,” was raifed
to punjfti you: “ indignation and wrath, tri-
“ bulation and anguifti,” iwhich are allotted;.to
“ every foul of man that doeth evils,” mult
have been alfo your Jot. “ Aliens from the
“commonwealth of Ifrael, and flramgers to
“ the covenants of promife,” you were “ with*
“ out hope,” as you were “ without God in
“the worldh”	<>•)!- r.»	■
v Whatcwas to becoftie of creatures in fo def-
perate a ftate ? One remedy alone remained.
VKNow iri Chriit Jefus, ye, row ho Jbmetirhe
“ were far off, are made nigh by the blood of
“ Chriftu.” “ You, who were dead in tref-
“ ,.padbs and fins, hath, he quickened x.” Gem*
verts to that ‘‘ Gofpel, which is t;he power of
“ God.unto falvation to every one that j be-;
“ lievethy,” “ by grace ye have been saved
“ through faith; and that not of yourfelves, it
“ is the gift of God; not of works, lejl-any
“ man fhould boajlz.”
Such I apprehend to be the line of argu-
ment,, purfued more or lefs directly by the
Apoftle, when he notices the condition of the
Gentile world. And the purport; of the whole
<) Rom. i. 28.	r Ibid. ii. 6.	5	Ibid.	8, 9.
* Eph. ii. ia.	u Ibid. 13.	x	Ibid.	i. 5.
y Rom. i. 16.	2	Eph.	ii. 8, 9. ere' x^onmtion oj Salvation.	?§
a|>pears to be, that he might convince his
Gentile converts of their finful, abandoned,
and defperate fituation, before their converfion
to Chriftianity; of the neceflity, under which
they lay, if they deiired the divine favour, of
becoming difciples of Qhrift and embracing
the Goipel; of their great and unmerited hap-
pinefs in being brought into a ftate of falva-
tion by faithfully embracing it ; and of the
little reafon they had to confider their call and
their fubfequent juftification, as in any degree
the reward of any previous merits of their
own, inftead of a free and gratuitous a6t of
mercy on the part of God. For, let it be ob-
fefved, that in the paflage ,to which I have laft
alluded, no oppofition whatever appears to
have been intended between the “ faith” and
“ works” of the Ephefians ; no preference of
One over the other; in a word, no compan-
ion of one with the other. The intended op-
poiition is between the free “ grace ’ of God,
which called them to a profeilion of the Gof-
pel, and their own “ works” previouily to that
vocation, of which they might be diipofed to
boaft, as the meritorious caufe of their being
called : as in the article, wherein our Church
briefly comprifes the fubftance of St. Paul’s
dodtrine on this head, it is aflerted, that “ we
“ are accounted righteous before God, only
“ for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jefus80
Chrijlian Works a necejjhry
'* Chrifthy faith, and not for our own works
“ and dejervlngsz and as in the mod ce-
lebrated confeffions of the reformed Churches,
it is diftintftly and cautioufly noted, that by
*? being juftified by faith alone is intended the
“ being juftified by grace alone, and not by the
“ merit of our works3-.” And the “ faith,”
through which the Ephefians are faid to “ be
“ faved,” or rather to “ have been fared,” to
have been admitted to the privileges of the
Gofpel covenant, is fo far from being a faith
diftinguiftied from Chriftian works, that it is
in fail not diftinguiftied from any works what-?
foever.
2. Suppofe again, that a Jew were objetft-
2	Art. xi.	•	'	■■ ■
3	Quod authenticas ecclefiariitn reformat! nomifns con-
fefliones attinet, certum eft eas omnes, vel faltem earurn
primas ac nobilifiirhas, a noftris partibus veluti ex profeflb
ftare. ' £>uippe etiamfi illae quoque doceant, tEx fide fola
fine operibus hominem juftifiiari; effatum tamen illud eo
fenfu explicant, quem nos pronis ultlis amplexamtir. SciL
difertis verbis monent Confeffionum Authores, fen ten -
tiam iftam figurate accipiendam efle, ita ut in Fidei no-
mine Gratia, quae ei ex adverfo refpondet, intelligatuf;
atque idem fit fola Fide juftificari, quod fola Gratia, non.
ex operum Merita, juftificari: ac proprie loquCndo, fidem
casterafque virtutes bonaque'opera ad juftificationem aeque
valere, atque efie necefiaria: nec quicquam magis fidei in
ifto negotio tribuendum, quam oaeteris virtutibus; adeoque
fe, quatenus a juftificatione bona opera excludunt, eate-
nus et fidem ipfam rejicere. Bnlli Harm. Apojl. DiflT. I,
cap. vi. fe&. i.Condition of Salvation* 'V3	81
ing to the neceffity of Chriflianity, his objec-
tion would take a different turn. He would
object, that God had fpecially revealed his will
to the Jews already; that he had given them
a law for the .regulation 6f their coridud;
and that lie had made them partakers of his
covenant.
The argument of the Apofile would confe-
quently take a different direction in reply;
but it would lead to the fame conclufion as
that, which we have been juft following.
We may accordingly imagine him allowing
the fuperior privileges of the Jews, in that
“to them were committed the oracles of
“ Godb;” and “ to them pertained the adop-
“ tion, and the glory, and the covenants, and
“ the giving of the law, and the fervice of
“ God, and the promifes; whofe wiere the fa-
“ thers, and of whom, as concerning the flefli,
“ Chrift came, who is over all, God bleffed for
“ even Amenc.”
Thefe things, I fay, he would allow. But*
ftill he would contend, that the law, to which
they laid claim, was not fuflicient; that it re-1
quired of them a perfed- ..obedience; that it
pronounced a “ curfe upon every one, who
^continued not in all things,” whether of a
ceremonial or moral nature, “ which are writ-
i
b Rom. iii. 3.	c Rom ix. 4, 5.
GA3 Chriftian Works a ttecejfcurif
“ ten in the book of the law, to do them*1
that it provided no fufficient atonement for
lin, no means of reconciling the tinner to
God ; that as “ all had tinned, and come fhorfc
“ of the glory of God,” fo “ no man could be
" juftified by the law in the tight of Gode:”
that, in confequence, the Jew, no lets than
the Gentile, flood in need of a Redeemer;
and that fuch redemption was offered to them
by the grace of God in Chriift Jefus, “ whom
“ God had tet forth to be a propitiation
" through faith in his blood, to declare his
“ righteoufnefs for the remidion of tins that
“ are pad, through the forbearance of God;
“ to declare” (repeats the Apollle) “ his righ-
“ teoufnefs, that he might be juft, and ther
“ juftifier of him which believeth in Jefusf.”
Such is the regular courfe of the Apoftle’s
argument with refpedt to the Jews ; and fo
we are prepared for his general eoncludon,
that “ a man is juftified by faith without the
u deeds of the laws.”
But are we hence to infer, that St. Paul in-
tended by this decifion to give a preference to
Chriftian faith above Chriftian holinefs ? Un-
doubtedly not. His language is ftridlly of the
fame import as that, which he employed in a
d Gal. iii. io.
f Ibid, 24, 25, 26.
e Rom. iii. 23.
s Ibid. 28.Condition of Salvation.	83
fpeech to the Jews of Antioch; where, hav-
ing declared that “ through Jefus was preach-
“ ed unto them the forgivenefs of fins,” he
adds, “ And by him alt that believe are jufti-
“ fied from all things, from which ye could
*' not be juftified by the law of Mofes h.” And
the whole fcope of his argument requires us
to underftand the manifeft, decided, and im-
portant fuperiority, which he afcribes to the
Chriftian over the Mofaic difpenfation; to
the atonement made by Chrifi; over the
deeds of the law, both ceremonial and moral,
which could not be perfedtly performed, and
by the non-performance of which the benefits
of the covenant were forfeited. But it is
llrangely to mifconceive the Apofile’s reafon-
ing, and to mifreprefent his confclufion ; if we
contend, that he defigned to eftablifll any
comparifon, diftin&ion, or oppofition between
faith and works, as parts of the fame dilpen-
fation.
3. Again 5 we find a fimilar conclufion, im-
plying the fame fort of diftinction, upon a
queftion fomewhat diflimilar.
When the Jews, who had been converted
to the Chriftian faith, “ zealous of the law1,”
to which by education and national prejudices
they were clofely attached, infilled on the ne-
h Adis xiii. 38, 39.	‘ Ibid. xxi. ao.
G 284 Chriflian Works a necejfary
ceffity of maintaining circumeifion and the
other ordinances of the Jewifh ritual; St,
Paul, in concert with the apoftolical college?
was earned; in exhorting them, to “ ftand faft
“ in the liberty wherewith Chrift had made
*' them free, and not to be entangled again in
“ the yoke of bondagek.” And he difcufles
the queftion at large, efpeeially in his epiftle
to the Galatians, fupporting his judgment by
a variety of arguments, all of which hinge
upon this tingle point. “ We, who are Jews
“ by nature, and not tinners of the Gentiles,
“ knowing that a man is not juftified by the
“ works of the law, but by the faith of Jefus
“ Chrift, even we have believed in Jefus Chrift:,
“ that we might be juftified by the faith of
“ Chrift, and not by the works of the law:
“ for by the works of the law thall no fleth be
“juftified1.”'
What now does he mean in this paflage,
conlidered fairly in connection with the quef-
tion before him, by “ the works of the law ?”
Has it the moft diftant relation to the works
of a Chriftian life l—And what does he mean
by “ the faith of Jefus Chrift ?” Is there any
confideration, which will confine it to faith in
Chrift, as contradiftinguifhed from obedience ?
—-Evidently by “ the works of the ,law” hft
k Gal. y. t.
1 Gal, u. 15,16.85
Condition of Salvation.
underftands thofe ceremonial obfervances, thofe
** weak and beggarly elements, whereunto the
Jewilh converts defired again to be in bond-
“agem;” and by “ the faith of Chrift,” that
active, enlarged, and comprehenfive principle,
which he defcribes in the courfe of his argu-
ment ; when he fays, that “ in Jefus Chrift
neither circumcillon availeth any thing, nor
u uncircumcifion, but faith which worketh by
fi love n;” and which he elfewhere denominates
by different equivalent terms in two parallel
paflages; where he informs the fame Gala-
tians, that “in Chrift Jefus neither circum-
** cifion availeth any thing, nor uncircumci-
“ ffon, but a new creature0” and the Corin-
thians, that “ circumcifion is nothing, and un-
" circumcifion is nothing, but the keeping of
THE COMMANDMENTS OF Goh V’
Thefe remarks upon the feveral cafes,
wherein St. Paul fpeaks of our juftification by
faith, will probably throw light upon the
former pofition, that we are juftified on our
admiflion into covenant with God. .And al-
though, as was before obferved, the eftablifli-
ment of that pofition might be fufficient for
our purpofe; and although thefe remarks do
hot bear fo diredtly upon the fubject of our
immediate inquiry; I am willing to perfuade
n Ibid. v. 6.
P i Cor. vii. 19.
G 3
m Gal. iv. 19.
♦* Ibid, vi, 15.86 Chri/lian Works a, necejjkry
myfelf, that they will not have appeared irre-
levant: but that they may be cqnfidered to
fupply an important collateral evidence in
fupport of the truth; by fhowing, that the
fancied diftindtion, which this great Apoftle is
fo often reprefented to make between Chrif-
tian faith, and Chriftian works, to the great
difparagement of the latter, does in reality not
exift in his writings; but is founded on a mif-
conception of his argument, and a confequent
mifreprefentation of his dodtrines. Such a
mifreprefentatian was probably of very early
date, and ;gave occafion to “ the falle and pef-
“ tilent conceits of fome perfons, who, mif-
“ taking St. Paul’s expreftions and doctrine,
“ perverted them to the maintenance of Soli-
“ fidian, Eunomian, and Antinomian princi-
“ pies, greatly prejudicial to good practiceq.”
And it appears to have been a fenfe of its fal-
lacy and danger, which, in, the judgment of
Auftin and of many of the ancients, prompted
the reft of the Apoftles to be more aftiduous
and earneft in the recommendation of Chrif-
tian holinefsr; and more eipecially induced
s Barrow’s Works, vol. ii. p. 57.
. r Illud etiam notatu haud indignum eft, quod veterum
multi (eofque inter Auguftinus) cenfent, epiftolam Jaco-
bi, et Johannis primam, et Judae, et earn quae Petri tecun-
da dicitur, fcriptas adverfus eos, qui Paulinas Epiftolas
prave interpretantes, fidem dicebant fine bonis operibusCondition of Salvation.	87
St. James to infill fo llrongly on the necefiity
of a lively operative faith; to contend that
“ by ivories a man is juftified, and not by faith
“ only8;” to reprefent “ faith as made per-
“ feCt by works*;” and to aflert, and to reite-
rate his aflertion, not without an appearance
of contempt for the “ vanity” of the opinions
he was correcting, “ that faith, if it hath not
“ works, is dead, being alone u.”	,
Having thus endeavoured to clear our way
by removing, what appear to me, certain er-
roneous and unfcriptural notions, by which it
was obftr^Cled, I am at liberty to take a more
general furvey of the fubjeCt; and to prove
from an enlarged view of the facred writings,
that good works are a condition, indifpenfably
neceflary for thofe, who would derive any ul-
timate benefit from their participation in the
Gofpel covenant, and be finally juftified in the
fight of God. I fay “ finally juftified;” for,
inafmuch as the juftification noticed by St.
Paul, which we have confidered to be (as the
learned Barrow reprefents the Apoftle’s doc-
trine) “ the immediate confequent or fpecial
“ adjunct of baptifmx,” avowedly takes effect
ad falutem fufficere. See Bifhop Bull’s Harmonia Apoft.
DilT. II. cap. iv. fed. 3. and Bifhop Horne’s Sixteen Ser-
JttOns, p. 65.
s Jam. ii. 34.	* Ibid. 22.
“ Ibid. 17, 30, a6.	x Works, vol. ii/p. 59.,88	Chrljlian Works a necejfary
in this world: and as our Saviour no lefs m-
'	. 'V	....
difputafrly fpeaks of our j unification “ in the
*' day of judgment5',” we. hold ourfelves war-
ranted in diftinguifhi-ng, with Cranmer and his
brethren in the Reformation2, between our
firfl: and our final j unification ; and in main-
taining with the Homily, after Chryfoftom,
that jufiificatjon or falvation once had, may be
“ lofi again anotwithftanding the fupercili-
ous rejection of the dodlrine by our opponents
as„.“ a Popilh and a Socinian notion,” “ of the
“ very effence of Popery,” “ the, offspring of
“ pride oppofing the word of tru|th\” For
we are not to be deterred from our adherence
to what we efieem the truth of Scripture, by
the. firatagem, rather ingenious than credit-
able, of an invidious appellation 5 conceiving
it tq have been pioufly and wifely anfwered
by a Sovereign of out; own, “ To fay that an
“ argument is naught, becaufe the Papiffs
make ufe of it, or that a thing is good, be-
“ caufe it is pradtifed by fome of the reformed
“ churches, does not carry any conviction at
- y Matt. xii. 37.
z See the Necefiary Doctrine, See. as above.
* See Homily on Good Works, parti, p. 40. Oxford
edit. ...
b Overton, p. 179, 309. Sir Richard Hill’s Reforma-
tion Truth reflated, Pref. p. xiii. Venn’s Duty of Man,
Preface.Condition of Salvation.	80
'fall with it in my mind; nor will it ever,
r*c until you can demonftrate, either that the
/* latter are infallible, or that the former main-
tain no truths at allc.” The fa<ft appears to
be correctly ftated by the remark of a zealous
oppofer of Antinomianifm ; and the remark
deferves the ferious attention of thofe, who
think to difparage our caufe by fuch invidious
and “ railing accufations that “ in our well-
“ meant zeal a gain ft Popery we have been
“ driven to an extreme, and have not done
“ good works jufticeV’
With thefe notions of juftification, which I
trull J neither value myfelf, nor with to be
adopted by others, farther than as they corre-
spond with the representations of Scripture, I
cannot enter into the objection of a very re-
fpetftable and temperate advocate, in the pre-
sent day, of juftification by faith alone ; who,
allowing the expreflion of conditions of Salva-
tion, “ when ufed in reference to the final re-
“ Suit of religion,” fteadily excepts againft the
notion of “ conditions of juftification V’ As
the Subject prefents itfelf to my mind, Survey-
ed through the medium of holy writ, there Is
a falvation, as well as a juftification, which we
c Charles the Firft. See Brandt’s Hiftory of the Re-
formation in the Low Countries, Dedication, p. n.
d Fletcher’s Firft Check to Antinomianifm, p. 72.
f See Zeal without Innovation, p. 84.QQ
ChrifUan Works a necgffary
regard as “ a perfectly gratuitous act of God,”
conferred on us by faith alone; faith, not dif-
tinguilhed from good works, but in the fenfe,
wherein it has now been explained: there is
alfo a juftification, as well as a falvation, no
lefs referred “ to the final refult of religion,”
and no lefs depending on certain conditions.
In other words I would be underftood to lay,
that we Ihall not be juffified in the fight of
God at the lafi: day, without the concurrence
of Chriftian works, co-operating with Chrif-
tian faith.
It would however be a wafte of your time,
and an infult upon your patience, were I to
fet myfelf formally and fully to demonftrate,
What is delivered with fuch plainnefs, and at
the fame time with fuch variety of exprefiions
throughout the New Teftament, that as “ with-
*' out faith 'it is impojfiblc to pleafe Godfo
alfo “ without holinejs no man Jhall fee the
“ Lords:”—that if, in the language of King
Edward’s Catechifm, " faith, or rather truft
“ alone, doth lay hand upon, underftand, and
i‘ perceive our righteous making to be given
fe us of God freely, that is to fay, by no de-
“ ferts of our own, but by the free grace of
“ the Almighty Father11;” in the language of
f Heb. xi. 6.	5 Ibid. xii. 14*.
h Enchiridion Theologicum, vol. i. p. 43.Condition, of Salvation.	91
the fame, it is “ godlinefs, which plainly open-
“ eth the way to heaven, if we will feek to
attain thereunto1:”—that if, as the Homily
afferts, “ the only mean and inftrument re-r
“ quired of our parts is faith, that is to fay, a
,e fure truft and confidence in the mercies of
*e Godk,” fo alfo “ it is to be taken for a moft
“ true lefl'on, taught by Chrift’s own mouth,
<e that the works of the moral commandments
“ of God be the very true works of faith,
<f which lead to the blefled life to come1;”
and “ being wrought in faith, are ordained by
“ God, to be the right trade and pathway
unto .heaven m:”—that, in one word, as Ed-
ward’s Catechifm again, exp relfes it, “ the fum
“ of Chrijtian religion Jlandeih in two points;
“ in true faith in God, and aflured perfuafion
“ conceived of all thofe things, which are
‘‘ contained in the holy Scriptures; and in
“ charity, which belongeth both to God and
“ to our neighbour n.”
When therefore we hear the Methodifi: con-
fidently maintaining, that “ there is no happi*
f* nefs till we can feel an union of the foul
“ with God, and that that and that only is
“ true and undefiled religion0;” we feel little
* Enchiridion Theologicum, vol. i. p. 66.
k Homilies, Oxf. edit. p. 363.	1 Ibid. p. 4.1.
m Ibid. p. 49.	" Enchir. Theol.i.9.
0 Whitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 339.Q2	CJiriJlian Works a necejfary
difpofed to accede to his pofition, and rather
incline to embrace the more evangelical doc'*
trine of a learned writer of earlier times. “ I
te muft confefs,” faid the ever-memorable
Hales, “ that I have not yet made that pro-
“ ficiency jn the Schools of our age, as that I
“ coukj fee, why the lecond table and the ads
of it are not as properly the parts of religion
“ and Christianity, as the ads and obfervations
ff of the firft. If I mistake, then it is St.
“ James that hath abufed me 5 for he, delcrib-
■c ing religion by its proper ads, tells us, that
*f true religion and undefiled before God and
“ the Father is this, to vifit the fatherlefs and
*e the widow in their afflidion, and to keep
“ himfelf unfpotted of the world. So that the
thing, which, in an efpecial refine dialed of
“ the new Ghriftian language, fignifies nothing
but morality and civility, that, in the lan-
f£ guage of the Holy Ghoft, imports true re-
t£ ligion
Let it nipt be underftood for a moment, that
in aflerting the neceffity of good works, in
conjuridion and equally with faith, to our
final acceptance with the Almighty, I attri-
bute to fitch works the llighteft Shadow of
merit. God forbid, that I Should prefume to
derogate from the value of the Redeemer’s fa-t
'4 '	■ -
P Hales’s Golden Remains, p. 49* * '**'Condition of Salvation. 1 * Q3
erifice ; to “ rob Chrift of his majeftyq;” or
admit any offering from his “ unprofitable fer-
" vantsr” to participate with him, in making
atonement and fatisfadlion for our fins ! In
this fenfe, indeed, it is always and univerfally
true, that “ we be juftified by faith in Chrift
" only3;” or, as our Church goes on to ex-
pound the dodtrine according to the mean-’
ing of the old ancient authors, “ we put our
“ faith in Chrift, that we be juftified by him
“ only; that we be juftified by God’s free
“ mercy, and the merits of our Saviour Chrift
** only, and by no virtue or good works of
“ our own that is in us, or that we can be
“ able to have, or to do, for to deferve the
“ fame; Chrift himfelf only being the caufe
“meritorious thereof.” “ We therefore plead
“ the meritorious righteoufnels of Chrift,” (as
the pious Burkitt fays,) “ to anfwer the de-
“ mands of the law; but contend for a per-
“ fonal rigbteoufnefs of our own, to anfwer
“ the commands of the Golpel Whilft
with the judicious Hooker “ we acknowledge
“ a dutiful neceflity of doing wellWith him
alfo “ the meritorious dignity of doing well
1 Latimer’s Sermons, vol. i. p. 435.
1 Luke xvii. 10.
* Third Part of the Sermon of Salvation, p. 23.
1 Commentary on Roja. x. 3.04 Chilian Works a necejjary
“ we utterly renounceu.” Whilft with the
venerable Latimer we believe, that “ as touch-
ing our good works which we do, God will
“ reward them in heaven x with him alfb
we acknowledge, that “ they cannot metit
heaven,” but that “ it muft be merited not
“ by our own works, but only by the merits
“ of our Saviour Chrifty.” And we efteem it
no lefs truly, than ftrongly, laid by the ever*-
memorable Hales, “ Ten thoufand worlds'/
“ were we able to give them all, could not
“ make faitisfadtion for any part of the fmall-
i( eft offence we have committed againft Godz.”
Nay in even ftronger language, if ftronger lan-
guage can be devifed, we would avow, that
neither faith, nor holinefs, nor any, nor every’
thing, which wre can do, has the fainted; claim
to be regarded, as the meritorious caufe of our
falvatioh. “ All the martyrs that ever were/’
I delight in adopting the fentiments and lan-
guage of one of our great Reformers, all the
“ facrifices of patriarchs that ever were, all
“ the good works that ever were done, were
e< not able to remedy our fins, to make fatif-
“ faction for our fins ; nor any thing befides,
“ but this extreme paffion and blood-thedding
u On Juftification, feft. 8.	* Sermons, vol. i. p.435.
y Ibid.vol. ii. p. 513.	z Golden Remains, p. 121.Condition of Salvation. ■ g5
" of our moft merciful Savour Chrift a.” But
as the conditions of falvation ; as the concur-
rent caufes, (if the word be not improperly-
employed,) without which the effect will not
take place; as circumftanees, equally and alike
requifite to our profiting ultimately by Chrift’s
facrifice ; it were to clofe my eyes againft the
full blaze of revelation, to deny the abfolute
neceflity of either faith or good works. On
every page of that holy book it is infcribed in
charatfters of light, that, as " the greateft faint
" in heaven would never have been admitted
" there, had not his fins been waflhed in the
" blood of Chriftbfo heaven will never be
opened to any finner, whofe faith in Chrift is
not " made perfect” by repentance and holi-
nefs of living.
I reft not upon the declarations of the Old
Teftament, that I may not be taunted with
the charge of legality ; and yet it were an ar-
duous talk to fhow, wherein, as to moral ob-
ligation, the law differs from the Gofpel; and
what authority is lent by the Chriftian code,
for breaking one of the leaft moral command-
ments of Mofes, and of the Prophets. But
omitting fuch references at prefent, I do not
fear to contend, that " do this and live” is no
» Latimer’s Sermons, vol. i. p. 322.
b Examination of Tilenus, p. 270.§6 fhnjlian Works a necejf&ry
lefs the prbfeflion of the Gofpel than of thtf
lawc: it is the voice of the fame holy Spirit;
always at harmony, with himfelf: it is the
teftimony not of the Prophets only, but of the
Apoftles, and of their matter Chrift'1.
For what faith St. Peter ? “ The Father/
** without refpedt of perfons, judgeth accord-
“ ing to every mans workeand, “ God is
“ no reipe&er of perfons ; but in every na-
“ tion, he that feareth him, and worketh righ
** teoufnefs, is accepted with him f” What
laith St. John ? “ The books were opened, and
“ the dead were judged out of the things writ-
“ ten in the books, according to their works*1.”
What faith St. Jude? “ Behold, the Lord com-
“ eth with ten thoufand of his faints, to exe-
“ cute judgment upon all, and to convince all:
" that are ungodly among them, of all their
“ ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly
“ committed h.” What faith St. James ? “ Be
“ ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,
u deceiving your own felves'.” “ You fee
c See Whitefield’s Works, voh iv, p. 38. and vol. i.
P-75-	‘	.	• .
d Quod loquitur (D. Jacobus fell.) vox eft Spiritu*
Sanfiti, ttbique idem perfonantis. Ident teftantur Pro-’
phetse, idem Apoftoli, idem, Chriftus ipfe. Bitlli Harms,
Apoji. lib. i. cap. ii. fed- 2.
* 1 Pet. i. 17.	f A&$ x. 34, 35.
6 Rev. xx. 12.	h Ver. 14.
*	James i. a2.Condition of Salvation.	Q f
“ then that a man is juftified by works, arid
“ not by faith onlyk.” What faith St. Paul,
the great champion, as he is fondly reprefent-
ed, of juftification by faith alone? “ We muft
“ all appear before the judgment feat of Chrift,
“ that every one may receive the things done
“ in his body, according to that he hath done,
“ whether it be good or bad1.” And again*
“ Thinkeft thou this, O man* that judged: them
“ which do fuch things, and doejl the fame,
“ that'thou fhalt efcape the judgment of God?
“ Or defpifeli thou the riches of his goodnefs,
“and forbearance, and long fuffering; not
“ knowing, that the goodnefs of God leadeth
“ thee to repentance ? But after thy hardnefs
“ and impenitent heart, treafureft up unto
“ thyfelf wrath againft the day of wrath and
“ revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
“ who will render to every man according to
“ his deeds; to them, who by patient conti-
“ nuance in well-doing feek for glory and ho-
“ nour and immortality, eternal life; but unto
“ them that are contentious, and do not obey
“ the truth, but obey unrighteoufnefs, indig-
“ nation and wrath, tribulation and anguifh,
“ upon every foul of man that doeth evil, of
“ the Jew firft, and alfo of the Gentile; but
“ glory, honour, and peace, to every man that
k Jam. ii. 24.
H
1 2 Cor. v. ioȤ8	Chrijlian, Works a neceffary
“ tvorketh good, to the Jew fir ft, and alfo to
“ the Gentile ; for there is no refpedi of per-
“ fons with God1".” For as he prefently ar-
gues in words, applicable not only, as Calvin
contemptuoufiy contends", to the Jews, but
generally, as the context indifputably proves^
to “ every foul of man” that defires to be juf-
tified, “ Not the hearers of the law fhall be
s.
“juft before God, but the doers of the law
“ Jhall be jujlified°.” Words, which afford
no weak foundation for the opinion, cited with
approbation by Bifhop Bull, in “ that palmary
“ work,” as the late Bifhop Horne denominated
it, in a difcourfe from this place’’, “That Paul
“ defired fo earneftly to recommend good
•f works, as neceffary to juftification and eter-’
“ nal life, in order to put the reader on his
“ guard ; left, by mifunderftanding his fubfe-
“ quent dodtrine, wherein he teaches juftifica-
“ tion by faith without works, he fhould find
“a ftumbling-bloqk, or fall into errorq,” Nay,
t .
, m Ram. ii. 3—xi,
n Oui hoc loco abutuntur ad erigendam operum juftifi-
cationem, etiam puerorum cachinnis flint digniffimi. Pro-
inde ineptura eft et extra locum, hue longas de juftifica-
tione quseftiones ingerere, ad folvendum tam futile cavil-
lum. Tantum enim urget apud Judasos Apoftolus illud,
de quo meminerat, legis judicium &c. Calv, in loc.
" ° Rbfti. ii. 13.	' -
P Home’s Sixteen Sermons, p. 66.
<x Prius autem. quam illuftrem hunc locum miflum fa-Condition of Salvation, > _ -gg
Gur blelTed Saviour himfelf, who, when he^
pronounced the forgivenefs of fins, declared to
the finner, “ Thy faith hath faved thee';” alfo
cautioned the objedt of his mercy to “ fin no
“ more, left a worfe thing come upon him *:”•
—and generally he pronounced to all men that
works, and not faith alone, are the conditions
of everlafting happinefs, when he declared, “ If
“ thou wilt enter into life, keep the command-
“ ments“ If ye know thefe things, happy
“ are ye. if ye do them*“ In the day of judg-
“ ment by thy words thou fhalt be jufified,
“ and by thy words thou fhalt be condemn-
M edV’ “ Behold, I come quickly, and my
“ reward is with me, to give every man ac-
v cording as his work Jhall be. I am Alpha
“ and Omega, the beginning and the end, the
“ firfi; and the laft. Blefled are they, that do
“ his commandments, that they may have right
ciam, vifum eft, quae ad eum fcribit dadtiffimus Eftius,
commemorare: “ Sane,” inquit, “ videri poteft, Paulum.
“ idcirco tam diligenter commendare voluifle bona opera,
e( ut ad juftitiam ac vitam aeternam neceflaria, quo Ledto-
“ rem praemuniret, ne fequentem ipiius do&rinam, qua
w juftificationem tradit ex fide fine operibus, male intelli-
“ gendo offendiculum pateretur, aut in errorem incurre-
“ ret.” Certe eatenus faltem ei lubens afientior, ut cre-
dam, non fine magna Dei providentia id fadtum fuiffe.
Harm. Apnji. Diff. ii. cap. iv. fedt, 8.
1 Luke vii. 50.	5 John v. 14*
1 John xiii. 17.	u Matt. xii. 37.
H 21 ob	Chriflian Works a riecejjary
“ to the tree of life “ Come, ye bleffed of
“ my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for’
“ you from the foundation of the world; for
" I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I
“ was thirfty, and ye gave me drink ; I was aT
“ dranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and ye*
“ clothed me; I was tick, and ye vitited me;
“ I was in prifon, and ye came unto me. Ye-
“ rily I fay unto you, Inqfmuch as ye have
“ done it unto one of the lead: of thefe my'*
“ brethren, ye have done it unto me. Depart’
“ from me, ye curfed, into everlafting tire, pre-
“ pared for the Devil and his angels : for ve-
“ rily I fay unto you, Inajmucji as ye did it
“ not to one of the lead of thefe, ye did it not'
“ unto meV’ “ The hour is coming, in the
“ which dll thdt are in the graves fha\\ hear'
“ the voice of the Son of man, and thall corns'
“ forth; THET THAT HAVE DONE GOOD UNTO
“ THE RESURRECTION OF LIFE, AND THET THAT
• * '
“ have done evil unto the resurregtioH
“ OF damnation 2.”
How different from thefe fcripturat expofi-
t;ions of the terms of everlading happinefs, are
the remondrances and exhortations, addreffed
by the Solifidian to his hearers! *' Why doft
“ thou lean to works,” is the expodulation of
x Rev. xxii. ia, 13,14.	y Matt. xxv. 34*
z John v. 48,49.'Condition of Salvation*	101
a late minifter of our Church, “ fince falvation
*f is by faith ? Why doft thou difquiet thyfelf
“ about attaining the righteoufnefs of the law>
“ and thereby fuffer the law to difturb the
f‘ peace of thy confcience, fince thou haft a far
“ better righteoufnefs, which ought to reign
“ there, even the righteoufnefs, which is of
“ God by faith3?” " Remember thou art not
“ required to obey in order to be faved for
thine obedience ; but thou art already fav-
“ edb.” “ The fingle qualification for falva-
“ tion which Chrift expedts,” fays a living
teacher of our Ifrael, “ is to believe the Gof-
" pel: for he that believeth thall be faved.
“What! if they do fuch and fuch duties?
Not a word of the kind. What! if theyper-
form fuch obligations ? Not a fyllable like it.
“ It is an abfolute promile of the Lord Jefus,
“ founded on his own abfolute power. Here
“ are neither ifs, nor huts ; no conditions nor
/'terms0.” “No previous preparation,” it is
thus, that the Arminian Founder of Method-
ifm.preached to his focieties; “no fitnefs is
“ required at the time of communicating, but
a fenfe of our ftate,,of our utter finfulnels
. “ and helpleflnefs: every one, who knows that
“ he is juft fit for hell, is juft fit to come
t •
1 Romaine’s Life of Faith. Works, vol. i. p. 49.
fc Walk of Faith. Ibid. 392.
c Hawker’s Prop againft all Delpair, p. 15,iOi Chri/iian Works a necefflary
" to Chirift in this and all other ways of his
“ appointmentd.”	“ If you are the chief of
“ tinners,” exclaims his Calviniftic competitor;
“ if you are murderers of fathers and murder-*
“ ers of mothers; if you are emphatically the
“ dung and ofFscouring of all things ; yet if
“ you believe on Jefus Chrift, and cry unto
“ him with the fame faith, as the expiring
“ thief, Lord, remember me now thou art in
“ thy kingdom, I will'pawn my eternal falva-
“ tion upon it, if he does not fhortly trantlate
“you to his heavenly paradifee;” “ whofo-
“ ever believes in his heart, may be allured
“ that his pardon is fealed in heaven, notwith-
“ Handing he has lived in an open breach of
“ God’s commandments all his life time be-
“ foref:” “ if a man is once juftified, he re-
“ mains fo to all eternity s“ it is forry di-
“ vinity to talk of men’s doing fo and fo, to
“ keep thernfelves in a juftified ftateh.”
That effects, of a very different chara&er
from thofe “ good works,” which the Apoftle
teaches us the Scriptures were given to pro-
mote5, fhould refult from reprefentations of
the conditions of happinefs fo much at va-
d Wefley’s Fourth Journal, p. 47.
e W-hitefield’s Works, vol. v. p. 387.
{ Ibid. vol. iv. p. 28.	8 Ibid. vol. i. p. 214.
h Ibid. pf 209,	* See 2 Tim. iii. 17;Condition of Salvation.	103
nance with the Scriptures, is a confequence
reafonably to be expected. Perfuaded that he
is to be juftified and faved by faith alone, the
tinner is little careful to inquire into the qua-
lity of the faith, that is to fave him. He
thinks it enough to believe in Chrift, and for-
gets that “ the devils alfo believe and trem-
“ ble k.”	“ Applying to himfelf,” as Grotius.
fays, “ the perfect righteoufnefs of Chrift, he
makes the merits of Chrift his own. Every
“ thing elfe is fuperfluous. How he lives, is
“ of no importance. Without condition, Chrift
“ has made fatisfadtion for the punilhment,
“ which he owes: without condition, Chrift-
“ has merited for him eternal glory 1.”
, Shall we be told, that thefe are confequences,
which do not in fail enfue ? Wherefore then
do we hear fome religionifts pronouncing “ all
V the ordinances of religion, prayers, reading
“ the Scriptures, public worthip, and the fa-
“ craments, to be diabolical performances m ?”
^ Jam. ii. 19.
* Juftitiam Chrifti, quae perFe&iftima eft, et caelefti dig-
na prsemio, fibi per fidem applicantes, merita ejus fua fa-
clunt. Id ft ita fieri poteft, caetera jam funt fupervacua
quomodo vivas, nihil intereft. Sine conditione pro poena,
quam "ipfi debent, Fa.tisFecit Chriftus : fine conditione glo-
riam aeternam eft ipfis meritus. Grot. Rivetian. Apology
Difcujf. Op. tom. iii. p. 691. Lond. 1679.	>
m See Wefley’s Journals, No. IV. p. J07. or the Enthiu-
fiafm of Methodifts and Papifts compared, part ii. p.144.
H 4104
Chrijlian Works a necejfary
Whence do we hear others fpeaking with:
contempt of “ your workers and good livers,”
while they have favourable hopes of perfons
of a profefledly debauched and profligate life" ?
Whence the complaint of Whitefield over
“ the havoc made by Antinomianifm among
“his followers0?” Whence the lamentation,;
of Wefley, that “ a general temptation pre-
“ vailed amongtl his focieties, of leaving off
“ good works, in order to an increafe of
“ faith P ?” And whence the corroborating tef-
timony of his friend, that “ Antinomian prin-
“ ciples and practices fpread like wild-fire in
“ fome of his focieties, where perfons, who |
Cf fpoke in the moft glorious manner of Chrift' 0
*i and their intereft in his complete falvation,
“ had been found living in the greateft immov
“ ralities, or indulging the mod unchriftiamif
“tempers’5:” and that “multitudes, alas!
“ refted fatisfied with an unloving difobedient
“ faith; a faith, that engages only the head,
“ but has nothing to do with the heart; a
“ faith, that works by malice, inftead of work-
“ ing by love; a faith, that pleads for fin in
“ the heart, inftead of purifying the heart from
n Enthufiafm of Methodifts and Papifts compared, part
ii. p. 155.
0 Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii. p. 155.
p Wefley’s Journals, No. IV. p. 39.
• n Fletcher’s Firft Check to Antinomianifm, p. 33.	*1Condition of Salvation.	io5
“ fin ; a Faith, that St. Paul explodes, and that
“ St. James compares to a carcafsr.”
Surely when we have our eyes thus open
upon the dangerous confequences, to which
the dodtrine of faith alone is calculated to lead
carnal minds, unlefs it be guarded with the
utmoft circumfpedtion, and again and again
explained to he ineffedlual without the fruit of
holinefs: and when further we are aware,
that, however circumfpedt may be the preach-
er, it is a dodlrine, which men of carnal minds
are efpecially prone to pervert to the encou-
ragement of fenfual living : and when we
know moreover, that it is inculcated by many
preachers themfelves, fo conftantly, as to leave
little opportunity for the recommendation of
the Chriftian virtues, and fo exclufively, as to
difparage, if not to condemn, morality and
good works; and that it is embraced by many
hearers fo implicitly, as to lead them to de-
fpife the qualification of a holy life : I appre-
hend, that we cannot more effe&ually preach
the Gofpel, than by warning thofe committed
to our charge, that in the epiftles of St. Paul
“ there are fome things hard to be underftood,
“ which they that are unlearned and unftable
“ wrefl: unto their own deftrudtionsand by
r Fletcher’s Firft Check to Antinomianifm, p. 56.
? 2 Pet. iii, 16.	.100 Chrijilan Works a necejjhry
perfuading them, as they hope for happinef^
through Chritl’s merits, “ to give all diligence,”
in the language of one Apotlle, “ that they
“add unto their faith virtue4;” for that, ac-f
cording to the fentence of another, “ as thq
“ body without the fpirit is dead, fo faith
“ without works is dead alfo"or, as the
fame doctrine is delivered by a third, .the Solin
fidian’s favourite, but mifapprehended teacher,
“if they have all faith, and have not charity,
“ they are nothings”	iifi
- It is not however only, nor even princi-
pally, on account of the unguarded language
of the more indifcreet advocates of the doc-i
trine, or of the opinion which we entertain of
its immoral effects, that we. feel ourfelves con-
ftrained to renounce it: but becaufe we ap-
prehend it to be fundamentally and abfolutely
erroneous. If indeed the Scriptures were lefs
explicit, than we have feen them to be, in
connecting our future lot with our prefent
conduct, and in deciding, that our fentence
will be, as our works have been ; we might
be tempted to accede to. the pofition, that we
fhall be jutlified by faith alone, provided it
were carefully explained to be fuch a faith,
as is necetTarily productive of good works.’
But in truth, the Holy Scriptures, at the fame
* 2 Pet. i. 5.	* James ii. 26.
* l Cor. xiii. 2.Condition of Salvation. it lo?
time that they exclude fuch works from all
pretentions to meriting falvation, do afcribe to
them too much importance to permit them
to be regarded folely as the ligns and evi-
dences of faith. Their proper office in con-
nexion with our falvation, and the mean be-
tween the two extremes of Romith arrogance
and Antinomian licentioufnefs, are well de-
fined by Voffius, who fays ; “ We think, that
“ they fay too much, who imagine, that a re-
“ ward is promifed to works, as the merito-
“ rious caufe; and we judge, that they fay
“ not enough, who determine, that the pro-
<f mife is made to them, only as the ligns of
“ faith. Seeing there are many paflages of
Scripture, whereby it may be made plain,
|f that our works are regarded in the bufinefs
(c' of falvation, as a caufe, fine qua non, or as
“ an antecedent condition, which draws along
“ with it, by an indilfoluble bond, the prize of
“ eternal lifey.”
... ■
, y'Quaeritur, an operibus promittatur merces, ut fidei
figiiis? Nos et nimium dicere putamus, qui earn operibus
1 promitti cenfent, ut caufe meritorfe; nec fatis dicere ju-
i dicamus, qui tantummodo ut fignis fidei, promifiionem
; faftam arbitrantur. Siquidem multa funt Scripturae Idea,
quibus planum fiat, opera uoftra in falutis negotio fpec-
tari, ut caufam fine qua non, five ut fconditionem praece-
darieam, quae praemium vitae aeternae individuo fecurti
nexu trahat. Voff.de bonorum operurn Mentis. Thef. ioi108
Chrijliari Works a neceffhry
Should we then, in order to avoid a ftrife <$
Words, and for the fake of brotherly love, and
Chriftian peace and unity, be willing to con-
cede, that faith alone, thus carefully explained
and underftood, is neceflary to our junifica-
tion ; the laying of Hilary admonifhes us, as
it heretofore admonilhed our reformers*, that
f( the name of peace is beautiful, and the opi-
t‘ nion of unity is fair, but that is the true and
“ only peace of the Church, which is Chrift,s:’,
and the exprefs declarations of Chrift himfelf,
illuftrated by the correfponding dodlrine of
every one of his Apoftles, would operate to
keep us fteadfaft in “ the faith, which,” we be-
lieve, “ was once delivered to the faints1.” 1
Such, then, being the notions, which the
Scriptures give us, of the conditions of ever-
lafting happinefs, I fee not how we can re-
frain from impreffing upon our hearers, tfjat
Chriftian works are jointly and equally necef-
fary with Chriftian faith to the attainment
of eternal life; from inforcing on them the
precepts, as earneftly as we fet before them
the dodtrines, of the Gofpel; and from re-
f z See Ridley’s Life of Bifhop Ridley, p. 495. Specio-
fum quidem nomen eft pacis, et pulcra eft opinio unita-
tis; fed quis ambigat, earn folam ecclefiae et evangtelio
rum unitatem pacemque efle, quas Chrifti eft. Hilar,
font, Auxentium. ed, Benedict. Op. tom. ii. p. 594.
1 Jude ver. 3.Condition of Salvation.	log
rtiinding them with unremitted affiduity, that
it will not be fufficient that they believe in,
ttnlefs they alfo obey, “ our great God and
“ Saviour Jefus Chrift, who gave himfelf for
“ us, that he might redeem us from all iniqui-
■'* ty, and purify unto himfelf a peculiar peo-
“ pie, zealous of good works b.” If indeed we
are fo far forgetful of the diftinctive features
of our holy religion, as to fuffer a regard to
ihoral duties to divert us from inculcating and
explaining with fufficient frequency the doc-
trines Of the Chriftian faith ; or if the practi-
cal duties, which we recorhmend, are drawn
from the fources of heathen philofophy; if
when Paul has furnifhed us with a 'text we
fuffer “Epictetus, Plato, or Tully to preachy”
if out difcourfes are mere moral eflays on the
beauty and fitnefs of virtue ; or if we repre-
fent holinefs of life as a meritorious caufe of
falvation, or recommend it on higher grounds
than as a neceflary condition, whereby the
blood of Chrift becomes ultimately effectual
for our redemption : I readily admit, nay, I
cordially concur with our accufers in contend-
ing, that we defert the ftation which we have
undertaken to maintain, and are guilty of
apoftafy from the Gofpel. But if, on the con-
trary, as I hope and truft is more agreeable to
b Tit. ii. 13, 14.
c Cowper’s Talk.110*
Chriftian Works a necejjary
the truth, the morality, which we preach, is-
Chriftian morality; if it is eftablifhed upon
Chriftian principles, and inforced by Chriftian
motives, and clothed withal in Chriftian hu-
mility ; if we derive, not our texts alone, but
our fubjedf matter, from the revealed word of
God, calling upon men, and perfuading them
by*the terrors and mercies of the Lord, to be-
lieve in God and to keep his commandments,
to do unto all men, as they would men fhould
do unto them, and to keep themfelves unfpot-
ted from the world ; at the tame time never
forgetting, that we are addrefling the “un-
profitable fervants” of a crucified Redeemer,
“ God manifeft in the fleth,” whofe Holy
Spirit is always neceflary to enlighten, and
ftrengthen, and fupport us; and whofe meri-
torious blood is always neceflary to make
atonement for our numerous deficiencies, and
to reconcile us to the Father :—wherein con-
fifts our guilt or our error, that we are accufed
of not preaching the Gofpel ? or why are we
charged 1 with apoftafy from our profeflion,
becaufe wp do that, which the example of the
Apoftles of Chrift, nay, of Chrift himfelf, war-
rants us, and calls upon us, and makes it our
bounden duty to do ?—When the Apoftles
went forth, by the commandment of their
Lord, to “ preach the Gofpel to every crea-
“ turfewhen Paul was commiflioned by aCondition of Salvation.	ill
fpecial revelation to “ turn men from darknefs
“ unto light, and from the power of Satan
“ unto God, that they might reeeive forgive*
“ pefs of fins, and inheritance among them
“ which are fan6tified by faith that is in
“ ChriftV’ how did they difcharge their dif-
tinguifhed office ? Anxious that it might ever
be in their power to take their hearers “ to re-
“ cord, that they were pure from the blood of
“ all men, and had not fhunned to declare
“ unto them all the counfel of God',” whether
in their fpeecfies or their epiftles ; whether to
the felf-righteous Jew, or the idolatrous Hea-
then ; whether to the Roman magiftrate, or
the Athenian philofopher; whether to indivi-»
dual converts, or to afiemblies of the faithful,
or to the whole univerfal Church of Chriftj
they were indefatigable in urging the practice
of Chriftian holinefs blended with the profef*
fion of the Chriftian faith. Or, to place our*
felves, if poflible, on ftill higher ground, wbat
are the points, on which our blefied Lord hath
fet us the example of infifting in his difcourfes
in general, and, in particular, what are the
topics of his parables and of his fermon in the
mount ? Is not the latter exclusively occupied
in the recommendation of practical righteouf-
nefs ? Are not the former, with the exception
41 A&s xxvi. 18.
e A6ts xx. 36, 37.112	Chrijliati Works, &e.
of thofe, which illuftrate the dealings of Al-
mighty God towards the Jews, one and all di-
redted to thefame end ?—We need not then
be alarmed at the charge, that we are not
preachers of the Gofpel, in a particular where-
in our practice has the fandtion of fuch autho-
rity : nor need we be deterred by an injurious
afperfion from treading fteadfaftly in the path,
wherein Chrift and his Apoftles have gone be-
fore; or from repeating again and again, as
the eflence of his preaching, and of that of his
Apoftles, “ Not every one that faith unto me,
“ Lord, Lord, Jhall enter into the kingdom of
“ heaven; hut he that doeth the will op
“ my Father, which is in heaven'.”
Now “ unto Him that loved us, and wa(h-
“ ed us from our fins in his own blood, and
“ hath made us kings and priefts unto God
“ and his Father; to Him,” in the unity of
the Father and the eternal Spirit, “ be glory
“ and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
f Matt. vii. 2i-DISCOURSE III.
Luke xifi. 23, 24.
; \
Then /aid one unto him, Lord, are there few that he
favedf And he faid unto them,
Strive to enter in at the Jirait gate ; for many, I fay
unto you, will feeh to enter in, and fhall not he able.
;	, v _. i ; ’	.	,
It would be well for the caufe of genuine
Chriftianity, if its profeffors would contentedly
fubinit to that reftraint, which its divine Au-
thor has impofed upon a prefumptuous curio-
fity. Such a fpirit appears to have actuated
the perfon, whofe queftion is recorded in the
text; and to have prompted him to feek for
difcoveries concerning the future condition of
the human race. And the correction of fuch
a fpirit appears to have been the objedl of our
Saviour’s anfwer, when, inftead of replying di-
redtly and explicitly to the inquiry, he diverted
the attention of his difciples from an unnecef-
fary and fruitlefs concern about the welfare of
others, to the neceffity of ftrenuous exertions
for their own falvation. “ The queliion is,”
i114
Calvinijlic Predeftination
fays Biftiop Sherlock, “ Are there few that be
“ faved ? The anfwer is in effedt, What is that
“ to you ? Mind your own bufinefs, and ftrive
“ to enter in at the ftrait gate1.”
Man however is eager to be wife above that
which is written ; and is not fatisfied, unlefs
he be permitted to know the fecret things of
God. Not contented to be informed in gene-
ral terms, that they, who ftrive to enter in at
the ftrait gate, fhall be admitted, and that
they, who feek, without driving, fhall be ex-
cluded, he would fain infer a more myfterious
dodtrine from the admonition of our Lord.
And becaufe there are many, who fhall not be
able to enter in, notwithftanding their inabi-
lity be fpecifically attributed to their own want
of exertion, he concludes, that they are re-
pelled from falvatioh by an abfolute decree of
the Almighty,
Now the more prudent, and the more reve-
rent eourfe for a minifter of the Gofpet to
adopt in general, is to conform to the reftraint,
virtually impofed by our Saviour’s anfwer on
this occafion ; and to abftain from a difcuffion
of thofe fubjedts, which it has been the good
pleafure of God to leave in obfcurity. “ It is
“ our judgment,” I adopt the fentiments, and
exprefs them in the language, of Epifcopius
* Sherlock’s Difc. vol. ii. p. 96,not the Do&rine of the Gofpel. 115
and the Remonftrants at the Synod of Dort,
where their forbearance and moderation did
honour to the opinions they maintained : “ It
“ is our judgment, that thofe men think and
“ fpeak belt and fafell of thofe deep and diffi-
“ cult points of divinity, which far exceed our
“ underltandings, that is to fay, of the myfte-
“ ries of religion, who treat of them cautioully
“ and moderately, and as much as poffible in
“ the very words of Scripture ; being perfuad-
" ed, as the truth is, that men may very eafily
“ be miftaken with refpeCt to fuch deep and
“impenetrable fecrets, and that a fmall mif-
“ take in fuch weighty matters has often given
“ occafion to great and manifeft errorsb.”
Such, in earlier times, had been the pradtice
of our own apoftolical* reformers, who, both
individually and collectively, avoided and dis-
couraged fuch doubtful difputations ; agree-
ably to the memorable declaration of him,
whom Fuller calls “ the profoundeft fcholar of
" that army of martyrsc,” “ the moil learned
" and judicious of all the prelates,” as Heylyn
ftyles him d; I mean Bithop Ridley; who re-
plied to one, that defired to engage him in the
queftion about God’s election and predeftina-
b Brandt’s Hiftory of the Reformation in the Low
Countries, vol. iii. p. 57.
c Fuller’s Church Hiftory, book viii. feft.
* Heylyn’s Quinquart. Hift. part ii. chap. viii. fe£t. 8.n6 CalmniftiQ P^ede/linatioji
tion, “ In thefe matters I am fa fearful, that
“ I dare not fpeak further, yea aim oft none
“ other wife, than the very text doth, as it
“ were, lead me by the hand'.”
In thefe fentiments we concur : and to this
conduct we would cheerfully conform, When
however thefe myfterious fubjecfts are fre-
quently, oftentatioufly, and largely brought
into difcuflion by others, who refufe to ac-
quiefce in mutual forbearance ; when, in the
progrefs of the difcuflion, the nature of the
Chriftian difpenfation appears to us to be
grievoufly mifreprefented; when erroneous no-
tions of the terms of falvation appear to be
infufed into the hearers; when the glory of
God appears to be aflailed, and his attributes
to be infringed, and his revelation to be ca-
lumniated ; when our doctrines withal, be-
caufe welhrink from the public investigation,
of thefe myfterious topics, are broadly ftigma-
tifed as unevangelical, and made a foundation,
for the charge, that we are not preachers of
the Golipel; and when we cannot but per-
ceive, that the minds of thofe committed to
our care are thereby alienated from our teach-
ing, that their refpedt is diminiflied for our
perfons, and that an obftacle is prefented to
our minifterial fuccefs: we apprehend that the
e Ridley’s Life of Biihop Ridley, p. 533.not the Do&rine of the Gofpel. l i 7
queftion then affumes a very different com-
plexion ; and we deem ourlelves warranted by
that folicitude, which, as minifters of Chrift,
we ought to feel for the purity of his word
and for the falvation of the fouls of his people,
in attempting, however feebly, to Item the
/torrent of herefy and falfe dodtrine ; and to
illuftrate, as far as we are enabled by that
light, which the holy Scriptures fupply, the
myfteries of the kingdom of God.
Having made thefe preliminary obfervations,
as exprefling my motives for venturing upon
ground, which I approach with awe, and
would otherwife leave untrodden ; I fhall im-
mediately proceed to flate, that if, when we
are accufed of corrupting and perverting the_
Gofpel, it is intended, that the preaching of
the generality of the national clergy does not
agree with the doctrines of the Gofpel, as they
are interpreted by thofe Chriftians, who inhe-
rit their name and their peculiar opinions from
their founder Calvin, we are contented to.
plead guilty to the charge.
Such was the purport of the accuiatiori in
the hands of the Calviniftic eftablifher of Me-
thodifm, when he charged “ the generality of
“ the clergy with hateful hypocrify, in fpeak-
“ ing contrary to the articles, and to the form
“ of found words delivered in the Scrip-118
Calviniftic Predeflinatiort
“ turesfhimfelf pronouncing Calvinifm to
be “ fcriptural truths.” Such was its pur-
port in the hands of another graduate of this
Univerfity, when he denounced the minifters
of our Church, as “ dangerous heretics and
“ fchifmatics,” for “ impioufly and hypocriti-
“ cally fetting their hands to doctrines, which
*f in their hearts they never aflented toand
for “ adopting the pride-foothing Arminian
“ herely of univerfal redemptionand “ main-
“ taining the Popith herefies of univerfal re-
“ demption, free will, and falling from grace ;
“ blafphemies as poifonous as thofe of Arius,
“ Pelagius, and Socinush.” Such, again, was
its purport, at a fomewhat later period, in the
hands of a beneficed minifter of our Church,
when he pafled the following comprehenfive
fentence againft thofe, who were not of his,
perfuafion. “ Arminianifm,” he laments, “ is
“ the grand religious evil of this age and coun-
“ try. It has more or lefs infected every Pro-
“ teftant denomination amongft us, and bids
“ fair for leaving us, in a fhort time, not fo
tc much as the very profejjion of godlinefs.
“ The power of Chriftianity has, for the moft
“ part, taken its flight long ago ; and even
f Whitefield’s Works, vol. vi. p. 95.
s Eighteen Sermons, p. 160.'
h Pietas Oxonienfis, p. 44. and 81.not the Do&rine of the Gofpel. 119
i‘ the form of it feems to be on the point of
“ bidding us farewell. Time has been, when
“ the Calviniftic doctrines were confidered and
“ defended, as the palladium of our eftablifhed
“ Church, by her Bifhops and Clergy ; by the
“ Univerjities and the whole body of the laity.
“ It was (during the reigns of Edward VI.
“ Queen Elifabeth, James I. and the greater
“ part of Charles I.) as difficult to meet with a,
" clergyman, who did not preach the doctrines
“ of the Church of England, as it is now, to
“ find one who does. We have generally for-
“ taken thd principles of the Reformation: and
“ Ichabod, or thy glory is departed, has been
“ written on moft of our pulpits and church
“ doors ever fince’.”
The charge, thus urged and repeated at fe-
veral periods of the laft century, (a charge, the
confidence of which might well be diminished
by a confideration of the acknowledged fa6t,
as to the comparative numbers and authority
of the accufers and the accufed,) continues to
be advanced with the fame purport, and with
unabated confidence, at the prefent time. It
were unneceflary to enumerate the evidences
of a truth, which mull be notorious to all who
hear me. I ffiall be fatisfied therefore with
remarking, that it is with this view, that one
‘ Toplady on Predeftination, Pref. p. 5.
I 4120	Calviniftic Predejiination
of the authors, to whom I have juft referred,
after the interval of half a century ftill conti-
nues to lament over “ the poor deferted and
“ diftradled Church of England, ftruggling for
“ breath in the midft of Popifh and Pelagian
“ mirek:” and that it is avowedly in a great
degree upon the ground of Calvinifm, that the
advocate of a party in the Church claims for
his party the appellation ofTrue Churchmen
“ and Evangelical Minifters1,” and denies it to
their fellow-labourers in the vineyard. The al-
legation againft our true churchmanthip is not
our prefent affair; although perhaps it may
incidentally be noticed. It has indeed been
weighed in the balance; and it has been found
wanting”. Our bufinefs is with the charge,
as it excludes us from the title of Evangelical
Minifters: to which charge, inafmuch as it;
refts upon our declining to preach the doc-
trines of Calvin, we are (as I faid before) con-
tented to plead guilty. And that we do for
the following iimple reafon ; becaufe the doc-
k Sir Richard Hill’s Reformation Truth reftored, Pref.
P^viiir
1 The True Churchmen afeertained, Sec. by John Over-
ton, A. B.
m See the Articles of the Church of England proved
not to be Calviniftic, by Thomas Kipling, D. D. and Vin-
diciae Ecclefise Anglicanae, by the Reverend Charles Dau-
beny.not the Do&rine of the Gofpel. 121
trinqs of Calvin appear to us to be irreconcil-
able with the dodrines of Chrift and of his
Apoftles; and if we adhere to the latter, and
preach the Gofpel in that purity, in which
they have delivered it, we conceive that we
muft diffent frpm, and rejed, the former.
It furely will not be underllood from this
declaration, that I mean to proteft againft all
the dodrines maintained by Calvin and his
followers. Some articles of faith are common
to moll, or all, of the profelTors of Chriftianity.
Many articles of faith, and among thefe feveral
of the prime and fundamental tenets of our
religion, are common to us and to the Cal-
vinifts. The dodrines, which I have in view,
are fuch as belong peculiarly to that denomi-
nation of believers; and conllitute the charac-
teriftic mark, which diftinguilhes them from
their brother Chriftians.
To prevent however the poffibility of mif-
apprehenfion, and to exhibit at the fame time
a clear and compendious view of the nature of
the controverfy between us, I propofe to ftate,
as concifely as I am able, the moft eflential
articles, on which we differ from the Calvin-
ifls, and which are made the balls of fo folemn
an accufation againli us.
Thus for inftancejt is the dodrine of Calvin
and of his followers——I would be underftood
in the fubfequept ftatement as referring to122	Calvinifiic Predeflination
thofe perfons, who maintain the avowed prin-
ciples of Calvin, and do not fhrink from their
obvious confequences; for as to thofe opinions,
which their abettors ‘denominate “ moderate
“ Calvinifm,” I fhall have occafion to advert
to them prefently ; and will here only remark
in pafling, that the framer of the more perfeft
lyftem himfelf would have fcorned them, as
an unworthy fubterfuge, and reprobated the
appellation, as a contradiction in terms :—I
lay; then, it is the Calviniftic do&rine, that
God has by an eternal, abfolute, irrefpeClive,
and immutable decree elected and predefiinated
certain individuals to falvation, from which, by
the fame decree of predeflination, he has ex-
cluded the great mafs of mankind, excluding
them from the benefits purchafed by the
death of his Sonn. Our doCtrine is, that
n Praedeftinationem vocamus aeternum Dei decretum,
quo apud fe conftitutum habuit, quid de unoquoque ho-
mine fieri vellet. Non enim pari conditione creantur
omnes: fed aliis vita aeterna, aliis damnatio aeterna prae-
ordinatur. Itaque prout in alterutrum finem quifque con-
ditus eft, ita vel ad vitam, vel ad mortem, prsedeftinatum
dicimus. Calv. Inftit. lib. iii. cap. xxi. fe£t. 5.
Quod ergo Scriptura clare oftendit, dicimus; asterno
et immutabili confilio Deum femel conftituifle, quos olim
femel affumere vellet in falutem, quos rurfum exitio de-
vovere. Hoc confilium, quoad ft eft os, in gratuita ejus
mifericordia fundatum effe afferimus, nuUo humanaa dig-
nitatis refpeftu : quos vero damnationi addicit, his juftonot the DoBrine of the Gofpel. 123
God hath made no fuch abfolute election and
predeftination of perfons, but that Chrift is the
common Saviour of mankind at large:—a doc-
trine, which we fupport on the general tenor
of Scripture, and efpecially on thefe and the
like pafiages; that “ God is no refpe&er of
“ perfons, but in every nation he that feareth
“ God and'worketh righteoufnefs is accepted
“ with^iim0;” that “ God fent his Son into
“ the world, that whofoever believeth in him
“ might not perifh, but have everlafting lifep;”
thatJefus Chrift the righteous is the pro-
" pitiation for our fins, and not for ours only,
“ but for the fins of the whole worldqthat
“ he is the Saviour of all men, fpecially of
“ them that believe1-;” that he “ tafted death
“ for every man5;” and that “ God our Sa-
“ viour would have all m&n to be faved, and
“ come to the knowledge of the truth, for the
“ man Jefus Chrift gave himfelf a ranfom for
“ all1:”—a doctrine too, which we apprehend
quidem et irreprehenfibili, fed incomprehenfibili ipfius
judicio, vitse aditum prsecludi. Ibid. feft. 7.
—reprobos vel a notitia fui nominis vel a Spiritus fui
fanftificatione excludendo. Ibid.
—illos vult excludere. Ibid. cap. xxiii. fe£t. 1.
Deum ex perdita raafla eligere et reprobare. De Prce-
deji. p. 613.
0 Ads x. 34, 33.
*1 1 John ii. 1, 2.
‘ Heb. ii. 9.
P John iii. 16.
r r Tim. iv. 10.
1 1 Tim. ii. 4,5,6.124
PredeJUnation
*
to be unequivocally recognized by our Church
throughout her Liturgy in general, which uni-
formly fuppofes Chrift to be the “ Redeemer
“ of the world” in the obvious fignification of
the words; and efpecially in her baptifmal fer-
vices and in her Catechifm, where the defcribes
every individual in her congregation, as one of
“ the ele<ft people of God,” as one of the “ re-
,f deemed” of Chrift; in her Commuipon fer-
vice, where fbe mentions the body of Chrift as
being given, and the blood of Chrift as be-
ing £hed, for every individual communicant,
for every individual member of her body; in
her Homily for the Nativity, where (he teaches,
that Chrift “ made perfect fatisfa&ion by his
“ death for the fins of all people0;” and in her
31 ft Article, which affirms, agreeably to a fi-
milar declaration irt the Communion fervice,
that “ the offering of Chrift once made is that
“ perfect redemption, propitiation, and fatis-
“ fadtion for all the fins of the whole world.”
The Calvinift teaches, that the falvation of
thofe, whom he terms eledt, is arbitrary, irre-
fpedtive, and unconditional; that it does not
proceed from any refpedt to their qualities,
prefent or to come; that it does not depend
upon any difference between them, and other
men ; that it is not influenced by any relative
" Homilies, p.340. Oxf. edit.not the Dodrine of the Gofpel. 125
worthinefs, which God forefees in them ; but
that it is exclufively owing to the mere will
and pleafure of God x :—a do&rine, we may
remark by the way, of very diflblute tenden-
cy, and calculated to make men any thing,
rather than " zealous of good works.” We
teach on the other hand, that no one, to whom
the Gofpel of Chrift is preached, and to whom
the promife of falvation is tendered through
the blood of Chrift, can attain eternal happi-
nefs without fulfilling certain conditions :—
and this we teach, becaufe, amongfl: a multi-
tude of plain texts to the purpofe, the promifes
of falvation always have refpe6t to the repent-
ance, faith, obedience, holinefs, or other qua-
lifications of them, to whom the promifes are
to be made good : becaufe this life is perpe-
x Quod hominem unum eligit Deus, altero rejefto,
id non proven^, ab hominis refpe&u. Inji. lib. iii. cap.
xxiii. fe&. io.
Deum eligere quos illi vifum eft. De Preed. p. 6x3.
-----nullo humanae dignitatis refpeftu. Ibid.
Non ex hominum dignitate vel indignitate pendet dif-
crimen. Ibid. p. 612.
Falfum eft, ac verbo Dei contrarium, dogma, Deum,
prout unumquemque gratia fua dignum vel indignum
praevidet, ita vel eligere vel reprobare. Comment, in Rom.
ix. 11.	*
Dei nutu fieri, ut aliis &c. Inft. lib. iii. cap. xxi. fe£t. 1.
Infiftere debemus in iftas particulas, cujus vult, et quem
vult, ultra quas procedere nobis non permittit. Comment.-
in Rom. ix. 18.126 Calvinifiic Predestination
tually reprefented as a trull, for which we are
refponfible ; as a ltewardlhip, of which we are
to give an account; as a ftate of trial and pro-
bation y, wherein God tries and proves us,
whether we will walk in his ways or not:
and becaufe our blefled Saviour briefly inftru&s
us in the nature of our future fentence, and
in the plan of God’s dealings with mankind,
when he lays, “ Behold, I come quickly, and
“ my reward is with me, to give every man
“ according as his work lhall bez.” This we
apprehend to be taught by our Church in her
Liturgy, where Ihe “ pronounces the abfolution
“ and remiflion of fins,” exprefsly appropriat-
ing it to “ them that truly repent, and un-
“ feignedly believe God’s holy Gofpel;” and
where Ihe defcribes our pardon and acceptance
with Chrifi: as fufpended upon various condi-
tions; “ if we come unto him with faithful
" repentance ; if we fubmit ourfelves unto
“ him, and from henceforth walk in his ways;
“ if we will take his eafy yoke, and light bur-
“ den upon us, to follow him in lowlinefs, pa-
“ tience, and charity, and be ordered by the
“ governance of his Holy Spirit, feeking al-
“ ways his glory, and ferving him duly in our
“ vocation with thanklgivinga—and this
7 James i. 2,3. 1 Peter i, 7. ir. 12.
*	Revelations xxii. 12.
*	Commination fervice.not the Do&rine of the Gofpel. 12 7
we apprehend her to teach in one of her
creeds, which in her eighth Article the aflerts
“ may be proved by moil certain warrants of
“ holy Scripture,” affirming it as the ground
on which every man’s final fentence will pro-
ceed, that “ they which have done good thall
“ go into life everlafting, and they which have
“ done evil into everlafting fire.”
The Calvinift teaches, that the falvation and
eternal life of thofe, whom he ftyles the eledl,
are perpetually fure and infallible, are never in
doubt or fufpenfe; but that the eledt, having
received the grace of God, cannot fall from
grace, fo as to be in danger of final perdition b:
thereby opening a fpacious paflage for care-
leflnefs, yvickednefs, and prefumption. We
teach, according to our views of the dodtrine
of our Church in her baptifmal fervices and
in her Catechifm, that they, who have “ re-
“ ceived the grace of God,” and are admitted
into “ the number of his faithful and eledl
b Omnibus eleftis certa eft vita asterna—excldere ne-
mo poteft—nulla violentia, nullove impetu quifquam ra-
pitur—invifta Dei potentia nititur eorum falus. De Prced.
p. 614.
Deus non modo falutem offert, fed ita aflignat, ut fuf-
penfa vel dubia non lit effe&us certitudo. Inft. lib. iii.
cap. xxi. fed. 7.
Salutem noftram Dominus perpetuo certam et tutam
fore docet. Ibid. cap. xxii. fe£t. 10.• v	( -1 v ’
128 Calviniftic Prede/Hnation
*' children,” may not, and that fome do not,
ultimately remain in that ftate of ele&iori and
grace: that, in the language of her Liturgy,
we Who are God’s people and inheritance,
may have ** his Holy Spirit:taken from, us:”
or, as it is exprefled in her l6th Article, that
** they who have received the Holy Gholi,
“ may depart from grace givdn, and fall into
** fin,” deadly fin, according to the context;
with a poflibility indeed, but therefore with-
out a certainty, of repenting and rifirig again;
and therefore with a poflibility alfo of perill-
ing eternally: or, as her lentiments are more
largely conveyed in her “ Homily of falling
“ from God,” that they “ which are the chb-
“ fen vineyard of God, may be no longer of
“ his kingdom, may be no longer governed
“ by his Holy Spirit, may be put from the
“ grace and benefits that they had, and ever
" might have enjoyed through Chrift; may
“ be deprived of the heavenly light and life,
“ which they had in Chrift, whilft they abode
in him; may be (as they were once) as men
“ without God in this world, at rather in
** worfe taking. And, in fhort, may be given'
“ into the power of the Devil, which beareth
“ the rule in all them that be call away from
“ God, as he did in Saul and Judas: and may
“ be brought to fo vile a condition, that they129
i-S’fe V
VI
not the Doffrint of the Gofpel.
" lhall be left meet for no better purpofe, tban
“ to be for ever condemned in hellc.” And
this we teach, becaufe, among a multitude of
other authorities, God has told us by the
mouth of his Prophet Ezekiel, that “ when a
“ righteous man turneth away from his righ-
x< teoufnefs, and committeth iniquity, and dieth
u in them, for his iniquity that he hath done
“ fhall he died:” becaufe St. Peter exhorts the
Chriftian converts to “ give diligence to make
their calling and election furee:” becaufe
St. Paul admonifhes the Corinthians, “ let him
“ that thinketh he ftandeth, take heed left he
<rfallf,” and “ befeeches them that they re-
“ ceive not the grace of God in vain8:” be-
caufe he affirms of perfons, '* who have once
“ been partakers of the Holy Ghoft, that fuch
“ men may fo fall away* that it may be im-
“ poffible to renew them again unto repent-
ance h:” and becaufe he defcribes himfelf as
ftriving with the moft refolute and indefati-
gable exertion, “ left that by any means, when
“ he had preached to others, he himfelf fhould
“ be a caft-away*.”
It is the Calviniftic dotftrine, that all thofe,
who are not in the number of the ele<ft, are
c Homilies, p. 7 r. Oxf. edit,	..
d Ezek. xviii. a6.	e a Pet. i. io.
f i Cor. x. 12.	5 a Cor. vi. i,
h Heb. vi. 4,6.	‘ i Cor. ix. a6,37>
KI30
paffed over, rejected, or reprobated by God;
who has by an eternal and unalterable' decree
preordained, predeftinated and doomed thenij
before they were born, to certain and ever-*
lafting death, ruin, perdition and damnation;
for which he himfelf fits and prepares them ;
to which they are devoted, not becaufe he
forefees their unworthinefs, but folely becaufe
he wills it; and which, from the very hour of
their birth, he hath made it impoflible for
them to efcape, and hath precluded and repels
them from the means of efcaping k. Avoiding
k Liquet Deum occulto confilio libere, quos vull, eli-
gere, aliis rejedtis. Inft. lib, iii. cap. xxi. fedl. 7.
—aliis damnatio aeterna praeordinatur. Ibid. fedl. 5.
Quos Deus praeterit, reprobat. Ibid. cap. xxiii. fedl. 1.
-----dicimus, seterno et immutabili confilio Deum fe-
mel cOnftituilTe, quos olim femiel vellet—exitio devavere*.
Ibid. cap. xxi. fedl. 7.	>
, Alioqui dixiflet Paulus, reprobos fe dedere vel projicerq
in exitium. Nunc vero fignificat, antequam nafcantur,
jam fuse forti addidlos efle. Comm, in Rom. ix. 23.
f Dubiutn hon eft, quin utraque prseparatio ab arcana
Dei confilio pendeat. Ibid.
Quia perditum Deus volebat, obftinatio cordis diving
fqit ad, ruinam praeparatio, Inft.. lib- ii- cap. iv. fedl. 3.
■ Falfum eft Deum, prout unumquemque gratia fua—in-
dignum prsevidet, ita—reprobare. Comm, in Rom. ix. ir.
Dei niitu fieri—ut alii ab ejus aditu arceantur. Inft.
lib. iii. cap. xxi. fedl. 1.
Confilio nutuque fuo ita ordinat, ut inter homines ita
nafcantur, ab utero eertse morti devoti, qui fuo exitio ip-
fius nomeri glorificent.1 Ibid. cap. xxiii. fedl. 6.131
not the Do&rine of the Gofpel.
*' this moft dangerous downfall, whereby” (as?
opr Church exprefles herfelf in the 17th Ar-
ticle) “ the Devil doth thriift curious and car-*
" nal perfons, lacking the fpirit of Chfift, ei-
ther into defperation, or into wretchlefTnefs
“ of moft unclean living, no lefs perilous than,
"defperation;” our dotftrine is, in the lan-
guage of our Liturgy and Homilies, that “ God1
" willeth not the death of a (inner, but that
he fhould rather turn from his fin and be’
"■laved1;” and that, as the condemnation of
every man, that fhall perifh, “ will have been
" heaped upon himfelf by his own wickednefs'
‘l and the ftubbornnefs of his heart; which
t( defpifed the goodnefs, patience, and long-'
“ fullering of God, when he called him con-
" tipually to repentance ;” fo there is no man
but by the grace of God he may efcape and1
be faved through Chrift, provided he “ take'
" hted betime, while the day of falvation laft-
“ eth ; and abufe not the goodnefs of God,'
“ who ealleth us mercifully to amendment,
“ and of his endlefs pity promifeth us forgive-
nefs of that which is paft, if with a perfect
“ and true heart we return unto him.” And
"'V ■■ ■■ ■ >
----quos damnationi addicit, his jufto quidem et irre-
prehenfibili, fed incomprehenfibili, ipfius judicio vitae adi-
tum praecludi. Injl. lib. iii. cap. x-xiii. fe£t. 7.
1 See the Commination Service, and the Second Part
of the Sermon pf Falling from God. ->132 T Calvinijlic Predejlination
this do&rine we fupport on the general pro-
mifes of Scripture, and on innumerable indivi-
dual paflages, which might be cited in fupport
of its feveral parts; and more efpecially on
the declaration in the Prophet Ezekiel, where
they are all exprefsly afferted. “ When the
'• wicked man turneth away from his wicked-
“ nefs, that he hath committed, and doeth
“ that which is lawful and right, he Iball fave
“ his foul alive, I will judge you, O houfe of
" Ifrael, every one according to his ways,
“ faith the Lord God. Repent, and turn your-
“ felves from all your tranfgreffions, fo iniqui-
“ ty ffiall not be your ruin. Call away from
“ you all your tranfgreffions, whereby ye have
“ tranlgrefled; and make you a new heart
*? and a new fpirit, for why will ye die, O
“ houfe of Ifrael ? For I have no pleafure in
“ the death of him that dieth, faith the Lord
“ God: wherefore turn yourfelves/ and live
“ yem.”
, It is not without extreme repugnance, that
I can bring myfelf to credit my own ftate-
ment, that fuch opinions as thofe, which have
been juft afcribed to our affailants, could ever
have been foberly maintained, as the declara-
tions of the oracles of God.
Yet that fuch opinions in their full extent,
m Ezek. xviii. 27,30, 31,32.not the Doctrine of the Gofpel. 133
if not to a greater extent than hath been
ftated, were the doctrine of Calvin himfelf, is
a pofition, to which his own writings bear
unqueftionable teftimony: nor hath a fyllable
been here advanced, which thofe writings do
not exprefsly warrant. The auftere and rigor-
ous character of the dodtrine, (I with to fpeak
of it in the moft unexceptionable and inofFen-
five terms,) and its tendency withal to fofter
the moft dangerous wickednefs, moft danger-
ous, becaufe connected with an erroneous
principle, may have alarmed the more timid
of his profefled followers; and have deterred
them from adopting it with all its frightful
conlequences, however neceftarily they may
refult from his fundamental tenets. There
have not however been wanting thofe among
his difciples, both in earlier and in recent
times, who have been hardy enough to em-
ploy fuch language, as will fully juftify us, not
only in declining to propagate, but in depre-
cating the propagation of, tenets fo prepofte-
rous in themfelves, and of fuch manifeft injury
to. the caufe of pure religion. Such was the
cafe at the period of the Reformation, when,
as a late learned Divine remarks, “ Calvinifm
“ prevailed among a few Gofpellers, who
“ drew conlequences from it, which Calvin
“ would willingly have guarded againft: but
“ he had laid down the premifes; and not-134	CalnmrjUc PredejUnation \
“ withftanding be flopped there, and would
“ have perfqaded others to do the fatne, yet
“ the corrupt hearts of thefe men boldty drew
“ the conclufion for him".” Such alfo was
the cafe in the time of Charles the Firft; and
fuch it is in the prefent time?.
What, for inftance, fhall we fay of the fla*
grant Ahtinomian tendency of thofe expref-
fions, wherein a living Minifter of our Churcli,
-of great and extenfive popularity, aflerts the
doctrines of unconditional election and irre-
liftihle grace ? “ Wifdom crieth aloud, not im
the temple only, and in the courts of the
“ Lord’s houfe, but in the ftreets and the lanes
“ of the city, among the gracelefs and the
“ idle; thofe who are too gracelefs to attend
“ the ordinances of duty, and too idle to be
“concerned for their falvation. And when
“ Jefus Calls, obferve who they are he calls.
“ He fays, if any man thirft—if any man hear
‘4 my voice: he doth not fay, if any good
“ man, or any moral man; but any man. As
* Winchefter on the Seventeenth Article, chap. 4.
0 The Author has thought it neceffary to bring for-
ward at fome length the principal Calviniftic tenets in
the words of profefled Calvinifts, chiefly of the prefent
day. Should the reader find this feries of quotations irk.—
fome, and be contented with Calvin’s own reprefentatiw
of the doctrines charafterifed by his name, he may pafs
oh to page 144, where the moral tendency of the fyftem
i® difcuffed.not the Doctrine of the Gofpel. i 35
v if he had laid, I will have my offer made
if among fuch as the world may fancy too
“ worthlefs to be made partakers of my falva-
“ tion, and too far loft to be recovered. Go
*Vye into all the world, and preach the Gofpel
“ to ■ every creature. The fingle qualification
“ I exped is to believe the Gofpel: for he
v that believeth fhall be faved. And even that
' “ belief my Spirit fhall bellow : He maketh
“ my people willing in the day of his power.
“ All that the Father giveth me, fhall come to
“ me; and him that cometh, I will in no wife
“ call out. Obferve again the extenfivenefs,
the freedom, the fovereignty of his grace.
All that the* Father giveth. Not one, or
V	two, or ten thoufand ; but all. And they
“Jhall tome. What, if they do fuch and
** fuch duties ? Not a word of the kind.
“ What, if they perform fuch obligations ?
“ Not a lyllable like it. It is an abfolute pro-
V	mife of the Lord Jefus, founded in his own
“ abfolute power. Here are neither ifs nor
huts. No conditions, nor terms. They Jhall
f‘ come: and if they themfelves will not, the
“ Lord will make them willing in the day of
his power. It is he that worketh in them
“ both to will and to do of his own good plea-
fiirep.”
P Prop againft all Defpair, by Robert Hawker, D. D.
Vicar of Charles, Plymouth, p. 15, 16.
K. 413 6	'' Calvinijlic PredeJUnation
What, again; fhall we fay of the gloomy
and unhallowed picture of reprobation, ex-
hibited by another of our brethren, not many
years deceafedq, and ftill commemorated by
his admirers as “an eminent fervant ofChrift1,”
“ a turning and a fhining lightM” Who af-
ferts concerning the reprobate, whom he elfe-
where defcribes as “ neceflarily and inevitably
“ condemned to infernal death hereafter,” and
whofe. fentence he afcribes with Calvin “ not
“ to their forefeen fins, but to the fovereign
“ will and determinate pleafure of God,” that
“ God did not barely fuffer, but pofitively in-
“ tended and decreed therm to continue in
“ their natural blindnefs and habdnefs of heart;”
that they are “ veffels of wrath fitted to de-
“ ftruftion,” or, as he interprets the language
of St. Paul, put together, made up, formed,
“ or fafliioned for perdition ;” that “ God
“ choofes and pitches upon men to do the
“ moft execrable deeds ;” and that “ he does
“ not only negatively withhold from the wiek-
“ ed his grace, which alone can reftrain them
" from evil ; but that occafionally, in the
1 See the Do&ririe of Abfolute Predeftiriation, (fated
and aflerted, &c. by Auguftus Toplady, 'A. B. late Vicar
of Broad Hembury, Devon, edit. Glafgow, 1807. pages
109, no, in, 112, 160.
• ’ Evangelical Magazine, Auguft, 1808. p. 325.
8 Life of Toplady, prefixed to the above work, p. xvi. ■not the DoBrine of the Gojpel. 137
‘^courfe of his providence, he puts them into
“ circumftances of temptation, fuch as fhall
“ caufe the perfons fo tempted, a&ually to
“ turn afide from the path of duty to commit
“ fin, and to involve both themfelves and
“ others in evil.”
What again, with refpett to the abfolute
impoffibility of the non-eledt attaining to fal-
vation, fhall we fay of that monftrous pofition,
that " the fentence of God, which reje&s the
“ reprobates, is fo fixed and immutable, that
“ it is impoffible they fhould be faved, though
“ they have performed all the works of the
“ faints : and that therefore it is not true, that
“ thofe, who perifh through their own fault,
“ might have been faved through grace, if
“ they had not ceafed labouring for faving
“grace4?”
What again, with reference to the do&rine
of the impeccability and final perfeverance of
the ele<5t, or in the phrafeology of the fyflem,
“ once a faint and always a faint, once a child
“ of God and always a child of God ;” (a doc-
trine let me obferve by the way after the
‘ See “ The Refult of Falfe Principles, or Error convjft-
“ ed by its own Evidence, extracted from , the original of
“ Dr.. Womack, fometime Lord Bifliop of St. David’s.”
edit, I790. p. 78. An admirable expofure of the mif-
chievous tendency of Calvinifm.*
1,33 A Calviniftic PredeJUnatiott
leiarned Dr. Barrow, “ which is oppofed to
?* the unanimous content of all Chriften^pra
for fifteen hundred years “what fhall we
fay of the arrogance and blafphemous. impiety
©f that declaration, that " the child of God in
“ the power of grace doth perform every duty
“ fo well, that to afk pardon for failing either
<e in matter or in manner is a fin ; that it is
“ unlawful to pray for forgivenefs of fins after
“ converfion ; and that, if he does at any time
fall, he can by the power of grace carry his
f* fin unto the Lord, and fay, Here I had it;
** and here I leave it1!” What fhall we fay, of
the flagitious tendency of that aflertion, “ God
u does no longer ftand offended nor difpleaf
'If ed, though a believer, after he is a believer;
do fin often; except he will be offended,
“ where there is no caufe to be offended;
“ which is blafphemy to fpeak. It is thought
“ that eledt perfons are in a damnable ftate, in
“ the time they walk in excels of riot: let me
“ fpeak freely to you, that the Lord has no
more to lay to the charge of an eledl per-
t* fon, yet in the height of iniquity, and in the
“ excefs of riot, and committing all the abo-
u Barrow’s Works, vol. ii, p. 51.
x Fifty Propofitions taken from the Mouth of Mr. J.
Brierly, prop. 19. See Grey’s Hudibras, part ii. chap. ii.
Ver. 245.not {he Do&rine of the Gojpel. i s&
u minations that can be committed f }'- Or
bow can we fuffipiently abominate the fanc-
tion conferred upon every fpecies of profliga-
cy, in fuch an affirmation as the following, fo^
lemnly delivered, and deliberately repeated and
maintained ? “ Let any true faint of God”
(faid one of the Puritanical fupporters of Cal-
vriniftic election in former times) " be taken
" away in the very a£t of any known fin, be-
**■ fore it is poflible for him to repent, I make
" no doubt or fcruple of it, but that he fhall
f< as furely be faved, as if he had- lived to have
“ repented of it.” " I lay that when God
f£ doth take away any of the faints in the very
a& of fin, he doth in that very inftant give
“ them fuch a particular and actual repentj-
" ance, as fhall fave their fouls. For he hath
" pjredeftinated them, to everlafting life ; there-
" fore having predeftinated them to the end,
he doth predefiinate to the means to obtain
“ it*.”
1 Nor is it in the days of ancient Puritanifm
alone, that the aflertion, that “ the elect fhall
'*■*' be faved, do what they will,” can boaft its
(advocate, charged as it is with the moil noxi-
ous and peftilential confequences, “ deftroying
y Quoted from Crifp in Fletcher’s Firft Check to An-
tinomianifiri, p. 87, 88.
1 Pryn’s Perpetuity of a Regenerate Man’s Eftate, pages
339»34* •140	Calvirwfiic Prede/linatton
** the neceffity of all care and endeavours after
“ righteoufnefs, and cutting the linews of all
** religion’.” Nor is it, in principle at leaft,
if it be avowedly, of fuch rare occurrence, as
a recent writer, in his well-intentioned zeal
for religious unity, would perfuade us to her
lieveb. I dwell not upon the fcandalous af-
fertion of certain early preachers of Method-
ifm, that “ after the eleCt have received the
“ Spirit, they cannot fin; and if they commit
“ any fin, it is only an error in fuch ; and let
“ them do whatever they pleafe after their
“ adoption, however finful the a&, they are
“ fure to be faved notwithftanding V’ But I
rather alk, what is the principle, on which
proceeds the language of a late Minifter of our
Church, that “ the falvation of every one of
“ the eleCt is certain, and can by no means be
“ preventedwhen taken in connection with
another of his pofitions, that “ the viletl fin-
“ ner may, for aught we can tell, appertain to
“ the eledion of grace, and be one day wrought
“ upon by the Spirit of God V’ I would afk,
wherefore it is affirmed by another, who went
out from us, that “ he feared not the falling
■ i
*■ Stebbing on the Spirit, chap. xv. feft. xi.
b See Zeal without Innovation, p. 58.
e See Enthufiafm of Papifts and Methodifts compared,
part iii. pref. p. xxx.
d Toplady on Predeftination, p. 53, 105.141
not the Doctrine of the Qofpel.
finally, although he feared he fhould pro-
. vote God to let him fall foully f and gene-
rally* that “ though God’s people may fall
" foully, however their poor fouls may be
“ harrafied, yet ho wicked devil, nor their
“ own depraved hearts, fliall be able to fepa-
“ rate them from the love of God: God has
“ loved them, God has fixed his heart upon
“ them, and having loved his- own, he loves
“ them unto the ende.” I would alk, on
What ground it is maintained by another of
Our brethren, ftill living, and fiill engaged in
the adtive exercife of his profelfion, that “ eve-
“ ry idea of moral goodnefs, as a qualification
“ for obtaining pardon mercy and peace from
“ God is done awayfthat “ no demerit on
“ the part of believers can arife to defeat the
“ operation of God’s gracesthat “ the pre-
“ fent life is not a life of probation and trialh;”
and that we have reafon to “ hope, that the
“ laft day will bring forward ]to the admiring
“view of applauding worlds numberlefs ex-
“ amples of falvation, where divine grace has
“ glorioufly triumphed in the converfion of
“ finners in their lafi: moments, when the
“ whole life has been fpent before in hardnefs
• Whitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. ?8. and vol. v. p; 345.
f Hawker’s Prop to Defpair, p. xi.
’? ! Hawker’s Zion’s Pilgrim, p. 60.
h Ibid. p. 160.W3 sC&ltiiniftyG PredeJtinatUtfl ^
*-* and impenitence*.” I Would afk, with what
view it is affirmed by a fourth, that the “ ydit
“ of God to do good to his children does, not
M depend on their will* or'on their faithfulnefs,*
v or on anything in themfelvesk (' for what
r-eafon he lends his fan&ion to the dodfrine/
that “ as it was not any lovelinefs in ele<3?
“ perfons Which moved God to love them at
“ firft, fo neither fhall their unlovely back-’
‘t Hidings deprive them of it1and more ef-
pecially why he gives currency and authority
to the wild pofition, that “ fuppofe a believer
“ be taken away in his fin, and hath not time
“ to repent of it, there was that in him, that
o would have repented, and God reckons of a1
“ man according to that he would do or to
the equally dangerous doctrine, that “ though
“ a believer be black as hell, polluted with*
**"guilt,,defiled with fin, yet in Chrift he is all
“ fair without/(pot?; free from fin, as viewed
“ by God in Ghrift, fully reconciled toGtidy
“ and Handing .without trefpafies before him111.’’
Still more particularly I would' afk, what in-
>	...	; V
’ Hawker's Mifericordia, p. 116.	1 “
,■ k Walk of Faith, by the Reverend William Romaine j
Works, vol. i. p. 358.
1 Coles. pn God’s Sovereignty, edited by Rornaiae,
p. 294-
m Mafon’s Spiritual Treafury, edited and recommended
by Romaine, p. 141. and 206.	• ; :	. •not the Do&rine of the Gofpel.
terpretation mull be affixed to the language of
another modern Predeftinarian of eminence i
when, alluding to David’s murder of Uriah
and adultery with Bathlheba, he demands;
‘/ Though I believe, that David’s fin difpleafed
“ the Lord, mull I therefore believe that Da-
“ vid’s perfon was under the curfe of the law ?
“ Surely no. Like Ephraim he was Hill a
“ pleafant child ; though he went on froward-
“ ly, he did not lofe the character of the man;
“ after God’s own heart n.” And again ; “ Net
“ falls or backllidings in God’s children can
“ ever bring them again under condemnation,
“ becaufe the law of the fpirit of life in Chritl
“ Jefus hath made them free from the law of
fin and death0.” And again; “If Chrift
“ has fulfilled the whole law and borne the
“ curfe, then all debts and claims againft his
“ people, be they more or be they lefs, be they
“ fmall or be they great, be they before or be
“ they hfter converfion, are for ever and for
“ ever cancelled. All trefpafles are forgiven
“ them. They are juftified from all things.
“ They already have everlafting lifep.” “ God
“ views them without fpot, or wrinkle, or any
“ fuch thing: they Hand always compleat .in
•' i
f n Quoted from Sir Richard Hill, in Fletcher’s Third
Qheckrto Antinomianifui, p. 73.
0 Ibid. p. So.	•-	;■
. JP Ibitf. p, 84‘.'	. (fif. >144	* Calvini/Uc Predejlinatioh '
“ the everlaftirig righteoufnefs of the Redeerrr-
“ er. Black in themfel'ves, they are comely
" through his comelinefs. He, who is of purer
" eyes than to behold iniquity, can neverthe-
" lefs addrefs 'them with,S * 7 Thou art all-fair,
“ my love, my undefiled; there is no fpot in
" thee ql”
Far be it from mie to aflert, that, every man,
who calls himfelf a Calvinift, does admit thefe
abominable tenets, however they may feem in
reafon, and by fair dedu&ion, to form a con-
ftituent part of his creed, and avowed as they
are by fome of our accufers : or that every
man, who does maintain thefe fentiments, as
part of his creed; is prepared to take advan-
tage of that fan&ion, which they fupply to
licentious pradice ! Some minds indeed there
may be, and fuch unqueftionably there are, of
fuperior quality, whofe love of God islfoo de-
vout, and their piety too ardent, to fuffer
them to ufe their tenets as a licence for care-
lelfnefs or immorality; and who remain, as
Tully teftified of the difciples of Epicurus, vir-
tuous in fpite of their principles r.
S Quoted from Sir Richard Hill, in Fletcher’s Third
Check to Antinomianifm, p. 84.
1 Sunt nonnullae difciplinsc, qua?, propofitis bonorum
et malorum finibus, officium amore pervertunt. Nam qui
fummum bonum inftituit, ut nihil habeat cum virtute
eonjun&um, idque fuis commodie, non honeflate metitur,not the Do&rine of the Gofpel. 145
But this maybe fafely affirmed; that where-
ever fuch principles are maintained, (and that
there are fome perfons bold enough to main-
tain bhem, the foregoing extra&s will demon-
ftrafe,) the peril to a mind of the common
ftamp is palpable and incalculable. Let a man
of ordinary temper be perfuaded, that he is
one.of the eledt; (and it reds with the Cal-
vinift to fhow, that perfons in general, who
maintain his opinions, will not be fo perfuad-
ed, unlefs on fubftantial grounds;) and let hint
moreover be perfuaded of what we have feen
there are not wanting teachers to perfuade
him, that no duties are required to be per-
formed, no obligations to be fulfilled, no terms,
no conditions to be obferved, in order to qua-
lify him for falvation •, but that whatever fins
he may commit, he is fure to be faved not-
withftanding; that whatever be his falls and
backflidings, all trefpafles are forgiven him ;
that God views him without fpot, or wrinkle,
or any fuch thing; that he is juftified from
all things; that he already has everlafting life;
that he fiands always abfolved in the ever-
lafting righteoufnefs of the Redeemer that
perfon is little acquainted with the corrupt
and* vicious propenfities of human, nature, who
hie, fi fibi i'pfe confentiat, et non interdum naturae boni-
tate vincatur, neque amiciliam colere poflit, nec jufdtiam.
Cic. de Off,'t cap. i. p. %.
L146	Calvini/lic Predejliriatibn
will undertake to anfwer for the confequence;
or rather it may be faid, who will not under-
take to affirm, that the confequence will nei-
ther redound to the credit of the dodlrine, nor
conduce to the everlafting welfare of its pro-
feflor. “ The great advocates of election and
“ reprobation,” fays Bithop Sherlock, a writer
diftinguilhed for the clearnefs and folidity of
his judgment, “ always reckon themfelves in
“ the number of the ele<3:; and that their ini-
“ quities, of which they are often confcious,
“ may not rife up againft them, they main-
“ tain, that the a61 of man cannot make void
“ the purpofe of God, or the fins of the ele6t
“ deprive them of the benefit of God’s eternal
“ decree. Thus fecured, they defpife the vir-
“ tues and moral attainments of all men, and
“ doom them with all their virtues to dellrue-
“ tion, whilft they advance themfelves with
“ all their fins to a throne of glory, prepared
“ for them before the world begans.”	“ If I
“ be eleded, no fins can poffibly bereave me
“ of the kingdom of heaven ; if reprobated;
“• no good deeds can advance me to it.” Such
was the language of a German potentate in
former times, when his friends admoniffied
him of his vicious converfation, and dangerous
Hate. “ An objection,” remarks Heylyn, “ not
s Sherlock's Sermons, voLii. p. 89.not the T)oBrine of theGofpel. 147
*' more old than common : but fuch, I muft
" confefs, to which I never found a fatisfadtory
“ anfwer from the pen of Supralapfarian, or
“ Sublapfarian, within the fmall compafs of
" my reading1.”
What fruit, on the other hand, is to be ex-
pected from thole, who believe themfelves to
lie under a fentence of irrefpective and inevi-
table reprobation; intended and decreed to
everlafting torments by the unalterable will,
and- fitted for perdition by the omnipotent
hand, of God? What in a man of ordinary
temper, but “ a reckleffnefs of unclean living,”
a foul dead to every fenle of religion, and a
heart hardened in impenitence ? Or, if fuch a
perfuafion gain pofleflion of one, whofe mind
is endowed with higher and more ingenuous
qualities, and alive to a nicer fenfibility, to
what other confequences can it be expe&ed to
lead, than a difmal melancholy ; a fixed and
comfortlefs defpondence ; or a gloomy aliena-
tion of reafon ; which will endure as long as
his mortal exiftence, and will at length break
forth perhaps in a paroxyfm of frenzy, or in a
death violent and premature ? For fuch a be-r
ing, an outcaft in his own imagination from
divine grace, and abandoned to irremediable
condemnation, the prefent has no enjoyment
1 tJeylyn’s Quinquarticular Hiftory, part i. chap. iv.148	Cahinijiic Predejlination
to cheer, nor has the future any promife to
comfort him. For him the blood of the Sa-
viour of the world has not been fhed :—for
him “ the God of all comfort” extends not the
arms of his mercy:—“ the dayfpring from on
“ high” does not vifit him with one gleam of
hope, “ to guide his feet into the way of
“peace:”—but he advances through clouds
and thick darknefs towards the vale of the
lhadow of death, which he furveys before him,
not as a refuge, “ where the wicked ceafe
“ from troubling and. the weary be at reft;”
not as an avenue to the abode of happinefs,
where his earthly fufferings are to be recom-
penfed by “ an eternal weight of glorybut
as the paflage from a fhort life of intolerable
mifery and apprehenfion, to an inteuminable
exiftence of far more exceeding horror!
This is not a picture of the imagination:
would to God that it were 1 The experiencei
both of earlier and of more recent times, will
furnifh too many originals ; whilft the fame
experience will alfo warrant an opinion, that
the evils, which reiult fron? the fyftem to the
individual profeflbr, are not redeemed by any
benefits, to which it gives rife in his inter-
courfe with fociety.
That Calvinifm has a general tendency to
create and fofter humility and a Chriftian tem-
per, is an opinion which its adherents maynot the Doctrine of the Gofpel. ] 49
fondly cheri(hu, but which the evidence of
hiftory will not fubftantiate. If it be fo, why
did it not reftrain the intolerant and perfect-
ing fpirit, with which Calvin himfelf main-
tained his doctrines, even to the banifhment, if
not to the death, of one of his unhappy vic-
tims’'; when, inconliftently with the atfertion
Of a late biographer, that “ he hever ufed any
“ ex^reflions unworthy of a pious many,” he
ftyled his opponents “ fools,” and “ impious
“ litigating with God“ forgetful that they
** were men “ virulent dogs, barking and
“ vomiting forth their accufations again ft God;”
“ malignant and impudent calumniators of his
** do&rine V’ in a word, accufing them of
* See Calv. Inft. lib. iii. cap. xxi. fe£t. i. and White-
field’s Works, vol. iv. p. 61.
x Sebaftian Caftalio. See Heylyn’s Quinquart. Hift.
part i. chip. v. part iii. chap. xvi. Mofheim, cent. xvi.
fe£t. iii. p. 3.
y Mackenzie’s Life of Calvin, p. 140.
z Figmenta, quae ad evertendam praodeftinationem com-
mend funt ftulti homines. Inft. lib. iii. cap. xxi. left. 7.
Quae fpeciofe ad fuggillandam Dei juftitiam praetendit
impietas. Ibid.
Haec quidem piis et modeftis abunde fufficerent, et qui
fe homines reminifcuntur. Quia tamen non unam fpe-
ciem virulenti ifti canes evomunt contra Deum &c. Mul-
tis modis cum Deo litigant ftulti homines. Ibid. cap.
xxiii. feift. 3.
----divinae Providentiae calumniator. Ibid. fe£t. 5.
Maligne atque impudenter hanc do£trinam calumniah-
>ur alii. Ibid. fe£t. 13.150
Calvmifiic PredeJUnation
every fpecies of depravity, moral as well as
intelle&ual, with fuch afperity of manner, and
fuch virulence of language, as provoked the
mild Bucer to write to him, that “ he regu-
“ lated his judgment by his paffions of love
“and hatred, and thefe by his mere will;”
and to beftow on him the appellation of “,a
“Fratricide3?” If it be fo, why did it not
check the arrogance, the turbulence, the dan-
ders of his early partizans; the Contra-Re-
monftrants on the continent; and their abet-
tors, the Gofpellers, as they were termed,'
among ourfelves ? Why , did it not mitigate
that implacable temper, wherewith the oppo-
nents of Arminius belied, calumniated, and
falfely accufed him ; and wherewith his col-
league Gomarus in particular averred, that
“ he flhould be afraid to die in his principles,
“ and appear before the tribunal of God
and that, in fo uncharitable a manner, as to
draw from one, that heard him, the memora--
ble declaration, that “ he had rather die with
“ the faith of Arminius, than with the charity
“ of his accuferY’ Why did it not corred
Perfidi et impii nebulones. Epi/i. Col. 142.
---quemadmodum protervi ifti canes contra nos bla-
terant. In Exek. xviii. 32.
* Judicas, prout amas vel odifti; amas autem, vel odifti,
prout libet. See the Examination of Tilenus, p, 324.
b See Brandt’s Hiftory of the Reformation in the Low
Countries, vo], ii. p. 51,48.151
not the Do&rinc of the Gofpel.
fhe domineering and tyrannical conduct, the
bitternefs and evil-fpeaking, the partiality and
duplicity, the frauds, deceits, and equivoca-
tions, pra&ifed in fupport of their do&rine
by the delegates at Dort, to fuch an extent as
to excite the ditguft and animadverfion even of
their adherents themfelves c ? Why did it not
moderate the bigotry, the intolerance, and the
factious fpirit of the Scotch Covenanters, who
fold their King ; and why did it not purify the
hearts and lives of the Englifh regicides, who
bought and flew him ; inftead of giving a
famftion to their vices, whilft they lived, and
affording them, as was notorioufly the cafe
with Cromwelld, peace and co'nfolation in the
* See Examination of Tilenus, Pref. Epift. p. 253.
Brandt’s Hift. vol. iii. p. 308—12. Hales’s and Balcan-
qual’s Letters from the Synod, efpecially p. 482. and fol-
lowing. Heylyn’s Quinquartic. Hift. part i. chap. v.
d “ This minds me of a remarkable paffage told by Dr.
ei Bates, who wrote the Elenchus Motuum Nuperorum in
“ Anglia. He, as a phyfician, was called upon to aflift
“ that night that Oliver proved a true deliverer of his
“ country. The Protestor was in great agonies of mind,
“ often ftarted, and afked them, if they faw any thing?
ef At length he called for his chaplains; and the fir ft
“ queftion he alked them, was, If there was any falling
“ from grace ? To which being anfwered in the negative,
“ Then, faid he, I im fafe. For he fuppofed that fome
“ time or other in his life he might have had a little
“ grace. And then his ufurpation, with the murder of
“ the King, and devaftation of three kingdoms, befides152 Calvinifiic Predefiination '
hour of death, from the perfuafion, that, tvhsfc
ever were their fins, they could not fall from
grace, which they had once enjoyed ? Why
did it not prevent the Calvinifiic champion of
Methodifm from committing, avowing, and
juftifying a breach of faith towards his Armi-
nian antagonift, for the purpofe of propagat-
ing thefe very doctrines themfelvesc; and
why did it not humble that imperious temper,
f‘ imperious” by his own confeflion f, which
prompted him to ufurp and exercife dominion
over the faith of his brethren, yea of his fa-
thers, in Chrift ; and to pronounce on thefe
controverted points with all the arrogance and
fancied infallibility of a Roman Pontiff® ? Fi-
nally, why does it not infufe a milder, a more
tolerant, and a more Chriftian fpirit into its
advocates of the prefent day ; and incline
them to regard us, who are of a different per-
fuafion, with “ brotherly love,” inftead of de-
nouncing us, as dangerous heretics and fchif-
matics ; as impious hypocrites 5 bJafphemers;
“ much blood (hed abroad, and the overthrow of the
“ eftablifhed Church, could do him no hurt i This is a
“ Ihort way of quieting confcience, and to lull men afleep
“ in their fins! Thus poor fouls are deluded by thefe doc-
“ trines of decrees.” Rehearfal, vol. iv. p. 45.
e See Coke’s Life of Wefley, p. 214.
f Whitefield’s. Works, vol. i. p. 195.
« Ibid. p. 95, 101, iBa, 31a, &c.not the DoBrine of the Gofpel. 15 3
*nd perjured apoftates from the truth? “Cer-
“ tainly,” remarked a late very learned Prelateh,
“ the greateft fault of the Calvinift? has been
“ their want of charity for thofe who differ
“ from them t” a fault, I cannot but add, little
confident with that “ meeknefs,” which White-
field profefled to difcover in Calvin1, and which
he propofed as a pattern for his own imita-
tion. For my own part, to fuch “ railing
“ accufations” as thofe which have juft been
noticed, I reply in the language of a friend
of Arminius, on whom fimilar appellations
were profufely laviftied by his opponents, “ I
“ am no Arian, no Papift, no Calvinift, no
“ Lutheran, no Pelagian, but a Christian,
“ ordained to proclaim the perfedions of Him,
f who has called us out of darknefs into his
“ marvellous lightk.” But at the fame time,
when I thus furvey the condud of thofe, who
have been moil vehement in the propagation
of thefe peculiar tenets;—when I refled; how
aliene is religious intolerance from “ the royal
“ law” of Chriftian charity ;—and when I
likewife call to mind the promife of our blefl>
ed Lord, that “ if any man will do his Fa-
ther’s will, he iball know of the dodrine,
h Bifhop Horfley’s primary Charge at St. Afaph.
' Wbitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 439.
k Speech of Vitenbogart before the States of Holland.
See Brandt’s Hift. vol. ii. p. 56.154	Calviniflic Predejiination
“ whether it be of God1—when I recolledi
moreover the tendency, that Calvinifm has al-
ready been reprefented to bear, with refpedt to
the moral conduct, and the peace of heart, of its
profefiors :—I cannot but look upon it with a
very fufpicious eye; and feel difpofed to ac-
knowledge, with humble and hearty thanks
to Almighty God, that a dodtrine, teeming
with fiich dark prefages on the one hand, and
with fuch profligacy on both ; and fo prone
withal, if not to promote, at leafl: not to dif-
courage, an acrimonious fpirit in its profeflors,
is not the dodtrine which we preach. If
therefore, as was before remarked, when it is
objected to us that we do not preach the Gof-
pel, thefe dodtrines are intended as the doc-
trines of the Gofpel, we are not difpofed to
fhrink from the charge. The words, which
we preach, are the words of peace and confo-
lation, not thofe of horror and defpair: the
fruits which we attempt to rear, are the fruits
of holinefs, from a meek and lowly heart; not
thofe of a prefumptuous temper, and an un-
clean life: fearful of “ making the heart of
“ the righteous fad, whom God has not made
“ fad, and of ftrengthening the hands of the
“ wicked, that he lhould not return from his
“ wicked way, by promifing him lifem,” the
1 John vii. 37.
ra Ezek. xiii. 22. %155
not the Do&rine of the Gofpel.
Gofpel which we preach, we believe to be the
Gofpel of the Holy Spirit; as for thofe doc-
trines, which are fometimes preached for the
Gofpel, we know not what fpirit they are of.
Let me here paufe to remark on the cafe of
thofe among our brethren of the eftablifhment,
who, unwilling, as it appears, to “ launch out
“ into that unfordable abyfs of horror and
“ aflonithment, the decree of eternal reproba-
“ tion",” veil their opinions upon the fubjedt of
predeftination under the fpecious title of “ a
“ milder and moderate Calvinifm.” “ No-
“ thing,” remarks their Apologift, “ is further
“ from my purpofe, than to infer from what
“ has been advanced in this fedtion, that the
“ precife theological fyllem of John Calvin in
“ all its parts and to its full extent was in-
“ fended to be eftablifhed in the thirty-nine
“ Articles to the exclution of every milder fen-
“ timent0.” “ When therefore,” he continues,
after fome intermediate obfervations, “ certain
“ writers have formed a frightful lyftem of
“ nothing but abfolute decrees, abfolute repro-
“ bation, and other extravagancies, which we
“ abfolutely difavow, they may attack it as
“ vehemently as they pleafe ; but it deferves
“ their confideration, that it is a creature
n Examination of Tilenus, p. 392.
0 Overton’s True Churchmen, See. p. 93.150	Calvintflic Predejlination
" of their own, and that in refpe& to us at
“ leaft the moft pointed of their weapons
“ falls, Telum imbelle fine i£tup. Whether
the extravagant and frightful fyftem, which
the writers here alluded to attack, be in
point of fa6t a creature of their own ; and
whether to allege that it is fo, be creditable to
the ingenuoufnefs of him who affirms it; are
queftions not deftitute of importance, but they
muft be pafled over as foreign to my more
immediate purpole, to which I accordingly
haften.
Now we thould rejoice in giving to all the
followers of Chrift, and efpecially to thefe
brethren and minifters of our own commu-
nion, “ the right hand of fellowfhip.” I ad-
mire their zeal, and I honour their exertions.
When therefore I hear them apparently ex-
cepting againft “ feveral doctrines, which are
• “ contained in Calvin’s lnftitutions'5when
I hear them denying, as it fhould feem, “ that
“ the fall of Adam was the effeft of a divine
“ decreeadmitting that the efficacy of
“ Chrift’s redemption extends” to all man-
kind ; and difavowing and condemning alto-
gether the dodxine of abfolute reprobation, as
being “unfcriptural or liable to abufer:” when
p Overton, p. 96.	s See Overton, p. 93.
r Remarks on Dr. Kipling’s Pamphlet by Academicus,
P- 5■not, the Do&rine of the Gofpel. 157
they exprefs themfelves as “ willing unequi-
“ vocally to teach, that man’s falvation is
“ wholly of grace, but that his perdition is
“ of himfelf; and neither to make God the
“ author of fin, nor man a mere machine and
'* unfit to be treated as a moral agents;” “ the
“ caufe of God’s rejection of any man being
“ his fin and rejection of the Goipelwhen
they moreover unrefervedly contend, as the
unqueftionable dodtrine of Scripture, that “ we
“ fhall be judged, rewarded, and receive ac-
“ cording to our works; that the wicked
“ fhall be puniflied with different degrees of
“ punithment proportioned to their demerits;
“ and that God will give to his faithful people
“ higher degrees of glory in reward for higher
“ degrees of holinefs and good works *—
when fome of thefe conceffions and declara-
tions I hear, and others I think I hear, from
the moderate Calvinifts, I am inclined to che-
rifh a feeling of regret, that their attachment
to an obnoxious, or, to employ the epithet of
their Advocate, “ an odious name",” thould
ferve to keep open a breach, not required by
an ellential difference of dodtrine.
But when on the other hand I hear them
maintain, too plainly to be miftaken, but in-
s Overton, p. 89.	* Ibid. p. 291, 293.
u Overton’s Preface, p. iv.158 Catviniftic Predejiihation
confidently I apprehend with the opinions juft
recited, that “ the fundamental principles on
“ which the Calviniftic lyftem refts, are incon-
“ trovertiblex;” and that “ the Authors of our
“ national forms unqueftionably built upon
“ the fame foundation with this celebrated
" Reformer, but have not carried the fuper-
“ ftru&ure to the fame heighty—when I
hear them referring more efpecially to the
“ doctrines of Auftin, as the great model2” of
their opinions:—when I recollect, that one
rigid maintainer of the higher fyftera of Cal-
vinifm commemorates this father as “ the
“ great,” “ the excellent,” “ the evangelical,”
becaufe of his fteadfaft attachment to, and
nervous fuccefsful defences of, the decrees, of
Goda; that another extols “ the piety, learn-
“ ing, and ability,” with which he confutes
the doctrines of free-will, univerfal redemp-
“ tion, and falling from graceb;” and that it is
the avowal of Calvin himfelP, that “ if hechofe
“ to compofe an entire volume from Auftin* he
could readily convince the reader, that he
* Overton, p. 355. y Ibid. p. 94. z Ibid. p. 95.
1 Toplady on Predeftination, p. 136, 144, 151.
b Goliath Slain, p. 124.
c Si ex Auguftino integrum volumen contexere libeat,
leftoribus oftendere promptum eflet, mihi non nifi ejui
verbis opus efiTe : fed eos prolixitate onerare nolo. Ca.lv.
Inft. lib. iii. cap. xxii. fe£t. 8.not the DoQrine of the Gofpel. 159
“ had occafion for none but his words—-
when moreover I refledl, not on the reprefent-
ation of a partizan on either fide, but on what
I underftand to be the real do&rines of Aulliri
on the matter in debate; as, that “ Almighty
“ God does not will the falvation of all men,
“ but only of the eleitdthat “ Chrifi: did
“ not die for all men, but only for the eledte
that “ all men have not the means of falvation
“ given to them by God, but that the non-*
“ ele£t are abandoned in a gracelefs mafs of
“ perdition, excluded from the gift of faith,
“ and denied the opportunity of believing{;’
d Quod fcriptum eft, quod vult omnes homines falvos
fieri, nec tamen omnes faivi fiunt, multis quidem modis
intelligi poteft, ex quibus in aliis opufculis noftris aliquos
commemoravimus : fed hie unuro dicam. Ita diftum eft,
Omnes homines vult falvos fieri, ut intelligantur omnes
praedeftinati; quia omne genus hominum in eis eft. Au-
guji. de Correptione et Gratia, cap. xiv.
Ita debemus intelligere quod fcriptum fit, Qui omnes
homines vult falvos fieri, tanquam diceretur, nullum homi-
nem fieri falvum, nifi quem fieri ipfe voluerit: non quod
nullus fit hominum, nifi quem falvum fieri velit, fed quod
nullus fiat, nifi quem velit. Enchiridion, cap. xxix.
e Adde adhuc, Qui proprio Filio fiuo non pepercit, fed
pro nobis omnibus tradidit eum, quomodo eliam non cum
illo omnia nobis donavit P Sed quibus ? Nobis praefeitis,
et praedeftinatis, juftificatis, glorificatis, de quibus fequitur.
In Evang. Johan, TraEt. cap. 45.
f Haec eft prasdeftinatio fan£torum; nihil aliud quam
praefeientia fcilicet et praeparatio beneficiorum Dei, quibus
certiflime liberantur, quicunque liberantur. Ceteri auteml6o Calviniftic Predejlination
that “ the commiflion of fin and the blindnefs
“ and hardnefs of heart of the finner are not
“ barely permitted by God, but are pofitive
operative ads of his mofi omnipotent power*
“ and his free and unbiafied wills;” and that
“ Judas was chofen, not like the other Apofiles
ubi, nifi 5n mafia perditionis, judo divino judicio relin-
quuntur ? Ubi Tyrii relifti funt et Sidonii, qui etiam cre-
dere potucrunt, fi jnira ilia Chrifti figna vidiffent. Sed
quoniam ut crederent, non erat eis datum, etiam undo
crederent eft negatum. Ex quo apparet, habere quofdam
in ipfo ingeiiio divinum naturaliter munus intelligentiae,
quO moveantur ad fidem, fi congrua fins mentibusvel
audiant verba, vel figria confpiciant: et tamen fi Dei
altiore judicio a perditionis maffa non font gratias pr£e-
deftinatione difcreti, nec ipfa eis adhibentur vel dicta di-
vina, vel fafta, per qua poflent credere, fi audirent utique
talia, vel videreot.-.... Audiunt enim haec et faciunt,
quibus datum eft; nonautem faciunt, five audiant five non
audiant, quibus datum non eft. De Dono Perfeveranticet
cap. xiv.
s Quantum ad ipfos attinet (malos fcil.) quod Deus
nolait, fecerunt: quantum vero ad omnipotentian* Dei,
nullo modo id efficere valuerunt. Hoc quippe ipfo, quod
contra voluntatem ejus fecerunt, de ipfis fadta eft voluntas
ejus. Propterea namque, magna opera, Domini, exquifitd
ifi omnes voluntates ejus; ut miro et ineffabili modo non
fiat prater ejus voluntatem, quod etiam contra ejus fit
voluntatem. Quia non fieret, fi non fineret; nec Utique
nolens finit, fed volens. Enchir. cap. xxix.
Non eft dubitandum, voluntati Dei humanas voluntates
non pofle refiftere, quo minus facial ipfe, quod vult: quan-
doquidem etiam de ipfis hominum voluntatibus, quod vult,
cum vult, facitfine dubio habens humanorum cordiufPjnot the Doctrine of the Gofpel. 161
V	in mercy to partake of Chrift’s kingdom, but
V	that he was chofen and pitched upon in
“judgment on purpofe to commit the damna-
“ ble adt of betraying his Matter, and to be
“ the means of thedding his blood8:”—I catch
through the veil of mildnefs and moderation
too clear a view of that frfghtful phantom, of
“ thofe rigours of the fyftemh,” from which
our Calviniftic brethren would fain be releafed,
quo placeret, inclinandoram omnipotentiffimam potefta-
tem. De. Corrept. et Grat. cap. xiv.
Deus omnipotens, five per mifericordiam cujus vult
mifereatur, five per judicium quem vult obduret, nec ini-
que aliquid facit, nec nifi volens quidquam facit, et omnia
qusecunque vult facit. Enchir. cap xxix.
Agit Omnipotens in cordibus hominum etiam motum
voluntatis eorum, ut per eos agat, quod per eos agere
ipfe voluerit. De Grat. et lib. Arbit. cap. xxi.
—Manifeftatur, operari Deum in cordibus hominum
ad inclinandas eorum voluntates quocunque voluerit, five
ad bona, pro fua mifericordia; five ad mala, pro meritis
eorum, judicio utique fuo, aliquando aperto, aliquando
occulto, temperv autem jufto. De Grat. et lib. Arbit.
cap. xxi.
S Eletti autem funt ad regnandum cum Chrifto, non quo-
modo eleftus eft Judas ad opus cui congruebat. Ab illo
quippe eleftus eft, qui novit bene uti etiam malls, ut et
per ejus opus damnabile, illud, propter quod ipfe venerat,
opus venerabile compleretur. Cum itaque audimus, Nonne
ego vos duodecim elegi, et unus ex vobis diabolus ejl, illos
debemus intelligere eleftos per mifericordiam, ilium per
judicium j illos ad ohtinendum regnum Ijium, ilium ad
effundendum fanguinem fuum. De. Corr. et Grat. cap. vii.
h Overton, p. 96.
M1(52	Calmni/iic PredeJUnation
to fufFer me to entertain a reafonable hope of
any important approximation in our opinions.
There is indeed in abfoliite election, and in
its obvious and necelFary confequences, that
which mull dagger the faith of any man, who
is not prepared to go to much greater lengths,
than comport withTthe gentle terms of mild nets
and moderation. It was the memorable ob-
fervation and advice of a late Predeftinarian,
“ You will reap much improvement from the
“ view of predeftination in its full extent, if
“ your eyes are able fteadfaftly to look at all
“ which God hath made known concerning it.
“ But if your fpiritual light is weak, forego the
“ inquiry as far as reprobation is concerned,
“ and be content to know but in part, till
“ death tranfmits you to that perfect date,
“ where you lhall know even as you are
“ known What an acknowledgment is
this, to the infurmountable prejudice of abfo-
lute predeftination ! For what can we think of
a do6trine, which its ftrenuous maintainer re-
prefents, as made known by God, but at the
fame time as too formidable /or the contem-
plation of an ordinary mind ? And how can it
be a part of that revelation, which Chrift com-
manded to be difclofed to *' every creature,”
and more efpecially to the poor and the weak ?
> Toplady on Predeftination, Preface, p. viii.not'the Doctrine of the Gofpel. 103
It is however upon the principle here avow-
ed, that the conduct'of the moderate Calvinift
appears to be regulated. He endeavours per-
haps to dole his eyes on thofe parts of the
fyftem, which are too “ horrible” (I ufe the
epithet of its framerk) to be fteadfaftly beheld
by any other than an eye of uncommon firm-
nets • and he endeavours to withdraw them
from the foreground of the picture, and to
throw them into fhade, left their deformity
thou Id thock and appal his weaker brethren.
Still, with whatever caution thefe horrors may
be concealed, they conftitute an eflential part
of the tyftern. “ Where there is an election
‘‘ of tome,” remarked the laft cited author,
“ there muft be a rejection of othersand it
was laid down by the Calviniftic Founder of
Methodifm, that “ without doubt the doctrine
“ of-election and reprobation muft ftand or fall
" together m.” “ No medium can be affigned,”
laid Bithop Davenant, who was one of our
divines that aftifted at the Synod of Dort,
“ either on God’s part, betwixt the decrees of
predeftinatirig-fome men and not predeftinat-
“ ing others j or on man’s part, betwixt men
k Decretum quidem horribile fatepr. Calv. hifiit. lib.iii.
cap. xjriii. fe&. 7.
1 Toplady, p. 106.
m Whiteifield’s Works, vol. iv. p. ^8.
M 2164	Calviniftic Predeftination
“ abfolutely predeftinated to the attainment of
“ life eternal, and abfolutely pretermitted and
“ left infallibly to fail of the obtainment, of
“ eternal life ; which we call Abfolute Repro-
“ bation n.”
If any one difputes thefe pofttions, which
are laid down by Calviniftic writers, let him
fatisfa&orily explain, with what confiftency
he infers the abfolute ele6tion of individuals
from the declaration in Scripture, that “ God
“ will have mercy on whom he will have
“ mercy,” but denies the inference in fupport
of the abfolute reprobation of individuals, de-
duced from its counterpart, “ whom he will,
“ he hardeneth.” Or waving the appeal to
fuch detached paftages, deprived of which
however Calvinifm will dwindle into a name,
let him furvey the queftion abftra&edly, and
fairly meet and repel the argument of Calvin,
one of thofe “fundamental principles on which
“ his fyftem refts,” and one which I adopt the
epithet of the moderate Calvinift in defcribing
as “ incontrovertible.” “You are greatly de-
“ ceived,” faid he to a friend, “ if you think
“ the everlafting counfel of God can be.fo
“ mutilated, as for fome to have been chofen
“ by him to falvation, no one to have been
n See Whitby on the Five Points, Difc. I. p. i.not the Do&rine of the Gofpel. ] 65
** deftined to deftrudion. For if he hath cho-
“ fen Some, it certainly follows, that all have
“ not been chofen. And what is to be faid of
“ thefe, but that they are left in order to perifh.
** There muji therefore he a mutual relation be-
“tween the reprobate and the ele6t°” And
again, to the fame effed, in words which es-
pecially merit the attention of the moderate
Calvinift: “ Many perfons indeed, as if they
“ wifhed to acquit God of blame, acknowledge
“ eledion in fuch a way, as to deny that any
“ one is reprobated : but with extreme abfur-
“ dity and childith weaknefs ; feeing that elec-
“ tion itlelf could not ftand, unlefs it were op-
“ pofed to reprobation. God is faid to Separate
“ thofe, whom he adopts for Salvation : to
“ affirm that others obtain by chance, or ac-
“ quire by their own exertions, what eledion
ft alone confers upon a few, were worfe than
“ a foolifh aflertion. Whom therefore God
“ passes by, he reprobates : and that for no
“ other caufe, than that he choofes to exclude
° Tu vero, mi Chriftophore, longe falleris, ti aeternum
Dei confilium ita pofle difcerpi putas, ut quofdam elegerit
in falutem, neminem exitio deftinarit. Nam li aliquos
elegit, certe fequitur non omnes effe eleftos. Porro quid
de his dicendum erit, nifi eos relinqui ut pereant? Mutua
igitur inter reprobos et eleftos relatio fit oportet. Cali/,
Phriftophoro Likerteto, Col. 14a.
M 3166	Calviniflic Predejlination
“ them from the inheritance, which he prer
** deflinates to his Tons p.”
Let me not be underftood as infinuating by
thefe remarks, that the moderate Calvinift does
really entertain opinions, which he difavows.
Charity forbids the infinuation; neither is it
my wiih to accufe, but to defend. But, for
my oWn part, agreeing in this refpedt with the
framer of the fyllem, and regarding election
and reprobation as infeparably connected, I am
induced to flate that connedtion as a reafon,
why the milder, as well as the more rigid,
fyftem is beheld by us with averfion ; and
why by the fame arguments*, which condemn
the rigours of the Calviniflic fyftetn, we feel
ourfelves conftrained to renounce, and juftified
in renouncing, the Calviniflic dodtrines alto-
gether.
Looking upon thefe dodtrines then, however
fpecioufly they may fometimes be dilguifed, as
P Multi quidem, ac fi invidiam a Deo repellere vellent,
teleftionem fatentur, ut negent quenquam reprobari: fed
infcite nimis et pueriliter ; quando ipfa eleftio nifi repro-
bationi oppofita non ftaret. Dicitur fegregare Deus quos
adoptet in falutem; fortuito alios adipifci, vel fua induftria
acquirere, quod fola eleftio paucis confert, plufquam in-
fulfe fjicetur. duos ergo Deus praeterit, reprobat: neque
alia de caufa, nifi quod ab haereditate, quam filiis fuis
prasdpftjnat, illos vult excludere. Inft. lib. iii. cap. xxiii.
feft. i.not the Doctrine of the Gofpel. 167
really and fubftantially the fame, I proceed to
affirm, and I truft I lhall not be deemed pre-
fumptuous for affirming, that they are not the
Gofpel preached by Chrift and his Apoftles,
and efpecially by St. Paul, on whom their ad-
vocates would willingly fallen them. The
alfertion needs not to be contradicted, that
“ every one, who has read St. Paul’s epiltles,
“ know? that they teem with predeftination
“ front beginning to endq:” the queliion is,
whaf is the predeltination with which they
teem, and on that queltion turns the folution
of the whole controverfy between us. Nor
needs it to be denied, that the fyftem of Cal-
viqiftic predeftination may appear to be coun-
tenanced by fome infulated paflages in the
writings of that Apoftle, as well as in fome
other parts of holy writ. With refpeCt to
fqch paflages however, fome remarks thrown
out in my ftrft difeourfe, and fome examples
then adduced in illuftration, render a particular
notice of them again unneceflary. It may
fuffice therefore briefly to call to mind, that of
the infulated paflages which may feem to fa-
vour the Galviniftic tenets, fome derive their
colour from being underftood in a literal, in-
stead of their idiomatical fenfe; fome from
thp Englilh expreffion, in its prelent fignifica-
s Toplady on Predeftination, p. 134.
M 4168	Calvinijlic Predejiination
tion at leaf!:, not exa&ly correfponding with
the original; fome, from their not being com-
pared with other paflages on timilar topics,
efpecially with fuch as are more plain and ex-
plicit ; others, again, from their not being
confidered with reference to the temporary
and local circumflances under which they were
written, or to the main fcope and detign of
the compofition, in which they are contained.
In particular, as to the epifile to the Romans,
which is perverfely reprefented as the great
fiorehoufe of abfolute predefiination, it may be
expedient to repeat in this place, what has
been already partially Rated5 that the Apofile’s
objedt was to convince the Jews of the Gen-
tiles being entitled to participate in the Gofpel
covenant, beeaufe the fame God, who had for-
merly chofen to call the Jews alone to be his
people, now chofe to call the Gentiles alfo:
and that accordingly the election, of which the
Apoftle fpeaks, is not God’s election of indivi-
duals to a Rate of happinefs; but his election
of nations and focieties of men, generally to
accomplifti the fchemes of his providence, and
more efpecially of fuch, as he then chofe to be
the repofitories of the ChriRian faith.
To enumerate the paflages in Scripture,
which tend to confirm this fenfe of the ex-
preflion in the Apofile, would carry us too
much into detail. I ftiall therefore contentnot the Doctrine of the Gofpel. 169
myfelf with remarking, that Whitby has
fliown, beyond all reafonable queftion, by
tracing the phrafe through the Old Teftament,
that the whole nation of the Jews, the bad as
well as the good, were the ele<ft of God ; and
that in the New Teftament, when it is applied
to Chriftians, it plainly includes as many as
were converted to the Chriftian faithr. In
conformity to this language of Scripture,
Chriftians of the early ages, (as Bingham has
remarked1 * * * 5,) were commonly denominated the
Elect: “ He hath made us a part ofthis elec-
“ tion,”' faith St. Clement in his epiftle to the
Corinthians, whom he admonifhes to “ take
“ heed, left the many kindneffes of God turn
“ to the condemnation of them all, if they live
“ not worthy of him, and do thofe things that
“ are good and well pleating in his fight
And conformable to the fame language is that
of our Church, when in one of her Homilies
the fays, that “ it profited not the Jews, which
“ were God’s ele6t people, to hear much of
1 Whitby on the Five Points, p. 36—48.
s Bingham’s Ecclefiaftical Antiquities, book i. chap. 1.
1 TIpo<reX.§oi)p.ev av cturcp ev oinoTijn	«.yvctg xai upiavrej
aiqovreg zrpog olvtov, ayonrwVTeg rov eirieixt] 5j eufntXa.yyyov
•marepa r)fj,u>v, og (»)//.«j) exXoytjg fiepog enoryrev kuvrtp. S. Clem.
Cor. ep. i. cap. xxix.
'Opare, ctyamjTOt, p.rj ai euegyetriai cturov al zroXXa 1 yeviovrui
a; xgifta nramv jjfj.iv, ectv p.v) a£ia)j auroo 7aaX.iTevop.evoi, tol xuXot
x«i eoageora evtomov avrou zjoicv/hev p.eSi' opovoiatg. Ibid. xxi.170	Calvinijiic Predejiination
“ God, feeing that he was not received in their
" hearts by faith, nor thanked for his benefits
“ bellowed upon them ; their unthankfulnefs
“ was the caufe of their deftrudlion a:” when
in her baptifmal fervices and her Catechifm the
fpeaks of all baptized perfons, as compofing
“ the number of the faithful and eleft children
“ of Godand when in another of her Ho-
milies, namely, on the Danger of Falling from
God, Ihe warns us, that “ if we, which are the
“ chofen vineyard of God, bring not forth
“ good grapes, God will at length let us alone,
“ and fuffer us to bring forth even fuch fruit
“ as we will, to bring forth brambles, briers,
“ and thorns, all naughtinefs, all vice, and that
“ fo abundantly, that they lhall clean overgrpw
“ us, choke, ftrangle, and utterly deftroy usx.”
It may however be further allowed, that
the election, mentioned in Scripture, is not
always of nations or focieties, but fometimes
of perfons alfo, whether Jews or Gentiles, to a
profeflion of the Gofpel; as, where St. John
fpeaks of “ the eleit lady” and “ the ele6t
“ liftery,” that is, the Chriftian lady and her
lifter: agreeably to which our Church de-
fcribes every individual that flie baptizes as
“ an eleft child of God but nothing will be
u Homilies, p. 400. Oxf. edit.	x Ibid. p. 69,70.
y a John, ver. 1,13,not the Doctrine of the Gofpel. 171
.gained to the Calvinift by this concefiion, un-
lefs it can alfo be made appear, that every in-
dividual, who was eleded to a profeffion of
the Gofpel, was thereby eleded likewife to
eternal life: a cafe, which it were difficult to
fhow how the Apoftles could have known ;
and which, it is an undeniable fad:, that they
certainly did not believe.
Still further, however, it may be allowed,
that 'the eledion, mentioned in Scripture, is
fometimes the eledion of individuals to eternal
life; but then, as Waterland has remarked on
“ the fweet and comfortable dodrine of pre-
“ dedication fet forth in our feventeenth Ar-
“ tide,” it is an eledion, “ confidered (not
“ IRRESPECTIVELY, not ABSOLUTELY) but with
“ refped to faith in Chrift, faith working by
“ love, and perfevering z.”	“ For whom he
“ did foreknow, he did alfo predeftinate to be
" conformed to the image of his Sona.” And
let it be obferved, that of fuch only as God
foreknew would be conformed to the image of
his Son, is it predicated, that their eledion /
would be effedual to falvation : for, as the
Apoftle adds, “ Moreover whom he did pre-
“ defiinate,” (doubtlefs in the fenfe, which it
z See Winchefter on the Seventeenth Article, chap. 2.
Churchman’s Remembrancer, N°. II. p. 26.
a Rom. viii. 29.	;tdc :] 72	Calvini/lic Prede/lination
bore in the preceding fentence,) “ them he
“ alfo called ; and whom he called, them he
“ alfo juftified ; and whom he juftified, them
“ he alfo glorified.” No paflage can be ad-
duced, which fo clearly indicates the whole
procefs of the fcriptural, as diftinguifhed from
the Calviniftic, election of individuals to eternal
life : looking forward to the conformity of the
eled to the image of Chrift ; commencing in
the foreknowledge of God; ratified by his
purpofe; and fo carried into execution, and
palling through the intermediate fteps to their
being finally received into glory. And at the
fame time no paflage perhaps can be adduced,
which more fatisfadorily ftiows how much at
variance with the fcriptural notion, and con-
fequently how little worthy of credit, is the
irrefpedive predeftination of Calvin. “ Re-
“ member ever,” faid a judicious Divine in his
appeal to the Gofpel on this important fubjed,
“ Remember ever, that whom he did foreknow
“ is as much before he did predejiinate, as
“ whom he did predejiinate is before he call-
“ edb.”
Such was the view of predeftination taken
’by thofe, who were beft qualified to under-
ftand the true fignification of the facred writ-
b Plaifere’s Appello Evangelium, p. 195. Churchman's
Remembrancer, N°. V. p. 94.173
not the Doctrine of the Gofpel.
ings ; I mean the primitive Fathers of the
Chriftian Church. “ It deferves to be con-
“ fidered,” fays Whitby, “ that all antiquity,
“ till the time of St. Auftin, do with one con-
“ fent concur in the interpretation of the Pfeud.
“ Ambrolius on this paflage of St. Paul, Thofe
** whom he foreknew would be devoted to his
“ fervice, them he chofe to the promifed re-.
“ ward'.” AndVoffius declares, what Whitby
and others have noticed after him, that “ all
“ the Greek Fathers always, and all the Latin
“ Fathers who lived before St. Auftin, were
“ wont to fay, that they were predeftinated to
“ life, of whom God forefaw that they would
“ live pioufly and rigliteoufly ; or, as others
“ fay, of whom he forefaw that they would
“ believe and perfevere d.” Nay more; when
Profper undertook to be the advocate of Auf-
tin’s opinions concerning abfolute eledtion, he
not only found himfelf unable to anfwer the
objections advanced againft the dodtrine, that
it was “ contrary to the opinion of the Fathers
“ and the fenfe of the Church',” and “ that
c Difcourfes, p. 60.
d Graeci Patres Temper, Patrum Latinorum vero illi qui
ante Auguftinum vixerunt, dicere folent, eos efle prae-
deftinatos ad vitam, quos Deus pie refteque vifturos prae-
vidit; live, ut alii loquuntur, quos praevidit credituros
et perfeveraturos..	Hi/tor. Pelag. lib. vi. thef. viii.
P-55°-
e Multi ergo fervorum Chrifti, qui in Maffilienli urbe174 C&lvim/iw Predejlination
v the things which he brought forward from
“ St. Paul’s epiftle to the Romans had never
“ been fo urtderftood by any of the ecclefiaftical
“menf;” but himfelf alfo frankly acknow-
ledged s, that “ having revifed the opinions of
“ thofe, who had gone before on this fubject,
‘‘ he found them almoft all agreeing in one and
“ the fame fentiment, where by they under-
“ Hood the purpofe and predeftination of God
“ according to his prefcience; that for this
“ caufe God made fome men velfels of honour,
others of difhonour, beeaufe he forelaw the
“ end of every one, and foreknew what, under
“ the aid of divine grace, would be the will
“ and actions of each.” Nor is that a trifling
confiftunt, in fan&itatis tuae fcriptis, qua adverfus Pelqgi-
anos haereticos condidifti, contrarium putant Patrum opi-
nioni et ecclefiaftico fenfui, quicquid in eis de vocatione
ele&orum fecundum Dei propofitum difputafti. Profperi
Epi/i. ad 4uguftinum, cap. ii.
f Obftinationem fuam vetuftate defendunt; et ea, quas
de epiftola Apoftoli Pauli, Romanis fcribentis, ad mani-
feftationem divinae gratiae praevenientis eleftorum merita
proferuntur, a nullo unquam Ecclefiafticorum ita efie in-
tellefta, ut nunc fentiuntur, affirmant. Ibid. cap. iii.
S Illud etiam qualiter diluatur, qusefumus patienter in-
lipientiam noftram ferendo demonftres; quod, retra<3:atis
priorum de hac re opinionibus, pene omnium par invenitur
et una fententia, qua propofitum et prsedeftinationem Dei
fecundum praefcientiam receperunt: ut ob hoc Deus alios
vafa honoris, alios contumelise fecerit, quia finem uniufcu-
jufque prseviderit, et Cub ipfo gratiae adjutorio, in qua
futurus eflet voluntate et aftione, prsefcierit. Ibid. c. vrii.not the Doctrine of the Gofpel. 175
confeflion, which (as Grotius remarks h) was
freely made by Calvin, Beza, and others of the
lame opinion; that the Fathers of the apo-
ftolical and primitive times thought and fpoke
differently from them on thefe points1. So
that it was not without high authority that
Melandthon, himfelf perhaps the molt learned
of the Reformers, a man pronounced by Calvin
to be “ acute and prudent and well exercifed
“ in the Scriptures11,” and of whom it is well
known that Cranmer and our Englith Re-
formers entertained the higheft opinion, and
with whom, there is every reafon to believe,
that they concurred in their theological fenti-
h Brandt’s Hift. of the Reformation, book xxiv. vol. ii,
p. 213.
> Haec omnia, quae pofuimus, controverfia apud multos
non carent, maxime gratuita fidelium eleftio. Vxrlgb
enim exiftimant Deum, prout cujufque merita praevidet,
ita inter homines difeernere : quos ergo fua gratia non
indignos fore praecognofcit, eos in filiorum locum co-
optare; quorum ingenia ad malitiam et impietatem pro-
penfura difpicit, eos mortis damnationi devovere. Sic
interpofito praefcientiae velo,'eleftionem non modo obfcu-
rant, fed originem aliunde habere fingunt. Neque haec
vulgo recepta opinio folius vulgi eft; habuit enim faeculis
omnibus magnos authores. Calv. Injl. lib. iii. e. xxii. f. I.
At Ambrofius, Origenes, Hieronymus eenfuerunt, Deum
fuam gratiam inter homines difpenfare, prout ea quemque
bene ufurum praeviderit. Adde et Auguftinum in ea
fuifle .aliquando fententia. Ibid, fesft. 8.
k See Winchefter on the Seventeenth Article, p. 60. and
Heylyn’s Quinquart. Hift. part ii. cap. viii. fe£t. 2.176	Calvinijlic PtedeJUnatkm
ments, differed from fome of his brethren on
the continent concerning thefe myfterious doc-
trines ; and expreffed himfelf in terms, not
only inconfiflent, but pointedly and ftrongly
at variance, with the fyftem of Calvin ; and
reprobated fome of his fundamental principles,
as herefies which the ancients moft feverely
condemned; as “ the dreams of enthufiafm,”
“ the dotage of Stoicifm,” and “ the ravings
“ of Manichaean madnefs1.”
This ftatement of the fcriptural fignifieations
of the term election, may perhaps ferve to
guard the inexperienced and unwary againft
much mifreprefentation, which I apprehend to
be employed, and much mifconception which
1 Non igitur repugnes Evangelio; non indulgeas diffi-
dently ; non cogites, ut fomniant Enthufiaftas, expe&an-
dum effie violentum motum, quo te rapiat Deus etiam
repugnantem, et iterum ruentem in fcelera, &c. Melanc-
thonis Comm, in Rom. ix. Op. vol. iv. p. 160.
His et fimiliter diftis confirmati, veram et perpetuam
ecclefise fententiam conftanter ample&amur, et nequaquam
applaudamus Stoicis et Manichsis furoribus, qui funt
contumeliofi adverfus Deum,. et pernitiofi vitae; qui
fingunt homines neceffario fcelera facere} et refte intelli-
gamus difta, quae contra veram fententiam detorqpentur
ad Stoica deliramenta. De Caufa, Peccati, Op. vol. ii.
P- 237-
Repudianda eft et Cyclopica cavillatio quorundam ve-
terum et recentium, qui dicunt, non ideo peccare Deum,
quia impellat ad mala, quia Deo non fit lex pofita. Hsec
Cyclopica imaginatio execranda eft, &c. Ibid. p. 238,not the Doctrine of the Gofpel. 177
prevails, on the fubjedi; and to fupply them
with a clue for unravelling feveral detached
paflages, fome of them, we allow* not deftitute
of intricacy, which have been repeatedly ex-
plained, but are (till continually forced upon
our notice. It appears to me indeed to be a
vital objection to the doctrines of Calvin, that
they are grounded upon an imperfedl and par-
tial view of revelation, and reft upon a dubious
at leaft, if not a decidedly falfe, interpretation
of fuch detached paflages, inftead of being
eftablithed on a comprehenfive iurvey of holy
writ: otherwite tenets could never be main*
tained, which are fo incompatible with the
notions, which the Holy Spirit gives us, of
God's attributes and his moral government of
the univerfe; with the general conditions of
the Gofpel covenant; and with the promifes
of God, as they are generally fet forth to us in
holy Scripture.
But I am venturing upon a point, not fo-
reign indeed from my purpofe, but requiring
a fuller inveftigation than it can receive at the
prefent opportunity, I diall here therefore
quit the fubject for the prefent with exhorting
you, not to fuffer yourfelves to be puffed Up
with a vain conceit, that you are abfolutely
elected to eternal happinefs; or to be deprefled
with an equally vain apprehenfion, that you
are abfolutely reprobated and condemned to
N178	• Calvimjlic PredejUnation
eVCrlafiing mifery : but confidering that the
Jews, who were of old the eledfc people of
God, the objects of his love, fell from his fa-
vour through their infidelity, and that the
final fentence of every Chrifti&n, who is now
in the number of God’s eledl people, depends
on his fidelity to God ; I would rather raoft
earneftly admonifh you, to improve the grace
that he fupplies you with, fo that you may
ultimately “ work out your falvationand to
“ give all diligence to make your calling and
“ election fure.” Such is the practical infer-
ence, which the Apoflle drew from his own
doftrine of election, for the benefit of the early
converts to Chriftianity; and fuch is the infer-
ence, which he has left behind him, for the
benefit of Chritlians of every age. “ Thou wilt
“ fay then,” he argues with the converted
Gentile, " the branches we're broken off,” the
children of Ifrael were rejected from being the
people of God, “ that I might be graffed in.
“ Well; becaufe of unbelief they were broken
“ off, and thou ftandeft by faith. Be not
“ high-minded, but fear. For if God fpared
“ not the natural branches, take heed lejl he •
" alfo fpare not thee. Behold therefore the
“ goodnefs and feverity of God; on them
“ which fell, feverity ; but toward thee good-
“ nefs, if thou continue in his goodnefs-, other-
WISE THOU ALSO SHALT BE CUT OFF.”not the Do&rhie of the Gofpel. 179
Now unto “ God the Father, who hath
“ made us and all the world;” unto “ God the
“ Son, who hath redeemed us and all man-
“ kind and unto “ God the Holy Ghoft,
“ who fandtifieth us and all the eledt people of
“ God be glory and dominion for ever and
ever. Amen.
N 2DISCOURSE IV.
John iii. 16, 17.
God fo loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten
Son, that whofoever believeth in him Jhould not perijh,
but have everlajting life.
For God fent not his Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through him might be
faved.
>
X CONCLUDED my lafl: Difcourfe after re-
marking, that the doctrine of Calviniftic pre-
deftination appears to me irreconcileable with
the notions, which the Holy Spirit gives us
iri the Scriptures, of God’s attributes and of his
moral government of the univerfe ; with the
genera] conditions of the Gofpel covenant;
and with the promifes of God, as they are ge-
nerally fet forth to us in holy Scripture.
Amongft an innumerable multitude of paf-
fages, which contribute to' give a confiftency
and a harmony to the facred volume, the de-
claration of our bleded Redeemer in the text,
concerning the motive, which caufed him to183 Calvinifm inconjijlent with the
be fent from God, and the purpofe, for which
he was fent, holds a confpicuous place. It
was from the able application of this paflage
by Epifcopius, that the ever-memorable Hales,
who had been educated in the Calviniftic opi-
nions, and went a Calvinirt to the Synod at
Dort, was there perfuaded, as he was himfelf
ufed to declare, to renounce the do&rines of
Calvin a: nor does the fad; deferve our afto-
nifhment, when we confider, how incompati-
ble thofe dodrines appear with the univerfal
love of God to man, and with the univerfal
tender of Falvation and everlafting life, which
this paflage evidently propoles. It is not,
however, fo much upon this, or upon any
other individual paflage of Scripture, (unan-
swerable as many of them are,) that I would
reft our defence, as upon the general Icope
and tenour of the whole: and that, not only
becaufe I confider fuch an appeal, as the mode,
whereby we may be beft defended ; but alfo
becaufe I confider it, as the moft equitable
1 K I am very glad to hear you have gained thofe Jgt-
“ ters into your hands, written from the Synod of Dort.
“ You may pleafe to take notice, that in his younger
“ days he was a Calvinift, and even then when be was
“ employed at that Synod; and at the well preffing St.
“ John iii. 16. by Epifcopius—There I lid John Calvin
“ good night, as he has often told me.” Farindon’s Let-
ter prefixed to Hales’s Golden Remains.Divine Attributes.
183
method of inveftigating, and the fafell and
njoft certain way of arriving at, the truth.
This is the kind of appeal, which, with the
good blefling of God, I propofe to make in
the following, difcourfe: wherein if I fail of
fatisfying our aecufers of the goodnefs of our
caufe, I truft that I lhall at lead: be able to
convince any impartial obferver, that in de-
clining the doctrine of §bfolute predeftination
we do not a<$t under the influence of fome rath
and groundlefs prepofleflion ; but that, if our
opinions are erroneous, they appear to be fo
well eftablifhed on the declarations of Scrip-
ture, as that we may reafonably believe them
to be fcriptural truth ; and that we are there-
fore far from delerving that afperity of repre-
henfion and thofe opprobrious appellations, s
wherewith we are branded for entertaining
them.
X. My firll object will be to fliow, that the
Calviniftic doctrines are incompatible with the
notions, which the Holy Spirit gives us in
Scripture, of the attributes and moral govern-
ment of God.
But here, before I proceed, I with to ob-
viate an objection to our opinions, which our
aecufers attempt to eftablhh on the fame balls,
on which we propofe to eftablilh our opinions
themfelves. We are toldb, that “ to imagine
b Hawker's Zion’s Pilgmto, p. 158, 159.
N 4] 84 Calvinifm inconjiftent with the
“ our acceptance or refufal of grace to be the
“ refult of our own pleafure, is to take from
“ God his omnipotence “ to fancy that our
“ improvement or mifimprovement of grace
“ will render it effectual or the contrary, is to
“ take from God both his wifdom and his
“ glory and “ to believe after What God
“ the Father hath given, and God the Son
“ hath accomplifhed,.for the falvation of his
“ people in a covenant way, that fouls, re-
“• newed by God the Holy Ghoft and called
" with an holy calling, may yet finally perifli;
“ this is bringing down redemption-work to
“ fo precarious and uncertain an iflue, as muft
“ leave it altogether undetermined whether a
" fingle believer fhall be faved or not. And
" this throws to the ground the diftinguithing
" character of God’s immutability.” But how
do we infringe God’s omnipotence, by fuppof-
ing, that it is of our own will either to rejedt
or accept his grace, when we believe that the
exercife of our will is folely the confequence
of his permifiion, and of his not choofing to
overrule it, and to diveft us of the refponfibi-
lity of moral agents ? How do we impeach his
wifdom^ abridge his glory, or lhake his immu-
tability, by fuppofing, that our falvation, in-
ftead of being fixed by an abfolute irrefpedtive
decree, is fufpended on our voluntary fulfil-
ment pf certain conditions ; when at the fameDivine Attributes.	185
time we humbly confefs, that with that infal-
libility, wherewith he forefees events that are
contingent to man, he certainly foreknew, that
fome would, and who they were that would,
ohferve the conditions : that with that immu-
tability, wherewith he delights to reward vir-
tue, he predeftinated to life thofe of whom he
foreknew that they would be faithful: and
that the whole glory of the victory of thofe,
who perfevere, is to be afcribed to the free
mercy of the Father, to the meritorious facri-
fice of the Son, and to the preventing and af-
fifting grace of the Holy Spirit ?
In fad:, the fuppofition of conditional and
refpedive eledion is, in this view of the fub-
jed, as innocent of infringing thefe attributes
of God, as is that of unconditional and irre-
fpedive eledion. When therefore it is de-
manded of us by the advocate of moderate
Calvinifm, “ Had not the glorious Being, who
“created the world, a right to create it for
“ what purpofes he pleafed ? And has he not
“ the fame right to govern his own world ac-
“ cording to his pleafure ? And, if his perfec-
“ tions are infinite, muft he not ad in confbr-
“ mity to thefe perfedions ; and muft not Tiis
“ purpofes be afturedly accomplifhed; and
** muft not all his creatures, in one way or
“ another, be the means of their accomplilh-
“ ment ? Is not his the kingdom, the power,186 Calvimfm inconjiftent with the
“ and the glory ? Has he not told us, that his
“kingdom ruleth over all;'that he worketh
“ all things after the counfel of his own will;
“ that he doeth according to his will in the
“ armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants
“ of earth ; and that none can flay his hand;
“or fay unto him, What doeft ihouc?”—
When, I fay, thefe queftions are put to us in
fupport of the aflertion, “ that the fundamen-
“ tal principles on which Calvinifm refts are
“ incontrovertible,” I apprehend them to be
either altogether irrelevant to the fubjedt, or
elfe intended to inlinuate againff us an invidi-
ous and an unwarrantable charge. Each fyf-
tem is founded on the fovereign will of the
Almighty. By the Calvinift it is fuppofed,
that God chofe to pafs certain abfolute de-
crees, and formed and difpofed his creatures
for their accomplilhment: our hypothefis re-
presents him as no lefs “ working after the
“ counfel of his own willas choofing, in
his fovereign power and authority, to form his
creatures with a freedom of will and adtion;
foreknowing, in the plenitude of his wifdom,
what would be their conduiSt; and immutably
framing his decrees according to his fore-
knowledge. So that, notwith{landing the re-
mark, which has been afcribed to a royal Cal-
c Overton, p. 355.Divine Attributes.
18 7
vrnift in former times, that “ if he did not be-
“• lieve abfolute predeftination, he could not
/• believe a Providencedwe apprehend that
it is to reprefent the Almighty acting upon a
plan, as much when it proceeds upon a know-
ledge of what ufe his creatures will make of
his gifts, as when it is founded on his own ab-
folute and overruling decree.
As thefe attributes of the Deity then re-
main unaffected by the dodrines, which we
are maintaining, I proceed to fhow, how
grievoufly others are aflailed by the dodrines,
which we combat. It was faid with keen,
but not Unmerited feverity to a Calvinift in
former times, “ While you are fo careful to re-
>“ ferve. to the Almighty a power to damn even
“ poor humbled and prepared tinners, you
“ feem to be more tender of his fovereignty,
“ than of his goodnefs, mercy, or juftice6.”
1. “ Juftice and judgment,” fays the Pfalm-
ift, “ are the habitation of thy thronef.” “ He
“ is a God without iniquity,” fays the Jewifh
lawgiver; “juft and right is hes.” It is ac-
cordingly attributed to him as an effential pro-
perty of juftice, throughout the Scriptures; in
d ICing William the Third. See Toplady on Predefti-
nation, Pref. p. II.
e Refult of Falfe Principles, by Dr. Womack, p. 73.
f Pfalm lxxxix. 14.
s Deut.xxxii. 4.188 Calvinifm inconjiftent with the
the Old Teftament, and in the New; under
the Law, and under the Gofpel; by Prophets,
and by Apoftles ; in paflages, too numerous to
be fp^cified, too prominent to be overlooked,
and too plain to be mifunderftood, or mifre-
prefented ; that he is “ no relpetfter of per-
“ fons,” but that “ he judgeth and rewardeth
“ every man according to his works.” I afk
not then, how is it reconcileable to our no-
tions of juftice, that by an arbitrary, irrefpec-
tive, unconditional decree he thould confer
happinefs on a fmall portion of mankind, and
condemn the bulk to inevitable mifery ; but I
atk, how is this reconcileable with the general
tenour of Scripture, which uniformly affirms
the impartiality and equity of God to be the
rule of his dealings with men? For I cannot
confider as any exception to this uniformity a
few infulated paflages, of fome difficulty we
allow, if feparately and fuperficially regarded;
but harmonifing with the main import of
Scripture, when examined by the fair laws of
interpretation.
And here let it not be pretended, that “ the
“ works of God cannot be brought to any teft
“ whateverhwhen he himfelf fupplies us
with a teft by an appeal to the equity of his
proceedings. And let us not be told, that
h Toplady on Predeftination, p. 69Divine Attributes.	18g
“ they who exclaim againft unconditional de-
“ crees, as cruel, tyrannical, and unjuft, either
“ know not what they fay nor whereof they
“ affirm, or are wilful blafphemers of his name
“ and perverfe rebels againft his fovereignty*;”
that it is the effitfion of “ the pride of our car-
te nal reafon, and the rebellion of our corrupt
“ nature Did we difcover a clear revela-
tion in Scripture, that the decrees of God are
what our accufers reprefent them, we fhould
fubmit to that revelation, however my fieri bus;
ftrange, and hard to be underftood, with all
humility and proftration of foul, convinced
that “ the Judge of all the earth” cannot do
otherwife than right. But when God himfelf
authorifes, and encourages, and challenges us
to examine his treatment of his creatures in
the balance of the moft nice impartiality, we
cannot feelinclined to admit a dodtrine, which
in our conception fubverts the equity of his
proceedings; and “ reduces them into a fyf-
“ tern of favouritifm 1;” and attributes to him
partiality, in proffering falvation to “ fome
“ and not to all, feeing all are equally liable to
“ damnation™.”
Nor does it meet the difficulty to fay, that
«
» Toplady on Predeftination, p. 70.
k Mafon’s Spiritual Treafury, p. 159.
1 Zeal without Innovation, p. 53. ’
m See Bilhop Hopkins’s Works, vol. ii. p. 504.igo Calvinifm inconjifient with the
‘Mhe Jews were an eleCt nation, and fo the
“ objection would lie as much againft their
“ ele&ion, as againft this we are confider-
<c ingnfor the election of nations to tempo-
ral privileges differs, in manifold particulars,
from the election of individuals to eternal hap-
pinefs. Nor is it an anfwer to the objection
to aftirm, that “ the fcope of the paflage plainly
<c intends, that God refpe&s no man’s perfon,
“ either lefs or more, for his outward cOndi-
“ tion or carnal privileges °.” It in truth con-
veys a much more univerfel meaning r it in-
tends that God has no refpect whatever for
one man over another, as to their final accept-
ance, except what is founded upon their im-
provement of his grace ; and that upon that
ground alone will be eftablithed their refpec-
tive fentences, when he “ will render unto
every man according to his deeds.” ■*
2. Again, He is a God of mercy and good-
nefs : an attribute, amidft'all his wonderful
perfections, peculiarly worthy of being' ad-
mired p. “ His mercy,’’ fays the Pfalmift, “ is
“ over all his worksqand natural religion
appears to avouch the fame, concurring with
n Coles on God’s Sovereignty, p. ioo.
0 Ibid.
P ©so;, ou ■sroXXaiv ovriov, ef’ a!; Suvfx.custom, ouSsV ourte; to; to
fflravra; suegysrsiv iSiwrarov. Naz. Orat. s6.
s Pfalm cxlv. 9.Divine Attributes.	191
the Scriptures of truth in reprefenting “ mer-
“ cy as the darling perfection of his nature,
“ and that, in the glory whereof he is moft
ft principally delighted'.” When the heathen
defcribed the Deity by his two attributes of
Optimus, Maximus, the Beft and the Greateft,
it was not without reafon, that he gave prece-
dence to that which denoted his goodnefs, over
that which fignified his power. When on the
delivery of the Law, revealed as it was in ter-*
ror, the Lord proclaimed his name to Mofes,
be thewed the quality of thole attributes,
wherein he moft delighted ; for he placed in
the front of the proclamation, “ The Lord, the
“ Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-fuf-
‘‘ fering, and abundant in goodnefs and truth 5
“ keeping mercy for thoufands ; forgiving ini-
“ quity, and tranlgreffion, and fin s.” And
when the Apoftle of the Gofpel teaches us,
that “ God is love*,” he appears defirous of
magnifying beyond meafure this moft adorable
of the divine perfections; of concentrating in
it (if I may to exprefs myfelf) the reft of the
divine attributes; and of identifying the God-
head with love.
" His mercy is over all his worker” the
r Stabbing on the Spirit, chpp. vi. feft, 7.
s Exod, xxXiv. 6, 7.
1 x John iv. 8.	>'*-	•til Q2	Calvinifm inconjijlent with the
predeftinarian acknowledges it, but denies that
it is “ his laving mercy11.” Yet what is this
but to deny the molt glorious ex'ercife of the
attribute ? “ Doth God take care for oxen*?”
faith the Apoftle: yea, faith this doftrine,
much better than for man : for them he boun-
tifully provides all that is needful for them
but man, finful, fallen, but ftill immortal man,
formed in the image of God, and ftill retaining
in his reafonable and living foul fome portion
of his likenefs to his divine original, from him
he ihuts up the bowels of his companion, and
excludes him from his loving-kind nets and
mercy. “ Delighting as he does in mercyy,”
and “ in the exercife of loving-kindnefsz;”
abounding in love, even for his enemies ; nay,
even “ waiting to be gracious,” and “ ftretch-
“ ing out his hands all the day long unto a re-
“ bellious people and “ not affli<fting wil-
“ lingly nor grieving the children of menb:”
how can we reconcile it to this attribute of the
Godhead, that he Ihould form millions and
millions of rational and immortal creatures for
the very purpofe of making them eternally mi-
ferable; that he fhould place them in a ftate
of pretended trial, where he has previoufly de-
u Whitefield, vol. iv. p. 69. x 1 Cor. ix. 9.
y Micah vii. 18.	z Jer. ix. 24.
a If. xxx. 18. lxv. 2.	Lam. iii. 33;193
Divide Attributes,
\
creed them to be, and actually renders them,
incapable of fuccefs'^ltafpire them with hopes,
which he has made impoffible to be realized;
and place before their view profpedts of hap-
pinefs, which he has put it totally out of their
power to attain ? ‘f Is not this,” demands a
late dignitary of our Church, “ to reprefent
“ the good God in a very injurious light, as if
“ he was not only partial, but exceedingly
7 cruel ? We.are always taught, that it is our
7 duty, our intereft, and our happinefs, to be
7 like God, and to imitate his divine perfec-
<c tions as near as we can. But furely fuch
££ conduct as this, no good man, no honeft
man, would choofe to imitate, but would
“ deteft and abhor. How then dare we af-
“ cribe that conduct to Him, which is fo un-
7 worthy of ourfelves, and would be fuch a
“ difgrace to usc ?”
3. Again ; he is a God of holinefs ; an at-
tribute, which one of our old Divines repre-
fents, “ as his fovereign attribute; as that,
££ which of all others God doth, and which of
f£ all qthers we fhould, moft efteemd.” In cor-'
refpondenee with this attribute, it is the cau-
tion of the wife fon of Sirach, *£ Say not thou,
tc it is through the Lord that I fell away; for
« Dean Tucker’s Sermon on Rom. ix. %i,
d Btibop1 Andrews; fixth fermon on the Holy Gboft>
P- $53’
Ql g i Calvinifm inconjijlent with the
“ thou oughteft not to do the things that he
“ hateth : fay not thou, tie hath caufed me to
“ err; for he hath no need of the linful man'.”
And to the fame effect St. James, with divine
authority, admonilhes us, “ Let no man fay,
“ when he is tempted, I am tempted of God;
“ for God tempteth not any man'.” But what
is it to reprefent him with Calvin, as fitting'
and preparing men by " crimes for deftruc-
“ tion8;” what is it to reprefent him, with
Gomar, as “ not only predeftinating man to
“ death, but lb alfo predeliinating him to fin ;
“ the only way to death11;” or to defcribe
him with Pifcator, as “ having fa abfdlutely
" and efficacioully determined the will of
“ every man, that he cannot do more good
c Ecclus. xv. ii, 12.
{ Jain. i. 13.
s Quia perditum Deus volebat, obftinatio cordis divina
fuit ad ruinam praeparatio. Calv. In/i. II. iv. 3.
Dubium fton eft, quin utraque praeparatio ab arcano
Dei confilio pendeat. Comm, in Rom. ix. 23.
h “ Gomarus, who faw that his iron was in the fire, be-
“ gan to tell us, that Epifcopius had falfified the tenent of
“ reprobation; that no man taught that God abfolutely
“ -decreed to call man away without fin : but as he did
“ decree the end, fo he did decree the means : that is, as
“ he predeftinated man to death, fo he predeftinated him
“ to fin, the only way to death: and fo he mended the
“ queftion, as tinkers mend kettles, and made it worfe
“ than it was before.” Hales’s Letters from Dort. G. R.
P- 435-Divine Attributes.
195
" than he really does, nor omit more evil than
“ he really omits1;” of to allow with Zan-
chius, that “ the reprobate are bound by the
“ ordinance of God under the neceffity of fin-
“ ningV’ or to affirm with Beza, that “ God
“ hath predeftinated, not only unto damna-
“ tion, but alfo unto the caufes of it, whornfio-
“ ever he faw meet1;” or to aflert with Zuing-
lius, that “ God moveth the robber to kill,
* Ergo tu fateris iftic ingenue, Deum ab seterno effica-
citer abfoluteque decrevifie, ne quifpiam hominum plus
boni faciat, quam reipfa facit, aut plus mali omittat, quam
reipfa omittit. Pifcat. ad C. Vorjlii amicarn Dupl. refp.
p. V75. ed. 1618.
k Quia reprobatio immutabilis eft, &c. dariius reprobos
neeeflitate peccandi, eoque et pereundi, ex hac Dei ordi-
natione eonftringi: atque ita conftringi, ut nequeant non
peccare et perire.—Non dubitamus. itaque confiteri, ex
immutabrli reprobatione neceflitatem peccandi, et quidem
line relipifcentia ad mortem ufque peccandi, eoque et aeter-
nas poenas dandi, reprobis incumbere. Zanc/uus de Nat.
Dei, lib. v. cap. 2. de Prcedeft. Op. Tom. ii. p. 571.
1 Refpondeo,—ordine caufarum, priufquani ilium con-
deret, de fine, cujus caula ilium erat conditurus, ac demum
de!caufis ipfis mediis, per quas ipfos erat ad conftitutum
finem addufturus, conftanter et immoto propolito ftatuifie.
Ex quo confequitur refte et vere dici, omnes reprobos
faftos ell'e in Adamo fimul eodemque momento, ficut
Deus ab aeterno conftituerat, non tantum vafa, id eft ho-
mines, fed etiam vafa iree, id eft homines juftse per mediaS
caufas in ipfis reprobis haerentes damnationi, per media
quidem contingenter fequuturas, ex decreto Dei autem
prorfus necefi’ario eventurse, deftinatos. Beza de Vradefi.
Op. vol. iii. p. 431. Col. i. ed. 1582.196 Calvimfm ineovjijlent with the
“ and that he killeth, God forcing him there-
<( to™;” what is it to affirm with Knox, the
Scotch reformer, that “ the wicked are not
“ only left by God’s fuffering, but are com-
“ pelled to fin by his power11;” or to contend
with the Englifh Perkins, whofe doctrines firfi;
called forth the ftridtures of Arminius, that
“God hath mod juftly decreed even the
“ wicked works of the wicked0:”—-what is it
to reprefent him, with other predeftinarians, as
not barely permitting fin, but “ providentially
“ putting perfons into fuch circumftances of
“ temptation, as dhall caufe the perfons fo
“ tempted actually to turn afide from the path
“ of duty, and to commit finp;” as “ working
“ all things in all men, even wiekednefs in the
“ wicked;” and to affirm that “ all things are
“ done by the irrefiftible decree of God, yea,
m Porro injuflitiam in fefe nobis oftendere numen cum
nulla ratione pofl'et, ut quod undique verum, fancluin, bo*
num natura fit, per creaturam injuftitise exemplum pro-
duxit, non quafi creatura illam fuo marte produxerit, qute
nec eft, nec vivit, nec operatur fine numine, fed,quod nu-
nien ipfum author eft ejus, quod nobis eft injuftitia, illi
vero nullatenus eft, Zuinglius de Provid. Dei, c. v. tom. i.
p. 364. Tigur. 1581.
Movet ergo latronem ad occidendum, innocentem etiam
ac imparatum ad mortem. II. c. vi. p. 366.
Deo impulfore occidit. Ibid.
n Ileylyn’s Quinq. Hift. part ii. c. xvi.
0 Ibid, part iii. c. xx. part i. c. v.
p Toplady on Predeft. p. 60.Divine Attributes.
197
“ whatever bad adtions, they alfo are necefla-
" rily done*1;”—but to make God the author
of fin ? r< Truth it is,” faith one of our excel-
lent Reformers, “ that God tempteth. Al-
“ mighty God tempteth to our advantage, to
“ do us good withal: the devil tempteth to
ef our everlafting deftrudtion1.” For, as an-
other of them Contended, “ God is not the
“ Caufe of fin, nor mould not have man to
“ Jin\"
' If, however, thefe be not admitted as the
avowed tenets of Calvinifts in general, (al-
though it mufl not he forgotten, that in the
opinion, not only of the oppofers of the iyf-
tem, but of Calvin himfelf, and of many of
his moll illuftriottS followers, they neeeffarily
make a part of it,) how is this attribute of ho-
linefs at harmony with the aftertioft of Auftin,
that “ Gad fufters evil, and fuffers it not un-
“ willingly, blit willingly and that “ he
> q Ouaseunque in miindo fiunt (tarn mala quam bona)
ea ex abfoluto decreto et fpeciali prsefinitione Dei fiunt.
Pifcat. vi J'up. p. 191.
Et bona opera et mala ex decreto Dei fiunt necefiario.
Ib. p. 212.
• Omnia fiunt ex dbetOto Dei irrefiftibili, (etiam peccata
qusecunque fiunt,) eoque necefiario fiunt. Ib. p. 168.
1 Latimer's Sermons, vol. i. p. 458.
s Bifhop Hooper. Prefect to the Declaration Of the
Ten Cotnmandments.
1 Auguft. Enchir. cap. xxix.10)3 Calvmifm inconfijlent With the
“ works in the hearts of men to incline .their
“ wills whitherfoever he will, whether it be
“ to good or to evilu ?” Surely whatever glofs
the fupporters of thefe politions may attempt
to put upon their deformity, when we conne#
them with the refolution of every thing into
the “ certain, immutable, and mod: efficacious
“ will of God*,” -and with the pofition “ that
“ whatever comes to pads,; comes to. pafs by
“ virtue of the; abfolute omnipotent will of v
“ God, which is the primary and fupreme
“ caufe of all things7;” to affirm, that God
willeth the being and commiffion of fin, is to
, affirm that his will, his certain, immutable,
and moft efficacious will, his abfolute and om-
nipotent will, is the primary and fupreme
caufe of it.
Shall I be called upon to difprove fuch pofi-
tions ; and to fhow, how God can be omnipo-
tent, if fin be not the refult of his will ? I an-
fwer, that fuch inquiries are much better fhut
up in the general declarations of Scripture,
which teach us, that (< God tempteth not any
“ man,” that “ he is not a God that hath plea-
“ fure in wickednefs z," and that “ this is the
“ wi)l of God even our fan&ification V’ and in
» De Grit, et lib. Arb. c, xxi.	* Enchir. xxvii.
y Toplady, p. 43.	2 Pf v- 4*
a 1 Thef. iv. 3.Divirie Attributes.
199
thofe general representations, which refer us
no farther for the caufe of fin, than to the fe-
duclions of our fpiritual enemy, and to the de-
praved appetites of our own finful nature.
For, as to that paflage in Ifaiah, (and if there
be any others of the fame tendency,) “ I make
“ peace and create evil; I the Lord do all
“ thefe thingsb;” that is a wife and pious dif-
tin&ion, which Melan&hon infills upon, be-
tween fin and the punilhment of fin; rightly
maintaining, that it is of the latter that the
Prophet fpeaks, for that he afcribes, not moral
evil, but penal fufFerings to the creation of
God, who ordained them in righteous ven-
geance for the fins of his people.c
. . . ‘liJ’-
b If. xlv. 7. See Toplady, p. 60.
c Amos 3. Non ell; malum in civitate, quod non fecit
Dominus. Hujufmodi dicta cumulantur ab iis, qui vo-
ciferantur, Deum elfe caufam peceati. Hie. autem riota
fit omnibus vetus et neceffaria diftinctio. Differunt pecca-
tum et paena. Ac ufitate peccatum nominatur maluni
culpae, quod eft averfio a Deo et odium Dei, quod nequa-
quam vult Deus, et nequaquam efficit. Sed psenae funt
deftrudtiqnes rerum aut corporum, ut incendia, diluvia,
morbi, fames; aut in anima pavor aut dolor, horribiliter
puniens earn : tabs paena eft opus juftitiae Dei, et nomina-
tor malum paenas : faepe igitur Prophet® fie loquuntur,
Deum haec mala efficere, id eft, has paenas velle ordine
juftitiae. Sic Jerem. inquit in Threnis, cap. 3. Quis
dixit, ex ore altiffimi nec bona nec mala veniunt. Ubi)
objurgat Epicureos, qui fomniant, res fecundas et adverfaa
cafu accidere. Sic et apud Jefa. cap. 45. Ego Deus fa-
O 420©
Calvinifm incovflfient with the
In the mean time, that thefe doctrines of
Calvinifm are edentially different from thoffe of
the fafalifts of old, which Juftin Martyr repre-
fents as diametrically oppofite to fuchas were
taught by the "Apodles and embraced by the
primitive Church'1, it is for their abettors, if
poffible,' to prove; and to exonerate them-
felves from the charge alleged againft the pa-
trons of neceflity by Eufebius, that « their
w opinions abfolve tinners from guilt, as doing
“ nothing of their own accords which is evil,
“ and would caft all the blame of all the wick-
“ ednefs, committed in the world, upon God
<s and upon his providence; whether he him-
“ felf impel them to wickednefs againft their
“ will, or order matters fo that they be con-
“ drained to do it by fame other caufek”'
ciens pacem et creans malum, de rebus fecundis et psenis
intelligatur. De Caufa Pepcati, Op. vol. ii. p. 239.
d Ointo yaq y/ieig TtjV sxntigaia-iv <pa.fi,svs ysiojtrscrSai, aXXv
in; oi’2,7011X01 xarsc too this si; oXXrjXa icavroov fj.sTaSoXyjS'.Xoyov 0
aiayi^QV epavrp aXX’ «8s xa$ siftapfj,svi)V wpaTTsiv ‘raj av^ganrug r,
K'a.B'y.Eto ta ymp-soa, aAXa. xara posv wfiouipeciii ixscfov xarop&sv,
*% afiapTuvtiv. Juft. Mart;. Apol. i. Op. p. 45. edit. Par.
1615.
e Eir b-1 auTo; xah’ eaurov, sit’ bv scaXiv aims tivo; ctXXijj
Iff os avTOu p.ifj.pya.otlfi.snls atayxrjs, touj ax sSeXorraj toij Ss roij
xaxoij wspiSaXXoi, any os av si)}, xai bx aXXoj, 6 oravroov xetxuiv
oron^t^os’- xou bx et av sv hxyyfixgTflxws Xeyoir av 0 av3p«wroj,
«XX’ 0 Turn mniTrfs Ssoc. xai xij av tbtb ysvoiT av srspos Xoymv
tta-sosraroj; Eufebii Prsep. Evang. lib. vi, c. vi. p. 251, Par.
1628.Divine Attributes.	201
4. Again, He is a God of wifdom : when
“ he founded the earth and eftabliflhed the hea-
“ vens,” wifdom was his companion and his
delight, the partner of his councils, and the in-
feparable alfeflbr of the everlafting thronef.
But much as the Calvinift would attribute to
the divine Omnifcience, he circumfcribes it
within the limits of certain fancied decrees.
“ He foreknew,” fays Auftin, “ becaufe he
“ predeftinated8:“He therefore foreknows
“ the end of man,” fays Calvin, “ becaufe he-
's has. ordained and decreed ith.” Nor can he
difcover any method for promoting God’s ho-
nour more fuitable to his wifdom, than that of
pretending to impofe laws upon his creatures,
whom he has previoufly difabled from obey-
ing them | of treating men in the work* of re-
demption as mere machines, whom he had
created free and reafonable agents ; and of ap-
point tinig, by an abfolute and irrevocable decree,
that thofe things, which he moft hates and ab-
hors, thould be moft pra&ifed, and that thofe,
which he moft lores and approves of, thould
he omitted!.
f Prov. iii. 19. viii. 22—30.
6 Hoc eft ergo praedeftinavit: fine diibio eniirt praefcivit,
fi- praodeftinavit-. Augujl. de Bbno Perfev. c. xviii.
•; h Infieiari- nemo poterit, quin prffifciverit D'eus queni
exifcum habiturus efifet homo, antequam ipfum oonderet;
et ideo praefciverit, quia decreto fuO fic ordinarat. Calv.
Info. iii. xxiii. 7.202 Calvinifm inoofijijient with the
A 5. Again, He is “ a God of truth'.’’ He is
not a man that «he Ihould lie ; and falfehood
is the object of his hatred and difguft. “ Faith-
“ ful in his promiles,” faith St, Clement, “and
“ juft in his judgments, he who hath com-
“ manded men not to lie, much lefs flhall he
“ He a liar himfelf; for nothing, but a lie, is
“ impoflible with Godk.” But where, we
humbly alk, is his truth, if, as will prfefenily
be more fully argued, his covenant be broken,
and his promifes rendered null ? Where is his
truth, if it be'properly attributed to him by
Calvin, that God hath two wills, the one
“ outward and revealed, whereby he moft
“ tenderly invites linners to his grace, and
“ moft gracioufly calls them to repentance,'
“ feeming as though he were earneftly defir-
“ ous of their falvation; whereas his other
“ will is inward and fecret, which is irrefifti-
“ ble, and takes effect infallibly; and by this
“ he brings men through ways unavoidable
“ to an eftate and courfe of fin here, and then
“ to eternal damnation and punilhment here-
“ after1?” “ Let us not, pretend that there are
> Deut. xxxii. 4.
* TauTji nv rt) sX.mii npoa’$s$s<r$u)aav al	ijpuov rep mfta
sv Taif s'lrufysXiai;, xai ra> Sixaicp ev roi; xpi/tairiv, 'O iragayfsi-
Xa; pj 'l/coSerSai iroXXcp paaXXov auras u i]/sv<rsrai. OuSsv yaq
uivvarov rca ©sa>, si pj ra ^surarSiai. Epift. i. ad Cor. cap.
xxvii.,
1 Hoc verum eft, quia neminem ex peceatoribus, quiDivine Attributes.	203
“ contradictory wills in .God,” faid the wife
MelanCthon; “for, for this very caufe the
“ word of the Qofpel has been delivered, that
“-it may fhow the true and uncounterfeited
“ will of God.”- “ Let; us not pretend that
“ there are contradictory wills in God,” re-
peatedly deprecating -the propagation of fo
grievous an error ; “ for God is true ; not at
“ variance with his own wifdom, and with the
“ word, which he has. uttered and eftablith-
“ edm.” If the very heathen condemned the
man, who could lpeak one thing and mean an-
other, as no lefs hateful than the gates of
refipifcurit', repudiat; quin potius fine exceptione omni-
bus ignofcit: fed interea non obftat haec. Dei -voluntas,
quam in verbo fuo proponit, quin decreverit ante creatum
mundutn, quid fa&urus eflet de fingulis hominibus, &c.
Calv. in Ezech. xviii. 23.
111 Sbiamus de voluntate Dei ex verbo revelato ftatuen-
dum effe; nec fingendas effe contradiftorias voluntates in
Deo. Hanc ipfam ob eaufam vox evaiigelii tradita eft, ut
oftendat volunt^tem Dei veram et non fimulatam. Me-
lanSih. Comm, in Rom. ix., Op. vol. iv. p. 160.
Tertia admonitio, cum diftum fit, neceffario judicandum
effe1. de voluntate Dei ex verbo ab ipfo tradito, non ex
imaginationibus humanis, tenenda eft etiam haec regula;
Non effe ponendas contradiftorias voluntates in Deo, quia
Deus verax eft. Ibid.
Nec fingendae funt in Deo contradiftoriae voluntates,
quia Deus eft verax ; non diffentiens a fua fapientia, et a
verbo quod edidit et fanxit. Ejufd. de Caufa Peccati,
vol. ii. p. 238.204 Calvimfm inconjijlent with the
hellf, with what decency can we afcribe fuch
duplicity to the King of heaven, “ all whofe
“ works and his counfels of old are faitbfulnefs
“ and truth8?” It was the pious and prudent
advice of one of our molt eftimable Bifhops to
his Clergy, “ In all your fermons and dif-
“ courfes fpeak nothing of God, but what is
“ honourable and glorious ; and impute not to
“ him fuch things, the confequences of which
“ a wife and good man will not own. Never
“ fuppofe him to be the author of fin, or the
“ procurer of our damnation. For God Can-
“ not be tempted, neither tempteth he any
“ man. God is true, and every man a liar h.”
6. Again ; It is one of the firft principles of
religion, and it is hated exprefsly by an Apo-
file, and recognized throughout the Bible, as
a primary article of faith, that “ God is the
“ rewarder of them who diligently feek him1.”
But according to the fyftem of Calvin, his re-
wards are irrefpedtive : and whatever be the
diligence or floth with which he is fought,
and whether he be fought or not, they are
determined by an everlafting decree, as un-
f	yap ju.01 jobivq;, apuo$ aiSao ■nruAtjcriy,
'Of %’ erepov jj.iv xeoSsi ivi foscrtv, aXko Ss /3a£ei.
Horn. II. ix. 313.
6 Dan. iv. 37. If. xxv. 1.
h Bp’. Jer. Taylor. See Enchir. Tlieotog. vol.ii. p. 274.
* Heb. xl. 6.	>v Divine Attributes.	205
alterable, as it is unconditional. To talk of
‘c men’s gradually working out their own fal-
“ vation, by their own honeft endeavours and
“ through the ordinary afiiftance of God’s
“ grace, with a humble reliance on the merits
“ of Chrift,” is ftircaftically defcribed as “ our
“ common divinity11.” “ To call on men to
“ do fb and fo, to keep themfelves in a juftified
“ ftate,” is derided as “ forry divinity1.” Elect-
ing love is that, which “ alone makes believers
*' differ from the reft of their brethren"1:” “no
** demerit on their part can arife to defeat the
“ operation of God’s grace":” “ no unlovely
“ baekllidings can deprive them of it0:” and
as to finners, although “ the whole life be
“ fpent in hardnefs andUimpenitency,” yet, if
they be in the number of the elect, “ divine
*' grace fliall glorioufly triumph in their con-
“ verfion, in their dying moments11:” “no
“ duties, no obligations are required of them ;
no terms, no conditions; neither ifs nor
“ buts; they Jhall come; and if they them-
“ felves will not, the Lord will make them
“ willing in the day of his power9.”
k Whitefield’s, Works, vol. iv. p. 153.
1 Ibid. vol. i. p. 209.
Ibid. vol. vi. p. 138,
n Hawker’s Zion’s Pilgrim, p. 60.
0 Coles on God’s Sovereignty, p. 294.
V Hawker’s Mitericordia, p. 116.
s Hawker’s Prop againft Delpair, p. 16.206	, Calvinifm inconfijlent with the
7. Again ; It is one of bis fcriptural proper-
ties, that he is a God, “ who heareth the
“ prayer;” who “giveth to every one that
“ alkethwho “ giveth his Holy Spirit, and
“ with him all good things, to them that alk
“ in his Son’s name';” and who “ giveth not
“ to them that afk not’.” And therefore our
Church exhorts us to “ confefs our fins to
Z'
“ Almighty God, with an humble, lowly, pe-
“ nitent and obedient heart, to the end that
“ we may obtain forgivenefs of the fame, by
“his infinite goodnefs and mercy.” “ If I
“ ihould go through all the ftories, which
“ fhow us the efficacy of prayer,” fays the
venerable Bithop' Latimer, after citing feme
memorable examples, “ I Ihould never have
“ done ; for no doubt faithful prayer faileth
“ never : it hath remedied all matters. For it
“ brought to pafs, that when God would de-
“ ftroy the Ilraelites, he could riot, becaufe of
“ Mofes’s prayer: Mofes let God of his pur-
“ pofe. And no doubt God loveth to be
“letted: for God loveth not to punifh or
“ deftroy the people ; and therefore by a pro-
“ phet God complaineth, that there was not
“ found a good man, which might fet himfelf
“ as a llrong wall before the people; that is
“ to lay, which was fo earneft in prayer, that
1 Pf. lxv. 2. Luke xi. 9. Matt. vii. 11. Luke xi. 13.
s Jam. iv. 2.Divine Attributes.	207
“ God could not punifli the people1.” But
on the Calviniftic hypothefis, all prayer is vain
and ineffe<Stual, “ Thy prayers,” it is affirmed,
“ however frequent or fervent, do not influ-
“ ence the Lord to ele6t and choofe thee ta
“ falvation V’ The eledt need not folicit that,
which is theirs by an irreverfible law of omni-
potence; nay, it is as abfurd to pray or inter-
cede for that which God hath abfolutely de-
creed from all eternity fhall come to pafs, as
to, pray and intercede, that the world may not
be;drowned. again ; or that Chrilt may come
to judgment: or be the ’Judge of the quick
and dead; or that the bodies of the faints may
arife; or for any other thing which lhall in-
fallibly come to pafs by virtue of God’s ab-
folute decree from all eternity*. Whilft, as.
to the reprobate, that I may adopt the ex-
preffive language of the Poet,
----Prayer againft h-is abfolute decree
No more avails, than breath againft the wind,
Blown ftifling back on him that breathes it forth y.
It is argued indeed, in reply to this objec-
tion-, that “ prayer is the duty of all without
“exception. Every created being (whether
*	Latimer’s Sermons, vol. ii. p. 540.
u Mafon’s Spiritual TrCafury, p. 182.
*	See Whitby, p.388.
y Paradife Loft, book xi. line 311.208
Calvtmfm incanjijlent with the
“ eled or reprobate matters not as to this
^-point,) is as fuch dependent on the Creator
** for all things, and if dependent, ought to
“ have recourfe to him, both in a way of fup-
plication and thankfgivingV’ But of what
lignificance is the performance of this duty to
man, if his performance does not affedt the
recompence profefledly fufpended on it? And
how does this reply preferve inviolate the ho-
nour of God, who hath declared that he “ will
" give all good things to them who alk in his
“ Son’s name,” if he has previoufly, with re-
fpedt to his beft, I ’ mean his lpiritual, gifts,
clofed the door upon all entreaty ?
8. Again ; God is perpetually reprefented
under the fimilitades df a king, a mafter, and-
a father: a king, entitled to our reverence; a
mafter, to our honour; and a father, to out
love. But, if we reafon from the analogy of
earthly relations, what reverence is to be
claimed by a lbvereign, what honour is due to
a mafter, to what affe&ion is a father entitled,
who rules his fubjedts, his fervants, or his
children by arbitrary laws ; fhowers bleflings
on a favoured few with partial hand; requires
of the reft an obedience, which he either dif-
ables them from paying, or difregards if it
be paid; and inflidts on them the utmoft He-
z TopUdy on Predeftination, p, 126,■ .< .
Divine Attributes.	209
verity of punilhment, in compliance with his
own will, and to manifeft the feverity of his
power ? Let us not be told, that God may do
what he will with his own. “ When under
“ the Roman and the Grecian government the
“ father had an abfolute power over his chil-
“ dren, and in the eaftern nations the prince
“ had abfolute power over his fubjedts; would
“ this prerogative and fovereignty excufe them
“ from a feverity and rigour unworthy of a
“ father or a fovereign, in leaving moft of
“ their fubjedts and their children under the
“ extreme!!: mifery, when by the very fame
“ means that a few of them have been refcued
“ from it, they might all have been fo ? And
" fhall we then impute that rigour, want of
“ natural affedtion and companion to the Lover
“ of fouls, and the benign government of our
“ heavenly Father, which we could not but
“ condemn and abhor in earthly governors,
“ and in the fathers of our flefh a?” Nor is
this all: it is not only that he refufes to extri-
cate his people and Children from mifery, but
is himfelf the aggravator of their mifery : he
impofes upon them laws; he difables them
from obeying; and he punithes, becaufe they
obey them not. Is this the condudt of that
gracious Sovereign, who " feedeth his own
1 Whitby on the Five Points, p. 175.
P210 Calvinifm inconjifteni with the
“ people and the fheep of his pafture whole
“ fceptre is a fceptre of righteoufnefs and
who “ accepteth according to that a man hath,
“ and not according to that he hath notb ?”
Or is it rather the conduct of the ufurper,
“ whofe own the Iheep are not;” and who
withholds from them the ftraw, while he ex-
acts the full tale of bricks ? “ You would not,”
faith Athenagoras to the Roman Emperors,
“ honour the good or punifh bad men, if vice
" and virtue were not in their power0:” and,
“ if men,” faith Chryfoftom, <c pardon their
“ fellow-men, when they are neceffitated to
“ do a thing, much more fhould this be done
** to men compelled by fate to do what they
“ do: for if it be abfurd to punifh them, who
“ by the force of barbarians are compelled to
“ any a&ion, it muft be more fo to punifh
“ him, who is compelled by a ftronger powerd:”
b 3 Cor. viii. i a.
c S)j xai sm toov avfycoircev avSxsgsrov xai t>jv upstijv xai n\v
xaxtav syovraiv sissi sx av ur eriftare roof ayadoof, oox sxoXal'eri
rov; •urovygovs, si pj sis avrois tjv xai r\ xaxia xai tj apsrrj. Athe-
nagorce Legatio pro Chrijiianis, p. 37. Ed. Paris. 1515.
d Eira uvSgomcp p.sv xram tsvyyivuxrxsiv, ins’ avSpancov rov
ojttofuAou xai Sftoysvooc xaravayxagoftsvcp, rm ¥ v%o si/tapftevi);
sa^i TroXXia fxaXkov (ruyyivcucxsiv sxpyv ; xai yap hadpxvai eSei*
sxswyis 8s, <pa<riv, ouraij a^yavas y apyi\, iof xav stc spypov,
xav sis SaXaircrav, xav ortoo ti; afixyrai, ra votipara a\m\s
ou Siapsuj-srai. Ilais ovv oox aroisov, rov psv thro (3agSapuv
fiius ay•gpp.svov tsXeis-yis iruyyvwpjs avokavsiv, euj p)8s syxakei&af
rqv apyjjV, rov Se (mo 8uvxrwrspus} fan, Savapwwj xaravayxu-Divine Attributes.
211
more and much more, let it be added, When
the fame power impofes the law, precludes
obedience, and indies the pitnilhment.
' 9. Again; God is reprefented as command-
ing “ the Gofpel to be preached to every crea-
tiireeas making it the duty of his mi-
niftets to exhort all men to receive it, and not
to “ neglect fo great falvationf;” as command-
ing all men to believe and obey its; as declar-
ing that he will judge the world in rightCouf-
nef& by the word of the Gofpel; and that the
eaufe of men’s condemnation fhall be their
{ejection of the Gofpel faith11. But, on the
Calviniftic hypothefis, thefe commands and
declarations ate futile and unjuft. For what
have they to do with the obligations of the
Gofpel j ot hoW are they to believe, and obey
the Golpel; or how are they to be judged by
the Gofpel; or upon what principle are they
to be condemned for ditbelieving or difobeying
it: who were the fubjeds of an abfolute de-
cree of reprobation, fhut out from the pofli-
bility of having faith or repentance by a doom
antecedent to the Gofpel difpenfation ; and to
whom the Gofpel is preached, as Calvin affirms,
tyffitvov,	d&ovoci, xott jbwj&e Aoyou (justA^ovui isrpos UiioKoyim
auraj Toiaurjjv; Chryfoji. de Fato et Provid. Orat. iii. Ed.
Bened. ii. p. 761.
• - e Mark xvL 15.
i t John iii. 593.
P 2
f Heb. ii.2,3.
h John iii. 18.212
CalviniJ'm inconjijlent with the
only “ as a favour of death, and as matter of
“ more fevere condemnation1?” But how then
is this to be reconciled with the wifdom and
juftice of God? For “ who,” faith Auftin againft
the Manichaeans, whom he accufed of blind-
nefs for denying, that man had free-will, or
that it was in his power to do well or ill;
“ Who,” faith he, “ will not exclaim, that it is
“ folly to command him, who hath not liberty
“ to do what is commanded; and that it is
“ unjuft to condemn him,, who hath it not in
“ his power to do what is required ? and yet
“ thefe mrferable men underftand not, that
“ they afcribe this wickednefs and injuftice to
“ God V’ And, to the fame effect, “ it is the
“ height of madnefs and injuftice, to hold,any
“ perfon guilty, becaufe he did not that which
“ he could not do1.”
' Eft enim univerfalis vocatio, qua per etternam verbi
praedicationem omnes pariter ad fe invitat Deus; etiam
quibus earn in mortis odorem, et gravioxis condemnatiqnis
materiam proponit. Calv. Injl., lib. iii. cap. xxiv. feft. 8.
k Oflis enim non clamet, ftultum elTe praecepta dare ei,
Cui liberum non eft quod pXagcipitur facere; et iniquum
efle eum damnare, cui non fuit poteftas jufla complere ?
et has injuftitias et iniquitates miferi non intelligunt Deo
fe afcribere, Auguji. lib, de Fide contra Manichoeos, cap. x.
tom. viii. App. p. 26.
1 Peccati reum tenere quenquam, quia non fecit id quod
facere. non potuit, fummae iniquitatis eft et infaniae. Lib.
de Duabus Anim. cap. xii. feet. 17. Op. tom. viii. p.87.Divine Attributes.	213
10. Again ; It is fet forth as an evidence of
the univerfal love and good-will of God to
man, that “ he willeth not that any, even the
“ wicked, fhould perilh ; but that all, that
“ all men every where, fhould come to repent-
“ ance and be faved"1:” not merely, as Calvin
explains away the univerfality of the expref-
fions, that “ God is prepared to pardon, as foon
“ as the finner fhall be converted, and there-
“ fore he willeth not his death, in as far as he
“ willeth his repentance";” but that he abfo-
lutely willeth both the end and the means,
and fo affords to all men opportunity of repent-
ance as the means, and falvation and happinefs
as the end : as Voffius teflifies to have been’the
fentence of the primitive Church, that “ God
“willeth the converfion and falvation of all
men °.” If he does not, what comfort do thefe
prOmifes afford to the great body of mankind ?
but “ thefe,” faith the venerable Latimer, “ are
“ moft comfortable words ; for now we may
“ be fure, that when we will leave our fins
m 2 Pet. iii. 9. Tit. ii. 4. A6ts xvii. 30. Ezek. xviii. 33.
xxxiii. 11.
n Atque hsec fumma eft, non efte dubitandum, quin
Deus paratus fit ignofcere, fimul ac converfus fit peecator.
Ergo ejus mortem non vult, quatenus vult peenitentiam.
Calv. Infi. lib. iii. cap. xxiv. feift. 15.
0 Veteris htec Ecclefiae fententia fpit, velle Deum con-
verfionem et falutem omnium. Vojf. Hift. Pelag. lib, vn,
thef. ii. p. 652,% J 4 Calvinifm inconjijlent iv'iih the
“ and wickednefs, and turn unto him with all
“ our hearts earneftly, then he will turn him-
“ felf unto us, and will (how himfelf a loving
“ father. And to the intent we fhould believe
“ this, he fweareth an oath ; we ought to be-
“ lieve God without an oath, yet he fweareth
" to make us more furep.” At the fame time
various fcriptures concur in proving, that his
fove is not confined merely to “ fome of all
“ nations, or of all forts, of men,” as Auftin*,
and after him Calvinr, affirm, and as their fol-
lowers s interpret fuch paflages in Scripture;
but that all the children of men are objects of
the divine bengvolence. “ God is naturally
" good,” faith our great reformer Archbifhop
Cranmer, “ and ivilleth all men to be faved,
f‘ and qareth for them, and provideth all things
“ by which they may be faved, except by
“ their own malice they will be evil, and fo
P Latimer’s Sermons, vol. ii. p. 633.
9 Aut certe fic diftum eft, Qui omnes homines vult falvos
fieri; non quod nullus hominum eflet, quern falvura fieri
nollet: fed ut omnes homines omne genus humanum in-
telligamus per qqafcunque differentias diftrihutum; reges,
privatos, &c. &c. Auguft. Enchir. cap. xxix.
r —-Deo, qui yelit omnes homines falvos fieri. Quo
nihil aliud profedto fignificat, quam nulli hominum ordini
viam ad falutem prseclufifle; quin potius mifericordiam
fuam fic effudiffe, ut nullum ejus expertem efle velit;. Call/.
Inji. lib, iii. cap. xxiv. fe£t. 16.
* Tpplady op Predeft. p. 47. Whitefield’s Works,
vol. vi. p. 233. Eighteen Sermons, p. 160.Divine Attributes.
215
“ by righteous judgment of God, perifh and be
“ loft. For truly men be to themfelves the
“ authors of tin and damnation. God is
“ neither author of fin nor caufe of damnation.
“ And yet doth he moll righteoufly damn
“ thofe men, that do with vices corrupt their
“ nature, which he made good ; and do abufe
“ the fame to evil defires, againft his moft holy
“> will. Wherefore men be to be warned,
“ that they do not impute to God their vice
“ or their damnation, but to themfelves, which
“ by free-will have abufed the grace and be-
“ nefits of God“ Chrift,” faith the ve-
nerable Latimer, “ would have all the world to
“ come unto him. The promifes of our Saviour
“ Chrift are general; they pertain to the whole
“ world, to all mankind ; wherefore then
“ thould any man defpair1 11? And again; “ See-
“ ing the Gofpel is univerfal, it appeareth that
“ God would have all mankind to be faved;
“ and that the fault is not in him, if we be
“ damned ; for it is written thus, God w^ould
“ have all to be faved. His falvation is fuffi-
“ cient to fave all mankind; but we are fo
“ wicked of ourfelves, that we refufe the fame,
“ and we will not take it, when it is offered
1 Neceflary Do&rine and Erudition for any Chriftian
Man. Article of Free-will.
u Latimer’s Sermons, vol. ii. p.471,48p.216 Catvinifm inconfjlent with the
“ to us ; and therefore he faith, Few are cho-
“ fen ; that is, few have pleafure or delight in
“ it.” And to the fame effe<fl Bithop Hooper
argues, “ that as the fins of Adam, without
" privilege or exemption, extended and apper-
“ tained unto all and every of Adam’s pof-
“ terity, fo did the promife of grace generally
“ appertain as well to every and Jingular of
“ Adams pojierity as to Adam and again,
“ The promife of grace appertaineth to every
“ fort of men in the world, and eomprehendeth
“ them all, howbeit within certain limits and
“ bounds, the which if men negled or pafs
“ over, they exclude themfelves from the pro-
“ mife in Chrift: as Cain was no more exclud-
“ ed, till he excluded himfelf, than Abel; Saul
f‘ than David; Judas than Peter; Efau than
“ Jacob ; by the Scripture it feemeth that the
“ fentence of God was given to fave the one,
“ and to damn the other, before the one loved
“ God, or the other hated God. Howbeit
“ thefe threatenings of God againfl; Efau, if he
“ had not of his wilful malice excluded himfelf
(e from the promife of grace, ihould no more
“ have hindered his falvation than God’s
“ threatenings againfl; Nineveh 5 which, not-
“ withftanding that God faid it thould be de-
“ ftroyed within forty days, flood a great time
f‘ after, and did penance. Efau was circumr
cifed and prefented unto the Church of GodDivine Attributes.
217
by his father Ifaac in all external ceremonies
“ as well as Jacob; and that his life and con-
“ verfation was not as agreeable unto juftice
“ and equity as Jacob’s, the fentence of God
“ unto Rebecca was not in the fault, but his
“ own malice; for there is mentioned nothing
“ at all, in that place, that Efau was difinherit-
“ ed of eternal life; but that he fhould be in-
“ ferior to his brother Jacob in this world;
“ which prophecy was fulfilled in their pof-
“ terities, and not in the perfons themfelvesu.”
Nay, what more ample teftimony of God’s
abundant kindnefs and good-will to all men
can be given, than his overture of mercy to
fuch unprincipled wretches as Judas Ifcariot
and Simon Magus ? As the learned Barrow
after Sf. Ambrofe has remarked, “ that our
“ Lord ought not to pafs by the man that
“ fhould betray him, that all men might take
“ notice, that, in the choice even of his traitor,
“ he did hold forth a pledge or mark of all
“ men being to be favedx."
u Preface to Hooper’s Declaration of the Ten Com-
mandments.
x Barrow’s Works, vol. iii. p. 333. Venerat Dominus
Jefus omnes falvos facere peccatores; etiam circa impios
oftendere fuam debuit voluntatem: et ideo nec proditurum
debuit praeterire, ut adverterent omnes, quod, in ele&ione
etiam proditoris fui, fervandorum omnium inligne prse-
tendit. Amlrof. de Paradifo, cap. viii.218 Calvinifm inconfijlent with the
But according to the fyftem of our oppa-
nents, the majority of mankind is devoted by
him to necelTary and irremediable mifery.
“ God,” we are intlru6ted, “ intends to give
“ faving grace only to a fewy:” “ God,” as
we are taught by another, “ doth not will the
“ falvation of reprobatesand again, “ the
“foie caufe why fome are faved, and others
“ perifli, proceeds from his willing the falva-
“ tion of the former, and the perdition of the
“ latterV’ Surely, if this be fo, whilft it robs
God of his honour, it deprives the great ma^
jority of mankind of their ftrongcft obligation,
both of gratitude towards God, and of charity
towards their brethren. We are taught to be
moft devoted to God, becaufe “ he is merciful
“ unto us, and forgiveth us our fins;” and to
“ forgive our brethren their trefpafles, even as
our heavenly Father forgiveth us our tref-
“ pafles.” Alas for the fubverfion of affection,
founded on gratitude, to “ the Father of mer-
“ cies;” and of love to our neighbour, founded
on the love of God; if our heavenly Father is
fo far from forgiving us, that he doth not even
will to forgive us ; but inexorably withholds
from us every meafure of his grace, and hath
pleafure in the death of him that dieth !
y Whitefield’s Works, vol. iv. p. 58.
* Toplady, p. 47.Divine Attributes.
219
11. Again; In proof of his univerfal good-
will to man, he fent his only-begotten Son
from the bofom of his love and from the right
hand of his glory, to “ tafte death for every
“ man1;” “ with abfolute commifEon and
“ fulnefs of power,” as the good Bifhop An-
drews fays, “ to be the perfect and complete
“ Saviour of allb—that “ by his moft fweet
“ facrifice,” as it is exprefled in King Edward’s
Catechifm, “ he might pacify his Father’s
“ wrath againft mankind0:”—“ that all men,”
as the Homily teaches, “ as they are God’s
“ creation and image,” fo alfo might be re-
“ deemed by Chriftd:”'—that “ dying once and
“ offering himfelf for all,” as Cranmer fays,
“ he might, fo much as pertained to him, take
“ all men’s fins unto himfelf':”—“ to make,”
as Cranmer again and Ridley fay, “ a facrifice
“ and oblation upon the- crofs, which was a
s‘ full redemption and propitiation for the fins
“ of the whole worldf:—“ to fuffer for you
“ and for me,” fays Latimer, “ in fuch a de-
a Heb. ii. 9.
Serm. V. on the Nativity, p. 39.
c Enchir. Theolog. vol. i. p. 25.
d Homilies, p. 49.
e Cranmer on the Sacrament, Lond. 1550. p. 107.
f Preface to the fame, and Preface to Bilhop Ridley’s
Difputation at Oxford. See Winchefter on the Seven-
teenth Article, p, 38,39,220 Calvinifm inconjijlertf with the
“ gree as is due to all the tins of the whole
“ world : for all that 1 for my part have done,
“ all that you for your parts have done, and
“ that any man elfe had doneg.” “ He tailed
“ death for every man,” obferved an eloquent
and learned Prelate, whom as the Predeltina-
rian recommends to others, he might fubmit
to be guided by him himfelf; “ He tailed
“ death for every man ; for every one that is
“ of that nature, in which he did it. So that
“ every man is capable of being faved by him :
“ God excepts againil no man, and therefore
“ men mull have a care, how they prefume to
“ do it. For this is to ufurp upon God’s pre-
“ rogative, and to limit his boundlefs love; to
“ rellrain it to fome particular perfons, when
“ he extended it to all: for he loved the world,
“ the whole linful worldh.”
“ This,” fays Voffius, “ was the judgment of
“ the ancient Church, that Chrill had provided
“■ for the univerfal fault of men by an univerfal
“ remedy; by paying a ranfom of infinite
“ value, that no one might perilh for want of
“ it This we underlland to be the dodlrine
of the Gofpel: and however fome texts aflert-
8 Latimer’s Sermons, vol. i. p. an.
h Bilhop Beveridge’s Works, vol. i. p.119. See White-
field’s Works, vol. ii. p. 166.
» Veteris Ecclefiae ’ judicium fuit, Chriftum pro culpa
univerfali hominibus providifie remedio univerfali, folvendoDivine Attributes.	221
ing the do&rine of univerfal redemption may
be boldly denied by an affirmation, that “ God
“ delivered up his Son, not for all men, but
“ only for thofe that are in Chriftk;” or may
be explained away by a fort of fophiftry,
which fuppofes fuch texts to mean, that “ his
“ facrifice and undertaking are infinite and all-
“ fufficient, but that the application of this
“ facrifice and, undertaking is every where
“ confined to the ele£t people of God1;’’ it may
notwithftanding be confidently maintained,
that other paflages remain, which reprefent
the death of Chrift as commenfijrate in its
effedts with the fall of Adam™, “that,” as
Athanafius fays, “ abfolving the firfl: man’s fin,
“ he might take it away from the whole
“ race":”—which fpeak of him, as “ the pro-
“ pitiation for the fins of the whole world
not the world of the ele6t, according to the
predeliinarian refinement, but “all men,” “the
“ whole human race,” as Calvin once exprefled
it"; “ all mankind,” as diftinguithed by our
\uTpov infiniti pretii, ne ejus defeftu periret quifquam. Vojf.
Hiftor. Pelag. lib. vii. thef. iii. p. 680.
k Whitefield’s Works, vol. iv. p. 57.
1 Pietas Oxonienfis, p. 67.
m 1 Cor. xv. 22. Rom. v. 22,18,19.
n Ivct exzivoj Xucov ttjv agapncai, airo zravTot; aurrjv upy tou
yevou;. Athan. in paff. cap. 12. tom. ii. p. 90. ed. Paris.
1698.	•	...
0 Meffias ilia omnia cumulate prseftitit, quas erant ad222
Calvinifrn inconjiftent with the
Church from “ the elet?t people of Godp;”
“ the whole world,” as diftinguiihed by St.
John from Chrillians, that very world, “ which
“ lieth in wickednefsq:” (for in the Scripture,
and more efpecially in the writings of St. John,
“ the world,” or “ the whole world,” never
lignifies the eledt only in oppofition to the
wicked of the world, but ftill the wicked of
the world in oppofitiort to the faithful Chrif-
tianr:)—and which defcribe him, as having
“ died for fome, who might neverthelefs perifh
“ and be deftroyed as having “ bought
" them, who neverthelefs denied him, and
“ brought on themfelves detixutftion by bring-
“ ing in damnable heretics';” and as having
omnium recfemptionertJ neceffaria. Neque vet© intra
unum Ifraelem tantum illnd beneficium ftetit, cum potius
ad universum humanum genus ufque por-rigertd>utn
eflet: quia per unum Chriftum universum humanum
genus reconciliandum erat Deo. Prcefatio Johannis Cdl-
vini in Editionem Gallicctm Novi Tefidmenti Nedcomi.
Anno mdxxxv. Calv.Ep. Col. 543.
Nemo hinc excluditur, (ab hsereditate fcilicet regni pa-
temi,) qui modo Chriftum, qualis offertur a Patre in falu-
tem omnium admittat, et admiflum comple&atut. Ibid.
Col. 545. See Winchefter on the Seventeenth Article,
p. 16. ed. Churchman’s Remembrancer.
P Catechifm. Summary of the Creed,
s Cf. 1 John ii. a. and v. if.
* See Whitby on the Five Points, p, 13©.
s 1 Cor. viii. 11. Rom. xiv. 15.
1 a Pet. ii. 1.Divine Attributes,
228
“ fan&ified them, who tread him under foot,
“ and do defpite unto the Spirit of grace, and
u count the blood of the covenant an unholy
“ thing".” “ Let us,” exclaims St. Clement,
the fellow-labourer of St. Paul, and one the
bed: qualified to fupply a comment upon the
language of the Apoftle; “ Let us look ftead-
“ faftly upon the blood of Chtift, and let us
“ fee, how precious to God his blood is;
** which, being filed for our falvation, did
“ bring the grace of repentance to the whole
“ world. Let us attentively regard all ages,
“ and obferve, that in every generation the
“ Lord granted place of repentance to them
“ who would turn to him11.”
And ihall we be perfuaded, in fpite of fuch
authorities as thefe, to give our aflent to a lyf-
tem, which, (whilft it pretends to be the fyf-
tem, that peculiarly exhibits the Almighty
“ promoting his own glory and the greateft
“ poflible ultimate good of his creaturesy,)”
deprives the mercy of God and the facrifice of
* Heb, x. 29.
x ATsVWoJjtsy to uip,ct tou Xpi<rroo, xai idcefiev C05 sOti Ttfuiv
Tip &ecp uifia acrra, 0 n Sia t*)v rj/jisTigav owijptav sx%u$sv, ■bt«vti
tco xoiTftte //.sTavoia; ya.pn> fon)veyxev. AT=vt<7cujJ.ev si5 t«j ysvsa;
vrouru;, xai xetTaf/'CcSco/tev, oti sv ysvsa. xai ysvsu. //.sTavoicii toitov
sStoxev 0 Seo-ttotijs toij (Hnhopsuoi; siri^pa^aj sir avrov. S. Clem,
ad Cor. ep. i. cap. vii.
y Overton, p. 89.224
Calvinifm inconjijlent with the
Chrift of the greateft portion of their glory;
charges with blafphemy the aflertion, that
Chrift died, not only for thofe that are faved,
but alfo for thofe that perilhz; reftri&s the
illimitable current of the grace of God; and
confines the operation of redeeming love to a
favoured fewa ?	“ Our Lord knew,” fays the
Founder of the Calviniftic Methodifts, “ for
“ whom he died. There was an eternal com-
“ pad between the Father and the Son. A
“ certain number was then given him, as the
“ purchale and reward of his obedience and
“ death. For thefe he prayed, and not for the
“ world; for thefe, and thefe only, he is now
“ interceding; and with their falvation he will
“ be fully fatisfiedb.” Woe then to the rebel-
lious and deceitful prophets, who “ prophefied
“ fmooth things” to every finner of the houfe
of Ifrael, and faw for every child of Adam
“ vifions of peace, when there was no peace!”
Woe to the falfe Apoftles, who called upon
“ all men every where to repent and believe
“ in him, who tailed death for every man,
“ and whom God had fet forth to be a pro-
“ pitiation for the fins of the whole world!”
O! the unutterable blindnefs of the heavenly
holt, when they hailed the nativity of the Sa-
a Whitefield, vol. i. p. 312. vol. iv. p.
» Ibid. vol. i. p. 145.	b Ibid. vol. iv. p. 72.Divine Attributes.
22 5
vit?ur as “ good tidings of great joy to all
“ peoplein a hymn of Glory to. God in the
higheft, of.peace on earth, and of good-will
towards men ! No more let all men be invited
to exult in that Gofpel of falvation, which is
good tidings of great joy only to a feledted
few! No longer let all men be taught, that
“ God fo loved the world, that he fenf hiS
“ only-begotten Son into the world, that who-
“ foever believeth in him might not perifh but
“ have everlafting life;” but that God fo hated
the world, that he fent not his Son into the
world to fave the world, but that, becaufe it
believed not in him, in whom God rendered
it incapable of believing, the world through
him might be condemned!
How widely different from this reprefent-
ation of the divine benevolence, is that which
has been tranfmitted to us. by fome of the
holy fathers of the Church. “ They compare
“ our Saviour to the Sun, who fhines indiffer-
“ ently to all the world, although there be
“ fome private corners and fecret caves, to
“ which his light doth not come ; although
“ fome fhut their windows and their eyes, and
“ exclude it; although fome'are blind and
“ do not fee it. They compare our Lord to a
" Phyfician, who profefles to relieve fuch as
“ lhall have recourfe to his help; but doth
“ cure only thofe, who feek for remedy, and
Q226 Calvinifm inconjijlent with the
“ are willing to take the medicine. The co-
“ venant of grace, fay they, is a door Handing
" open to all, whereinto all have liberty to
<c enter. Evangelical grace is like a fountain
“ Handing openly, to which all men have free
*c accefs; ‘at which all men may quench their
“ thirH, if they will inquire after it, and go
“ theretoIt did not occur to them per*
haps, and they would doubtlefs have deemed
it derogatory to God’s honour, if it had occur-
red to them, to annul the univerfality of our
Saviour’s gracious invitation, “ whofoever will,
“ let him take the water of life freelyc,” by
the ingenious comment of a late Predefiinarian,
that " none Gan will a part in thefe privileges,
“ but thofe whom God previoufly makes wil-
“ ling and defirous; arid that he gives this
“ will to, and excites this defire in, none but
** his own eledtd.”
The argument might be farther purfued,
under a multiplicity of forms, and in a variety
of particulars. But the leading remarks now
thrown out may be fufficient for my purpofe;
and will probably convince thofe, whofe minds
are open to their reception, that the dodtrine
of abfolute election and reprobation is irrecon-
b See Barrow’s Works, vol. iii. p. 333. or vol. i. p. 88.
of Sermons felefted; Oxford edition.
c Rev. xxii. i?.
d Toplady on Predeftination, p. 72.T	Divine Attributes.	227
eileable with the general declarations of Scrip-
ture concerning the nature and government
of God; and neceflarily involves confequences,
“ which, if there are fome things fo evil that
“ they can never be good, cannot be afcribed
“ to God without blafphemy I fhall there-
, fore decline any farther exemplification of the
prefent argument; for I Ihrink from the dif-
culiion of a fubje£t, which can hardly be ex-
amined without fome degree of apparent irre-
verence ; and without feeming to derogate
from the majefiy, by even bringing into quef-
tion the attributes and the moral government,
of “ the High and Lofty One, which inhabiteth
“ eternity, whofe name is holytowards
Whom the holts of heaven bend in lowly ado-
ration, and “ ca*ft their crowns before his
“ throne.”
II. I proceed therefore to confider the fub-
ject, with reference to the general covenant of
the Gofpel, and the promifes of God, as they
are generally fet forth in holy Scripture.
Now the very notion of a covenant is in-
compatible with the do&rine in difpute. By
a covenant, in a religious fenfe, we underftand
a compact or agreement, whereby God flipu-
lates to bellow certain blefiings upon thole,
who engage to perform certain conditions;
* See Stebbing on the Spirit, chap, yj. %.
Q 2228 Calvinifm inconjijlent with the general
And, as “ he is faithful who promifes,” pro-
vided thofe, with whom he enters into cove-
nant, perform the conditions they engage for,
“ God for his part will moll furely keep and
“ perform his promifef,” and confer the blef-
lings, for which he was gracioully pleafed to
liipulate. The terms of the Gofpel covenant
are, falvation with all its auxiliary bleffings on
the part of God; faith and obedience on the
part of man. I take the reprefentation of the
cafe from our Church’s office of Baptifm,
whereby we are admitted into covenant with
God.
Here then is our alternative. That God
ele&s certain individuals to unconditional fal-
vation, is the doctrine of Calvin ; the Gofpel
teaches, that the falvation of byery man is con-
ditional: both politions cannot be true : if we
believe one, we cannot believe the other : we
mull therefore relinquilh either the Inftitutes,
or the Bible; either abfolute predeftination,
or the Gofpel covenant; either the imagina-
tions of man, or the fure word of God.
The argument however is of fuch immenfe im-
portance, and it is fo firm and conclufive on
the matter in debate, that it requires to be more
fully inforced and illuftrated. I do not fcruple
then to aftert, and I afiert it with a fteadfaft
f Office of Baptifm.Conditions of the Gofpel Covenant. 22 Q
reliance on its truth, without fear of confuta-
tion, and with a truft in God that it is capable
of demonflration, that the Gofpel difpenfation,
in the whole and in its feveral parts, is ftridlly
a covenant between God and man :—that all
thofe fpiritual bleffings, which Chrift died to
purchafe, and which the Holy Spirit was fent
to confer, are annexed to the ^ difcharge of
certain duties, to the performance of fpecific
fervices : — that every man has the power,'
(with the affiftance of that grace which God
is pleafed to beftow,) of difcharging thofe du-
ties, of performing thofe fervices :—that every
man alfo has the power.of falling from that
grace, which he may once have enjoyed, fo as
to perilh eternally and that in confequence,
if God be true, (I fhudder at the provifo,
which I am compelled to introduce!) thofe
fpiritual bleffings, and efpecially that falvation,
which is the conclufion, fum, and fubftance
of the whole, are not the effedl of an arbitrary
election on the part of God ; are not iffifolute ;
are not irrefpedtive; but are conditional, and
depend upon the will and exertions of man.
Our adverfaries tell us, that “ the Gofpel in
“ offering falvation, offers it wholly uncondi-
“ tionals;”—that “ the Gofpel is not to be
“ clogged with terms, qualifications, and con-
s Hawker’s Prop againft all Defpair, p. 18.
Q 3230 Calvinifm incovjiftent with the general
“ ditionsh;”~—that “ a conditional redemption
“is a contraditftion in terms1;”—that “ the
“ promifes of the Gofpel are not conditional,
“ made to the believer upon certain terms, as.
“ if upon doing his part, God would do his
“ alfoV’—‘that “ believers are juftified before
“ God,, without any refpe<ft to their works,
“ paft, prefent, or to come1;”—in a word, that
“ to preach terms and conditions is to pervert
“ the Gofpel of Chrift, and to fubftitute a mere
“ fyftem of man’s deviling”.”
To thele aflertions others of the lame im-
port might ealily be added. What now is the
proteftant do&rine on this head ? “ Although
“ God’s promifes made in Chrift,” fay our Re-
formers, “ be immutable, yet he maketh them
** not to us hut with condition, fo that his pro-
“ mife Handing, we may yet fail of the pro-
“ mife, becaufe we keep not our promife
Or, to take the queftion more at large, I anfwer
in thfe words of a zealous oppofer of Antino-
mianifm, “ If all the proteftant divines, who
Goliath Slain, p. t6o. and Mafon’s Spiritual Treafury,
P-75-
i Toplady’s Church of England vindicated from Arini-'
nianifm, p. 9a.
k Romaine’s Walk of Faith. Works, vol. ii. p. 168.	,
1 WhitefieldY Works, vol. v. p. 137.
m Mafon’s Spiritual Treafury, p. 178.
" Necefiary Do&rine, &c. Declaration of Faith.-Conditions of the Gofpel Covenant. 231
“ have dire&ly or indiredtly reprefented re-
" pentance and faith as conditions of prefent
“ falvation, and holinefs of heart and life as
u conditions of eternal glory, as things fine
“ quibus non, without which falvation and
"glory neither can nor will follow;—if all
" thofe divines are guilty of herely, ninety-
" nine out of an hundred are heretics °.” And
I queftion, whether fome of the declaimers
againft conditions be not fometimes anfwer-
able for the herely.
What again is the dodlrine of Scripture ?
" If thou wilt enter into life, keep the com-
“ mandmentsp:”^-" This do and thou lhalt
" liveq:”—" Believe in the Lord Jefus Chrift,
“ and thou lhalt be favedr—" Whofoever
" lhall call on the name of the Lord lhall be
“ faved5:”—" He that believeth and is bap-
" tized lhall be faved1:”—" Whofo eateth my
" llelh and drinketh my blood hath eternal
" life, and I will raife him up at the laft day".”
Shall I adduce more texts from the Holy
Scriptures ? or will thefe already cited from
the feveral parts of the New Teftament, in the
language of our Saviour and of his ApoHles,
be fufficient to prove, that eternal life is fuf-
° Fletcher’s Firft Check, p. 66.
P Matt. xix. 17.
r Afts xvi. 31.
1 Mark xvi. 16.
Q 4
q Luke x. 38.
s Rom. x. 13.
u John vi. 54,232 - Calvinifm inconjijlent with the general
pended upon the performance of certain con-
ditions ? or, that we may not be engaged in a
ftrife of words, on the fulfilment of certain
duties and obligations, the non-fulfilment of
which, will (generally fpeaking) exclude us
from eternal life : on our, having “ certain in-
“ difpenfable prerequifites*,” according to the
phrafe of a Calviniftic writer; or, as it is juftly
defined by, a diftinguithed Prefbyter.and Dig-
nitary. of our Church, “ not the caufe, by
“ which an effedt is produced, but the circum-
“ fiance, without which that efFedt will not
“ take placey.” What are thofe conditions,
and what is the precife import of the expref-
fions, juft cited from Scripture, are queftions,
which do not affedt our prefent argument. If
eternal life and falvation be fufpended on the
fulfilment, of certain conditions, the dodtrine of
God’s abfolute election of men .to falvation falls
to the ground.
It is however not only that falvation and
eternal life are fufpended on certain conditions;
but the feveral fpiritual gifts, ordained by God
for the attainment of falvation, are alfo con-
ditional, and depend upon the performance-of
certain fpecified duties. Is it necefiary, that
we “ be born again of water and of the Spirit?
x Chriftian Obferver, June 1807. p. 379.
y Daubeny’g Vindicise, p. a86.Conditions of the Gofpel Covenant. 2 33
The laver of baptifm is provided for our re-
generation. Is it neceflary, that we " eat the
“ flefh, and drink the blood,” of Chrift? They
are provided for us at the holy communion.
Muft we believe in order to be faved ? “ Faith
"cometh by , hearing, and hearing by the
“ word of God.” If we would enter into life,
muft we “ keep the commandments ?” For
this purpofe the help of the Holy Spirit is ne-
ceflary : but in order to procure his help, the
duty of prayer is appointed; and we are allur-
ed, that “ God will give his Holy Spirit, and
" with him all good things, to them who alk
“ him.” '
And let it not be objected to this ftatement,
that the duties, for which we contend, are
held forth in Scripture, not as conditions, but
as confequences and evidences, of our election
to eternal happinefs :: that, as Auftin expreffes
it, “ the eletft are not chofen becaufe they be-
“ lieve, but they are chofen that they may
“ believe2:”—-that, as the Contra-Remonftrants
at Dort contended, “ God ordained who fhould
" believe, and fo pre^leftinated both to grace
“ and glory3:”—or that, in the quaint phrafe-
ology of the modern Predeftinarian, “ we muft
2 Intelligamus ergo vocationem, qua. funt electi, non
qui eliguntur, quia crediderunt, fed qui eliguntur ut cre-
dant. Augiift. de Prcedejl. SanSior. cap., xvii.
1 Hales’s Letters from Dort, p. 453.234 Calvinifminconjijlcnt with the general
“ not miftake working for life, for working
“from lifeb.” According to the plain tenor
of Scripture, we are exhorted to “ fight the
“ good fight of faith ” not becaufe we have laid
hold, but that we may “ lay hold of eternal
“ life*:”—we are admoniftied to “ run with
“ temperance the Chriftian courfe,” not be-
caufe we have obtained, but “ that we may
M obtain an incorruptible crownd:”—we are
perpetually reminded to believe in Chrift, and
to keep his commandments, not becaufe we
are, but that we may be admitted into life
everlafting. So teaches our great Reformer':
" It is to be confidered, that although our Sa-
“ viour Chrift hath offered himfelf upon the
“ crofs a fufficient redemption and fatisfaftion
“ for the fins of the world, and hath made
x< himfelf an open way and entry unto God
“ the- Father for all mankind, only by his
“ worthy merit and deferving; and willing all
“ men to be faved, calleth upon all the world
‘‘ without refpect of perfons to come and be
“ partakers of the righteoufnefs, peace, and
“ glory which is in him; yet for all this be-
“ nignity and grace, fhewed univerfally to the
b White field’s Works, vol. i. p. 181. Romaine’s Works,
vol. u p. 361. Walk of Faith.
c 1 Tim. vi. la.
d 1 Cor. ix. 24, 25.
e Abp. Cranmer.Conditions of the Gofpel Covenant. 23 5
whole world, none ftiall have the effetfl of
tl this benefit of our Saviour Chrift, and enjoy
“ everlafting falvation by him; but they that
“ take fuch ways to attain the fame, as he hath
*' taught and appointed by his holy word f.” *
And let it not be fuppofed, that this ftate-
ment militates againft the undoubted do&rine
of the Gofpel, that our falvation is wrought
by the free grace of God; according to the in-
finuation of Whitefield, that “ one reafon why
“ he thinks Calvinifm right is, becaufe proud
“ nature will not ftoop to be faved by grace8:”
—nor let it expofe us to the repetition of an
uncharitable and injurious afperfion from the
advocate of moderate Calvinifm, that “ it is
“ not either the name or nature of Calvinifm,
“ as fuch, to which we confine our attacks ;
“ but that it is the do&rine of falvation by
“ grace through faith in the Redeemer, under
“ whatever form or name it is profefled, to
“ which in reality we at the bottom objecth.”
That our notions of the divine decrees are in
any way incompatible with the do&rine of
falvation by grace, we leave to be proved by
our accufers. “ The ancient Synods holden in
* f Ncceflary Do&rine and Erudition for any Chriftian
Man. Article of Juftification.
e Whitefield’s Eighteen Sermons, p. 113.
11 Overton, p, 97.236 Calvimfm inconfijlent with the general
“ the time of St. Auftin,” (I am citing the
words of Grotius,) “ inform us, that the doc-
“ trine of grace may well be maintained, with-
“ out determining any thing about that of ab-
“ folute decrees and its dependencies1. “ For,”
as the fame learned man likewife remarks,
“ both opinions,” that is, of conditional and
unconditional predeftination, “ agree in this,
“ that all the decrees and operations of God,
“ relating to the falvation of men, are founded
in Chrift Jefus ; and accordingly we hold
“ him to be the only foundation15.”
Blefted be God, and we glory in avowing it,
it is of his free grace, tinners as we all are by
nature, and fpiritually “ dead in trefpalfes and
tin’s1,” that we are “ faved and called with an
“ holy calling, not according to our works,
“ but according to the divine purpofe and
“ grace given us in Chrift Jefus before the
“ world began"1.” It is of his free grace, cor-
rupt as we are by nature, that “ we are cleanf-
“ ed and juftified by the wathing of regenera-
“ tion and renewing of the Holy Ghoft".” It
is of his free grace, that he promifes to enable
us, weak and imperfect creatures as we always
' Speech to the Bur'gomafters of Amfterdam. Brandt’s
Hiftory of the Reformation, vol. ii. p. 216.
k Ibid. p. 212.	1 Eph. ii. 1.
m 2-Tim. i.9.	n Tit. iii. 5, 7.Conditions of theGofpel Covenant. 237
continue, to perform, however incompletely,
the conditions of our falvation. It is of his
free grace, that he pfomifes his Holy Spirit,
both to “ put into our minds good delires,”
and to affill us in “ bringing them to good
“ effedl.” It is of his free grace, that “ he
“ teaches us, that denying ungodlinefs and
“ worldly lulls, we Ihould live foberly, righte-
“ oully, and godlily in this prefent world ;
“ looking for that blelfed hope, and the glo-
“ rious appearance of our great God and Sa-
“ viour Jefus Chrift °.” But free as is the
grace of God, it operates by the inftrument-
ality of certain appointed means. Life and
breath, health and ftrength, all the enjoyments,
and comforts, and neceflaries of this life are
the gifts of God, and are bellowed upon us of
his free grace. So it is with our fpiritual gifts;
with faith, with obedience, and whatever other
bleffings are conducive to our fpiritual welfare.
The cafe is the fame, however, with refpedl
to the attainment, the maintenance, and the
increafe of our bleffings, both temporal and
fpiritual; if we would potfefs them, and have
them thrive in our polfeffion, we mull be dili-
gent in pradtifing the appointed means; and
it is at the fame time the moll rational, and
let me add the moll grateful, condudt, to prac-
.0 Tit. ii. 12,13.238 Calvinijbi inconjijlent with, the general
tife with diligence the means which God hath
appointed.
I am aware it will here be objected, that
the argument is not conclulive: for that if
God has abfolutely elected certain individuals
to falvation, he will take care to ratify his
election:—“ if. he has predeftinated to the
“ end, he has alfo predeftinated to the means:”
—if he has chofen to bellow certain gifts and
graces on his eledt, he will alfo lead them to
the means, by which thofe gifts and graces
are to be conferred. It was into this error
that fome men fell at the time of the Reform-
ation ; when, in oppofition to the Anabaptifts,
who ran into one extreme, and maintained
their own fufficiency to attain falvation, fome
of the Gofpellers, as they were called, not able
ta reconcile free-will with grace, ran into the
other extreme, totally denied the free-will of
man, and refolved the whole procefs of his
falvation or reprobation into the abfolute de-
crees of God : and it was againft this error
that our temperate Reformers directed their
efforts, when with their wonted moderation
they obferved, “ All men be to be monilhed,
“ and chiefly preachers, that in this high
“ matter they, looking on both fides, fo at-
" temper and moderate themfelves, that neither
“ they fo preach the grace of God, that they
take away thereby free-will; nor on theConditions of the Gofpel Covenant. 23Q
“ other fide fo extol free-will, that injury be
“ done to the grace of God p.”	“ It is not a
u Chriftian man’s part,” faid one of that noble
army of Martyrs, “ to attribute his falvatiori
" to his own free-will, with the Pelagian, and
“ extenuate original fin. Nor to make God
“ the author of ill and our damnation with
“ the Manichee. Nor yet to fay, God hath
“ written fatal laws, as the Stoic ; and with
“ necefiity of deftiny, violently pulleth one by
“ the hair into heaven, and thrufteth the other
*f headlong into hellq.”
In correfpondence with this judicious deci-
fion it remains to be fhown, that, as it is of
the free grace of God, that falvation is prof-
fered and the means of falvation applied to
man ; fo it is of the free-will of man to accept
or reject them:—that, as the wife man affirms,
“ Before man is life or death, and whether
“ him liketh fhall be given him ':—or to ex-
prefs the propofition in words before employ-
ed, that every man has the power of falling
from that grace, which he may have enjoyed,
fo as to perifh eternally j and that every man
has the power of performing the fervices re-
P Necefiary Doctrine, &c. Article of Free-will,
s Hooper’s Preface to Declaration of the Ten Com-
mandments.
* Ecclus. xr, ijr.24Q Calvinifm imonjifient with the general
jquifite for eternal falvation : a power, it may
be obferved by the way, not in any degree pre-
cluded by the foreknowledge of God, nor by
the decree which God in his prefcience has de-
termined ; for (as it hath been well remarked
by one of our earlier, divines) “ God’s decree
“ being confequent on his foreknowledge,
“ man’s falvation or damnation is only infalli-
“ ble to God’s knowledge, but free and con-
“ tingent to man ; God’s knowledge, as know-
“ ledge, caulihg nothing ; and his decree not
“ altering or eroding, but ratifying that, which
“ he knew would be the work of man, working
‘‘ out his own falvation by co-wbrking with
(t the grace of God; or working his own damr
“ nation, by forfaking God’s mercy
1. With refpedt to the former cafe, which;
may be thus exprefled in the language of the
venerable Latimer, fc that we may one time be
“ in the book of life, and another time come
“ out again, as it appears by David, who was
“ written in the book of life; but when he
“ finned, he was at the fame time out of the
“ book of God’s favour, until he had repented
“ and was forry for his faultsf:” wherefore do
the writings of the Apoftles, addrefled to ct the
“ eledt,” “ the called of God,” “ the faints,”
8 Plaifere’s Appello Evangelium, part i. chap. vi. p. 34.
Churchman’s Remembrancer, N°. V. p. 57.
* Latimer’s Sermons, vol. ii. p. 847.Conditions of the Gofpel Covenant. 241
“ the fandtified and preferved by Chrift Jefus,”
u the beloved of God,” abound in the mod fer-
vent exhortations to fteadfaftnefs in the belief
and practice of the Gofpel, if they were inca-
pable of falling from grace given, and loting
their title to eternal life ?
Surely if ever there were a body of men, of
whom it could be with truth pronounced, that
God had abfolutely eledled them to eternal
life, and to whom the apoftolical language,
which is made a foundation of this dodtrine,
could in this fenfe be reafonably applied ; they
tnuft be the primitive Chriftians ; they mutt be
the very perfons, to whom thofe epiftles were
addrefled; of whom thofe things were pre-
dicated ; who were faluted by the very appel-
lations, on the ufe of which the dodtrine
is partly built. (Wherefore then does St.
Paul admonifh “ all that be at Rome, beloved
“ of God, the called of Jefus Chrift, called to
“ be faints,” “ the eledtion according to grace,”
“ not to be high-minded but to fear,” becaule
“ if they continued not in God’s goodnefs,
“ they alfo Ihould be cut off8?” Wherefore,
in writing to the Corinthians, whom he falutes
as “ fandtified in Chrift Jefus, called to be
“ faints,” and commends for c< coming behind
“ in no gift,” does he remind them, that “ they
/
s Rom. i. 6, 7. xi. 5, 30, 33.
B.242 Calvinifrn inconjiflent with the general
“ are ftill carnal; ” and warn them that “ he
“ who thinketh he ftandeth fhould take heed
“ left he fall;” and “ befeech them, that they
“ receive not the grace of God in vainh?”
Wherefore, in writing to the churches of Ga^
latia, to whom he bears witnefs that “ they
“ did run well,” does he accufe them of “ not
“ obeying the truth;” and demand, “ who had
“ bewitched them before whofe eyes Jefus
“ Chrift had been evidently fet forth, crucified
“ before them;” and exprefs himfelf “ afraid
“ of them, left he had beftowed upon them la-
“ bour in vain1?” Wherefore to " the faints at
“ Ephefus and the faithful in Chrift Jefus,”
whom he defcribes as “ blefled by God and
“ the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift with all
“ fpiritual bleflings in Chrift, according as he
“ hath chofen us in him before the foundation
“ of the world, that we fhould be holy and
“ without blame before him in love ; having
“ predeftinated us to the adoption of children
“ by Jefus Chrift to himfelf, according to the
“ good pleafure of his will, to the praife of the
“ glory pf his .grace, wherein he hath made us
“ accepted in the beloved ;” does he “ befeech
“ them to walk worthy of the vocation, where-
“ with they are called;” and exhort them, to
h i Cor. i. 2, 7. iii. 4.
> Gal, v. 7. iii. x. iv. 11.Conditions of the Gofpel Covenant. 243
“ walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity
“ of their mind;” and caution them to “ let
“ no man deceive them with vain words; for
" becaufe of thefe things the wrath of God
“ cometh on the children of difobedience
and bid them “ put on the whole armour of
" God, that they may be able to Hand againft
“ the wiles of the devil, to withftand in the
“evil day, and having done all to ftandk?”
Wherefore does he exhort “ the faints in
“ Chrift Jefus at Philippi,” whom he com-
mends for their Chriftian character, and de-
fcribes as “ partakers of his grace,” to “ be-
“ ware of the dangers which befet them;” to
“ Hand faft in the Lord ;” and to “ work out
“ their own falvation with fear and trembling;’’
that he may “ rejoice in the day of Chrift, that
“ he has not run in vain, neither laboured in
“ vain1?” Wherefore, in writing to “ the faints
“ and faithful brethren at Colofle,” whom he
ftyles “ the elect of God, holy and beloved,”
does he promife the bleflings of Chrift’s facri-
fice, “ if they continued in the faith rooted and
" fettled, and were not moved away from the
“ hope of the Gofpel1”?” Wherefore to the
church of the Theflalonians, of whom he de-
k Eph. i. 3, 4, 5, 6. iv. i, 17. v. 6. vi. 11, ^3.
1 Phil. i. 1,7. iii. a. iv. 1. ii. 13, 26.
m Col. i. 2. iii. 12. i. 23.
R 2*»■	r
244 Calvinifm incon/ijlent with the general
cldres, that he cf knows their election of God,”
and that “ God had from the beginning chofen
“ them to falvation through fantftificatiOft of
“ the Spirit and belief of the truth,” does he
fignify his apprehenfion “ left by fome means
the tempter fhould have tempted them, and
“ his labour fhould be in vain D?” Wherefore
does St. John, addrefling himfelf to “ the eledt
“ lady and her children,” admonifh- them to
“ look to themfelves : that we lofe not,” he
adds, “ thofe things which we have wrought,
■ ‘ but that we receive a full reward0?” And
wherefore does St. Peter, writing to thofe,
whom he reprefents as “ having obtained like
“ precious faith with himfelf,” and whom he
ftyles “ eledt according to the foreknowledge
“ of God the Father,” at the fame time moft
fervently charge them, to “ be fober and vigi-
“ lant” in withftanding the artifices of the de-
vil ; to “ beware, left thdy being led away
“ with the error of the Wicked, thould fall
“ from their own fteadfaftnefs;” and to “give
“ diligence to make their calling and election
“ furep?”	-
Surely if there ever was an individual of a
charaifter inferior to the apoftolical, who might
be regarded as abfolutely predeftined to fal-
n I Theff. i. 4. iii. 5- 2 Theff. ii. 13.
0 2 John ver. 8.
r 2 Pet. i. 1. x Pet. i. 2. v. 8. iii. 17. i. 10.	' "Conditions of the Gofpel Covenant. 245
vation, it was Timothy, St. Paul’s “ own fon
“ in the faith*” Wherefore then does St. Paul
charge him with paternal authority, to “ take
“ heed unto himfelf” that fo he might be
faved; .to “ flee foolifh and hurtful lufts, which
“ drown men in perdition and deftrudlion
to y follow after righteoufnefs, godlinefs, faith,
“ love, patience, meeknefs;” to “ fight the
“ good fight of faith,” and fo to “ lay hold on
“ eternal lifeq?”
Surely if ever an Apoftle may be confidered
as abfolutely eledted to everlafting life, it was
St. Paul himfelf, converted by the miraculous
interpofition of Chrifi: to a profeffion of his re-
ligion ; “ a velfel chofen by the Lord to bear
“ his name before the Gentiles, and kings, and
“ the children of Ifrael;” filled with the Holy
Ghofl:; and “ feparated” by his efpecial ap-
pointment “ to the work whereunto he had
“ called him'.” Wherefore then does St- Paul
affirm of himfelf: “ Brethren, I count not my-
“ felf to have apprehended; but this one thing
“ I do, forgetting thofe things which are be-
“ hind, and reaching forth unto thofe things
“ which are before, I prefs toward the mark
“ for the prize of the high calling of God in
“ Ghrift Jefus^ ?” And what meaning, fhort of
s i Tim.iy. 16. vi. 9, ji, 12.
1 Afts Lx. 15, xiii, 2
R 3
» Phil. iii. 13.246 Cttlvini/rn inconfijlent with the general
a poffibility, of his ultimate rejection, can be
underftood by that declaration, where, urg-
ing the neceffity of temperance in the Chriftian
race, he immediately fubjoins, “ I therefore fo
“ run, not as uncertainly ; fo fight I, not as
“ one that beateth the air; but I keep under
“ my body, and bring it into fubje&ion, left
“ that by any means, when I have preached
“ to others, I myfelf thould be a caftaway\”
Peter undoubtedly did fall from grace: al-
though by the interceflion of Chrift, which
implies that he was in danger of an irrecover-
able fall, he was enabled to repent and rife
again. And the example of Judas affords a
thill more awful warning to thofe, who have
been elected like him to the Gofpel, but who
have certainly been endowed with lefs noble
fpiritual gifts than he, to take good heed, left
they alfo prove traitors to their Mafter, and
fall into final perdition. Judas indeed, we may
be told, “ as truly lived, moved, and had his
“.being from God, as Peter:” that whilft the
other Apoftles “ were chofen to partake of
“ Chrift’s kingdom, he was chofen and pitched
“ upon to betray him, and to be the means of
“ Ihedding his blood that both the final per-
feverance of the one, and the rejection of the
other, were folely effe&ed by God’s free and
* i Cor. ix. 26, 37.Conditions of the Gofpet Covenant.	24 7
abfolute will, for that “ he gave repentance to
“ Peter, and left Judas to perilh in his tinu.”
Rather let us adhere to the founder dodtrine of
Latimer, (“ that veteran and true apoftle of
“ our nation and of Chrift %” as his brother
martyr ftyled him,) unfophitlicated by the com-
ment of the author to whom I have juft re-
ferred ; “ Ghrift thed as much blood for Judas
“ as he did for Peter; Peter believed it, and
“ therefore he was faved; Judas would not
^ believe, and therefore he was condemned ;
“ the fault being in him only, and in nobody
“ elfey.”
2. With refpedt to the latter point that was
to be proved, namely, as the fame venerable
Reformer exprefles it, that “ there are none of
“ us all, but we may be faved by Chrift and
that “ men are the caufe of their own damna-
“ tion, for that God would have them laved,
“ but they refufe it, like as did Judas the trai-
tor, whom Chrift would have had to be
faved, but he refufed his falvation V’ if every
; man is not capable of performing the fervices
u Toplady on Predeft. p. 64, no, 68.
x Ridley’s Life of Bifhop Ridley, p. 593-
■ y Sermons, vol. ii. p. 556. See Winchefter on the
feventeenth Article in the Churchman’s Remembrancer,
No. ii. p. 66. and Mr. Churton’s Biographical Pref.
p. xvi.	Tr
z Latimer’s Sermons, vol. ii, p. 891, 888.248 Calvini/hi inconjijlent with the general
requifite for falvation, what is the meaning'of
thofe gracious offers of mercy and fpi ritual a£-
fiftance ; of thofe pathetic exhortations to re-
pentance and amendment of life; of thofe un-
qualified promifes of pardon to the penitent
tinner; with which the Scriptures every where
abound ? What are we to underftand by the
affurance of God that he ct will make his fin-
“ ful people a new heart and a new fpirita?”
What are we to underftand by his earned: in-
treaties, that the wicked “ will repent, and
“ turn themfelves from all their iniquities, and
“ make themfelves a new heart and a new
“ fpirit, that fo iniquity may not be their
“ ruinb?” What by his confequent moft fo-
lemn proteftations, that “ though their fins be
“ as fcarlet, they fhall be made white as fnow;
“ though they be red like crimfon, they fhall
“ be as woolc?” that “ if the wicked will for-
“ fake his ways, and the unrighteous man his
“ paths, and turn unto the Lord, he will have
mercy upon him ; and unto his God, that he
“ will abundantly pardon d?” What are we to
underftand by his moft plain declarations, “ I
“ will fend unto them all my meffengers and
“ prophets, riling up early and fending them,
“ becaufe I have compaflion on them'?” and
a Ezek. xxxvi. 26.	b Ezek. xviii. 30, 31.
'If. i. 18.	‘llf.lv. 7.
= 2 Cbron. xxxvi. 15. Jer. xxv. 4. xxxv. 15.Conditions of the Gofpel Covenant. 249
by1 his mod equitable appeal to their own judg-
ment, “ See, I have fet before thee life and
“ death, good and evil, in that I command
“ thee to love the Lord thy God, and to walk
“ in his waysf?” and by his mod folemn at-
tention, “ I call heaven and earth to record
“ againd you, that I have fet before you life
“ and death, bleffing and curling?” and by his
confequent inference and exhortation, “ there-
“ fore choofe life ?” and by his mod: tender
expodulations, “ why will ye die8?” and by
his earned: inquiries, “ What more could I
“ have done” to prevent your death, " which
“ I have not done11 ?” and by his affectionate
complaint, “ I would have purged them, but
“ they would not be purged ; I would have
“ gathered them, but they would not be ga-
“ thered1?” and by his mod: padionate excla-
mations, “ O that they were wife, that they
“ would condder their latter endk!” “ O that
“ my people had hearkened unto me, and If-
■“ rael had walked in my way1!” “ O that thou
“ hadd known in this thy day the things that
“ belong unto thy peace m? ” And by his fub-
fequent fentence of condemnation, “ but now
“ they are hid from thine eyes?” now, there-
f Deut. xxx. 15, 16, 19. s Ezek. xviii. 31.
11 If. v. 4.	' Ezek. xxiv. 13. Matt, xxiii. 37.
k Deut. xxxii. 29.	1 Pf, lxxxi. 13.
m Luke xix. 42. .25b Calvinifm inconjijlent with the general
fore they were not always fo. What is to be-
come of the tnoft folemn aflurance of the Al-
mighty by his Prophet, “ As I live, faith the
“ Lord, I have no pleafure in the death of him
“ that dietb, but that the finner turn from his
“ evil way and live"?” What is to become of
the warning of the Apoftle, that “ the good-
nefs and long-fuffering of God” are defigned
to “ lead men to repentance; and that they
“ who defpife the riches of his goodnefs, for-
“ bearanee, and long-fuffering, do after their
“ hardnefs and impenitent hearts treafure Up-
“ unto themfelves wrath againft the day of
“ wrath, and revelation Of the righteous judg-
“ ment of God; who will render unto every
“ man according to his deeds ; for there is no
“ refpe6t of perfons with God°?” Prejudice
may pervert, and fophiftry perplex, the plaineft
declarations of Scripture, But furely in the
face of thefe, and of an innumerable multitude
of fimilar paflages, which give a dire<ftion and
a tone to the whole of the facred volume, to
fuppofe that any man is incapacitated by a di-
vine decree for performing the qualifications
neceflary for falvation ; that " our Lord Jefus
“ Chrift is no otherwife the Saviour of the
“ wicked, than as they are beholden to him
“ for every worldly comfort that they en-
n Ezek, xxxiii. n.
° Rom. ii. 4, 5, 6,11.Conditions of the Gofpel Covenant. 251
“ joy V’ and that the only ufe, to which thefe
paffages can be applied by -tinners, is that of
“ making them careful to adjutl their moral
?t external conduct according to the rules of
“ decency, juftice, and regularity, and thereby
£* prevent much inconvenience to themfelves
“ and injury to focietyq:” is to fuppofe, (let
me not be deemed irreverent in affirming it,)
that the Bible is a compound of incontiftency
and error ; is to make a liar of the God of
truth; and to convert his gracious tenders of
mercy into the mod bitter, the mod cruel, and
moll farcallic irony towards his deluded and
abandoned creatures.
I have thus ftated the arguments, by which
I would vindicate my claim to the title of an
evangelical Minifter, a Preacher of the Gofpel
of Chrift, although I decline to preach the
do&rines of Calviniftic predefti nation. In or-
der to this ftatemOnt, I have been induced to
enter at confiderable length on a myfterious
and imuch controverted^ queftion 5 a queftion,
to which, I folemnly repeat, that I have not
been voluntarily led, and which it were better
to leave precifely where the Gofpel leaves it;
were it not that the diligence, with which it is
obtruded by our accufers both from the pulpit
P Whitefield’s Eighteen Sermons, p. 160.
S Toplady on Predeftination, p. 126.252 Calvinifm inconfijlent with the general
and from the prels, and the mifery and mif-
chief, which it occations to the Church of
Chrift, and the calumny withal, which it is
made the inftrument of difeharging againft the
national clergy ; call loudly on us for a vin-
dication of ourfelves, and therein (as we be-
lieve) of the true evangelical faith. I darfc
not hope indeed, that the prefent arguments
are likely to convince a perfon, prepoflefled
by the contrary perfualion: yet, whilft they
might not unreafonably ferve to abate the con-
fidence, and mitigate the afperity of our ac-
cufers, they lead me to judge, with no faint
perfuafion, of the fentence, which from a re--
view of the general fcope of the Scriptures an
unprejudiced inquirer would pronounce upoh
the queftion, whether the Gofpel is preached
by us or by the Calvinifts:— by us, who
teach, that Chrift Jefus made atonement for
all the fins of the whole world ; that all men
may therefore be faved, who will ftrive by
the grace of God to work out their falvation ;
but that no man will be faved, who is not
diligent in fulfilling the conditions which
God hath appointed:—or by the Calvinift,
who teaches, that God elected a few indivi-
duals to falvation, and that Chrift died to
make atonement for their fins alone, to the
exclufion of the great mafs of mankind ; that
the falvation of thefe ele<ft depends folely uponConditions of the Gofpel Covenant. 253
certain abfolute and' irrefpecdive decrees of
God, and is effected folely by the grace of
God, fo that ho conditions are required to be
fulfilled, no cooperation to be given on their
parts, but that, however great and numerous
may be their fins, they are eternally fure of
falvation: and that the great bulk of mankind
are eternally doomed to perdition, no re-
ference whatever being made to any faults of
theirs; no pofiibility whatever being allowed
them of efcaping their doom ; the foie caufe
of which is the pleafure, and the foie object of
it the glory, of God.
Not fuch, we humbly prefume, was the
tenor of thofe Hallelujahs, which the beloved
difciple heard in the Spirit before the eternal
throne : when “ every creature in heaven, on
“ the earth, and under the earth,” even “ a
" great multitude which no man could num-
“ her, of all nations, and kindreds, and people,
“ and tongues,” joined in uttering praites to
“ the Lamb, who had redeemed them to God
“ by his blood:” whilft “ they who had the
“ harps of God, fang the fong of Mofes the
“ fervant of God, and the fong of the Lamb ;
“ Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord
“ God Almighty 5 Juft and true are thy ways,
“ thou King ofSaintsT’
1 Rev. v. 13. vii. 9. v. 9. xv. 2, 3, 4.254
Calvinifm inconjiflent, &c.
Now therefore “ Amen : Bleffing and ho-
“ nour and glory and power be unto Him that
“ fitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb
" for ever.”DISCOURSE V.
John vii. 37, 38,39.
In the lafl day, that great day of the feafl, Jefus flood
and cried, faying, If any man thirfl, let him come
unto me and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath Jaid,
out of his helly Jhall flow livers of living water.
But this fpake he of the Spirit, which they that believe
on him Jhould receive.
In this metaphor there are an appropriate
force and beauty, which no doubt were im-
mediately felt by the perfons, to whom the
words were addrefled. Liable from their na-
tural fituation to feel the mifery of occalional
drought, and acquainted perhaps by their own
experience, or at ieaft by the narratives of
others, with the horrors of the neighbouring
deferts, the people of Judea would eonfequently
perceive in the comparifon all that expreffion,
which our Saviour intended it to convey. The
alteration to be wrought in the foul by the256 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
* \
✓
Holy Spirit, thus prefented to their view under
the emblem of a perennial fountain, would be
fuggefted by the refrefhment, which water
communicates to a traveller in a dry and fultry
wildernefs: the revivi ng vigour of the tra-
veller would be contidered, as reprefenting the
renovation to be imparted to the believer by
the enlivening influence. of the Spirit: and
they would be imprefled with a fenfe of the
neceflity of that influence, by refle&ing on the
diftrefs and difmay, to which one of their ear-
lieft writers pathetically alludes; when faint
from the paflage over the burning wafte, and
anxioufly expecting to relieve their thirft at
the cuttomary fprings, which the heat had
parched and exhaufted, “ the troops of Tema
“ looked, the companies of Sheba waited for
“ them ; they were confounded becaufe they
“ had hoped; they came thither, and were
“ alhamedV’
It was in this light, that our Lord’s decla-
ration would probably exhibit itfelf to the
minds of the Jews. And thus unfolded and
illuftrated, it prefents an appropriate and lively
pidlure of that inward comfort, which the
Chriftian derives from the agency of the Holy
Spirit; of that invigorating principle, which
he beftows; and of the general importance,
a Job vi. 19,30.not irrejijlible.	257
benefit, and neceffity of his aid, to fupport us
in our earthly ptogrefs, and finally to conduct'
its to “ the paradife of God b,” more lovely than
the garden of Eden, from which Adam by
tranfgreffiori fell: where we “ fhall hunger
" no more, neither thirft any more, neither
“ fhall the fun light on us, nor any heat. For
‘.‘the Larrib which is in the midft of the
“ throne fhall feed us, and fhall lead us unto
“ living fountains of waters,”:and fhall •** fa-
“ tisfy us'with the plenteoufnefs of his houfe/
“ and give us drink of the river of bis plea-
“ faresc.”
There is not a do6lrine in the lacred volume/
which is more clearly revealed/ nor one which-
more abounds in motives to holinefs of life,
or in topics of rational exultation, than this/
which attributes our ability to “ work out our
“ falvatiorf’ to the preventing and afliftirtg?
grade of the Holy Spirit of God. At the fame
time unhappily there is not one,- Which has:
been perverted into a more overflowing foUrce
of corruption and error. There is not one,
which has been wreftcd in former times into
a motive or a fandiion for more daring im-
piety and profligacy. There is not one, which-
has been more torturdd in the prefent day, fo
Rev. ii. f .'	, "J
9 Rewviu l6f ijv Pf. xxxvh25 8 The Operations of the Holy Ghojt
as to adminifter fuel to the flame of enthufiafm,
or to afford a convenient cloke to diforder and
licentioufnefs. The fchifmatic fanftifies his
breach of conftituted order, his difobedience of
eftablifhed laws, his licentioufnefs of principle
in religious concerns, and his correfpondent
licentioufnefs of pra&ice, whereby he converts
the Church of Chrift into a fcene of difcord,
tumult, and confufion, by pleading that he
atfls under the guidance of the Holy Spirit:
and becaufe we deny the fufficiency of an ap-
peal to the inward motions of the Spirit, and
refer to the revelation of his will contained in
his written word; and becaufe the more fober
notions of his influence, which that word ap-
pears to us to fupply, do not carry us the fame
length as the unbridled conceptions of the en-
thufiaft; we are calumniated, as facrificing the
truth of God at the idolatrous ftirine of human
learning or human prefumption ; as being
ourfelves deftitute of the Spirit, and as re-
nouncing the Gofpel, of Chrift.
Convinced of the perpetual operation of the
Holy Spirit on the hearts of believers; con-
templating him, with lowly devout and grate-
ful adoration, as the Regenerator, the Re-
ne wer, the Guide, the Enlightener, the Strength-
ener, the Comforter, and the Santftifier of all
the ele6l people of God ; firmly perfuaded of
thefe important truths, as moft evidently re-259
not irrejijlible.
vealed in Scripture, and as forming an efien-
tial part of the fcheme of our redemption ; I
can unite with the moft ardent advocate for
divine grace in loudly proclaiming that “ the
“ Holy Ghoft, like his almighty Purchafer, is
“ the fame to-day as he was yefterday; that
'* he is now, as well as formerly, in the ufe of
“ all inftituted means, appointed to convince
" the world of tin, of righteoufnefs, and judg-
“ ment; to lead them into all truth by fpiritu-
“ ally opening their underftandings, that they
“ may undertland the Scriptures; and to renew
'* a clean heart and right fpirit within them
“ here, in order that they may be thereby
“ prepared for the full enjoyment of a triune
“ and ever blefled God hereafter4.” But con-
vinced at the fame time, with our pure and
evangelical Church, that we may “ abufe the
“ goOdnefs of God, when he calleth us to re-
“ pentance8,” and that we may “ depart from
“ grace given, and fall into fin f;” and further
convinced with her, that “ the inward motions
‘c,of the Holy Ghoft” in our hearts are an ob-
ject lefs of fenfe than of faith, lefs of certainty
than of “ truft8;” I fee not on what authority
d Whitefield’s Works, vol. iv. p. 287.
e Commination Service.
f Article 16.
; e See the Ordering of Deacons. (26o The Operations of the Holy Ghqft
we are required, either to believe ourfelves, or
to teach others, that his ordinary operations
on the minfds of men have that irrejijlible, or
that fenjible, influence, which are wont to be
afcribed to them by'thofe, who accufe us of
not preaching the Gofpel.
There is much found fenfe in the obferva-
tion of an acute Remarker on Ecclefiaftical
Hiftory, and the times, wherein we live, fully
prove the importance and the value of the ob-
fervation, that “ whilft we acknowledge the
“ gracious influences of Providence in every
“ thing, that tends to make us better and
“ wifer and happier, we mill be very careful
“ to keep the fober mean between the ex-
“ tremes, the. one of excluding the divine in-
“ terpofition in the natural and moral world;
“ the other of deft rowing human agency, or of
“ afcribing the wild fancies of our own heads
“ to the faggeftions of the Holy Spirit V’
Whether this fober mean is obferved by thofe,
who with the Calvin ift attribute every thing
in the work of man’s falvation to the exclufive
and irrefiftible energy of the divine grace ; or
by thofe, who with the Enthufiaft are for re-
folving his influence into fenfiblemanifeftations
and experiences, to the neglect, if not to the
exclufion, of all other rules of judging; is a
h Jortin on Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, vol. ii. p. 26.not irrejijiible.	261
queltion which the prefent inquiry will pro-
bably tend to anfwer.
I. On the irrejijiibility of the divine grace
our accufers fpeak in the flrorigell terms.
The fadt, I apprehend, is notorious ; but it
may be well to eftablith it by the adduction of
particular proofs. They tell us then, that
“ divine grace proceeds efficaciouily and cer-
“ tainly to the attainment of its end*:”—that
“ its impulfes are lirong and can by no means
“ be refilled11:”—that “ God himfelf had need
“ to draw with omnipotent efficacy, to draw
“ us offi from the world and fin and felf, that
“ we may come fincerely and eagerly to
“Chrift:1:”—that “ converting grace is irre-
“ fiftible, that is, efficacious, invincible, arid
“ certainly victorious m:”—that “ the finner in
“ vain flrives to refill the refiftlefs grace of
“ God":” — that “ there proceeds from God
“ an efficacious power, which fweetly over-
“ rules the tinner’s natural will’:” that “ nei-
“ ther evidences the moll confpicuous and
“ multiplied, nor arguments the moll power-
“ ful and convincing, nor demonllration itfelf,
' Chriftian Obferver, Jan. 1806. p. 34.
k Whitefield’s Works, vol. vi. p. 380,
1 Evangelical Magazine, April 1808. p. 153.
m Toplady; Church of England vindicated, p. 78,
n Rowland Hill’s'Sermon on Sunday Schools, p. a6.
a Whitelield’s Works, vol. vi. p. 54.
S 32 62 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
" can prpduce faith, which is a divine work,
“ a creation in the heart by the Spirit of
“ Chriftp:”—that “the eled Jhall come to God,
“ and if they themfelves will not, the Lqrfl
“ will m^ke them willing in the day of his
“ power that “ believers are conftrained
“ by a powerful and irrefiftible influence —-
and that “ it is only fqvereign, diftinguifh-
“ ing, irrefiftible grace, which brings men to
“ heaven r.”
To meet thefe and fimilar pofitigns, which
are frequent in the mouths of our accufers, we
may, in the firft place, proceed ppon the
ground of thofe general arguments, which
prove the eledion of men to be conditional.
Jn proof of that dodrine we maintain, that
“ Chrijl died for all men," in the plain, and
obvious, and large fignification of the phrafe ; \
—that falvation is proffered to all men ;—that
“ the grace of God, that bringeth falvation,”
the laving grace of God,	tov Qeov >) <rur*i-
yof, “ hath appeared to all rnen\" But, if the
faving grace of God hath appeared to all men,
and if all men notwithftanding are not fayed,
(a fuppofition, which is too well fupported by
P Evangelical Magazine for 1807. p. 81.
Hawker’s Prop againft all Defpair.
r Whitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. i8z.
s Tit. ii. II;263
not irrefijiible.
the warrant of holy Scripture,) it follows,
that the grace of God is not irrejijlible: that
it is not certainly vidorious: that it does not
proceed efficacioully and certainly to the at-
tainment of its end : that in fliort it may be,
and is, relided. But as a confutation of thefe
erroneous petitions is of great importance to
the caufe of truth, the more efpecially by rea-
fon, not only of their own prepoderous cha-
racter, but of the mifchievous confequences to
which they lead, I propofe to give fome con-
fideration to the fubjed, independent of the
general quedion With which it is connected;
and endeavour to Ihow, by exprefs tedimonies
and direCt arguments from Scripture, the ex-'
tent of the induence to be afcribed to the di-
vine grace.
I apprehend it then to be plainly fet forth
in Scripture, that the operation of the Holy
Spirit on the minds of men is not irrejiji'ible:
but that, whild he “ prevents us with his mod
“ gracious favour and furthers us with his
“ continual help1,” and whild from him we
derive all our “ fufEciency" ” to do what is
pleadng to God; indead of “ overruling us in
“ our words and addonsV’ a dodrine which
* Communion Service.	u a Cor. iii. 5.
x Overton, p. 125.204 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
we fee petverfely afcribed to the Scriptures
and to the Church of England, he leaves us at
the fame time the will, either to adt in obedi-*
ence to his heavenly motions, or not, Ah
“ beit God is the principal caufe. and chief
‘f, worker of this juftification -in us, without
4f whpfe grace; no man can do no good thing,
but following bis free-rwill in the (late of a
** (inner, increafeth his owji injuftice, and
*f multiplieth his (in; yet fo it pleafeth the
‘t high wifdom of God, that man prevented
*■ by his grace (which being oftered, man
,c may, if he will, refufe or receive) (hall be
“ alfo a worker by his free confent, and obe^
die nee to the fame, in the attaining of his
“ own juftificationy.”, , “ It is furely of the
“ grace of God only, that firft we be infpired
“ and moved to any good thing ; but to redd
temptations, and to perfift in goodnefs and go
*■ forward, it is both of the grace of God, and
‘‘ of our free will and endeavour2.” Such is
the dudfrine, which Cranmer and pur Re-
formers deduced from." the oracles of God,”
Such was the dodtrine, believed ip the ancient
Jewifh Church, when the wife Son of Sjrach
commented on the words of Mofes, God
y Neceffary Doctrine and Erudition for any Chriflian
Map. Article of Juftification.
z ibid. Article of Free-will.
. i i2 65
not irrejijlible.
“ himfelf made man from the beginning, and
“ left him in the hand of his counfel; if thou
“ wilt, to keep the commandments, and to
“ perform acceptable faithfulnefs. He hath
“ fet fire and water before thee, ftretch forth
“ thy hand unto whether thou wilt. Before
“ man is life and death ; and whether him
“ liketh fhall be given him V’ And fuch was
the doctrine of the primitive Church of Chrift,
\yhofe opinion, with the reafon of it, is briefly
exprefled by Irenaeus, where he fays, “ God
always preferved the liberty of the will in
“ man, that they might be juftly condemned
“ for their difphedience, who did not obey
“ him, and that they who believed and obeyed*
f‘: him, might be honoured with incorrupti-
‘‘bility b.”
Shall we be told, that by this doctrine,
which afcribes “ the acceptance or refufal of
“the divine grace to the pleafure of man, we
“ take from God his omnipotence0?” God
forbid, we; anfwer, that fuch a blafphemoue
a Ecclus. xiv. 14—17.
b —id quod erat temper liberum et fuse poteftatis in
homine temper fervafle Deum et fuam exhortationem : ut
jufte damnentur qui non ohediunt ei, quoniam non obedi-
erunt; et qui obedierunt et crediderunt ei, honorentur
iricorruptibilitate.. Iren. lib. iv. cap. 29.
Hawker's Zion’s Pilgrim.266 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
imagination fhould ever have had place in our
minds, or Ihould derive any colour from our
opinions ! It was finely remarked by one, who
was well acquainted with the fallacies of
thofe reftri£tive doctrines, in the profeflion of
which he had been educated, but from which
he gloried in being delivered, that “ though
“ lpeaking of his abfolute power, God can
“ compel and neceffitate the will of man, and
“ fo we do not make him ftronger than God,
‘5 as is very weakly concluded by fome ; yet
he will not, becaufe he will not violate that
order, which he hath fet in our creation.
“ He made man after his own image, invefted
him with a reafonable foul, having the ufe
“ of underftanding, and the freedom of will:
“ he endowed him with a power to confider
“ and deliberate, to confult and choofe ; and
“ fo by confequence he gave him dominion
<e over himfelf and his own actions ; that hav-
“ ing made him lord of the whole world, he
“flight not be a flave to himfelf, but might
“ firfi: exercife his fovereignty in the free pof-
*f feffion of his own mind. To force his will,
“ were to deftroy the nature of his creature,
“ which grace is not defigned to do, but only
“ to heal and affift it; and therefore God deals
“ with man, as a free agent, by inftrudtions
“ and commands, by promifes and threaten-267
“ ings, by allurements and reproofs, by re-
“ wards and punifhments. So true is the
“faying of Tertullian, Nemo invitus fit bo-
f‘ ms*.”
What thpugh we are indruCted by the in-
fallible word of truth, that “ np man can
“ come unto Chrid, except the Father draw
“ him';” and that if we would be fpns of
pod, we mult be “led by the Spirit!?” Are
we alfo told, that we mud be chained, and
dragged, and irreddibly forced to the altar,
like brute beads, which have no underdanding?
Is. this the “ reasonable Service,” wherewith
the Apodle “ beSeeches us, by the mercies of
“ Gpd, to prefent our bodies a living facrifice,
“ holy, acceptable unto God ??” Are thefe the
“ free-will offerings,” with which the Pfalmifl
teaches us the Lord will “ be pleafed1' ?” Nay,
does npt the very language of Such declarations
itfelf contradict the notion of irrefidible force?
And does not our bleffed Lord refolve his own
expreffion into the fame, as the “ being taught
“ of God,” the “ having heard and having
“ learned of the Father1?” “Many men un-
“ derdand thefe words,” fays Bifhop Hooper,
“ in a wrong fenfe, as though God required in
d Examination of Tilenus, p. 278.
e John vi. 44.	f Rom. viii. 14.
S Rqm. xii. 1.	h Pf. cxix-108.
j John vi. 45.208 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
“ a reafonable man no more than in a dead
“ poft; and marketh not the words that
“ follow, Every man, that heareth and learn-
" eth of my Father, cometh to me. God
(e draweth with his word and the Holy Ghoft;
“ but man’s duty is to hear and learn, that is
“ to fay, receive the grace offered, confent to
“ the promife, and not repugn the God that
“ calleth. God doth promife the Holy Ghoft
“ unto them that afk him, and not to them
“ that contemn him k.” And fuch was the
interpretation of the wife Melandthon, whom
his lefs gentle brother in the reformation ac-
cufed of “ prevaricating with Chryfoftom
becaufe he afferted the neceflity of a willing
mind. “ It is objected” (faid that pious and
learned Reformer) “ by the timid foul, I can-
V not believe, unlefs God kindle my faith. I
“ anfwer, it is true that men are drawn by
“ God; but they are drawn by the word of
“ the Gofpel, to which God wills thee to
“ alfent, and at the fame time to afk afliftance,
“ as it is written, How much more fhall he
" give the Holy Spirit to them that afk him.'
“ Do not then refift the Gofpel; do not en-
k Bp. Hooper. Preface to Declaration of the Ten Com-
mandments.
1 Multoque fatius eft quam tergiverfari cum Chryf-
oftomo. Calv. Inft. lib. iii. cap. xxiv. fe£t, 13.not irrejijlible.	26g
*' courage miftruft; do not think, as Enthu-
“ flafts dream, that thou muft wait for a vio-
“ lent motion, whereby God may drag thee
“ on, although thou refill, and rulh backward
“ into wickednefs: but aiTent to the divine
“ voice, and at the fame time pray for affift-
“ ance, as the fuppliant in Mark, Lord, I be-
“ lieve, help thou my unbelief, When thou
“ doeft this, it is certain' that thou art drawn
“ and aflifted by God ; according to his oath,
“ As I live, faith the Lord, I will not the
“ death of a tinner, but that he be converted
“ and live. To this effect are thofe fayings,
“ God draws, but he draws the willing rhindj
“ and again, Only be thou willing, and God
“ haftens to meet thee, as Bafil fays in his dif-
“ courfe on the prodigal fon, to whom, as he
“ returns, his Father goes forth to meet him,
“ and flies into his embrace. Thefe things we
“ fay,” Jhe adds, “ to comfort thofe who are in
“ the Church, and underftand that they are
“ called by the voice of the Gofpel, and are
f‘ willing to be converted. But if any without
“ repentance agitate curious queftions, with
“ fuch it were vain to difpute"1.”
m Sed objicit .trepida mens, Non pcffam credere, nifi
Deo ‘ fidefn acCendenfe. Refpondeo, Verum eft homines
a Deo trahi; fed* trahuntur per vocem Evangelii, cui vulfi
te Dens alfentiri, et fimul petere auxilium, ficut fcriptnm
eft, Quanto magis dabit Spiritum fanetunii petentibns.270 The Operations of the Holy Ghoji
• Have we the power then to reillft the Spirit,
when he would lead and draw us unto God ?
And is that true, which our Reformers have
affirmed, that “ although the goodnefs of God
<e oftereth his fpecial grace to all men, yet
“ they only enjoy it, which by their free-will
" do accept and embrace the fame, and that
“ others by free-will abufe the grace and be-
“ nefits of Godm?” The Scriptures teach us
that we may. We may “ hate” and “ rebel
“ again ft the light":” we may “do defpite
“ unto the Spirit of grace0:” we may “megledt
Non igitur repugnes Evangelic; non indulffeas diffi-
deHtise ; non cogites, ut fomniant Enthufiaftae, expeftan-
dum efle violentum motum, quo te rapiat Deus etiam re-
pugnantem, pt iterum ruentem in fcelera: fed aflentiaris
voci divin®, et firaul petito auxilium, ficut ille apucf
Marcum, Credo, Domine, fed opem fer imbecillitati me®.
Hoc cum fit, certum eft te a Deo trahi et adjuvari, ficut
jurat, Vivo ego, dicit Dominus, nolo mortem peccatoris,
fed ut convertatur et vivat. In hanc fententiam et hsec
difta funt, Deus trahit, fed volentem tranit. Item, Tan-
tum velis,' et Deus prseoccurrit, ut Bafilius dicit in con-
cione de filio prodigo, cui redeunti Pater obviam procedit,
et involat in amplexum. Haec dicimus ad confolandos eos,
qui funt in Ecclefia, et fe intelligunt vocari voce Evan-
gelii, et volunt converti. Si qui autem fine paenitentia
movent curiofas quaeftiones, cum talibus fruftra difputatur.
Epift ad Rom. cap. ix. Op. vol. iv. p. 160.
m Neceflary Doftrine and Erudition, &c. Article of
''Free-will.
n John iii. 30. Job xxiv. 14.
0 Heb. x. 39.271
not irrejijlible.
u to ftirup the gift of God that is in us,” and
fo ** quench” his gracious influence in our
heartsp: we may “ refill him,” till he will no
longer “ flrive with us"1:” we may “rebel
-■*' againfl him,” and “ grieve” him* and “ vejc”
him, " rejecting” the proffered means of falva-
tion, and “ thrufling from us the word of life,”
till he will be “ turned” from usr: we may
provoke him by obftinate impenitence and dif-
obedience, until he will remove his light from
before us8: we may “ refufe to turn at his
“ counfel, and may defpife his reproof,” until
he will dole his ear to our entreaties, and will
refufe to be found,of us*: “ if we forfake him,
“ he will forfake usu:” and “ if we do not like
“ to retain him in our knowledge, he will give
“ us over to a reprobate mind, to do thofe
“ things which are not convenient Y’ “ God
“ doth by his goodnefs approach to all,” faith
St. Bafil, “ but we fet ourfelves at diflance by
“ finyand, as another Father of the Church
remarks, “ they who are actuated by the Holy
P i Tim. iv. 14. a Tim. i. 6. 1 Theff. v. 19.
s A£ts vii. 51. Gen. vi. 3*
r If. lxiii. 10. Eph. iv. 30. Matt. xxi. 43,43. A£ts xiii. 46.
8 Rev. ii. 5.	1 Prov. i. 23—30.
u 3 Chron. xv. 2.	x Rom. i. 28.
r T„ euvTOit ayaSoTtjn otskhv 6 Kvpiis syytgu,	Se
euuTov; rj/ieig ?ia tijs a/xapna;, Buf. in Pf. Xxxiii. Op. tom. i.
p. 153. ed. Paris. 1721.272	The Operations of the Holy Qhojl
Spirit, are not held under, any neceflity, but
“ have a liberty to turn themfelves, and do
“ what they will in this life’.”
With refpedt indeed to thofe gifts, which
were miraculoufly conferred by the Holy Spirit
on fome of the primitive converts for “ the'
u work of the miniftry, and the edifying of
“ the Church,” they feem to have been the
effect of an irreliftible and overruling power,
and to have required no cooperation in the
will of the recipient. And with a View to
fuch gifts as thefe St. Paul appears to demand,
“ Who maketh thee to differ from another’?”
But with refpeft to bis ordinary grace, though
that grace and ability is" from Chrift, it is our
indifpenfable office to actuate that ability, and
to cooperate with that grace, which is fent to
“ ftrengthenb,” but not to force us, in the dif-
charge of our duty.
“ It is an error,” fays Calvin, “ to make
“ man cooperate with God, fo that- he may
z Outs yap 6 teXsioj si; to ayotSov, tj /3a§v; si; rqv ap.upuot*t-
xai ztoicov saurov crxeuoj row SiatoAouy ou to oXov xaTexpifhj’si;
to xaxov, avayxri Tin SeSerar aAA’ s%£t t>jv eXtuSsgt'eu) tou ye-
vs&ai <rxst>o$ sxXoytj; xxi	opoiws ■sxaAiv oi pLcpeu9s#pifi6i 'eii
tijk Ssarijra, xunoi issrf\riqa>p.svoi xai tsBspisvov tfvsufuen ayhai,
oux avayxri tm xexparriVTai, aAX’ syoum Toaurs^suWiov tou tocc-
ft-tjvetf aOTOu;, xai vmeiv o bskouiriv a/ tov aioova toorov. Macarii
Horn, xv. p. 96. ed. Paris. 1621.
* 1 Cor. iv. 7.
b Phil. iv. 13.2 73
* ratify his election by his own voice'.” The
aflertion runs counter to the whole tenor of
the Bible ; annulling its commands and ex-
hortations ; its promifes and threats ; all its
commendations of the good, and all its judg1
mehts on the wicked. Why when God, by
the mouth of Mofes, fet before the Ifraelites
life and death, bleffing and curling, did he
command and invite and encourage them to
“ choofe lifed,” if the choice was not in their
power? This is the inference of Juftin Martyr'.
When by the mouth of Ifaiah he promifes re-
wards to his faithful fervants, and denounces
punilhment on the tinner, “ If ye be willing
“ and obedient, ye lhall eat the good of the
“ land ; but if ye refufe and rebel, ye fhall be
“ devoured with the fword, for the mouth of
“ the Lord hath fpoken itf:” what was the
c Duo autem errores hie cavendi funt: quia nonnulli
cooperarium Deo faciunt homineni, ut fuffragio fuo ratam
ele£tionem faciat: ita fecundum eos voluntas hominis fu-
perior eft Dei confilio. Calv. Inft. lib. iii. cap. xxiv. fe£t. 3.
d Deut. xxx. 19.
e On yag cocrvsp Ta aXXa, olov leyIpa xai tstguvola, gi;8sv
luvapoeya -npoaigecrei •kgarrav, S7roit)0'ev 6 ©So; tov avSpooTrov' outii
yap tjv at to; agoicij; t] STraivou, ovx a<p’ eauron sAogsvo; to ayadov,
aXXa tuto ysyogsvo;* si’ si xaxo; inrppye, hxato; xoXaaetag etuy-
yanv, oox a<$ kavtou toiouto; cov, aXX’ oulev Ivvapoeyo; sivai etepov
•Bag l sysyovsi. , ESiSafe le fip-ag raura to ayiov •orpo^jjrixoy
BVEopa Si a Moorsm;, x. t. X. Kai ttaXiv ha Ho:aim tou st epov
Bpotpypov, x. t. X. J11JI. Mart. Apol. ii. p. 81.
f If. i. 19, 20.
T274 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
meaning of the declaration, if it was not in
their own choice either to obey or to refufe ?
This is inferred by Juft in again, and Clement
of Alexandria8, and othdrs of the early Fathers.
Why did our Saviour pronounce, that “ this
“ is the condemnation, that light is come into
“ the world, and men loved darknefs rather
" than light, becaufe their deeds were evilh;”
if they did not exert their wills in refilling a
light, which would otherwife have been ef-
fectual for their lalvation ? Why was our Sa-
viour fo tranlported with admiration at the
faith of Ibme, as well as at the unbelief of
others, if that faith were wrought fo irrefifti-
bly, that the believer contributed nothing to-
wards it; and if the unbeliever, fo far from
refilling, had not even the means of being
converted ? When our Saviour tells Martha,
“ One thing is needful, and Mary hath chofen
“ that good part1;” why does he commend
Mary for her difcrimination, and reprove Mar-
S Harney rotwv aySgwjrtw xsxXij/K.ei'aJV, oi {nruy.mrai fiufySevTSi
xXjjtoi u>vofx.a<r$ii<retv. ou yap eariy aSixiu urapa tui Qsai. ouirixa
c% kxarepou y=vo; oi nsnrreuiraVTts, oitroi Aaoj •srepioumo;. xav Tan
Tctiv Attstto\wv eupoi: av xara\s^tv, Oi p.ev ovv caroBeija-
fievot tov Xoyov avrou e§swm<&ijcrav. oi Be pty Sihqtram; •xnSs&ah
eavrov; aKs<rrri<rav SfjAaS);. I7po$ todtouj rj	Xeyer Kay
•SeA^ts, xai enraxowrriTe p.ou, ra aya.Su tijj yijj ipayees' etf fyniy
x&p,iva Bn\sy%ou<ru, xai Tt)v aigetriv, xai tijv exrpoTnjv. Clem,
Alex. Strom, lib. i. cap. xviii. tom. i. p.371. ed. Oxon.
h John iii. 19.	* Luke X. 44.not irrefijlible.	£7 5
tha for her negledl ? If the difcrimination of
Mary had been exclulively effected by the
irrdiftible operation of divine grace, Martha
might have pleaded the want of ability in her
exeufe ; the might have charged the fault of
her negle<ft, in not making the like choice, on
his deficiency in a matter fo needful; and
have replied, in the language of a modern Cab
vinift, that “ her lifter could not fo properly
“ be faid to have chofen, as to have been
** chofen by the Lord \” Wherefore is it
faid with approbation of fome, that they “ re-
“ ceived the word gladly,” and “ with readi-
“ nefs of mind1;” unlefs that gladnefs and
readinefs were, in fome fort, the refult of
their own freedom of will, which conftituted
them moral and accountable agents ? And
wherefore are others condemned, for that they
“ would not come unto Chrift, that they might
ff have life and might be faved m,” (OT 0EAETE
ehS-etv ir^cs ps, ye are not willing to come to
me j)—that “ they were willingly ignorant,”
as St. Peter fays, <c that by the word of God
“ the heavens were of old";”—that “they re-
“ ceived not the love of the truth, ” as St. Paul
Ipeaks, “ but had pleafure in unrighteoufnefs0;”
k Whitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 125.
* A&& ii.41. xviLri.	ro John v. 40,34.
n % Pet. jii. 3,	0 * Theff'. ii. 19,13,276 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
-^-unlefs they had the liberty of being different
from what they actually were l For there ap-
pears nothing inconfiftent either with reafon,
or revelation, in the opinions of the early
writers of the Church ; that “ man would not
“ be a fit object of praife or recompence, did
“ he not choofe good of himfelf, nor wbrthy
“ of punifliment for doing ervril, if he did not
“ this of himfelf0;” — that “ neither praifes
nor reprehenfions, rewards nor punifhments
“ are juft, if the foul hath not the power of
“ chooftng or abftaining, but evil is involun-
“ taryp;”—and that even as to Judas himfelf,
as Origen affirms, “ blame would not have
“ attached to him, had he been a traitor of
“ neceflitv, and could not have been like the
“ reft of the ApoftlesV’ “ Take away the
“ grace of God ; how does he fave the world }
° Ou8e yap rjv agio; ap.oiSri;, &c. Vid. Juft. Mart. Ut fupra, -
P Ours 8e oi enaivoi, uts at vj/oyot, ad’ at n/xai, aS’ ai xo\a<rsi(
hxatatf, per) Tr/s 4,aXr^ %oiar>); rtjv sjatrtav tijj opftr,; xaf aipogp.rjf,
ct\A’ uxouinou rr)g xaxia; outnjg, Clem. Alex. Strorti. lib, i.
cap- xvii. tom. i. p. 368.
<1 Ov yap epotifisv, sorst zygoeyvwtrrai IouSov srpoSoTtjv ysvsfr&ai,
on Ttuaa. avayxri t]v XouSav TrpoSoTtjV yevstr-Sai. Ev youv rat; irspt.
tou 1008a vgoipriTeixi;, pe?p.\p£i; xctf xar^yopia^ tou IouSa avays-
ypap.p.tvai Eteri, mavrt jap T&apiGTatraf to tpexrcv avrou. Oux at
8s vpoyof avrep zrgo<rrjirTETO, si ETravayxsf T&poioTr,; ijv, xaf p.i) avs-
Cs^eto (EvsSsyexo) auTov opLOiov Totg Aorjroi, cotocttoAoi; ysvsa-$a/.
Origen. ap. Eitfeb. Prcepar. Evang. lib. vi. cap* xi. p. 3.88.
ed. Paris. 1628.-277
hot irrejijiiblc.
w Take away man’s freedom of will; how
" does he judge the world'?” The queftion is
propofed by Auftin : and we leave it to be
folved by his difciples.
But that the Spirit of God does not act with
that irrelxftible power, which deprives man of
his freedom of will, is matter, not only of pro-
bable jinference, but of certain and unqueftion-
able fa6t. Did not the Jews refill him to
their deftrudtion under'the old difpenfation ;
did they not “ provoke him to anger continu-
(c ally to his face,” when “ all day long he
" ftretched forth his hands unto a difobedient
"and gainfaying people5?” “ When he had
“ done all that could have been done for his
vineyard, and he looked that it fhould bring
" forth grapes, brought it not forth wild
"grapes'?” “When he purged them, did
" they not refufe to be purged11?” “ When he
“ called them,” did they not refufe. to " an-
" fwer?” “ When he fpake,” did they not re-
fufe to hear ? and " do evil before his eyes ?
" and choofe that in which he delighted not*?”
" When he fent to them by his meffengers
f Si non eft gratia Dei, quomodo falvat mundum ? Si
non eft liberum arbitrium, quomodo judicatmundum? See
Heylyn’s Quinq. Hift. part i. chap. 6. where it is quoted as
“ that divine faying of St. Auguftine.”
*	If. Ixv. 3. Rom. x, 21.	* If- v. 4.
*	Ezek. xxiv. 13.	x If. Ixv. 13. Ixvi. 4.
T 3278	The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
“ the prophets, riling up betimes and fending,
“ becaufe he had companion on his people and
“ on his dwelling-place;” did they not “ mock
“ his melfengers, and delpife his words, and
“ mifufe his prophets, and provoke him to
“ anger with the works of their hands to their
“ own hurt, until the wrath pf the Lord arofe
" againft his people, till there was no re-
“ medyy.” Did they not relift him, even to
their political annihilation, under the new dif-
penlation; and have we not the authority of
St. Stephen for faying that they did foz? Al-
though “ God fent his Son to blefs them, in
“ turning every one of them from his iniqui-
“ ties,” did they not refufe to “ repent and be
“ converted, that their fins might be blotted
*' outa?” And did not their impenetrable hard-
nefs and perverfenefs of heart draw from our
Saviour that moft tender expoftulation, “ that
,l plaintive effulion” (as Jerome fays) “ of pa-
“ ternal loveb,” “ O Jerufalem, Jerufalem, thou
“ that killeft the prophets, and ftoneft them
“ which are fent unto thee, how often would
“ I have gathered thy children together, even
y Jer. xxv. 4,5,6, 7. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 15, 16.
* A&s vii. 51.	a A£ts iii. 26,19.
h Hierufalem, non faxa et sedificia civitatis, fed habita-
tores, quam plangit patris affeftu, ficut in alio -loco legi-
mus, quod videns earn fleverit. Hieron. Comm,, in Matt.
xxiii.not irrejijiible.	279
** as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
“ wings, and ye would notc!” I know we
may be told, and it may be prefled on us
by the authority of Auftin, that “ this addrefs
u of the Redeemer means no more, than that
“ Jerufalem would not that her children
f* fhould be gathered together by him ; but
“ that, even againfl: her will, he gathered to-
“ gether as many as he would ; and that it
“ was not his pleafure to gather any mored:”
—but however the comment may be applaud-
ed for its ingenuity, it is furely altogether in-
confiftent with the obvious purport of the ad-
drefs, and with the benevolence, the fimplicity,
and the fincerity of the Speaker’s chara&er:
and it only ferves to fhow the extreme danger
of a fyftem, which can reduce its advocates to
fuch a fophiftication of Scripture ; and can
convert an expoftulation of the moll paflionate
and affe&ing tendernefs, into a deliberate in-
ve&ive of the raoft pra&ifed difiimulation, and
of cruelty the moft refined.
c Matt, xxiii. 37.
d Ubi eft ilia omnipotentia, qua in cslo et in terra quae-
cunque voluit Dominus fecit, ft colligere filios Jerufalem
voluit, et non fecit ? An potius ilia quidem filios fuos ab
ipfo colligi noluit; fed, ea quoque nolente, filios ejus
collegit ipfe quos voluit? Quia in caelo et in terra non
quaedam vpluit et fecit, quaedam vero voluit et non fecit;
fed omnia quaecunque voluit, fecit. Auguftin. Enchir.
eap. xxvii.280 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
Not-fiich were the fentiments of Auftrn him-
felf, when he taught, that “ no man is worthy*
“ of difpraife or punifhrnent, for not doing
“ that which he hath no power to do and
that, “ if fin be worthy of difpraife or punifli-
“ ment, there is fin, where is a freedom. of
“ will to abftain.” “ Thefe things,” he fays,
“ the fhepherds fing upon the mountains, and
“ the poets in the theatres, and the unlearjnicd
“ in their affemblies, and the learned in the
“ libraries, and the doctors in the fchools, and
“ the bifhops in the churches, and mankind
“ throughout the whole earth. Yea, this is
“ fo manifeft, that it hath the univerfal con-
“ fent of the learned and unlearned.” And
c Peccatum eft voluntas retinendi vel confequendi quod
Juftitia vetat, et unde liberum eft abftinere: quanquam ft
liberum non (it, non eft voluntas.-Nonne ifta cantant
et in montibus paftores, et in theatris poetse, et iudofti in
circuits, et dodli in bibliothecis, et magiftri in fcholis, et
antiftites in facratis jocis, et in orbe terrarum genus hu-
manum ? Quod (i nemo vituperatione vel damnatione dig-
nus eft, aut non contra vetitum juftitis faciensj aut quod
non poteft nbn faciens, omne autem peccatum vel vitupe-
randum eft vel damnandum, quis dubitet tunc efle pecca-
tum, cum et velle injuftum eft, et liberum nolle ? Augu/l.
Lib. de Duabus Anim. cap. xi.
Nunc vero ufque adeo peccatum voluntarium eft malum,
ut nullo modo lit peccatum, ft non fit voluntarium. Et
hoc quidem ita manifeftum eft, ut nulla hinc doSorum
paucitas, ftulla indoctorum turba diflentiat. Lib. de vera
Relig. cap. xiv.281
not irrejijlible.
although Auftim may have renounced, in his
difcourfes- againft the Pelagians, mod of thofe
things, which he had faid in confutation of
the Manichees, the alteration of his fentiments
affects not the liability of a truth, which,
while it is alierted by the univerfal concur-
rence of mankind, is fupported withal by ma-
tt ifqft declarations of the oracles of God.
. But can theys who have had faith, “ un-
feigned faith and a good confcience, put
“ away their good confcience, and make fhip-
“ wreck of the faith f?” Can they “ who were
“- clean efcaped from them that live in error,
“he allured through the lutls of the flefh,
“through much wantonnefs s?” Can they,
after they “ have efcaped the pollutions of the
“ world through the .knowledge of the Lord
“ and Saviour Jefus Chrift, be again entangled
“ therein and overcome11?” Can they who have
once: “ known the way of righteoufnefs, after
“ they have known it, turn from the holy
“ commandment delivered to them ; fo that
“it may happen to them according to the true
“ proverb,The dog is.turned to his own vomit
“ again, and the fow that was walhed to her
“ wallowing in the mire1?” Can they, whofe
f Compare i Tim. i. 19, 20. and 3 Tim. i. 5.
£ 3 Pet. ii. 18.	h Ibid. ver. 20.
' lb. ver. 31, 23.282 The Operations of the Holy Ghofi
hearts have once been opened to receive the
grace of God, and who have fubmitted to his
dictates, and conformed to his will, can they
alfo “ fin wilfully after they have received the
“ knowledge of the truth can they “ do
“ defpite unto the Spirit of grace, and draw
“ back unto perdition ?” Can they, who were
once “ enlightened, and who have tailed of
“ the heavenly gift,” and have been “ made
" partakers of the Holy Ghoft,” can they ne-
verthelefs fall away, and be finally rejected k ?
Of fuch the Scriptures indifputably fpeak.—
Of fuch, in concurrence with the Scriptures,
fpeak Granmer and our Reformers : “ It is no
“ doubt,” fay they, “ but although we be once
“ juftified, yet we may fall therefrom by our
“ own free-will and confenting unto fin, and
*■' following the defires thereof. For albeit the
“ houfe of our confcience be once made clean,
“ and the foul fpirit be expelled from us in
“ baptifm or penance; yet if we wax idle, and
“take not heed, he will return with feven
“ worfe fpirits, and poflefs us again. And
“ although we be illuminate, and have tailed
“ the heavenly gift, and be made partakers of
“ the Holy Gholl, yet may we fall and dif-
“ pleafe God. Wherefore, as St. Paul faith,
“ He that llandeth, let him take heed that he
k Heb. x. 26. and following verfes.283
not irrejijlible:
" fall not And to the fame efFedf, and
with authority, in the Homily: “ What a
“ fliame were it for us, being thus fo clearly
" and freely wafhed from our fin, to return to
“ the filthinefs thereof again ! What a folly
“ Were it, thus endowed with righteoufnefs,
“ to lofe it again ! What madnefs were it to
“ lofe the inheritance, that we be now fet in,
“ for the vile and tranfitory pleafure of fin !
<T And what an unkindnefs fhould it be, where
“ our Saviour Chrifl: of his mercy is come to
“ us, to dwell with us as our gueft, to drive
“ him from us, and to banifh him violently
t* out of our fouls, and inftead of him, in whom
“ is all grace and virtue, to receive the ungra-
“ cious fpirit of the devil, the founder of all
“ naughtinefs and mifchief”!”—Such too the
Calvinift, if I miftake not, will fometimes allow
to exift". And it is a mere begging of the
quefiion in difpute, and an arbitrary at leaf!:,
not to fay a prefumptuous, interpretation of
the language of the Apoftle, to endeavour to
explain it away by affirming, with a modern
Minifler of our Church, that “ none of thofe
“ fo fpoken of were ever children of God,
f* were ever truly regenerate; that they were
" :
1 Neceffary Do£trjne and Erudition for any Chriftian
Man. Article of Jultification.
m Sermon of the Refurreftion, p. 370. Oxf. edit.
n See Whitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 33. _284 The Operations of the Holy Ghoft
“ once enlightened with head-knowledge, not
“ renewed in heart affections ; that they were
“ made partakers of the Holy Ghoft in his
“ common operations upon the underftanding,
“ not. in his. quickening and regenerating
“ grace on the foul:” in a word, that “ the
“ whole account is confined to the common
“ operations of nature as diftinguifhed from
“ grace, in which natural men frequently ex-
“ cel; and fometimes indeed to fuch a degree,
“ as to furpafs in head-knowledge children of
“ grace and that “ although fuch perfons
“ may be faid by the world to have fallen
“ from grace, the fad is, they never were in
“grace0.” Such interpretations of Scripture
it is much eafier boldly to advance, than it. is
to fubftantiate them on folid grounds. And
if fuch interpretations be admitted ; or if, as
farther afferted, it be admitted with refpeCt
to thqfe, who were, in apoftolical language*
“ once enlightened and partakers of the Holy
“ Ghoft,” that “ every thing in fuch perfons
was derived from natural caufes, was fup-
“ ported by natural means, and adopted for
“ natural purpofes, and thus beginning in na-
“ ture they end in the fame;” I am perfuaded
there is not a dodrine iti the facred volume,
which we muft not equally admit, in whatever
0 Hawker’s Zion’s Pilgrim, p. 82, 83,84.285
not irrejijlible.
fenfe the torturing imagination of a vifionary
commentator may choofe to exhibit it.
The fadt is, that the Epiftle to the Hebrews
abounds in ftubborn paflages, which the advo-
cate for the indefedtibility of grace may en-
deavour to wreftle with in vain. It were im-
poffible to enumerate them at prefent: but he
who duly eftimates the language of the Apoftle
to the Jewifh believers, whom he addrefles in
this epiftle; his manifold exhortations to them
to be fteadfaft unto the end; his frequent
cautions to them to beware of falling from the
grace of God ; his declarations, as to their
prefent ftate, and his promifes and threaten-
ings, as to the future; bearing in mind* withal,
that they were then, if there be any fenfe in
language, true converts, and found believers,
and avowedly*in a ftate of falvation ; and that
no lefs certainly they were, in the Apoftle’s.
judgment, liable to fall away both totally and
finally; will probably fee reafon, not only to
think with Whitby, that the epiftle contains
many cogent arguments againft the dodtrine
of perfeverance, but to adopt the opinion of
Barrow, that it was written, exprefsly againft
that dodlrinep.”
It is not however in the epiftle to the He-
brews alone, that this dodlrine is evidently
P See Whitby's Difcourfes on the Five Points, p. 403.286 The Operations of the Holy Gliojl
controverted i there is not a book in the New
Teftament, which does not controvert the
fame. For what mean the commands and
exhortations, which every where abound, to
perfevere' and Hand fait in the faith, if the
perfons, to whom they are directed, rnufi in-
evitably do fo? Whither tend the exhortations
to churches and individuals, to fear left they
fhould fall away and finally mifcarry, if there
were no grounds for apprehenfion ? Whither
tend the ad:ual fears of the Apoftles, affifted as
they were by the Spirit of God, left the faith-
ful fhould fall away, if by an unalterable de-
cree the faithful were preferved from falling ?
Whither their cautions to the eledt not to fall
from grace fo as to lofe their reward, if their
perfeverance in grace and their reward were
alike certain ? Whither their conditional pro-
mifes, if the promifed bleflings were feoired
by an abfolute decree ? Whither their alarm-
ing threatenings, if the evil that was threat-
ened could not poffibly befal them ? Whither,
finally and more efpecially, their direct intima-
tions, that faints, or true believers, or men
once truly good, might ceafe and had ceafed
to be fo ; might fall, and had fallen, from the
grace that they bad enjoyed; might be, and
had been, deferted by the Spirit of God ?
Full as St. Paul undoubtedly was of the
Holy Spirit, and abounding in every gr&ce28;
not irrcjlftible.
that he beftows, that great Apoftle fuffers us
not to imagine, that he regarded himfelf as be^
ing in a ftate of infallible fecurity; but intimates
the pofiibility of his ultimate rejection, and
infifts upon the neceflity of his own active,
ftrenuous, and indefatigable exertions, coope-
rating with the grace from above. “ I there-*
“ fore fo run, not as uncertainly; fo fight I;
“ not as beating the air; but I keep under
“ my body, and bring it into fubjedlion, left
“ that by any means, when I have preached to
“others, I mytelf thou Id be a caft-away0.”
And when he tells the Philippians, who were
“ all partakers of his grace,” that “ it is God
“ which worketh in them both to will and to
“ do of his good pleafure,” he ufes it as an
argument to encourage them, to “ work out
“ their own falvation with fear and trembling,”
“ that he may rejoice in the day of Chrift,
“ that he had not run in vain, neither laboured
“ in vain p.” To this efFecft he intimates the
pofiibility of a fall, of a total and final fall, to
every church in every epiftle which he wrote :
—fpecially to the Corinthians, who had re-
ceived “ the feal of God and the earneft of the
“ Holy Spirit in their hearts,” who were
“ the temple of God, and in whom the Spirit
“ of God dweltbut whom he neverthelefs
« i Cor. ix, a6,37.
P Phil. i. 7. ii. 13,13,16.288 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
“ befoeches, not to receive the grace of God
“in vainq:”— to the Ephefians, who were
" fealed with that Holy Spirit of promife, the
“ earned: of their inheritance,” and who were
made “an habitation of God through the
“ Spiritwhom neverthelefs he admonithes
to “ let no man deceive them with vain
“words,” to “faint not at his tribulation,”
and to “ put on the whole armour of God,
“ that they may be able to withftand the
“ wiles of the devil, and having done all to
“ftandr:”—and to the Theffalonians,. “ unto
“ whom the Gofpel had come not in word
“ only, hut alfo in power, and in the Holy
“ Ghoft,' and in much aflurance;” who had
“ become followers of the Lord, having re-
“ ceived the word in much affliction, and with
"joy of the Holy Ghoft,” and who were
“ the eleCl of God,” “ in whom the word
“ wrought effectually ;” of whom neverthelefs
he exprefles his fears, “ left by fome means
“ the tempter fhould have tempted them, and
“his labour fhould be in vain5.”—Whilfl of
the Galatians, more particularly, he declares
on the one hand, that they “ had received the
“ Spirit by the hearing of faith;” that “ they
S 2 Cor. i. 22. vi. 16, I.
f Epb. i. 13, 14. ii. 22. v. 6. iii. 13. vi. 11.
* 1 Theff. i. 5j 6,4. ii. 13. iii. 5.not rrrcfijlible. ■	2&g
V were all made the children of God by faith
t . V in Chrift Jefus,” and by baptifm “ had put
“ on Chrift;” that “ becaule they were fons,
. “ God had fent forth the Spirit of his Son
“into their hearts,'.crying, Abba, Father;”
and that they once “ did run well :” and mar-
vels on the other hand, that “ they were to
“ foon removed from him that called them
“ into the grace of Chrift uqto another gofpel,
“ whereby the Gofpel of Chrift was pervert-
“ edand inquires, “who had bewitched
“ them, that they fhould not obey the truth
and declares, that he was “afraid of them,
‘‘ left he had beftowed upon them labour in
‘(vain;” and that “he travailed in birth
- - “ again until Chrift be formed in them ;” and
.. unequiyopally warns them, “ that if they were
v v “ circumcifed, Chrift ftiould profit them no-
.. “ thing that “ he was become of no effedl
“ to as many of them as fought to bp juftified
“by t|ie law that as to fuch perfons, they
. . were “ fallen from grace1.”
,,Let it then be allowed that St. Paul and his
converts were in grace, (and I cannot conceive
hpw in the. face of his own declarations any
one can be bold enough to quqftion it,) it will
., be an arduous attempt to reconcile either the
, ,
t »
1 Gal. ili. 2, %6, 27. ivi 6. v. 7. i. 6,7. iii. r. iv. 11,1.9.
h 4-
¥290 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
profeffion of the Apoftle on his own Hate, or
his cautions to his converts as to theirs, with
the bold affirmation of an ancient Puritan, that
“ it is no more poffible for believers to mif-
“ carry finally, than for Chrift himfelf to be
held under the power of the grave “and
with the equally bold and kindred affertion of
one of more modern times, that it were “ as
“ eafy to get into heaven, and cut off Chrift’s
“ right hand, which is impoffible, as to cut off
“ one of the members of Chrift’s myftical
“ body31.” Impoffible indeed it is, that they,
who believe in Chrift, and “ hold the begin-
“ ning of their confidence firm unto the end,”
fhould perifti: not fo, that the believer may
fall from his faith and holinefs, and thereby
fail of everlafting life : thus the ancient Fa-
thers taught, (whofe opinion Voffius teftifies to
have been “ notorioufly againft the indefedti-
“ bility of the faints y,) .that God, dwelling in
us by his Spirit, may be provoked to quit his
habitation ; and that he, whofe body is the
■ Coles on God’s Sovereignty, p. 284. edited by Ro-
maine.
* Romaine’s Life of Faith. Works, vol.i. p. 155.
7 Quid? quod aritiquitas tota indefeftibilitati adverfatur?
Nec quenquam, quantum meminifle valemus, veterum
inquire eft, qui fideles omnes omnimodam de perfeverantia
fua certitudinem habere arbitraretur.—Communem fuiflis
antiquitatis fententiam, quam diximus, foli hodie negare
poflunt, qui caetera fortafle viri funt non ineruditi, fed ia291
temple of the Lord by virtue of his Spirit
dwelling in him, may defile that temple to his
own ruin, and caufe the Holy Spirit to depart.
Nor can ftronger evidence be brought of the
poflibility of fuch a fall, than the admonitions
of the Apodle with refpedfc to others, and his
profefiion concerning himfelf.
The Advocate for indefe&ibility may affirm
indeed, that St. Paul pra&ifed “ this fubjeCtion
*f of the flefh to the fpirit, not through dread
** of being reprobated and cad away for ever*;”
and it is neceflary that he fhould maintain it,
if he would be confident with himfelf in
teaching, that " it is as impoffible for one of
■*' God’s children, that ever had a fingle fpark
f( of the grace of Jefus, to be a prey to the
devil, as it was for Lazarus to quit Abra-
“ ham’s bofom for the flames of hell\” But
it would be rather for the intered of evange-
lical truth, were he to adopt fuch ah interpre-
tation, as is confident with the Apodle’s lan-
guage, who did thefe things, fc left that by any
“ means he himfelf fhould be a cad-away
, difapproved, and judged unmeet for the crown
of victory, MHnXlS avros a.J'oxtpet yevtjrcti, an ex-
antiquitate tamen plane funt hofpites, Voff. Hijior. Pelag,
lib. v>, thef. xii. p. 587. See Whitby on the Five Points*
P-440-
1 Mafon’s Spiritual Treafury, p. 119,
» Ibid, p. 146,
V 2202 The Operations of the Holy Ghojt
preflion, conftantly intending fome degree of
apprehenfion and uncertainty: and it would
at the fame time be more conducive to holi-
nefs, if inftead of employing the text as a
foundation for infallible fecurity, he would
adopt the inference of the ancient Commenta-
tors; “ If Paul, fo great a man, one who had
“ preached and laboured fo much., dreaded
<c this termination of his labours, wRat caufe
“ have we to fear, left it ftiould befal us
“ alfob!”
Admirable to this effedt are the fentence
and the admonition of the venerable Latimer;
' and they are well worth the attention of thofe
profefled admirers of the dodtrines of the Re-
formation, who condemn fuch as fay, “ that a
“ perfon may be in Chrift to-day, and go to
“ the devil to-morrow,” and blefs God that
they have not fo learned Chriftc. “ I will
-‘5 you to pray,” faid that faithful Paftor and
-true Apoftle of the Gofpel of Chrift, “ I will
“ you to pray, that God will continue his Spi-
‘f rit in you. I do not put you in comfort,
that if ye once have the Spirit, ye cannot
“ lole it. There be new fpirits ftart up now
“ of late, which, fay, after we have received
“ the Spirit, we cannot fin. I will make but
b See Whitby in loc.
c Whitefield’s Works, vol.v. p. 245.293
not irrejijliblc.
" one argument. St. Paul had brought the
“ Galatians to the profeflion of the faith, and'
“ left them in that Hate : they had received
“ the Spirit once, but they finned again, as he
“ teftified of them himfelf. He faith, Ye did
“run well: ye were once in a right way:'
“ and again, Ye did receive the Spirit, not by
“ the works of the law, but by the righteouf-
“ nefs of faith. Once they had the Spirit by
“ faith: but falfe prophets came, when he was
“ gone from them; and they fell from all/
“ that Paul had planted them in ; and then
“ faid Paul, O foolilh Galatians, who hath be-
“ witched you ? If this he true, we may lofe
“ the Spirit, that we have once poffejfed. It
“ IS A FOND THING. I WILL NOT TARRY IN
“ ITd.”
Upon the whole, whilft the Scripture is
clear and exprefs in aflerting the operation of
the Holy Spirit on our minds, it aflerts in
language equally plain and unequivocal the
freedom of our wills; whether regenerate, or
unregenerate ; whether before, or after, our
incorporation with Chrift ; and our power to
yield to, or to withftand, his influence. We
conclude therefore, that his influence is not
irrefijlible; that he “ works in us but, in
order for his working to be effectual, that he
d Latimer’s Sermons, vol. i. p. 218.2Q4 The Operations of the Holy Qhojl
muft alfo work with us, and we muft “ work
“ with him.” Founded upon this are the ex-
hortations, which we addrefs to our people;
whilft carefully reminding them on the one
hand that “ we are not fufficient of ourfelves
“ to think” or do “ any thing as of ourfelves,
“ but that our fufficiency is of Godc,” f£ who
“ worketh in us both to will and to do of his
<f good pleafure;” we are equally affiduous on
the other, jn exhorting them to “ fight the
“ good fight of faith,” to “ ftrive for the maf-
“ tery,” to “ give diligence to make their call-
“ ing and election fure,” and to “ work out
“ their own falvation with fear and trem-
“ blingf.” Bearing in mind the prudent cau-
tion of our Reformers, that “ all men be to be
“ monilhed, and efpecially preachers, that in
“ this high matter, they, looking on both
“ tides, fo attemper and moderate themfelves,
“ that they neither fo preach the grace of God,
“ that they take away thereby free-will; nor
“ on the other fide, fo extol free-will, that
injury be done to the grace of God8:” whilft
we promote the humility of our hearers by
admonifhiffg them, that faith and repentance
are “ the gifts of Godh,” we ftimulate their
• a Cor. iii. 5.
f 1 Tim. vi. 12. i Cor. ix. 25. 2 Pet. i. 10. Phil. ii. 12.
s Neceflary Doctrine, &c. Chapter on Free-will.
h Rom. xii. 3. Afts xi. 18.r	not irrejiftible.	295
exertions, by reminding them that “ God
“ commandeth all men to repent and believe1.”
Whilft we encourage them by the promife of
God to his people, that he will “ circumcife
“ their hearts” and “ cleanfe them from all
“ iniquity15;” we ftir up their activity by his
precept, that they “ circumcife their own
“ hearts,” and “ wafti themfelves and make
themfelves clean ‘.” Whilft we call on
them, to pray to God with the Pfalmift, that
he will “ create in them a new heart, and re-
“ new a right fpirit within them m;” we warn
them that God calls upon his people by a
Prophet, to “ call away from them all their
“ tranlgreffions, and make themfelves a new
“ heart and a new fpirit Whilft we ani-
mate the hopes of the defponding by God’s
gracious promife, that “ he will put his fear
“ in the hearts of his people, that they lhall
“not depart from him0;” we endeavour to
awaken the carelefs, and to humble the proud,
by fetting before them the end of thofe, who
“ did not choofe the fear of the Lordp.”
“Thus,” faid Theodoretq, having eftablilhed
‘ A&sxvii. 30. 1 John in. 23.
k Deut. xxx. 6. Jer. xxxiii. 8.
1 Jer. iv. 4. If. i. 16.
m Pf. li. 10.	n Ezek.xviii.3T.
0 Jer. xxxii. 40.	P Prov. i. 29.
q Oux av yap outs 0 &so;, ayaSof yi aiv xaf hxctio;, •sroiv^v
U 42g6 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
that the grace of God lays no neceflity on the
will of man, and'concluding with an aflertiori
which Voflius largely proves', and which
Calvin admits”5 “thus,” laid he, “have we
“ Chriftians,” thus, I add, have we Minifters
of the Church of England, “ been taught by
“ bur anceftors, and thus we teach.”
II. Secondly ; (and let the obfervation be
chCrithed for the encouragement of thofe,
who although they truly honour and fefve
God, yet are but little fenfible to themfelves
of the operation of the Holy Spirit;) his in-
fluence is not of that fenfible kind, which the
Enthufiaft repretents it: affirming, that “ the
“ manifeftation of God’s Spirit may be perceiv-
“ ed by the foul as really as is any fenlible im-
toij Tna.puvoij.ov fiiov acrica^opLevoi; ettreirpu^ev, sivep up a xut uvuy-
XijV Yi/j-upTuvoV x. t. \.—-Tuura irepi ttjj tcv avSpunrov tputriai;
ippoveiv, xou shlayprijj-iv xop SiSaaxo^v. Theodoret. Serin. v.‘de
Nat. Hominis. Op. ed. Paris. 1642. torn. iv. p.559.
r_Sed tandem allegandi veteres finis efto ; quando, non
djco fi oninia omnium indicare velimus, (quod non poffe-
mus quidem,) fed vel fola quse poflumus, nullus fit fu-
turus finis : et eo minus labore iftoc opus, quando- maxi-
mus Calvinus banc fuifle antiquitatis fententiam non ob-
fcure agnofcit, &cc. Vojf. Hift. Pelag. lib. vii. par. ii.
P- 751-
s Ac voluntatem movet, non quarter multis feculis tra-
ditum eft et creditrun, ut noftrae poftea fit eJ,e£tion.is, mo-
tioni aut obtemperare aut refragari; fed illam efficaciter
afficiendo. -Calv.- Injl. lib, ii. cap. iii. fe£t. 10.not perceptible.	297
“ prefiion upon the body*:”—that “ he fills
“ the whole heart with a divine power, and
“ draws all the faculties of the foul after
“ Chrift, as a mighty rufhing wind11:”—that
he “ gives a believer fuch a teftimony of his
“ adoption, that, while it is prefent to the
“ foul, he can no more doubt the reality of his
“ fonfhip, than he can doubt of the fhining of
“■ the fun, ‘while he ftands in the full blaze of
" his beams :”—that he “ feels the Spirit in
“ his foul in the lame way as he feels the
“ wind ftrike upon his bodily organs11:”—and
that “ it is a truth which remains not now to
“ be queftioned but by fceptics, that the Lord
“ comes nigh to his people in fenfible manL
“ feftations of his gracious prefence in their
“ feafons of worfhip, in their daily employ-
“ ments, and in fhort in all the various provi-
“ dences by which they are exercifed5'.” I
cite the words of fome of the mod: celebrated
Methodifis, thinking it unnecelfary to multiply
quotations from others of inferior note. Sufi
fice it to obferve, that as, on the one hand,
Wefley reprefented this doctrine of fenfible
‘ Whitefield’s Works, vol. iv. p. 18.
" Wefley’s Works, vol. xxvii. p. 31,32. Qutram’s Ex-
tracts, p. 63.
x Wefley’s Sermons, vol. i. p. 155.
y Hawker’s Paraclelis, p. 66. See Outram’s Extracts,
P- 74-	1	,2g3 The Operations of the Holy Ghojt
imprelfions, to be “ one grand part of the tef-
“ timony, which God had given the Methodifts
“ to bear to all mankind ; and that it was by
“ his peculiar blefiing upon them in fearching
" the Scriptures, confirmed by the experience
“ of his children, that this great evangelical
“ truth was recovered, which had been for
" many years well nigh loft and forgotten *
fo, on the other hand, there is no point on
which Methodifts of every denomination have
been more prone to infift, than on their in-
ward impulfes and feelings; their experiences,
in the phrafeology of the fe£t; as the direct
witnefs of the Holy Spirit in their hearts; as
diftin&ive marks, and infallible evidences, of
the approbation of Heaven.
Far from me be the arrogance and the folly
of denying, that “ God hath given us the ear-
“ neft of the Spirit in our hearts3;” or that
“ the Spirit itfelf beareth witnefs with our
" fpirit that we are the children of Godb.”
However arduous may be the talk of defining
the limits of his agency, and drawing a line of
reparation between his motions and the natural
fuggeftions of the human mind, (a talk, which
the great Searcher of hearts alone may be
deemed capable of performing,) ftill the belief
* .Wefley’s Sermons, vol. i. p. 164.
3 a Cor. i. 22.	b Rom.viii. 16.not percep tible.	2Q9
that we are blefled. with this “ inward wit-
“ nets',” is a fource of confolation, peace, and
encouragement to the humble believer: he
embraces it with gladnefs, and he acknow-
ledges it with gratitude.
Do I then deny the fenjible influence of the
Spirit ? I anfwer; we may “ feel in ourfelves
“ the working of the Spirit of ChriftV’—our
Church employs the language; and I fcruple
not to repeat it, nor when fcripturally under-
Hood to maintain it for the dodtrine of Scrip-
ture: but we feel it no otherwife than we
do our thoughts and meditations; we cannot
diftinguith them, by their manner of affecting
us, from our natural reafoqings and the opera-
tion of truth upon our fouls ; fo that, if God
had only defigned to give the Holy Spirit to us,
without making any mention of it in his word,
we could never have known, unlefs it had
been communicated to us by fome private re-
velation, that our fouls are moved by a divine
power, when we love God and keep his com-
mandments e. Agreeable to this interpretation
is the language of our Church, when the de-
mands of her candidates for holy orders, not
Are you inwardly moved, but “ Do you truft,
“ that you are inwardly moved by the Holy
c j John v. io.	d Art. 17.
* See Stebbing on the Holy Spirit, chap. vii. fe£t. 6,300 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
“ Ghoft, to take upon you this office and mi-
“ nillration, to ferve God for the promoting
“ of his glory, and the edifying of his peo->
“ plef?” For, as Calvin well and temperately
remarks, “ an inward call is the honeft telli-
“ mony of our heart, that we undertake the
“ office of the miniftry, not from ambition, or
“ covetoufnefs, or any other finful delire; but
“ from a true fear of God and wilh to edify
“ the Church8.” Agreeable to this alfo is the
language of the Homily, which fpeaks of the
operation of God’s Holy Spirit within us, as
a mighty indeed, but alfo as a “ fecret” work-
ing1’; and refers us to the fruits of the Holy;
Spirit in our hearts and conduct as the only
proof “ whereby we can know that he is
“ in us1.” And fuch, to come more clofely to
f Ordering of DeacoriSi"
£ Eft autem {arcana vocatio) bonum cordis noftri tefti-
moniuro, quod neque ambitione, neque avaritia, neque-
ulla alia cupiditate, fed fincero Dei timore, et aedificandae
ecclefise ftudio, oblatum munus recipiamus. Calv. Injl.
lib. iv. cap. iii. feft. n.
h Homilies, p. 389. Oxf. Ed.
' “ O but how {hall I know that the Holy Ghoft is
“within me? fome man perchance will fay. Forfooth
“ as the tree is known by his fruit, fo alfo is the Holy
“ Ghoft. . . . .Here now is that glafs, wherein thou mull
“ behold thyfelf, and difcern whether thou have the
“ Holy Ghoft within thee, or the fpirit of the flelh, &c.”
p.390.not perceptible.	Sol
the point, is the exprefs teftimony of a work,
which fpeaks the fentiments of our Reformers,
and affords an admirable comment on the lan-
guage of the Article ; “ We feel Chrifl dwell-
“ ing within ourfelves in fuch fort, as we do
“ our own proper fouls V’ Thus much we
believe on the authority of Scripture, and
guided in our interpretation by our own evan-
gelical Church. Bat if more than this he in-
tended by one of the original Methodifts1,
when, in a difcourfe from this place, he ac-
cufed thofe, who dilfented from his opinions,
of fetting up “ a devilifh diftin<Stion, of which
“ our Church knows nothing; of renouncing
“ the Church of England, as well as the whole
“ Chriftian revelation, of denying the whole
“ Scriptures, the whole truth, and promife, and
“ teftimony of God"1:”—if by that “ exp'eri-
“ mental knowledge,” which he d^fcribed as
being “ alone true Chriftianity,” by that
“ fpiritual fenfation, that divine confcioufnefs,
“ that witnefs of God, which is more and
“ greater than ten thoufand human witneffes1’,”
he meant, what his brother defined himfelf to
mean, by the teflimony of the Spirit j namely,
k King Edward’s Catechifm. Enchir. Theolog. vol. i.
P-30-
1 The Eev. Charles Wefley.
m See J. Wefley’s Sermons, vol. i. p. 43, 44.
n Ibid. p. 36.302 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
“ an inward impreffion on the foul, whereby
“ the Spirit of God immediately and diredtly
" witneffes to my fpirit, that I am a child of
“ God, that Jefus Chrifi hath loved me, and
“ given himfelf for me : that all my fins are
" blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to ,,
“ God0:”—we muft be allowed to demand for
the dodirine much ffronger proofs both from
Scripture and from our Church, than any
which have hitherto been offered; and mean-
while to proteft againfl: the accufation as un-
founded, uncharitable, and unjuft.
At the fame time I have no fcruple in af-
ferting, that thofe ftrong and vivid impulfes,
which are fometimes defcribed as the effedfc of
the Spirit; the communications which he is
faid to make to the eyes and ears of the in-
fpired; the “ inexpreffible light with which
“ he fuddenly furrounds them and the rap-
turous and ecftatic vifions, with which he is
faid to illuminate their minds; “ giving,” fays
Wefley, “ now, as aforetime, remiffion of fins
“ and the gift of the Holy Ghofi, even to us
" and to our children; yea, and that always
“ fuddenly, as far as I have known, and often
" in dreams or in the vifions of Godp;” refem-
° See J. Wefley’s Sermons, vol. i. p. 152, 165.
p See Wefley’s Journals, N°.V. p. 28. VII. p. 100. Ill,
p. 60,61.not perceptible,	3 0 3
ble left the ibber promifes of Scripture, than the
wild and fanciful dreams of Pagan fuperftition.
The teftimony of the Spirit, which thofe pro-
mifes inftru<$t the humble Chrifiian to expert,
is of a compofed and tranquil chara&er. It is
to fill him with comfort and calm joy in be-
lieving; it is to give him “the peace of God
“which pafleth all underftanding:” it is to
make him “ rejoice in hope of the glory of
“ Godq:” it is in a word to infufe into his foiil
that principle of harmony, which was com-
municated to the contending elements of the
world; when the earth, which had been
" without form and void,” was clothed with
beauty and fertility by the overfhadowing in-
fluence of the Spirit; and darknefs fled from
the deep, as he “ moved upon the face of the
“ waters.”
“ They that pretend to, thefe heights,” ob-
ferved the pious and eloquent Bithop Taylor,
in language, which in the following century
might have feemed dire&ed againft the pre-
tenfions of Methodifm ; “ They that pretend
“ to thefe heights call them the fecrets of the
“ kingdom; but they are fuch which no man
“ can deferibe; fuch which God hath not re-
“ vealed in the publication of the Gotpel;
“ fuch for the acquiring of which there are no
<1 Rom. xv. 13. Phil. iv. 7. Rom. v. 2..304 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
“ means prefcribed, and to.which no man is
“ obliged, and which are not in any man’s
power to obtain: fuch which it is not l>awful
to pray for or defire, and concerning which
“ we fhall never be called to an account.”
“ This we are fure of, that many illufions have
“ come in the likenefs of vifions; and abfurd
fancies under the pretence of raptures ; and
“ what fome have called the fpirit of prophecy
“ hath been the fpirit of lying; and contem-
plation hath been nothing but melancholy ;
“ and unnatural lengths and ftillnefs of prayer
“ hath been a mere dream and hypochondriacal
.** devotion, and hath ended in pride, or »jde-
fpair, or fome fottifh and dangerous tempta-
tion.” “ I will not fay,” he adds, “ that,all
“ violences and extravagances of a religious
“ fancy are illufions; but I fay, that they are
“ all unnatural, not hallowed by the warrant
“ of a revelation, nothing reafonable, nothing
“ fecure. I am not fpre that.they ever confift
“ with humility; but it is confefled, that they
“ are often produced by felf-love, arrogancy,
“ and the great opinion others have of us., I
f will not judge the condition of thofe perfons,
“ who are faid to have fuffered thefe extraor-
“ dinaries ; for I know not the circumftances,
v“ or caufes, or attendants, or the effedts, or
“ whether the dories be true, that make re-
“ port of them ; but I fhall only advife, thatnot perceptible.	3 o 5
*' we follow the intimation of our blefled Sa-
“ viour, that we tit down in the loweft place,
“ till the Matter of the feaft comes, and bids
“ us tit up higher. If we entertain the inward \f
“ man in the purgative and illuminative Way,
“ that is, in actions of repentance, virtue, and
** precife duty, that is the fureft way of uniting
“ us to God, whilft it is done by faith and
“ obedience; and that alfo is love; and in
“ thefe peace and fafety dwell. And after we
“ have done our work, it is not diferetion in a
" tervant to haften to his meal, and fnatch at
“ the refrethment of vifions, unions, and ab-
“ ftradtions ; but firft we mutt gird ourfelves,
“ and wait upon the Matter, and not fit down
“ ourfelves, till we all be called at the great
“ fupper of the Lamb. It was therefore an
“ excellent defire of St. Bernard, who was as
likely as any to have fuch altitudes of fpe-
“ culation, if God had really difpenfed them
“ to perfons holy, phantaftick, and rehgious:
“ I pray God grant to me peace of fpirit, joy
“ in the Holy Ghoft, to compaffionate others
“ in the midfl: of my mirth, to be charitable in
“ fimplicity, to rejoice with them that rejoice,
and to mourn with them that mourn : and
u with thefe I (hall be content. Other exalta-
“ tions of devotion I leave to Apoftles and
“ apoftolick men : the high hills are for the
“ harts and the climbing goats, the ftony
x306 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
“ rocks and the recedes of the earth for the
“ conies
* In ihort, that the operation of the Holy
Spirit is of that perceptible kind, which the
Enthufiaft imagines, is an opinion, which the
Scriptures do not appear to warrant: whilfl:
the man, who, from the evidence of his feel-
ings alone, believes that he is under the influ-
ence of the Spirit, is in extreme danger of de-
ceiving himfelf, and has no ground for ex-
pelling that he (hall be believed by others,
1. He is likely to deceive himfelf: for not-
withftanding the aflertion of the Enthufiaft,
that “ he wants no other evidence than that
“ divine confcioufnefs, that witnels of God;
“ which is more and greater than ten thoufand
“ human witnefles5 :” that which he conceives
to be the working of the Holy Spirit, may be
nothing ehe than the efle<3: of ftrong conftitu-
tional feelings; or of an overheated and dis-
ordered imagination; or of a weak and dif-
tempered body ; or of high animal fpirits ;
or of youthful giddinefs and inexperience ; or
of popular applaufe; or of pride, vanity, indo-
lence, or felf-love; or it may be even nothing
elfe than the fuggeftion of the evil fpirit him-
felf.
r Bifhop Taylor’s Life of Chrift, part i. feft. 5.
18 We (ley's Sermons, vpl. i. p. 36.not perceptible.	307
V- For fuch, on the one hand, is the weaknefs
of human nature, that we are too prone to
flatter and “ commend ourfelves,’? when we
have no reafon to expeiSl the divine approba*
tion. “ The heart of man,” fays Calvin,- “ has
f‘ fo many retreats of yanity, abounds in fo
f* many fecret abodes of falfehood, is oyer*
“ fpread with fuch guileful hypocrify, that it
“ often deceives itfelf; and experience fliows;
“ that the reprobate are fometimes moved
(t with the fame feelings as the eledt are, fo
** that in their own judgment they differ no*
" thing from the ele&V’ Thus we are warn*
ed by a Prophet, that fC man’s heart is deceit*
“ ful above all things1':” and the parable of
the proud Pharifee may teach us, that a man
may (t trull in himfelf that he is-righteous,’’
and may find in his heart to thank God that
he is better than other men, and yet not be
** juftified” in the fight of Godx,
Whilft, on the other hand, fuch are the ap*
tifices of the evil fpirit, that in order toaccom-
plilh his malicious purpofes againft our happi-
** '
* Tot vanitatis receffus faabet, tot mendacii latebris
1'catet cor humanum, tarn fraudulenta hypocrifi obtedtpm
eft, ut fpipfum faep.e fallat., ., .Experientia oftendit repror
bos interduip fimiJi fere fenfp atque eleftos affici, ijt pe
fuo quidem jndieio quicqu.am ab eleftis differant, Caly,
Jnji. Jib. id, cap. ii, fed. 10, 11,
» .Jer, jfvii, 9,	x Luke xvjii. 9,
X 2308	The Operations of the Holy Ghojt
nefs, he can be “ transformed into an angel of
“ light yj” in other words, he can aflume a
holy appearance to deceive us, as he did when
he tempted our Saviour, and endeavoured to
dazzle and delude his underftanding by citing
paflages from Scripture. That we have to “ wref-
fc tie againft*” this malicious and crafty enemy,
and that he employs all his ability to ruin us, are
truths, concerning which the Scriptures give
us ample reafon to be allured. And there is
perhaps no artifice, by which he may bethought
more likely to work on the generality of minds,
efpecially on the more feeble and unguarded,
than by feducing them into a belief, that his
motions and fuggeftions are thofe of the Holy
Spirit. St. Paul warns us of fome, again#
whom, “ becaufe they received not the love of
“ truth, but had pleafure in unrighteoufnefs,”
God permitted Satan to exercife fuch power,
as to make them “ truft in ftrong delufion,
<( and believe a lie*.”
To the prevalence of fuch delufion in earlier
times, whether it be afcribed to the weaknefs
of human nature, unable to withftand the af-<
fault of its domineering paffions, or to the more
myfterious interpofition of diabolical agency,
the hiftory of the Church bears melancholy
r 2 Cor. X1./4.	* 1 Pet. v. 8.
a a TheflT. ii. 11.not perceptible.	309
and convincing teftimony. That it hath not
ceafed in the prefent day, (the obfervation
may be invidious, but it is not ralhly alleged,)
the hiftory of Methodifm teftifies; and the
acknowledgments of its profellors authorife
and eftablilh the allegation.
I employ the language of the Founders. of
the fe6t, when I affirm, that many of their ex-
periences, wherein they reprefent themfelves
as fenfibly wrought upon by the Spirit, and
which they fometimes defcribe as “ the moffc
“ infallible of all proofs6,” judging it “ an eafy
“ thing for a Ipiritual man to know when the
¥ Holy Spirit makes an impreffion upon his
“ foulc,” and that “ it is as eafy to diftinguifh
“ the witnefs of the Spirit from prefumption,
“ as day from night, or light from darknefs, or
“ the light of a liar or glimmering taper from
“the light of the noonday fund“often
“ proceeded from the ftate and difpofition of
“ the body, the temperament of the blood and
“animal fpirits';” that they were “mere
'.V empty dreams of an heated imagination;”—
were “ genuine inftances of enthuliafm —
were “ groundlefs fpeculations; — were vain
“ and blalphemous conceits—were “ plain
b Lavington on Enthuliafm, part ii. p. 34.
c Whitefield’s Works, vol. iv. p. 13.
d Wefley’s Sermons, vol. i. p. 160.	1
c Lavington on Enthuliafm, part ii. p. 106.
4S l (5 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
“ proofs that the pretenders to infpiration
“ were under the full dominion of the fpirit of
tc pride and of lies•”—were “ wiles of the'
*■* devil,” who, for the purpofe of deluding
them, “ was mimicking God’s work, and had
“ transformed himfelf into an angel of light1.”
“ I find,” faid Whitefield of the Moravian
brethren, (and wherefore is it not as applicable
to his own followers ?) “ that they are as
“ weak and fallible as thofe, whom they judge
" not to have drunk fo freely of the Spirit of
“ Chfili6.” Whilfi: Welley, after enumerating
the lingular bleffings conferred upon his par-
tisans, and reprefentifig Almighty God as
** having wrought a new thing in the earth in
their favour,” thus uftfefervedly declares the
fruits of Methodiftn: “ It brought forth error
“ in ten thoufand fhapes, turning many of the
“ fimple out of the way. It brought forth,
“ enthnfiafm, imaginary infpiration, afcribing
** to the all-ivife God all the wild, abfnrd, J'elf-
“ MConJiJlent dreams of an heated imagination.
“ It brought forth pride, robbing the Giver of
every good gift of the honour due to his
“ name. It brought forth prejudice, evil-fur-
A I ^ t	*
f See Wefley’s Journals, vol. v. p. 81. vol. iv. p. 54,
p. 55, 66. vol. v. p. 71. and Whitefield’s Works, vol. i.
P-5°-
s Whitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 444.:	* not perceptible.	311
#' mifing, cenforioufnefs, judging and con->
f‘ demning one another: all totally fubverfive
“ of that brotherly love, which is the very
“ badge of the Chrillian profeffion ; without
“ which whofoever liveth, is counted dead be-
” fore God. It brought forth anger, hatred,
malice, revenge, and every evil word and
“ work: all direful fruits, not of the Holy
V Spirit, but of the bottomlefs pitb”
And let it not be fuppofed, that fuch delu-
fion has been confined to thofe inferior mem-
bers, who from fome uncommon weaknefs of
Cqnftitution, from fome peculiar feeblenefs of
intellect, from fome defeat in mental cultiva-
tion, or from that propenfity, which inclines
inferior minds to follow the guidance of their
fuperiors, may have been more fignally expof-
ed to this infatuation. It was the confeffion
of one, endowed with powers both conftitu-
tional and intelle&ual, greater than thole,
which fall to the ordinary lot of mortality;
whofe mind had been llored with the acquire-
ments of education; to whofe lips, as to thole
of “ an angel of God1,” thoufands liftened
with enthufiafm while he was living, and to
whofe fpirit, as to that of a man of apoftolical
and faintlike virtues*, thoufands and ten thou-
h Wefley’s Sermons, vol. vi. p. 66.
» See Lavington, part ii. p. 15.
k Evangelical Magazine, Nov. 1808. p. 473,474.	*
X 4312 The Operations of the Holy Ghoji
fands are obedient, now that he is dead ; it
was the confeffion of him, with whom (if his
own affertions are to be credited1) “ the Lord’s
“ dealing was fomewhat out of the common
" way whofe “ fermons were attended with
“ great manifeftations of the divine prefence;”
to whofe <£ minifterial office God fet his feal
" in every placewho “ experienced daily
“ teachings of the blefled Spirit, and carried
on conftant communion with the moll high
“ God and the ever-blefied Jefuswho had
tc affuredly felt, who knew that it was Jefus
“ Chrift that revealed himfelf to his foul
who “ knew and was allured that God fent
“ forth to him ,his light and his truth;” to
whom “ it was revealed that Satan was grieved
“ at his fuccefs who " felt every day more
** and more of the divine prefence and affift-
<f ancewho was “ directed in his defigns
“ by the fpecial interpofition of Providence,”
and was endowed in the execution of them
" with power from above Who ‘£ leaned on
“ the bofom of his Saviour, and was carried
“ in the arms of his love from morning to
“ night;” “ talked with God as a man talketh
“ with his friend,” and fpoke with the de-
“ monflration of the Spirit, and as the Spirit
1 Whitefield’s Works, yol. iv. p. 45. vol. i. p. 259, 44,
120, 22§vnot perceptible.	313
“ gave him utterance who “ felt the blefled
“ Spirit daily filling his foul and body, as
“ plainly as he felt the air which he breathed,
“ or the food which he ate ;” who “ daily ex-
“ perienced the outgoing and incoming of the
“ blefled Spirit in the fandtuary of his heart;”
who “ felt the great God in a glorious manner
“ filling and overlhadowing his foul,” and was
“ often filled with the whole Godhead, with
“ the fulnefs of Godm:—it was his frank and
voluntary confeflion, that “ imagination had
“ mixed itfelf with his work 5” that “ by fe-
“ veral of his affertions on thefe topics he had
“ given too much occafion for refledtion
that “ his miftakes had been too many, and
f‘ his blunders too frequent, to make him fet
“ up for infallibility11.” “ I came foon into the
“ world,” he fays; “ I have carried high fail,
“ whilft: running through a whole torrent of
“ popularity and contempt; and by this means
“ have fo.metimes been in danger of overfet-
“ ting.” “ I know too much of the devices of
“ Satan, and the. defperate wickednefs and de-
“ ceitfulnefs of my own heart not to be fenfir
See Account of God’s Dealings with the Rev. G.
Whitefield, feft. 3. Whitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 315,
458, 195, 203, 166, 193, 228, 237, 466. Lavington on
Enthufiafm, part i. p. 30, 61, 66, 67,34,31.
n Whitefield’s Remarks on .a Pamphlet, entitled, The
Enthufiafm of Methodifts, &c. p. 43, 33, 40. -314	The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
ble, that I am a man of like paflions with
“ others; and confequently may have miftaken
“ nature for grace, imagination for revelation,
*•* and the fire of my own temper for the pure
“ and facred flame of holy zeal which cometh
“ from God’s altar0.” “ Alas! Alas! in how
“ many things have I judged and aCted wrong!
tf I have been too rath and hafty in giving
“ characters both of places and perfons ! I
** have too much made imprefiions, without
u the written word, my rule of aCting. Being
'‘ fond of Scripture language, I have often
*f ufed a tlyle too apoltolical, and at the fame
“ time I have been too bitter in my zeal.
“ Wild-fire has been mixed with it; and I find I
“ have frequently written and fpoken too much
“ in my own Spirit, when I thought I was writ-
ins and (’peaking intirely by the affiance of
“ the Spirit of God*”
, That one, who had made fuch an open and
unequivocal avowal of his delufions, fhould
have neverthelefs perfevered in fetting up his
own inward feelings as the criterion of fpiritual
communications, mutt excite our aftonithment,
if it be true : that he did perfevere in aflerting
his claim to fuch communications upon the
fame ground and in fimilar language,, is a fad:,
, o Works, vol. iv. p. 127.
J> Remarks, fyc. p. 35.315
not perceptible.
the evidence of which we have not far to feek:
and it may warn us of the danger of encou-
raging that enthmfiaftic temper, which, at the
very inftant that it may flatter itfelf with the
belief, that it is correcting its former extrava-
gancies, is adminiftering freth materials to its
rapacious appetite, and feeding itfelf with new
deflations.
Liable then as we all are to be deluded, the y
man who feels in himfelf thofe inward mo-
tions, which he is willing to be perfuaded are
the workings of the Holy Spirit, would do well
to be cautious how he inconfiderately gives
way to the evidence of his feelings; inttead of
trying by a lurer teft, whether they may not
be afcribed to the pafiions or infirmities of his
nature* or to the fuggeftions of his crafty
enemy the devil, and not to the gracious influ-
ence of the Spirit of God.
2. Nor, again, has fuch a man reafonable
eaufe for expecting to be believed by others,
even if he admit his own inward feelings for
fufficient evidence to himfelf. “ Monftrare
*. nequeo, fentio tantum,” is an appeal, which
as every man, as well as Whitefieldmay ar-
bitrarily advance, fo no man can reafonably
require to be admitted.
. 1 For if the appeal be once admitted, when is
s W)?rks, vol. iv. p. 166.8l6 The Operations of the Holy Gho/i
it to be rejected? if the claim be once allowed;
when is it to be denied ? if we once concede
our aflent to the unfupported teftimony of him,
who arrogates to himfelf the fandtion of the
Spirit; when are we confiftently to withhold
it ? The pretentions of one man, abftradtedly
confidered, have as fair a demand upon our
credit as thofe of another: and we muft not
only believe, that the Founders of Methodifm
were adting under this divine influence, be-
eaufe they affirm it, when they were belieing
their vows of ordination, by “ bringing their
“ own dreams and phantafies into the Churchr,”
and fowirig in it diflenfions, inftead of promot-
ing quietnefs and peace ; by violating the ec-
clefiaftical order of the realm, and by renounc-
ing the authority of thofe, to whom were
committed the charge and government over
them, each claiming to himfelf an apoftolical
commiffion, and each aceuling the other of
preaching a new gofpel; and that their fol-
lowers were adting under the impulfe of the
fame heavenly monitor, becaufe they alfo
affirm it, when their very fuperiors pronounced
them to be under the full dominion of an
heated imagination, or of the fpirit of pride
and of lies : but we muft for the fame reafon
admit, as divine infpiratioris, thofe manifold
. ** Homilies, p. 395.not perceptible	& 17
extravagances, which at various times have
thrown difgrace on the profeflion of the Gof-
pel, and brought the very operations of the
Holy Spirit into queftion; and muft refer to
the fame facred, pure, and unpolluted fource
the fanciful pretenfions, which fanctify the
ritual of the Papifts, and have canonifed the
faints of the Romith calendar’; the pretentions
of the Herefiarch Manichceus to illuminations
from the Paraclete4; the vain and arrogant
prefumption of Montanus11; the rapturous vi-
fions of the Meflalians*; the myftic conceits
of Molinos, the ecftafi.es of Loyola, the illumi-
nations of Bourignon, the delirious dreams of
Swedenborg, the ignorant fanaticifm of Foxy,
and the ravings of Southcott and of Brothers ;
the profligacy and feditious enormities of
Hacket the Englith\ and Boccold the Ger-
man a, impoftor; the gloomy yet ardent bigo-
try, which inftigated Ravaillac and Felton to
a<fts of aflafilnation; the cool hypocrily, which
veiled the judicial murder committed by Crom-
_ i
*	See Homily for Whit-Sunday, part 2.
*	Jortin’s Remarks, vol. ii. p. 114.
*	Lavington on Enthufiafm, part i. Introd.
x Moflieim, Cent. iv. part ii. c. 24. See Ridley’s Ser-
mons on the Holy Ghoft, Serm. iv.
y Moflieim, Cent. xvii. fe6t. ii. part 1, 2.
z Collier’s Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, part ii. b. 7.
*	Mo{hpim, Cent. xvi. fe£t. iii. part ii. c. 3.$18 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
well and his Puritans; the blafphemous im*
pieties of many of the Bifhops of Rome; and
even the audacious impofture, the cruelty, and
the fenfuality, of the pretended Prophet of
Arabia. Mahomet arrogated to himfelf a more
abundant portion of the Spirit, than he allowed
to Him, to whom alone it had been given
“ without meafure;” while “ in the cave of
(( Hera,” as the fareaftic hiftorian has remarked
with more than his cuftomary juftice, “ he
“ confulted the fpirit of fraud or enthufiafm',
whofe abode was not in the heavens, but in
“ the mind of the prophet11,”
, If now in thefe and in numberlefs parallel
cafes, (for falfehood ever delights to veil her
deformity under the garb of truth,) unfounded
pretentions have been advanced to celeftial in*
fpiration ; if the artful have aflerted that plea
for the purpofe of deceiving others, and if the
weak have admitted it as the inftrument of
their own delufion: furely we have ample
reafon to withhold our aflent front every un-
fupported claim; nay, we have caufe to fum*
mon fufpicion to the aid of wifdom, whenever
fucb a claim is alleged; left our unguarded
fimplicity be deceived by enthufiafm or hypo-
erily; enthufiafm, whofe very fincerity will
infpire her with zeal, at the fame time that it
b Gibbon, chap, 1. vol. ix, p, a6o, 8vo, ed.not perceptible.	31$
will aft as an inftrument, to increafe the num-
ber of her converts; and hypocrify, that fpe*
cious fiend,
Whjph neither man nor angel can difoern,
—the only evil, that walks
Invifible,except to God alonec,	....
In cafes indeed of infinitely inferior import-
ance, and much more then in matters of this
high import, the teftimony borne by any one
to his own charafter has a reafonable ten-
dency to excite fufpicion in the minds of
others. That ielf-love, which is a prime ingre-
dient in our compofition, and which prompts
us to the exercife of the firft law of nature,
felf-prefervation, fometimes difclofes itfelf in
a lefs creditable form ; and teftifies its domi-
nion by ftimulating us to approve and com-
mend ourfelves, too often without the warrant
of reafon. This infirmity, which we feel in
ourfelves, both Scripture and experience juftify
us in attributing to others : in fufpefting the
poffibility at leaf: of felf-deception, even where
fincerity may be allowed, and in admitting
felf-commfendation with caution.
To the propriety of caution in fuch a cafe
our Saviour exprefled his affcnt: “ If I bear
w witnefs to myfelf,” laid he; “ my witnefs is
" not true*1.” At the fame time he laid down'
& Paradife JLott,
d Jchnv. 31,34 o The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
the principle, on which his own claim to the
character he afferted, was to be tried and de*
termined ; when he added, “ The works that
“ the Father hath given me to finifh^ the fame
" works that I do, bear witnefs of me that the
“ Father hath lent me.” And the fame cri-
terion he propofed for judging of the opera-
tions of the Spirit, by referring to his fruits
and his effetfts.
When the Holy Ghoft defcended upon the
Apoftles at the day of Pentecoft, his coming
was with the found of a rufhing mighty, wind/
which filled all the houfe, where they were
fitting : and he fat upon each of them in the
fhape of cloven fiery tongues. The effect was
in proportion to the greatnefs of the infpira-
tion : for from that time the Apoftles were
indued with a power of fpeaking languages,
with which they had been till then unac-
quainted, and of performing the moft wonder-
ful miracles, which before that ‘time they
might have, which indeed they had, attempted
in vain.
But even in thofe early feafons of more
abundant infpiration, “ fuch a coming” (as one
of our old Prelates hath obferved) “ was rare
“ and nothing ufual with the Holy Ghoft;
“ which is an invifible Spirit, and cometh for
“ the moft part invifibly. So faith Job, He
“ cometh to me, and I fee him not; he paf-321
not perceptible.
" feth hard by me, and I perceive him not. It
“ was thus here for this once: but after, he came
** upon Cornelius and his company, and after
“ that upon the twelve at Ephefus; but on
“ neither that aught could be feen or heard,
“ only difcerned by fome effe<il he wrought
“ in them. He that beft knew the Spirit, fets
" us down the manner of his coming: Spiritus
■‘fpirat, fed nefcis unde aut quo: He doth
4c come and infpire; but how or which way,
“ that know you notV’
The influence of the Spirit in thefe latter
days is lefs powerful: it is lefs fenfibly felt by
thofe who enjoy it, and it is lefs ftrikingly ob-
vious to others. For after’ the previous re-
marks, I prefume to queftion the corre&nefs
of our modern Enthufiafts in their narrations
both of thole violent and extraordinary inlpi-
rations> which have been vouchfafed to in-
dividuals, and of thofe public teftimonies, by
which God has been faid to confirm the mi-
niliry of the preachers : when, as they have
defcribed it, “ moll remarkable outpourings of
“ the Spirit have been feen in,their aflemblies;”
when “ the power of the Lord has come
“ mightily upon the congregation, and the
“ Holy Ghofl: has overlhadowed them when
. e Bifhop Andrews; Fir ft Sermon of, the Holy, Ghoft,
Works, p. 6o<Si	t,
y322 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl
“ the Spirit has come down like a mighty
“ ruthing wind, and carried all before it
when “ the tlately fteps of their glorious. Em-
“ manuel have been feen in his fan&uary, and
“ his glory has Ihone with exceeding bright-
“ nefswhen “ God has, as it were, bowed
“ the heavens, and come downwhen “ the
“ flame of love has gone before him, the rocks
“ have been broken in pieces, and the moun-
" tains have flowed down at his prefence
when “ their prayers have been accompanied
“ by an abiding univerfal thock; and a violent
“ impetuous power has fuddenly come on the
“ great congregation, overrunning all oppofi-
“ tion ; and the place has been almofl; rent by
“ the power and prefence of Godf.”
I truft, that we may realbnably withhold
our aflent from narratives, which lay claim to
fuch diftinguilhed vifitations of the Deity; and
doubt whether the operations of the Spirit
have ever produced fo violent and fenfible an
effect, or have been attended by fuch over-
powering fymptoms, fince the apollolical age y
even if defcriptions fo highly wrought can be
properly applied to the vifitations, vouchfafed
to the Apoftles themfelves. But whilfl; we he-
f See Whitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 184, 201, 224, 202,
222, 337, 409, 312, &g. &c. Wefley’s- Journals^ N°» III.
p. 29. N°. IX. p. 18. Sermons, vol.iv. p. 155.323
mi perceptible.
litate in giving credit to fuch perceptible and
vifible effe&s in the prefent day, we may be-
lieve that he is not the lefs certain in his in-
fluence, nor the lefs manifefted by his effects.
What are thefe effects of the Spirit, it were
impOffihle to inquire at atiy cOhfiderable length.
Btif cOWfid’ering the extreme danger, even by
the avOWal of the advocates of experiences
thCnifelves, “ of mi-flaking emotions of the
“ affections, for experimental and practical
“ godliriefsg,” it may be defirable to notice
with as mrich brevity as poffible feme things
which are not, and feme things Which are, to
be aferibed to his influence.
No imparity of any kind can1 proceed from
him ; for he: is “ the Spirit of holinefsiH—-no1
hypocrify, nor fraud, nor falsehood* Of any
kind can proceed from1 him; for he is 1 - the
“ Spirit of truth1rio pride, no vanity, no
bodfling, no oftentation, no prefumptuous con-
fidence in our own feCurity, can be the efFeCt
of the Spirit-; for he “ refiftetli the proud, and
<e givefh;gfacC to the humblek:”—no disobedi-
ence, no contempt of lawful order and autho-
rity, can' be- the work of the Spirit; fot « he is
“ riot the author of confution,_but of peace;
s Minutes of Conference, 1800. p. 35. Outram’s Ex-
traSk*	• •;! T*
h Rom. i. 4.	i John xVi
1- Pfetr v. 5. •	'
r 2324 The Operations of the Holy Ghojt
“ as in all churches of the faints—no ha*
tred, or malice; no Hander, or evil-fpeaking ;
no murder, nor any adt or thought of revenge,
can be fuggefted by him 5 for he is the Spirit
of peace, of mercy, of patience, of confolatiop,
and of love1":—-in a word, he cannot be fup-
pofed to influence us to do any thing unrigh-
teous,, any thing at all inconfiftent with the
will and word of God 5 for he is the Spirit of
righteoufnefsn.
And thus by confidering what things are
not the effects of the Holy Spirit, we are led
to underftand on the other hand thofe that are.
Purity of heart, fhown by purity of words and
actions; true devotion and piety to God, and
the walking honeftly, and the fpeaking of
truth every man with his neighbour; lowlinefs
and meeknefs; “ not to think of himfelf more
“ highly than a man ought to think, but to
“ think foberly, according as God has dealt to
“every man the meafure of faith0:” obedi-
ence and fubmiflion to “ them that have the
“ rule over1”’ us, to lawful and conftituted
authorities both in church and ftate: mild nets,
gentlenefs,and forbearance; and charity, which
is approved by our thinking and fpeaking fa-
* 1 Cor. xiv. 13.
« 1 Theff. v. *3. Jam. iii. 17. Rom. xv. 5. .John xvi. 7,
a Cor. xiii. 11.
n Eph. v. 9.	0 Rom. xii. 3.	. P Heb. xiii. 17.325
’>	not perceptible.
vourably of our neighbour, by a willingnefs to
“ do good' unto all men, and efpecially unto
them who are of the houfehold of faith,” by
forgiving thofe, who have injured or offended
us, as we would hope for forgivenefs of our
offences at God’s hand, and by endeavouring
as much as lieth in us, to live peaceably with
all men: to fpeak in one word, Faith; not an
unfruitful alfent to the truths of the Gofpel,
but a lively and an active faith in Chrift; fuch
a faith, as in the language of St. Paul, “ work-
“ eth by love,” or, as St. James expreffes it,
“ fhows itfelf” by the works of a religious and
charitable life; thefe are the moll undoubted
effects of the Holy Spirit. My brethren, “ let
“ no man deceive you. He that doeth high-
“ teousness, is righteous q.” And he who
thus labours to do, what is commanded by the
Spirit of God in the written word of God,
may then, and then only, be affured, that he
d,rinks of the living water of the Spirit; and
may look forward with humble and joyful
hope to the inheritance, purchafed by the
blood of Chrift for his faithful followers, in
the eternal kingdom of his Father.
Thither may Almighty God vouchfafe to
bring us all by the fan&ification of his Spirit,
and for the fake and through the mediation of326 The Operations of the Holy Ghojl &c.
his Son! To whom, with Thee, O Father, and
Thee, O Holy Ghoft, three perfons in one
Godhead, be all honour and glory, in all
churches of the faints, now, henceforth, and
for ever. Amen.DISCOURSE VI.
John iii. 5.
Jefus anfiyered, Verily, verily, Jfay unto thee, Except
a man he lorn of water and of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God.
At the time that Almighty God firft feledted
the Jews for his peculiar people, he inftituted
the rite of circumcifion, whereby they were
to be admitted into covenant with him. This
inftitution was defigned not only for an out-
ward and vifible mark to diftinguilh thofe, who
profefled their belief in the true God; but at
the fame time for a memorial to remind them
of his covenant; and for a monument to in-
cite them to perform their part of the cove-
nant ; and for a token that God would perform
his part.
This inftitution, which was defigned for the
Jews as the chofen people of God, was ex-
tended to thofe ftrangers alfo, who became
profelytes to the true faith. But in addition328	Regeneration the
to this, another ceremony was appointed by
the Jews themfelves, derived, as they imagin-
ed, from the law of Mofes, and certainly
ftamped with the fan&ion of high antiquity.
Proud of their own peculiar fanftity, as the
eleft people of God, and regarding all the reft
of mankind as in a ftate of uncleannefs, they
would not admit converts into their church
without wafhing, to denote their being cleanfed
from their natural impurity. Profelytes, thus
purified and admitted into the Jewifli church
by baptifm, were faid to be regenerated, or
born again: nor was this a mere empty appel-
lation ; but being confidered dead to their
former relations, they became intitled to rights
and privileges, from which by nature they
were excluded.	- ..
The duration of God’s covenant with the
Jews being limited, the rite of circumcifion
was of courfe limited, and was to ceafe upon
the completion of God’s promife in the fending
of Chrift. God had now accompliftied his co-
venant with Abraham by fending that feed of
Abraham, in whom all the nations of the
earth were to be blefled. And as there was
no longer to be any diftin&ion in favour of
the Jews, the children of Abraham, above the
other nations of the world, the outward mark
of diftin&ion yeas no longer ufeful. Gdd was
now to thow no refpedt unto perfons, to theSpiritual Grace of Baptifm. 32Q
cireumeifed or to the uncircumcifed; but in
every nation, among the Gentiles as well as
among the Jews, he that feared God and
worked righteoufnefs was equally to he ac-
cepted with him.
But upon the introduction of the new co-
venant in Chrili, God was pleafed to inftitute
a new ceremony ; whereby mankind at large
were to be admitted into covenant with him,
as the Jews had been by the rite of circumci-
lion. For this purpofe Chrilt adopted baptifm,
which had been confecrated by his brethren
after the flelh to a fimilar ufe; and ordained it
as the rite, by which thole, who believed in
him^ fhould be admitted to the privileges of
his religion. “ He kept the ceremony,” fays
Bilhop Taylor, “ that they, who were led
“ only by outward things, might be the better
“ called in, and ealier enticed into the religion,
“ when they entered by a ceremony, which
“ their nation always ufed in the like cafes:
“ and therefore without change of the out-
“ ward aCt, he put into it a new fpirit, and
“ gave it a new grace and a proper efficacy:
“ he fublimed it to higher ends, and adorned
“ it with liars of heaven: he made it to lig-
“ nify greater myfteries, to convey greater blef-
“ lings, to conlign the bigger promiles, to
“ cleanfe deeper than the Ikin, and to carry
“ profelytes farther than the gates of the in-330
Regeneration the
“ ftitution. For fo he was pleafed to do in
“ the other facrament: he took the ceremony
“ which he found ready in the cuftora of the
ft Jews, where the Major-domo after the Paf-
“ chal fupper gave bread and wine to every
“ perfon of his family; he changed nothing of
“ it without, but transferred the rite to greater
“ myfteries,and put his own Spirit to their fign,
“ and it became a facrament evangelical1.”
It was to this facrament of baptifm, the in-
ftitution of which he was anticipating, that
our Saviour alluded> when he declared to the
Jewifli Rabbi, who was inquiring into the na-
ture of his doctrine, “ Verily, verily, I fay unto
“ thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot
(( fee the kingdom of Godand when, in
reply to a farther inquiry, he repeated his
former declaration, and Rated it in more li-
mited and fpecific terms, “ Verily, verily, I
“ fay unto thee, Except a man be born of wa-
tc ter and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into
“ the kingdom of God.” *It fhould appear, I
fay, that he was here alluding by anticipation
to the facrament of baptifm, which he intend-
ed to ordain; and to that fupernatural grace,
which was thereby to be conferred through
the inftrumentality of water, and by the
agency of the Holy Ghoft: adopting, not only
* Life of Chrift, part i. feft. 9.Spiritual Grace of Baptifm.	3 3 1
the ceremony itfelf, which he meant to exalt
to more noble and fpiritual purpofes ; but alfo
the very term, by which the Jews had de-
fcribed the change wrought in the baptized,
although he undoubtedly employed it, in a
fimilar indeed, but in an infinitely more dig-
nified fenfe. To the profelyte from heathen-
ifm to the Jewifh faith, baptifm had been a
death to his natural incapacities, and a new
birth to the civil privileges of a Jew : to him,
who fhould be admitted to a profeflion of the
Chriftian faith, and who fhould be “ born not
of blood, nor of the will of the flefh, nor of
“ the will of man, but of God b,” it was to be
a death unto fin, and a new birth unto thofe
fpiritual privileges, which fhould accompany
his deliverance “ from the bondage of corrup-
“ tion into the glorious liberty of the children
“ of God V The Jewifh profelyte had been
baptized with water : the Chriftian was to be
baptized, not with water only, but with the
Holy Ghoft. “ Baptifm,” fays the fame pious
and learned Prelate, to whom I juft referred,
afferting at the fame time the do&rine, and
explaining the ground of it; Baptifm is a
“ new birth, by which we enter into the new
“world, the new creation, the blefiings and
*■ fpiritualities of the kingdom. And this is
b John i. 13
e Rom. viii. 21.332	Regeneration the
“ the expreffion, which our Saviour himfelf
“ ufed to Nicodemus, Unlefs a man be born
“ of water and the Spirit. And it is by St.
.“ Paul called Xaurpov vsaXlyysvemat, the laver of
“ regeneration. For now we begin to be
“ reckoned in a new cenfus or account, God
“ is become our father, Chrift our elder bro-
“ ther, the Spirit the earned: of our inheritance,
“the Church our mother; our food is the
“ body and blood of our Lord ; faith is our
“ learning; religion our employment; and
“ our whole life is fpiritual, and heaven the
“ objedt of our hopes, and the mighty price of
“ our high calling. And from this time for-
“ ward we have a new principle put into us,
“ the Spirit of grace, which, belides our foul
“ and body, is a principle of adlion, of one na-
“ ture, and fhall with them enter into the por-
“ tion of our inheritance. And becaufe from
“henceforward we are. a new creation, .the
“ Church ufes to affign new relations to the
“ catechumens, fpiritual fathers and fufcep-
“ tors'1.”	.	..
I make no fcruple of conlidering the words
of our Saviour in the text, as indicating the
facrament of baptifm ; becaufe I believe, it
to be the dodtrine of the Bible, and I am fare
it is the dodtrine of the Church of England,
i Life of Chrift, part i. feet. ix.333
Spiritual Gface of Baptifm.
agreeably to which I conceive it to be the opi-
nion of the generality of the national clergy,
that by that facrament we are made ChriRians,
and are born anew of water and of the Holy
Spirit: or that I may exprefs myfelf in the
words of the late apoRolical Bifliop Wilfon,
that “ Regeneration or New-Birth is that fpi-
“ ritual change, which is wrought by the Holy
“ Spirit upon any' perfon in the ufe of bap-
“ tifm; whereby he is tranflated out of his
“ natural Rate, as a defcendant of Adam, to a
“ fpiritual Rate in Chrifl ; that is, to a Rate of
“ falvation; in which, if it is not his own
“ fault, he will be faved V’ This dodrine
howfcver is virtually at leaR, if not actually,
denied by fome miniRers of our Church : and
it is denied in terms, which charge the main-
tained of it with blindnefs and ignorance;
with innovating on evangelical truth; with
being oppofers of the doctrines of the Gofpel,
and patrons of a heathenifli fuperRition.
As it may be important to prove, beyond
the poflibility of a fufpicion to the contrary,
that the accufation, which is to be made the
fubjed of our prefent inquiry, implicates the
Church of England as well as the generality
of her miniflers, I fhall venture to fliow by the
addudion of feveral paflages in her Liturgy,
e Works, vol. iv. p. 411. 8vo,334
Regeneration the
which it might be otherwife fuperfluous to
fpccify before fuch an aftembly as the prefent,
that the doctrine of regeneration by baptifm
is molt dearly alTerted by her: or, in other
words, that “ fhe fuppofes in Itrid conformity
“ with the Scriptures,” not merely “ that
“ all real Chriftians are regenerate by God’s
“ Holy Spiritf,” by which I underhand all
thole, who live a Chriftian life; but that thofe
alfo are fo regenerated, to whom baptifm is
rightly adminiftered, notwithstanding by their
future conduit they may forfeit the privileges
of their new birth.
The office with which I begin is the mi-
niftration of public baptifm to infants, which
the prieft, having afcertained that the child
has not been baptized, is directed to commence
in this form : “ Dearly beloved; forafmueh as
“ all men are conceived and born in fin, and
** that our Saviour Chrift faith, none can enter
cc into the kingdom of God, except he be re-
“ generate and born anew of water and of the
<c Holy Ghoft; I befeeeh you to call upon
“ God the Father through our Lord Jefus
“ Chrift, that of his bounteous mercy he will
“ grant unto this child that thing which by
“ nature he cannot have, that he may be bap1*
“ tized with Water and the Holy1 Ghoft, and
f See Overton’s True Churchmen, &c. p. 109.Spiritual Grace of Baptifm. 335
'‘ be received into Chrift’s holy Church, and
“ be made a lively member of the fame.” I
give the addrefs at length, beeauie it is placed-
at the very opening of the miniftration of bap-
tifm, and: is defigned to draw the attention of
the hearers to the purpofe, for which baptifm1
is adminiftered. It confifts of two parts; an
admonition to the people to pray,, and a reaforr
for the admonition : what they are to pray
for, partly is, that " the child may be baptized
“ with water and the Holy Ghoft:” the reafora
for their being called on fo to pray, is, “ foraf-
“ much as Chrift faith, none can enter irttOr
“ the kingdom of God, except he be regene-
" rate and born anew of water and of the
“ Holy Ghoft.” Putting thefe pafiages to-
gether, what elfe is the prayer that the child
may be baptized with water and the Holy
Ghoft, than a. prayer that by baptifm he may
be born anew ?
Proceeding to the prayers, I do not reft on
that general expreflion in the firft, where we
pray God “ to wafh and fendtify the child with
“ the Holy Ghoft:” but going forward.to the
fecond, I beg your attention to that palfage,
wherein the prieft is directed to fey, (C Al-
“ mighty God, we call upon thee for this in-
“ fant; that he, coming to thy holy baptifm-,
may receive remifiion of his fins by fpiritual
“ regeneration.” The paflage need's no com-336	Regeneration the
ment: it will only be recollected that the ques-
tion is, what does the Church of England un-
derftand by our Saviour’s expreffion of being
born of water and of the Spirit ? Nor is it ne-
ceffary to make any other comment on the
following extracts, while I point to that prayer,
where we intreat Almighty God to “ give his
“ Holy Spirit to the infant about to be bap-
“ tized, that he may be born againto the
prayer of confecration, where we intreat him,
to “ fanCtify the water to the myltical wathing
° away of tin, and to grant that the child, now
“ to be baptized therein, may receive the ful-
“ nefs of his grace, and ever remain in the
“ number of his faithful and eleCt children
to the addrefs immediately following the bap-
tifmal rite, wherein the prieft calls on the con-
gregation to give thanks to Almighty God,
exprefsly for this caufe, “ feeing that the child
“ is regenerateand to the thankfgiving that
follows, wherein we are inftruCted to “ yield
“ thee hearty thanks, moft merciful Father,
“ that it hath pleafed thee to regenerate the
“ infant with thy Holy Spirit, and to receive
“ l^|m for thine own child by adoption.”
Thefe words muft be left to fpeak for them-
felves. They admit of no illuliration or ex-
planation. Language cannot be plainer.
Let us proceed to the miniftration of private
baptifm of children, where, it may be firft re-Spiritual Grace of Baptifm.	33 7
marked, that the prayers being the fame as in
the public baptifm, the fame expreffions of
courfe occur, as thofe already noticed. But
when the child, that has been privately bap-
tized, is admitted into the public congregation,
the do&rine is repeated under feveral new
forms of expreffion. The child, being borri
in original fin, is faid to “ be now by the laver
“ of regeneration in baptifm received into the
“ number of the children of God a prayer
is offered to Almighty God to “ give his Holy
“ Spirit to the infant,” not, as; in the former
office, that he may be born again, but that he:
“ being born again may continue God’s fer-
" vant the congregation is required to give
thanks to Almighty God, for that the child
“ is by baptifm regenerateand in the fame
form of prayer as before, thanks are yielded to
our moli merciful Father, for “ having pleafed
‘‘Jo regenerate the infant with his Holy Spi-
“ rit, and to receive him for his own child by
“ adoption.” This great variety of expreffions,
wherein the fame doctrine is fo repeatedly
conveyed, proves to my mind moft fatisfadto-
rily, how tenacious the Church of England is
of the dodtrine of baptifmal regeneration, and
how anxious fhe is to imprefs it upon her
members.
This variety we trace ftill farther exempli-
fied in the miniftration of baptifm to fuch as338	Regeneration the
are of riper years; where, although the feryice
is for the mod: part the fame as that for the bap-
tifm of infants, certain particulars are added,
not immaterial to be fpecified in this inquiry.
Thus inftead of the gofpel from the loth
chapter of St. Mark, which is adapted to the
condition of infants, but would be out of place
in the baptifm of adults, the patfage feledted is
the converfation, wherein Chrift aflerts to Ni-
codemus the necefiity of the new-birth ; and
which is made the foundation of the following
exhortation: “ Beloved, ye hear in this gofpel
“ the exprefs words of our Saviour Chrift, that
“ except a man be born of water and of the
“ Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of
“ God. Whereby ye may perceive the great
“ neceflity of this facrament, where it may be
“ had.” It muft be enough barely to quote
this paflage: it would be an infult upon any
man’s underftanding, to attempt to make it
clearer; and it would be fuperfluous to add
more from the fame office. If a bare ftate-
ment of this fa6t does not convince a man,
nothing, I am perfuaded, can convince him,
that it is by baptifm, in the judgment of the
Church of England, that a man is bom of
water and of the Spirit.
I am afraid of fatiguing and wearing out
your patience by multiplying evidences of
what muft already be fo clear. KnowingSpiritual Grace of Baptifm.	33Q
however as I do, and as every one at all ac-
quainted with the ftate of religion in this
country muft know, that there are perfons,
who, not content with denying the do&rine
of baptifmal regeneration themfelves, would
fairl fatten their herefy upon our Church, and
feduloufly labour to propagate it as hers; I
muft folicit your attention whilft I proceed to
thow by a ftill greater accumulation of proof
what her dodtrine is; and that the does not
confine her aflertion of it to her baptifmal
Otfices, but ditleminates it over other parts of
her Liturgy.
After being baptized, the firft religious duty
in Which the Church requires a child to be
engaged is the learning of his Catechifm ; and
here reminding him of the privileges to which
he was then admitted, the very firft thing that
the teaches him is, that “ in his baptifm he
“ was made a member of Chrift, a child of
** God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of
“ heaven.” In his baptifm he was made a
child of God! Made a child of God; not
formed fo at his natural birth, but made fo by
a fecond, a new, a fpiritual birth; made fo at
his baptifm. As he proceeds, however, the
do&rine is more fully and explicitly revealed
to him. He is then inftrudted, that a facra-
ment is “ an outward vifible fign of an inward
“ fpiritual grace given unto us;” and that it340	Regeneration the •
“ is ordained by Chrid himfelf, as a means
“ whereby we receive the fame” grace, “ and
“ as a pledge to alfure us thereof.” He is in-
drudfed, that baptifm is a facrament; and as
fuch, of courfe confiding of an outward and
vifible fign, and of an inward and fpiritual
grace :—he is indrudted, that the outward fign
is “ water, wherein the perfon is baptized in
“ the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
“ of the Holy Ghod;” and being interrogated,
what is its inward and fpiritual grace, he is in^
drudted to anfwer, “ a death unto fin, and a
“ new birth unto righteoufnefs; for being by
“ nature born in fin, and the children of
cc wrath, we are hereby made the children of
“ grace;” hereby, .that is, by baptifm ; neither
the argument nor the drudture of the fentence
can admit of any other interpretation. What
can be plainer ? Had it been the intention of
the Compofers of the Catechifm, as indeed I
doubt not it was, to aflert mod unequivocally
the dodtrine of baptifmal regeneration, how
could it have been more diredtly aderted ?.
Plainer language cannot be found. “ The
“ outward fign of baptifm is water: the fpi-
“ ritual grace is a death unto fin, and a new
“ birth unto righteoufnefs ; for we are hereby
“ made the children of grace.”
The next religious office, in which the child
is engaged, is the order of Confirmation; where-Spiritual Grace of Baptifm.	341
in he ratifies and confirms the vows made for
him by his fureties at baptifm. We have
here then of courfe an allufion to that holy in-
ftitution ; and as if it were cautiouily provided,
that the facramental character of the inftitu-
tion thould be kept fteadily in view, we are
reminded of the regeneration conveyed by it
to the baptized. The Bithop who prefides at
the office is thus directed to pray: “ Almighty
“ and ever-living God, who haft vouchfafed to
“ regenerate thefe thy lefvants by water and
the Holy Ghoft, and haft given unto them
‘‘ forgivenefs of all their fins; ftrengthen them,
“ we befeech thee, O Lord, with the Holy
“ Ghoft the Comforter.” The afiertion is
plain and diredf: the Church affirms by the
mouth of one of her Governors, and the af-
firms it in the moft folemn form of a prayer
to the almighty and ever-living God, that he
has vouchfafed to regenerate his fervants, who
come now to be confirmed, by water and the
Holy Ghoft: not, as hath been confidently
alleged, “ with a view to bleffings contingent
“ upon their future endeavoursg,” but with a
view to thofe, which at baptifm they actually
receive.
Hitherto we have feen frequent notice taken
s See Overton, p. 104.342	Regeneration the
by the Church of the dodrine of regeneration j
and it is remarkable, that the parts of the
Comrppn-Prayer-Book, which we have been
hitherto examining, have either an immediate
connection with, or an obvious relation to,
baptifm. And I think it no lefs remarkable,
that there is (if I am not ftrangely miftaken)
only one place more in the whole Book of
Common-Prayer, wherein the dodrine of re-
generation or the new-birth is noticed ; and
there it is noticed in perfed copforrpity with
her expreftions, that have been already cited,
as an event already patTed, and one in which
her members in general have partaken. In
her colled for Chriltmas-day, the Church is
led, from a mention of the birth of Chrift, to
mention the fpiritual birth of thofe who are
regenerated in him ; who are made partakers
of his nature, as he had condefcended to be^
corpe partaker of theirs. The colled runs in
.this form : “ Almighty God, who haft given
“ us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature
“ upon him, and as at this time to be born of
“ a pure virgin; grant that we, being re-
“ generate, and made thy children by adoption
“ and grace, may daily be renewed by thy
“ Holy Spirit.” The petition is exclufively
for daily renovation: the notice of our regene-
ration, and of our adoption as the children ofSpiritual Grace of Baptifm. 343
(Sod, .is retrofpe&ive; and is the grateful ac-
knowledgment of a bleffing, once conferred,
and not to be repeated.
From the Liturgy if we direct our attention
to the Articles of our Church, we fhall find a
perfect harmony maintained about the doc-
trine in queftion. In three of the Articles it
is incidentally «alluded to in fuch a manner, as
to fhow that the Church takes for granted the
connexion between baptifm and the new
birth. In the gth it is laid down, that “ the
“ original infection of nature doth remain, yea-
“ in them that are regenerated;” and by the
context it appears that by the regenerated are
intended “ they that believe and are baptized:”
in the 15th Chriftians univerfally are defignat-
ed by the appellation of thofe, “ who are bap-
“ tized and born again in Chriftand the-
l6th Article fpeaks of the condition of “ thofe,
“ who fall into fin after baptifmthat is, ac-
cording to an equivalent expreflion, after they
have “ received the Holy Ghoft.” But that,
which is more pointedly and more fully to our
purpofe, is the 27th Article, which exprefsly
fets forth the doctrine of the Church concern-
ing baptifm : “ Baptifm is not only a fign of
“ profeflion and a mark of difference, whereby1
u Chriftian men are difcerned from others that
“ are not chriftened ; but it is alfo a fign of
“ regeneration or new birth, whereby as by344	Regeneration the
“ an inftrument, they that receive baptifm
rightly are grafted into the Church; the
“ promifes of forgivenefs of fin, and of our
“ adoption to be the fons of God by the Holy
“ Ghoft are vifibly figned and fealed; faith is
“ confirmed and grace increafed by virtue of
“ prayer unto God.” I give the whole of the
defcription: the part of it, eflenfcal to our pre-
fent inquiry, exadtly correfponding with the
defcription in the Catechifm, which fpeaks of
the outward vifible fign and the inward fpi-
ritual grace, is, that baptifm, or the wathing
with water, is a fign of regeneration or new
birth; and that by it, as by an inftrument,
the promife of our adoption to be the fons of
God by the Holy Ghoft is vifibly figned and
fealed.
Such is the dodtrine of our Church with re-
gard to regeneration : nor does the confider it
as a matter of mere abftradt fpeculation; for
in conformity with this the requires her mi-
nifters to inftrudt the people, that “ the bap-
“ tifm of their children ought not to be de-
“ ferred longer than till the firft or fecond
V Sunday after their birthhj” “ left” (as one
of her moft highly efteemed BiftiopS hath ob-
ferved) “ importune and unneceflary delay
occafion that the child die before it is dedi-
h . Rubrick before the office of private Baptifm.Spiritual Grace of Baptifm. 345
“ cated to the fervice of God and the religion
“ of the Lprd Jefus; before it be born again,
“ admitted to the promife of the Gofpel, and
“ reckoned in the account of the fecond
“ Adam*.” And the accordingly pronounces,
what gives to the dodtrine, that I am main-
taining, its great practical importance, that
“ it is certain by God’s word, that children,
“ which are baptized, dying before they com-
“ mit actual tin, are undoubtedly faved.” As
to thofe, who do not die in infancy, the
teaches, that the privilege of falvation, thus
beftowed by God through the regeneration of
baptifm, is continued to them, if they grow
up in faith and obedience: if not, it is taken
from them, until they repent; for, as it is
affirmed in the ] 6th Article, “ the grant of
“ repentance is not to be denied to fuch as
“ fall into lm after baptifm. After we have
“ received the Holy Ghoft, we may depart
“ from grace given, and fall into fin ; and by
“ the grace of God we may arife again, and
“ amend our lives.”
I have thus ftated the feveral paflages in the
Liturgy and Articles, wherein our Church
notices regeneration, or the being born again.
I have not knowingly omitted one. And I
> Bifhop Taylor’s Advice to his Clergy. Enchir. Theol,
vol. ii. p. 380.346	Regeneration the
will now venture to lay, that I do not think
it poffible that a doubt can exift upon the mind
of any fair inquirer, with refpedt to the opi-
nion entertained by our Church on the quef-
tion of baptifmal regeneration. Indeed fo
unequivocal was her opinion upon this point
underftood to be, that when, after the reftora-
tion of the royal family and the regal govern-
ment in Charles the Second, it was enabled, that
thofe minffters, who had gained pofleffion of
any benefices during the rebellion, Ihould re-
linquilh their preferment, unlefs they con-
formed to the principles and dodtrines of the
Church of England, the Nonconformift Mi-
nifters, who quitted their flations, alhgned this
reafon, in common with others, for their non-
conformity ; that " the Church clearly teaches
“ the doctrine of real baptifmal regenerationk.”
It is therefore with, fome degree of pain and
furprife, that I fee any doubt of the inward
and fpiritual grace of baptifm expreflfed by a
living Minifter of our Efiablilhment, whole
moderation and Chrillian charity appear not
to be furpaffed by his piety and zeal1: and I
efteem it no gratuitous coneeffion, which is
made by the lefs gentle advocate of a party in
*
k Nonconformift’s Memorial, Introd. p. 39. See Bax-
ter’s Life, p.313, 327, 34a.
1 See Zeal without Innovation, p. 109.Spiritual Grace of Baptifm.	Z4f
the Church, that " the fpeaks of every child
“ that the has baptized, as regenerate, as a
" partaker of the privileges of the Gofpel, and
“as in fome fenfe called to a ft ate of falva-
“ tion.” But it is an uncharitable and a cruel
infinuation, if he means to charge thofe whom
he calls his opponents, with concluding hence,
“ that our Church knows of no diftindfion but
“ that between profefled Chriftians and pro-
“ fefled Heathens, Jews, &c. and that fhe
<£ really confiders all, who are her nominal
“ members, in fqeh a fenfe in a hate of lalva-
“ tion, as that they will efcape future punifh-
“ ment and obtain everlafting happinefs, what-
,f ever he their characters.” God forbid that
we fhould be juftly expofed to fo formidable
an accufation ! Let us rather truft, that whilft
with the Church, we maintain the regenerat-
ing efficacy of baptifm to thofe, who die before
they commit actual fin, with her alfo we con-
fider, in the language of the fame Author,
that “ none who have arrived at maturity and
“ are capable fubjects, are in fuch a fenfe
“ Chriftians, as that they will obtain happinefs
“ and heaven, except thofe who are influenced
“ by Chriftian principles and exhibit a Cbrif-
“ tian condudt; who are penitents, believers,
“ and habitual obfervers of God’s laws"1.”
m See Overton’s True Churchmen, p. 102,106,348	Regeneration the
I have dwelt longer upon this point, extra-
neous as it is to the fubjedl I have more im-
mediately in hand, and have multiplied proofs
to a greater extent than may appear neceffary
to thofe, who are contented to take the plain
declarations of our Church in their plain and
obvious meaning. To fuch perfons it may be
matter of no fmall aftonifhment, that one of
the Founders of Methodifmn, who uniformly
gloried in his fidelity to the doctrines of the
Church of England, declared that “ baptifmal
“ regeneration might with all our beft endea-
“ vours be ineffedtualaffirming of himfelf,
that “ though he had ufed all the means for
twenty years, yet he was not a Chriftian f ’
and adopting the authoritative language of
our Saviour, “■ Verily, verily, I muft be born
“ again.” To fuch perfons it muft be matter
of aftoniffiment, that the other great leader of
the fchifm, himfelf alfo a Minifter of the na-
tional Church, declared with inconceivable
effrontery, that “ he would as foon believe the
“ dodlrine of tranfubftantiation, as that all
“ people, who are baptized, are born again0;”
and pronounced with a fpirit of uncharitable-
nefs equal to his effrontery, that “ baptifmal
regeneration was the Diana of the prefent
n J. Wefley.
• Whitefield’s Eighteen Sermons, P.35X.Spiritual Grace of Baptifm.	349
clergy and of the prefent agep:” aground*
lefs (I fuppofe) and a wicked fuperftitjon, for
which, like the idolaters of Ephefus, or the
advocates of unaffifted, unenlightened reafon,
(for their conceits he alfo denominates, “ that
“ great and boafted Diana,”) we renounce the
articles of the Chriftian faith, which at our
baptifm we promifed to believe. Nor will it
be heard without furprife, mingled perhaps
with fome degree of indignation, that not only
among the deluded partizans of fchifmatical
enthufiafm, but in the very bofom of the
Church there are men, who have pledged
themfelves mod; folemnly to the fupport of
her doctrines, and who arrogate to themfelves
the difiin&ion of being her only faithful fons;
whofe preaching neverthelefs is in irreconcil-
able oppofition to her unequivocal and nume-.
rous declarations on this important article of
her creed. Regeneration is, as it were, in-
fcribed on their banners, and is one of the
watchwords of their fe<R: regeneration, not
the fruit of thrift's holy ordinance of baptifm,
but the effect of their declamation ; not the
bleffing of a foul, peacefully devoted to Chrifl’s
fervice, but the mark of one zealous in the
caufe of their party. They, who can be per-
fuaded to embrace the tenets of that party, are
P Whitefield’s Works, vol. iv. p. 163,341. vol.v. p. 305. '■>350	Regeneration the
defcribed as labouring in the pangs and tra-
vails of the new birth, until Chrift be formed
in them ; whilft all who tread in the found
paths of the Church, of Scripture, and of an-
tiquity, unfeduced by their invitations and un-
terrified by their threats, are reprefented, to-
gether with their minitters, thofe blind leaders
of the blind, as unregenerate unconverted
tinners.
I will not retort upon our accufers the
charges, which they lavifh upon us. I will
not even infiti more ftrongly upon the difcre-
pancy, which prevails between their tenets
and thofe which the foregoing quotations will
have fatisfadtorily fhown to be the tenets of
our Church. I will in this place do no more
than exprefs my hope and belief, that the re-
marks, which are now about to be offered, and
which fhall be derived principally from holy
Scripture, will at leaft acquit us of the temerity
of blindly fubfcribing to a dodtrine without an
appearance of fufficient evidence; even fhould
they fail of proving, that the dodtrine itfelf,
unlike the image of the Ephefian Diana, did
really “ cortie down from heaven.”
Now it is certain, that by being born again,
of which our Saviour fpeaks in fuch lofty lan-
guage, fomething is defigned abfolutely ne-
ceflary to be attained by thofe, who would
enter into the kingdom of God. It is matterSpiritual Grace of Baptifm. 351
therefore, not of mere idle /peculation' but of
the neareft and deareft intereft, that we ex-
amine what is meant by being born again t in
order that we may “ be filled with all joy and
,c peace in believing” that we partake of it, if, as
we apprehend, it is conferred by the facrament
of baptifm; or, if not, that we may be enabled
to difcover, what it is that is thus necefiary
for our falvation; and where, and when, and
how, it is to be obtained.
In the firft place then, we derive a flrong
probability in behalf of our fuppofition front
this confideration 5 that, if the work of regene-
ration is not effected by baptifm, it is almod
impoffible for any fober man to fay when and
by what means it is: and that we are thus left
without any other guide, than the very quef-
tionable criterion of our own imaginations or
our own feelings, to determine, whether we
are in poflefiion of that, which our Saviour
has pronounced to be an indifpenfable requifite
of falvation. A fituation this pf doubt, fuf-
penfe, and anxiety, with regard to our eternal
welfare, to which, it is reafonable to believe,
that, with fuch a revelation of his will as
Chriftianity profefies to be, “ the Father of
“ mercies and God of all comfort” would not
expofe his humble creatures.
For, that I may profecute a former obferva-
tion, if fpiritual regeneration be not conferred352	Regeneration the
by baptifm, when (we may reafonably de-
mand) and by what means is it conferred ?
In what other ceremony, and at what other
feafon, thall we find that joint operation of
water and of the Holy Spirit, of which Chrifi
affirms we muft be born ? I fay that joint ope-
ration ; for furely thofe, which Chrifi: himfelf
hath joined together, it is not for man to put
afunder. .
I am the more difpofed to prefs this argu-
ment, and to bring it forward in the moft pro-
minent point of view, not only becaufe it ap-
pears to me decifive on the queftion; but alfo,
becaufe the importance of the argument feems
to be recognized by the filence of our oppo-
nents, who in their zeal to inforce regene-
ration, the being born again, the being born
of God, the being born of the Spirit, fiudiouily
keep out of fight the infirument, whereby
Chrifi fays we muft be born again. But “ that
c< we may be thus born of the Spirit,” (I ufe
the words of Bifhop Beveridge,) “ we muft be
“ born alfo of water, which our Saviour here
“ puts in the firft place. Not as if there was
“ any fuch virtue in water, whereby it • could
“ regenerate us; but becaufe this is the rite or
“ ordinance appointed by Chrifi, wherein he
“ regenerates us by his Holy Spirit: our re-
“ generation is wholly the aft of the Spirit of
“ Chrifi. But there muft be fomething doneSpiritual Grace of Bapt'tfm. 353
11 on our parts in order to it • and tomething
“ that is inftituted and ordained by Chrift him-
“ felf, which in the Old Teftament was cir-
“ cumcilion, in the New, baptifm or wathing
with water; the eafieft that could be in-
“ vented, and the moft proper to tignify his
“ cleanting and regenerating us by his Holy
“Spirit. And feeing this is inftituted by
“ Chrift himfelf, as we cannot be born of wa-
“ ter without the Spirit, fo neither can we in
“ .an ordinary way be born of the Spirit with-
“ out water, ufed or applied in obedience and
“conformity to his inftitution. Chrift hath
“ joined them together, and it is not in our
<c power to part them ; he that would be born
“ of the Spirit, muft be.born of water alfoq.”
Upon this point the obfervation of one of
our firft and moft celebrated Reformers is not
unworthy of attention. “ Like as Chrift was
“ born in rags,” fays the venerable Latimer,
“ fo the converfion of the whole world is by
“ rags, by things which are moft vile in this
“ world. For what is fo common as water?
“ every foul ditch is Lull of it: yet we wath
out remiflion of our tins by baptifm; for
“ like as he was found in rags, fo we muft
.-“ find him by baptifm. There we begin : we
“ are wathed with water, and then the words
s Beveridge’s Sermons, vol. i. p. 304.
a a354
Regeneration the '■
“ are added; for we are baptized in the name
“ of the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghoft,
“ whereby the baptifm receiveth its ftrength.
“ Now this facrament of baptifm is a thing b'f
“ great weight; for it afcertaineth and aflureth
“ us, that like as the water wafheth the body
“ and cleanfefh it, fo the blood of Chrift our
“ Saviour cleanfeth and walheth it from all
“ filth and uncleannefs of fins'.” And fo it is
taught in- King Edward’s Catechifm, that
“ baptifm doth reprefent and fet before our
“ eyes that we are by the Spirit of Chrift new
“ born, and cleanfed from fin; that we bfe
“ members and parts of his Church, received
“ into the communion of faints. For water
“ fignifieth the Spirit1.”
For the purpole therefore of regeneration,
we conceive this union of water, as the inftru-
ment, and of the Spirit, as the efficient prin-
ciple, to be abfolutely neceflary: and although
we acknowledge with humble and grateful
hearts, that the continued and unceafing in-
fluence of the Spirit is requifite for the welfare
of our fouls, and that we are daily renewed
by his fan&ifying power, fometimes perhaps
without the inftru mentality of outward means *
flail we are juftified in contending, that for the
•	.	*	< i
a
r Bp. Latimer's Sermons, vol. ii. p. 779.
*	Enchir. Theolog. vol. i. p. 53.355
Spiritual Grace of Baptifn.
exprefs purpofe of regeneration, not only is
his operation necetfary, but that it muft alfo
(humanly fpeaking) be adminiftered through
the mediation of water. It is not for man to
difpenfe with the ordinances of God.
Nay, for man to take upon him to difpenfe
with God’s ordinances, is not only generally
an a£t of prefumption, but it is alfo in a par*
ticular manner to derogate from the honour
due to that Holy Spirit, by whom we are
fealed unto the day of redemption. “ For a
“ fpecial prerogative” (faith Bifhop Andrews)
“ hath the Holy Ghoft in our baptifm above
“ the other twoperfons of the Trinity. That
“ laver is bis laver properly, where we are
“ not only to be baptized into him, as into
" the other two ; but, alfo even to be baptized
" with him, which is proper to him alone. For
" betides the water, wre are there to be bona
" anew of the Holy Ghoft alfo, elfe there is no
“ entering for us Into the kingdom of God'.”
So that ,to deny the regenerating effect of b.ap-
tiftnris in fome fenfe to do defpite unto the
Spirit of grace, and to rob him of. his peculiar
honour.
■And farther; not only is it prefumptuous to
attempt to feparate water from the Spirit, but
it is at the tame time altogether unneceflary.
/U
* Serm, V. on the Holy Ghoft, p. 641.	. i
a a 2356	Regeneration the
If indeed it could be made appear, that they
never adted together, we muft be content,
(how much foever it might feem at variance
'with the exprefs affirmation of our Saviour,)
ftill we muft be content to admit the notion
of their diftindt and independent operation.
But when baptifm prefents itfelf to our minds,
-as a rite inftituted by Chrift for the admifiion
of difciples into his Church, and when it may
be fatisfadtorily argued from the higheft au-
thority, that baptifm is the vehicle of regene-
ration ; why ffiould we look for any other ?
Why Ihould we refort to a forced, an unna-
tural, and a prefumptuous conftrudtion, to
fupply us from a diftance with the uncertain
dhadow of a bleffing, when the plaineft and
moft eafy interpretation of our Saviour’s
words places the fubftance immediately in
our hands ?
That' this bleffing is conferred upon us by
baptifm I aflert on,the authority of Scripture.
• It is the dodtrine of the holy Scriptures, that
we are by baptifm made heirs of falvation
through Chrift; and it is the declaration of
our Saviour, that we cannot enter into the
kingdom of God, which is equivalent to the
expreffion that we cannot become heirs of fal-
vation, except we be born' anew of water and
of the Spirit. If then we cannot become heirs
of falvation, except we be born of water and357
Spiritual Grace of Bdptifm.
of the Spirit, and if we be made heirs of falva-
lid n by baptifm, I fee not how we are to
evade the confequence, that the outward wafh-
ing of baptifm is attended by the fan&ification
of the Spirit, and that we are born of water
and of the Spirit, when we are baptized. Thus
when our Saviour, on giving his commiflion
to the Apoftles to go, teach all nations, bap-
tizing them, accompanied it with the promife,
that he that believed and was baptized thould
be faved, it mull clearly be underflood, that
the communication of the Holy Spirit and
fpiritual regeneration were to attend on bap-
tifm, which is here exprefsly reprefented as
the means of falvation.
A tingle text of Scripture, properly under-
Hood, may ferve for the foundation of a doc-
trine. “ Where there are a multitude of affir-
“ mations in Scripture,” faid the learned re-
former Bitliop Ridley, “ and where there is
“ but one affirmation, all is one concerning
“ the truth of the matter : for that which any
“ one of the Evangelifts fpake, infpired by the
“ Holy Ghoft, was as true as that which was
“ fpoken of allu.” But as the evidence will
undoubtedly ftrike with accumulated force, if
a doctrine ffiall appear, not to reft on an in-
fulated paflage, but to be exprefled or implied
Ridley’s Life of Bifliop Ridley, p. 437-	\
. a a‘3
U358	Regeneration the
under a variety of forms, and to diffule its
leaven, as it were, through a large mafs of the
facred volume, I fhall proceed to ftate feveral
fcriptural authorities, on which the notion of
our being regenerated by baptifm may be in-
controvertibly maintained.
St. Paul, in his epiftle to Titus, having re-^
marked upon the depraved hate of men before
their converlion to Chriftianity, thus proceeds:
“ But after that the kindnefs and love of God
“ our Saviour towards man appeared, not 'by
“ works of righteoufnefs which we have done,
“ but according to his mercy he faved us, by
“ the Waftring of regeneration and renewing
“ of the Holy Ghoft, which he thed on us
“ abundantly through jefus Chrift our Saviour:
“ that being jutiified by his grace we thould
“ be made heirs according to the hope of
“eternal life*:” by the wathing of regenera-
tion, ha. Xevrgw 7ra,AtyyEve<ria?, “ by the laver of
“ regeneration,” as it is rendered in our bap-
tifmal office; by “ the fountain of the new-
" birthr,” as one of our Homilies expreties it.
By comparing together the feveral parts of this
paflage it is evident, that baptifm is here re-
prefented as the mean through which, or the
ihtlrument by which, the Holy Spirit of God
* Tit. iii. 4,5,6,7.
y Homily ob the Nativity, p. 345.35Q
Spiritual Grace of Baptifm.
regenerates us; and thereby makes us heirs
df that eternal life, which the mercy of God
our Saviour hath provided for thofe, whom he
juftifies and laves.
The fame Apoftle, in his firft epiltle to the
Corinthians, again reprefenting as before the
wretchednefs of unbelievers, immediately adds,
with reference to the Cbriftian converts, whom
he was addrefling, “ And fuch were fome of
*,* you; but ye are walhed, but ye are fanifti-
“ tied, but ye are juftified, in the name of the
" Lord Jefus, and by the Spirit of our God2.”
Where, as-the Lord Jefus is mentioned as the
meritorious caufe of fandtification and juftifi-
cation, and the Spirit of our God as the effi-*
cient and operating caufe; fo alto is the walh-
ing of baptifm mentioned as the iqftrument
by which thofe bleffings are conveyed: for
“ then it is,” faith Bilhop Taylor, “ that God
“ pours forth, together with the lacramental
“ waters, a falutary and holy fountain of
" grace, to walh the foul from all its llains
"and impure adherencesa.” It is true, that’
in this paflage there occurs no fuch expreffion
as regeneration, or the being born again ; but,
as it was before argued, if a perfon muft.be
born again, in order to be faved or juftified,
z I Cor. vi. it.
Tayloir’s Life of Chrift, p. 199.
A a 4
a
36q: 'Regeneration the
and if by baptifm he is faved or juftified, it
then neceflarily follows that by baptifm he is
born again.
The argument is more diredt from what the
fame Apoftle fays to the Colofiians : “ Buried
“ with Chrift in baptifm, wherein alfo ye are
“ rifen with him, through the faith of the
“ operation of God, who hath raifed him from
“ the dead. And you, being dead in your
“ fins and the uncircumcifion of your fiefh,
“hath he quickened together with him h.”
What can be plainer or ftronger to the point ?
Dead in their fins, and buried in baptifm, by
baptifm alfo they were raifed and quickened
by God.
To the Romans he employs the fame figure,
defcribing baptifm as a burial, wherein they
were dead unto fin and alive unto God:
adding wdthal a particular, which confirms an
opinion prelent Jy to be infifted on, that no
other than baptiimal regeneration is poflible
in this world. For having obferved, that
“ Chrift, being raifed from the dead,, dieth no
“ more; death hath no more dominion over
“ him : for in that he died, he died unto fin
once, but in that he liveth, he liveth, unto
“Godc;” the Apoftle immediately fubjoins,
“ Likewife reckon ye alfo yourfelves,” like-
c Rom. v . 4, ii.
b Col. ii, 13,13,Spiritual Grace of Baptifm. 361
wife, in a like or in the fame manner, omu xai
vyets Xoyi(e<r&i sctvrovf, “ to be dead indeed unto
“ tin, but alive unto God through Jefus Chrift
“ our Lord.” Does not the language of the
Apoftle warrant the argument, that we are
born anew in baptifm ; and in baptifm exclu-
lively ?
In the epiftle to the Ephetians, again, he
takes for the ground of an exhortation to con-
jugal affection, that “ Chrift loved the Church,
“ and gave himfelf for it, that he might fane-*
“ tify and cleanfe it with the wathing of wa-
iter by the word ; that he might prefent it
“ to himfelf a glorious Church, not having
“ fpot or wrinkle or any fuch thing ; but that
“ it thould be holy and without blemitlid.’'
San&ification and purity, unfpotted and un-
blemished holinefs, are here attributed to the
Church of Chrift, as the efFetft of the wathing
of water. But what water could produce
fuch an effect without the operation of the
Spirit ? And what rite is performed by their
joint operation, but the facrament of baptifm ?
And by what appropriate fcriptural term is
the effect of their united influence to be de-
nominated, but by that of regeneration ?
Similar queftions arife from the affirmation
of the fame Apoftle to the Corinthians : “ By
d Eph. v. 25, 2,6, 27.3 6.2:	Regeneration the
“ one Spirit are we all baptized into one
,e body4.” Allow the baptifm here fpoken of
to be ufed in a literal fenfe, and its fpiritual,
and in courfe its regenerating influence follows.
Maintain that the ufe of the term is figurative,
as the Quaker does in this and other paflages
of the New Tedament, and with him you may
renounce the facrament of baptifm; which
perhaps it were more confident to do altoge-
ther, than to retain the ceremony, and to di-
ved it, as far as can depend upon the denial,
ef that which gives it its value.
The fame inference is to be drawn from
St. Peter’s fird exhortation to the Jews after
our Saviour’s afcenfion; Repent, and be
ic baptized, every one of you in the name of
° Jefus Chrid for the remiflion of fins, and ye
“ thall receive the gift of the Holy Ghodf.’’
The tame inference follows from his language
on his fird preaching to the Gentiles : when,
although the Holy Ghod immediately fell on
them, fo that they fpake with tongues, and
fome might probably have thought it unne-
ceflary to baptize fuch as had already received
the Holy Ghod, yet (fays Bithop Beveridge)
“ the Apoflle, confidering that this gift of the
“ Holy Ghod was only to enable them to
tf fpeak with tongues, not to regenerate them,
f A&s ii. 38.
e X Cor. xii. 13.Spiritual Grace of Baptifm.	363
“ inferred from thence that they ought the
“ rather to be baptized : Can any man, faid
“ he, forbid water, that thete fhould not be
“ baptized, who have received the Holy Gholl
“ as well as we ? And he therefore command-
“ ed them to be baptized in the name of the
“ Lord; which he would never have done, if
“ it had not been neceflary for them to be
“ born of water and of the Spirit®.” And
fuch is the inference from Ananias’s a*dmoni-
tion to Paul, after his miraculous converfion j
“ And now, why tarried: thou ? Arife, and be
“ baptized, and wath away thy tins, calling on
“ the name of the Lord11.”
It may be here not unimportant to remark,
that as we argue for baptifm being the vehicle
of regeneration, becaufe it is the vehicle of
falvation to which regeneration is neceflary ;
fo alfo we may come to the fame conclufion
from this contideration; that all Chriftians, all
perfons who have been baptized, are indifcri-
minately faid to have been regenerated. In
the palfages already cited from feveral epiftles
of St. Paul, it will have appeared, that he ap-
plies the term to large focieties of believers ;
especially to the churches at Rome and at Co-
lofle. The language, which he addrefles to
* Bp. Beveridge’s Works, vcl. i. p. 305.
h A&s 11,38.	t364	Regeneration the
Titus upon that fubjedt, appears to be at leaft
equally co mp rehen fi ve; whilft St. Peter and
St. John, each in a patholic epiftle, addrefled
to immenfe focieties of Chriftians fcattered
throughout the eaft, defcribe the perfons whom
they addrefs as “ fons of God1,” “ begotten
“and born againBut wherefore, unlefs
their regeneration was the effedt of an ordi-
nance, of which all Chriftians in general par-
take? And if fo, of what ordinance but of bap-
tifm ?
From thefe feveral authorities I apprehend
it to be eftablilhed, as the general dodtrine of
the Gofpel, that the new birth or regeneration,
which is pronounced by our Saviour to be ne-
ceffary to falvation, or (as he exprefies it) to
feeing or entering into the kingdom of God, is
effected by the operation of the Holy Ghoft at
baptifm. To this purpofe beautiful and fatis-
fadtory is the illuftration of the learned Jofeph
Mede, where, fpeaking of St. Paul’s text to
Titus, as making baptifm and regeneration
type and countertype, he adds, “The fame
“ was rep refen ted by that vifton at our Sa-
“ viour’s baptifm of the Holy Ghoft defcend-
“ ing upon him, as he came out of the water,
“ in the fimilitude of a dove: for I fuppofe,”
he continues, “ that in that baptifm of his the
’ i John iii. 2.'	k 1 Pet. i. 3, 23,Spiritual Grace of Baptifm. 305
4i myftery of all our baptifms was vifibly acted;
“ and that God fays to every one truly bap-
Jt tized, as he faid to him, in a proportionable
“ fenfe, Thou art my fon, in whom I am well
“ pleafed1.” Indeed to deny the regenerating
efficacy of baptifm is to deny its facramental
■character; to drip it of that which makes it
-moll; valuable ; and to reduce it to a mere
“ beggarly element,” a form without fub-
ftance, a body without fpirit, a fign without
Signification ; it is as one found Divine de-
fcribes it, *’■ to make it no better than a piece
“of folemn pageantry"1;” or (to adopt the
comparifon of the fame learned writer to
whom I lately referred) it is “ to make of it
“ an empty {hell, whofe kernel is taken out,
“ or a carcafs whofe foul is gone \” Of the
•folly of this conduft, and of the fource from
which it proceeds, one of our excellent Re-
formers ftrongly expreffed his opinion, when
he faid, that “ in all ages the devil hath ffirred
“ up fome light heads to efteem the facra-
“ ments but lightly, as to be empty and bare
“ figns":” and of the tendency of this con-
duct we have a memorable proof in the Cal-
viniftic Founder of Methodifm, who deprecated
1 Mede’s Works, D;fc. xvii.
m Examination of Tilenus, p. 267.
“ Mede’s Works, Book i. Difc. xliii.
• Latimer. See Ridley’s Life of Bp. Ridley, p. 453.366	Regeneration the
“ difputing about baptifm, and other non*-
“ effentials, as the effect of a narrow fpirit,
a party fe&arian zealp.” Strip the facra-
ment of its fpiritual character, and we fee to
what it is avowedly reduced.	■>
I am well aware, that no authority is ad-
miflible for the foundation of a dodtrine, ex-
cept that of the infpired writings. It is how*-
ever fometimes of advantage to know, and it
affords a ftrong collateral fupport to a doc-
trine if we can learn, how controverted ex-
preflions have been underflood by thpfe, who
were moft likely to be acquainted with their
proper fignification. The teftimony of the
ancient Fathers was efteemed one of the beft
criterions of the fenfe of the holy Scriptures
concerning the facraments, by " a worthy
“ martyr of God, the glory of the.Englifh Re-
“ formation,” who endured the flames in fup-
port of the true evangelical dodtrine of the
Ford’s fupper, and whofe opinion of the other
facrament, coinciding with that of his brother
in faith and. martyrdom, already laid before
you, is contained in his own declaration, that
" as the body is nourifhed by the bread and
V wine at the communion, and the foul by
“ grace and fpirit with the body of Chrift;
“ even fo in baptifm the body is wafhed with
PWhitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 394.367
Spiritual Grace of Baptifm.
u the vifible water, and the foul is cleanfed
“ from all filth by the invifible Holy Ghoftq.”
It may therefore be ufeful to remark, and it
will be a curious remark to thofe who bear in
mind the aflertion of one of our accufers about
“ baptifmal regeneration being the Diana of
“ the prefent age;” that the opinions of the
early Chriftians uniformly fupport the doc-
trine, which I have been deducing from the
authority of Scripture. “ What Chrift means
“ by being born of water and of the Spirit,”
obferved Bifhop Beveridge about 150 years
ago, “ is now made a queftion; I fay now ;
** for it was never made fo till of late years.
" For many ages together none ever doubted
“ it, but the whole Chriftian world took it for
*' granted, that our Saviour by thefe words
** meant only, that except a man be baptized
“ according to his inftitution, he cannot enter
“ into the kingdom of God : this being the
“ ttioft plain and obvious fenfe of the words,
“ forafmuch as there is no other way of being
*' born again of water as well as of the Spirit,
tr but only in the tacrament of baptifm1.” *
Baptifm indeed and regeneration, the terms
which ipecifically denote the outward fign
and the fpiritual grace, appear to have been
s Ridley’s Life of Bp. Ridley, p. 684, 669, 620.
r Beveridge’s Works, vol. i. p. 304.368	Regeneration the
employed by the early Chriftians, as exp ref-
lions of the fame import. “ Whoever,” fays
Juftin Martyr, “ are perfuaded and believe,
“ that the things taught and faid by us are
true, and undertake to live agreeably to
“ them, are led by us to a place where there
“ is water, and are regenerated in the fame
** manner, in which we were regenerated; for
“ they are walhed in the name of God the
“ Father and Lord of all, of our Saviour Jefus
“ Chrift, and of the Holy Spirit. For Chrift
“ faid, If ye be not regenerated, ye fhall not
“ enter into the kingdom of heaven V’ And
it is the doft'rine of Auftin, whofe opinion will
doubtlefs weigh with thofe, who reprefent his
dodtrines as the model of their own, that
“ they, who partake of the facrament of bap-
“ tifm, die unto fin, as Chrift alfo died unto
“ fin, that is, unto the flelh, the image of fin;
“ and live, by being born again of the laver,
“ as he by riling from the grave.” And this
doiftrine he maintains without any limitation,
s 'O<roi ay •sreio'Swa-t, xai rauTTiuuxrvy	ranra ra uf’ jyxouy
■ ifiaa’x.op.ivd xaf Xiyoft-eva eivaf, xcqfiiovv ktcjk luvaSiop uniyvwvTocf,
•---ayovrai ‘titf rjjj.a}V ivba vSaip e<tti, xaj rponov avayivvri&euic,
Sv xaf r}p.Ei; auToi avayeyyyidrjpviv, avxyeyywvrap in ovo/j-aTO; yap
you TffUrpo; tcov o\iov xaj fenrorou 0eou, xaf rov owijpof ryxcuy
Irjcrou Xgiarou, xcq TsvsvpaTOi ayiou, to ev tu> vOxti toti Xoxirpov
ctoio.uvto/, Kcq yap o Xpurro; einev, av pj avayivyr^tyri, ou
wa-eXSijTe.a; t>jv /3a<r)\eiav tcov otigavcov. Juft. Mart. Apol, ii.
P- 93-Spiritual'Grace of Baptifm.	369
or rather excepting againft every limitation, in
point of age. “ For” (he fubjoins) “ from
“ the infant newly born, even to the decrepit
“ old man, as no one is to be prohibited from
“ baptifm, fo there is no one who does not
“ die unto fin in baptifm: but infants die only
“ to original fin, adults to all their fins, what-
“ foever they have added by their evil lives
“ to that which they contracted at their
“births1.” But, not to multiply quotations
to this effeCt from the writers of antiquity, I
adopt the words of a learned and found Di-
vine of the laft century, after whofe mafterly
difcuffion of the fubjeCt it would appear pre-
fumptuous in me to attempt it, did it not fall
in with the general courfe of inquiry to which
I have been led by the current of opinion in
certain popular feCts; and I obferve in bis
language that “ it has been well proved at
1 Ipfum eft, quod in nobis, celebratur, magnum bap-
tifmatis facramentum, ut quicunque ad iftam pertinent
gratiam, moriantur peccato,, ficut ipfe peceato mortuus
dicitur, quia mortuus eft carni, hoc eft, peccati fimilitudini;
et vivant a lavacro renafcendo, ficut ipfe a fepulchro refur-
gendo, quamlibet corporis setatem gerant. A parvulo
enim recens nato ufque ad decrepitum fenem, ficut nullus
eft prohibendus a baptifmo, ita nullus eft qui non peccatq
moriatur in baptifmo. Sed parvuli tantum originali; ma-
jores autem etiam iis omnibus moriuntur peccatis, quse-
cunque male vivendo addiderunt ad illud quod nafcendo
traxerunt. dtugu ftin. Enchirtd. xvif
b b3/0	Regeneration the
“ large, beyond all rbafohable contradi&ioh,
" that both the Greek and Latin Fathers not
“ only ufed the wUrd regeneration for baptifm,
“ but fo appropriated it alfo to baptifm, as to
** exclude any other converfion or repentance,
“ not confidered with baptifm, from being
“ fignified by that name; fo that according to
“ the ancients, regeneration or new birth was
“ either baptifm itfelf, (including both fign
“ and thing;) ora change of man’s fpiritual
“ ftate, confidered as wrought by the Spirit in
“ or through baptifmu.”
The doctrine being thus generally eftablilh-
ed, it refts with thofe, who contend for any
other regeneration, to fhow either the excep-
tions to its taking place at baptifm ; or that;
having then taken place, it may afterwards be
repeated. We have, as I belifeve, and as I
truft hath been fufficiently demonftrated, fcrip-
tural authority for aflerting, that baptifm is
the vehicle of the.new birth; fo that although
I dare not make, I could not controvert the
afiertion, if made in the language of Bithop
Hopkins, without the limitation with which
he qualifies the propolition, that “ baptifmal
“ regeneration muft be acknowledged by all,
“ that will not wilfully fihut their eyes againft
“ Waterland an Regeneration. See Churchman’s Re-
membrancer, N°. I. p. 9.Spiritual Grace of Edptifm. 371
“ the dear evidence of Scripture*.” And if
ever the new birth be not conveyed by bap-
tifm, rightly adminiftered; or if, when once
regenerated, it be (I will not fay neceflary,
but) poffible for any one to be born again,
doubtlefs there is fcfiptural authority to that
purpofe. Let the authority then be adduced.
Let it be ftiown from holy writ, that any per-
fon, to whom baptifm was rightly adminifter-
ed, was not regenerated; let it be ftiown, that
any perfon, having been once baptized, is de-
fcribed under any circumftances whatever of
repentance, reformation, renovation, or con-
verfion, to have been again regenerated ; let it
be flhown, that the Apoftles, who are per-
petually exhorting their Chriftian converts to
changes fuch as thel'e, do once exhort them to
become regenerate; do once inforce the ne-
ceffity of it; or even affirm, or at leaft in-
finuate, its poflibility ; and we may then per-
ceive fome reafon for wavering in our belief.
It will then be ample time to condemn us for
error, when we can be convi&ed from the
oracles of truth : meanwhile, ftanding, as we
truft we do, on the unlhaken rock of the Gof-
pel, let us not be accufed of a heathenilh fu-
perftition, until the Gofpel can be brought to
confute us.
...j 01:.	. '}	m
1 WoffeSj vsl. ii. p. 423. 8vo. ed.
b b 2372	Regeneration the '* ' "
V The error of our accufers appears to have
arifen from difregarding the outward form of
regeneration; from an inattention to the union
intended by our Saviour when he faid, that
we mull be born of water and of the Spirit;
an inattention, of whicb^Calvin fet the ex-
ample by contending, t«at the exprefiions
“ water and the Spirit mean only the Spirit,
“ who cleanfes after the manner of watery:”
and from a confequent confufion between re-
generation and renovation or converfion, with
which it has often been identified, but from
which it ought clearly to be diftinguifhedt
Let me not be efteemed prefumptuous, or
infenfible to the authority of a venerable
name, if I obferve, that a celebrated Prelate,
who ranks especially high in the eftimation of
certain members of our Church, appears to
have been under the influence of this con-
fufion ; for he unequivocally avers, that in
many places of Scripture regeneration is af-
cribed to the holy ordinance, of baptifm, as
one of the effects of it, and explains the Xwt^ov
TBttXiyymtrias, the bath of regeneration, men-
tioned by St. Paul, to fignify that baptifmal
♦ *
T Modum hie indiGat, quo regenerat nos Deus, nempe
per aqUam et Spiritum; quad diceret, per Spiritum, qui,
purgando et irrigando fideles animas, vice aquae fungitur.
Aquam ergo et. Spiritum fimpliciter accipio pro Spiritu,
quia aqua eft. Caiv. Jnfiit, lib. iv. eap. xvi. fed. 25.Spiritual Grace of Baptifm.	373
water, wherein we are buried with Chrift;
and neverthelefs contiders this baptifmal re-
generation, as merely admitting us members
of the vifible Church, and not as intitling us to
eternal life ; and contends for another regene-
ration, independent of the wafhing by water,
and identified by him with converfion, reno-
vation, and the like2. Such a change of
heart may be wrought either before, or after,
baptifm; in perfons either regenerate, or un-
regenerate ; it qualifies them for regeneration,
if unbaptized; it reftores them to the privi-
leges of baptifm, which they may have for-
feited by being hardened in fin; it accom-
panies thofe who are, humanly fpeaking, good,
through the whole courfe of the Chriftian life,
St. Paul was converted three days before he
was baptized : the inceftuous Corinthian, who
had been excommunicated from the fociety of
his brethren, was reftored to them on his re-
pentance ; and Simon Magus, “ who” (as Bi-
fliop Wilfon lays) “ had received the wafhing
“ of regeneration, and fo was intitled to par-
“ don upon his repentance was exhorted
by the Apoftle to repent of his wicked nefs,
and to “ pray God, if perhaps the thought Of
“ his heart might be forgiven and all of us
2 See Bp. Hopkins’s Works, vol. ii. p. 492,468,476.
a See Wilfon’s Works, vol. iv. p. 413.
b b 3374	Regeneration the
are inftru&ed to pray, agreeably to apoftolical
language, that “ being regenerated and adopted
“ for the children of God, we may be dgily
“ renewed by his Holy Spirit.” Bltt where
are we inltrudfed to pray after baptifm for re-
generation ? Where is it intimated that the
Corinthian was born again, fubfequently to
his fall ? Where was Simon Magus ajlmq-
nifhed of the neceffity of undergoing another
new birth ? Qr where is St. Pqul defcribed as
regenerated, until Ananias baptized him and
wafhed away his fins? That be was converted,
and that his heart was renewed, is evident
from the language, which he uttered when he
had fallen to the eartfi, und from the obedience,
which he paid tp the voice from heaven. That
he was not regenerated until a later period is
equally evident; for wjien Ananias called on
him tp be baptized, he was ftill under the pol-
lution of his fiqs. I am aware indeed that
we lhall be told, tfja,t during the intermediate
time he wa^ experiencing the pangs and ago-
nies of the new birth. The aflertion may be
permitted to pafs ; for a gratuitous pflumption
needs not to be ferioufly confuted. More de-
ferring of our attention, and better calculated
to gjye gs correct notions, becaufe more agree-
able to the reprefentations of Scripture, is the
following ftatement of the learned and judicious
Hooker: “ As we are not naturally men withoutSpiritual Grace of Bnptifm.	375
“ birth, fo neither are we Chriftian men in the
“ eyoof the Church of God, but by new birth ;
“ nor, according to the manifeft ordinary
“ courfe of divine difpenfation new born, but
“ by that baptifm, which both declareth and
“ maketh us Chriftians. In which refpeCt we
“ juftly hold it to be the door of our aCtual
“ entrance into God’s houfe, the firft apparent
“ beginning of life ; a feal perhaps to the
“ grace of election before received, but to our
“ fanCtification here, a ttep that hath not any
“ before itb.”	ti,
It has been judged, that the error, which I
am combating, derives fupport from the words
of St. John, that “ whofoever is born of God
“ doth not commit fin, fpr his feed remaineth
“ in him, and he cannot commit fin, becapfe
“ be is born of God'.” Whence it is con-
tended, that as baptifmal regeneration does not
fecure a man from fin, another greater and
better new birth mull be added tq fupply the
defect.
I thall not detain you at prefent by infifidng
on the impoffibility of any man attaining to a
date of finlefs perfection, which thefe words,
if firiCtly interpreted, afi'ert; becaufe a more
b Eccleftaftical Polity, book v. chap, lx. vol. ii. p. 248.
Oxf. edition.
c 1 John iii. 9.3 ?Q	Regeneration the
convenient opportunity will be afforded me
of entering upon a full difcuffion of that con-
ceit. But I fhall be fatisfied with contending
at prefent, that the conclufion is abfurd, from
a confideration of the words themfelves and of
their context.
It will, I prefume, be admitted, that the
appellations of “ born of God” and “ the fons
“ of God” are controvertible terms: that if
they occur in the fame compolition, and efpe-
' cially within a few fentenees of each other,
they mud be underftood of the fame defcrip-
tion of perfons; at leaft, that what may be
affirmed generally of the one, cannot be denied
of the other. Now in the palfage before us,
the Apoftle affirms, that “ whofoever is born
“ of God cannot lin ;” and a few verfes be-
fore he affirms, “ Beloved, now are we the
“ fons of God:” fo that conne&ing the two
affertions together, he will be made to af-
firm, that all the perfons, to whom his epi-
ftle was addreffed, were incapable of finning;
a hazardous affirmation this, if it be confidered,
that the epiftle was certainly addreffed to large
focieties of Chriftians ; probably to thofe, who
were difperfed throughout the provinces of
the Greater and the Leffer Afiad.
The truth appears to be, that St. John in-
<l See Preface to Pyle’s Paraphrafe.Spiritual Grace of Baptifn. 377
tended to give a defcription of thofe perfons, *
who, having been regularly adopted fof the
fons of God by the appointed means, con-
tinued to a<ft in a manner worthy of their
adoption, by driving to profit by the grace of
God, which would then effectually preferve
them from the commiflion of the groffer fins.
“ Every regenerate perfon,” fays Bifhop Taylor,
in a paffage which well explains the meaning
of the Apoftle, “ is in a condition, whofe very
** being is a contradiction and an oppofite de-
“ fign to fin. When he was regenerate and
“ born anew of water and of the Spirit, the feed
“ of God, the original of piety was put into
“ him, and bidden to increafe and multiply.
“ The feed of God in St. John is the fame with
“ the word of God in St. James, by which he
“ begat us; and as long as this remains, a
“ regenerate perfon cannot be given up to fin;
“ for when he is, he quits his baptifm, he re-
“ nounces the covenant, he alters his relation
“ to God in the fame degree as he enters into
“ a ftate of fin\” The words of the Apoftle
therefore are to be confidered as a caution to
the regenerate, not to rely on their admiffion
into filiation with God, as fufficient to fecnre
their eternal happinefs; but to live up to their
e Bp. Taylor’s Life of Chrift, part ii. fe£t. 12.378	Regeneration the
high vocation, left they thould ultimately lofe
the privileges of their adoption by difobedience
or unbelief, and become as though they had
not been born again.
Such was partly the defign of the epiftle,
which was directed againft the errors of the
Nicolaitans and other heretics, who taught,
that the mere external profeflion of the Chrif-
tian faith, and the privilege of being begotten
into the true Church, would bring men to
happinefs, whatever were their lives and prac-
tices f. And fuch appears to be the proper
import of the particular paflage that I have
quoted. But neither it, nor any other paflage
in St. John, nor any other text of Scripture,
appears to me to authorife the doctrine of a
fecond, or of any other diftimft from baptifmal
regeneration.
Under the limitation here contended for, we
may admit the pofition of an acute writer,
that “ the views, difpofttions, and conduct of
“ real Chriftians invariably chara&erife the
“ regenerate children of God in Scriptureg.”
Under the fame limitation too may be ad-
mitted that other pofition, by which difcredit
is fpmetimes attempted to be brought on the
f Preface to Pyle’s Paraphrafe.
s Overton, p. 109.Spiritual Grace of Baptifm. 379
donfixine of baptifmaj regeneration, that “there
“ is an infallible connedlion between regene-
“ ration and falvation, fo that all, that were
“ baptized in their infancy, mqft neceflarily be
“faved1’.” Pofitions, which are true, pre-
cifely to the fame extent as the aflertion of
the Apoftje, that “ by baptifm we are dead
“ unto fin and are freed from fin,” and as the
promife of our Saviour, that “ he that believeth
“ and is baptized fhal} be favedin other
words, they are true of thole perfons, who are
prefbrved by faith and obedience in the poflef-
fion of thofe privileges, to which by baptifm
they were admitted: but in a more extended
fignification they are by no means correct;
and in the unqualified terms, wherein they are
often conveyed, are calculated to perplex and
miflead.
If now wfiat has been advanced be true, it
m.uft fie an error for perfons baptized in their
infancy to defcribe any fubfequent period of
their lives as “ a feafon of unregeneracy ',” and
to call upon rnen once baptized to become
regenerate; for no other new birth can take
place in this world. In fadt we kqow of only
three lives, and three correfpondent births.
h See AUeine’s Alarm fp the fJpconverted, 1805. p. 39.
Simpfan’s Plea for Religion, p. 56. Whitefield’s Eigh-
teen Sermons, p. 359.
* Hawker’s Zion’s Pilgrim, p. 3.38o	Regeneration the
s
Once we are born into the natural life, being
born of Adam; once we are borfi into the
fpiritual life, being born of water and of the
Spirit; and once alfo, if we take care to profit
by our bapftfmal privilege, we may be born
into a life of glory, being born of the refurrec-
tion at the laft day. Into our fpiritual life,
with which we are at prefent concerned, as
into the others alfo, we are born once: to fay
that we are born into it more than once, has
no foundation in reafon, no analogy in nature,
nor (what is much ftronger to the purpofe)
has it any warrant in Scripture. The condi-
tion of the Chriftian life is well defcribed by
one of our Reformers, in a work bearing the
fan&ion of authority, where he diftinguifhes
the ufes of the facraments; that “ as in bap-
“ tifm we have been once born agaiij, To by
“ the Lord’s fupper we are perpetually nou-
“ rithed and fupported to a fpiritual and eter-
“ nal life k.” It is indeed in our fpiritual, as
in our natural, life: as we may be ill in health,
and may grow better and recover, but born
again we cannot be ; fo we may be fpiritually
ill, and again be renewed or reformed; but in
that cafe we ftill hope for everlafling falvation
k Sicuti in baptiftno femel renati fumus, ita .Coena Do-
minica ad vitam fpiritualem atque fempiternam jugiter
alimur atque fuftentamur. Noelli Catechifmus. Enchirid,
Theol. vol. ii. p.381
Spiritual Grace of Baptifm.
upon the ground of the covenant, into which
we were originally baptized: for inafmuch as
there is but “ one baptifm,” fo there is but
one regeneration in this world; and as we
cannot be baptized again, fo cannot we be a
fecond time regenerated, or a Tecond time be
born again.
Let it not'be fuppofed that the prefent ar-
gument is a mere queftion of words: far in-
deed, very far from it. The abufe of words
in this, as in many other cafes, leads to ma-
terial errors in opinion, and to ferious evils in
practice.
.. Let us figure to ourfelves a man, educated
according to the principles of the Church of
England, but feduced from “ the words of
“ truth and fobernefs” which the delivers on
the fubjeCt of regeneration; and inticed or
terrified into the popular belief that he is no
Chriftian, and is not in a ftate of falvation,
until he feel the pangs of the modern new
birth. No violence will be done to nature
and probability, if we fuppofe him reafoning
with himfelf in fome fuch manner as the fol-
lowing:
‘ When an infant, I was baptized according
* to the order of the national Church ; and the
‘ Minifler pronounced by her directions, that I
‘ was regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and re-
‘ ceivedby our molt merciful Father as his own382	Regeneration the
*	child by adoption. As loon as I was able to
f learn, t was taught what a great blefling was
*	then conferred upon me; and that, by having
*	been admitted to baptifm, I had been made
‘ the child of God, and had undergone a death
‘ unto fin and a new birth unto righteoufnefs.
e When I had been fufficiently inftrudted to
‘ be confirmed by the Bifliop, I* heard from
' him a repetition of the comfortable aflurance,
*	that God had vouchfafed to regenerate me
‘ by Water and the Holy Ghoft, and to give
' me forgivenefs of all my fins. And I have
‘ fince periodically joined with my brother
‘ Chriftians in making our grateful acknow-
c ledgments to Almighty God, for being re-
*	generate and made his children by adoption
‘ and grace. '
* The Church has thus uniformly inftrudted
*	me to look back upon regeneration, as a
£ thing which* is palled : ftie has never taught
‘ me to look forward to it, as a thing which is
‘ to come; fbe has never bid me defire and
‘ pray for it, as a thing necelfary; the has
*	never warned me to expect it, as a thing ex-
‘ pedient; the has never led me to regard it,
c as a thing pofiible. I am now however con-
*	vlnced, notwithftanding her alfurances, com-
f fortable as they were, and her inftrudtions,
*	found and fcriptural as they appeared to be,
*	that Verily, verily, I muft be bOrn again.Spiritual Grace of Bdptifm.	383
‘ What can I think of fuch a Church ? Can
' I regard her as a pillar and ground of the
‘ truth ? Can I reverence her, who fo grofsly
*	deluded me by a vilionary regeneration, and
‘ threw an impenetrable veil over that, which
*	alone is effectual ? Who taught me to think
‘ that I was in the way of falvation, when I
‘ had not yet palled the threlhold? Who made
‘ me believe I was a child of God, when I
*	was Hill a child of the Devil ? Who treated
1 me as a Chriftian, when 1 was nothing but a
“ baptized heathen ?” Away with fuch an un-
‘ fcriptural Church! With fuch a mother of
‘ deceit and falfehood! A Way with fuch a
‘ monfter from the earth !
‘ What too lhall I think of the Minifter,
*	who inftruded me, according to the Liturgy
‘ and Articles of that Church, of which he is
*	too faithful a fon ? He recited to me her opi-
‘ nions in words of her own providing; and
‘ he pretended to fupport them from the pulpit
*	on the authority of the Bible. But he is
‘ blind; he is ignorant; he faw for me vifibns
‘ of peace, when there was no peace; he
‘ (poke of my having been quickened by the
‘ Holy Spirit, who had infufed into me a new
*	principle of life, when I was ftill dead in
‘ trefpalles and (ins. Can fuch an one be
4 a preacher of the Gofpel ?
■ What again lhall 1 think of baptifm ; of384
Regeneration the / '
‘ that which I have been wont to confider- as
‘ the laver of regeneration; of that, which I
' have been taught is a facrament, cpnfifting of
*	an outward vilible fign, and an inward fpi-
*	ritual grace ? Truly it doth not regenerate;
‘ it conveys no effe&ual regeneration; it is
*	destitute of an inward fpiritual grace; it is
‘ no facrament; it is a non-eflential.’
It will not have appeared perhaps that a til-
lable has been here fuggefted, more than would
probably be uttered, or than probably has been
in effedl uttered, by perfons in the fituation
that I have fuppofed. And if a man can
bring his mind to think thus meanly of bap-
tifm, ordained as it was by Chrifl himfelf, with
a promife of falvation annexed to its legitimate
adminiftration ; what will he think of Chrift’s
other ordinances ? What of the other facra-
ment, the holy communion of Ghritl’s body
and blood ? If the fpiritual part of baptifm be
denied, why Ihould the fpiritual part of the
communion be allowed ? If water be not really
the laver of regeneration, why Ihould bread
and wine be Ipiritually the body and blood of
Chrift, and convey ftrength and refrefhment to
the foul ? Surely it is not too much to affirm,
that the ftripping of one of God’s ordinances
of that, which conftitutes its eflential value,
has a natural tendency to bring the efficacy of
the others into queftion, and to diminifh atSpiritual Grace of Baptifm. 385
feaft, if not to annihilate, a man’s refpeCt for
them as means of fpiritual grace.
In this condition perhaps he will continue,
fometimes exulting in hope, and fometimes
funk in defpondency ; waiting for an extraor-
dinary impulfe of the Holy Spirit, and neglect-
ing the means of procuring his ordinary fanc-
tifying graces; until the moment approach, in
which, under the influence of fome powerful
preacher, whofe, word is fharper than a two-
edged fword, he is to undergo his myfteriou^
fegeneration ; a regeneration, wherein, inftead
of being born himfelf of wrater and of the
Spirit, Chrift is to be “ born in his heart as he
“ was born in the Virgin’s wofflb1;" a regene-
ration, without undergoing the pangs of which
he is taught that “ he may flatter himfelf that
‘c he may go to heaven, but will certainly find
“ himfelf miferably miftaken in the end™:”
when, having experienced a ftate of horror,
agony, and defpair, which mocks the language
of defcription, and which it w^ere too painful,
if it were poflible, to defcribe; a ftate of pangs
and travails, which is neceflary to be fuftained
by every one ere Chrift be formed in him ; a
ftate, which has been compared by thofe who
have felt its horrors, to. the agonies of death,
l-Whitefield's Eighteen Sermons, p. 307.
m Whhefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 18.
c c386	Regeneration the
y '
the pains of hell, and tortures inflidted by
infuriate devils"; he fancies that he is begotten
again! that he is born of the Holy Spirit of
God!
What will be the future life of a man thus
regenerated, I do not venture to pronounce.
But in noticing fome evil confequences of a
dodtrine, which, for the fpiritual grace attend-
ant upon the holy ordinance of Chrift, fubfti-
tutes a wild and fanciful regeneration of man’s
invention, we may be allowed to fpeculate on
the effects likely to be produced in one thus
initiated to the new birth. To tpeculate, did
I fay, on probable effedts ? Rather to call to
mind effedts which have notorioufly enfued,
and to confider whether they are not fuch as
fober reafon might have forefeen.
The hiftory of fome popular modern fedts
does ftridlly tally with the expectations of
reafon: and if among the regenerated of later
days, who have been thus tormented into the
new birth, many have fubfequently been dri-
ven through every fpecies of extravagance to
the very extreme of irrecoverable madnefs"; if
many, after a temporary exultation in the love
of God thed abroad in their hearts, have re-
“ Wefley’s Journals, and Enthufiafm of Methodifts,
See. vol. iii. p.33. and following pages.
9 See an inftance in Wefley’s Journal?) N°. V. p. 81.
Enthufiafm of Methodifts^ &q. vol. iii. p. 11—14.Spirifti&l Grace of Baptifin.	387
lapted into intolerable perplexities, diffraction,
and defpairp; if many, after fancying them-
felves purified even as Chrift h pure, have
turned back, and become twofold mbre the
children of hell than beforeq; if many, who
pretended'to be conformed to the image of
Chrift, have at that very inlfant continued
under the dominion of grievous fins ; if many,
Who imagine themfelves thoroughly renewed
in the image of the meek and lowly Jefus,’
fwell with pharifaieal pride, thanking God
that they are not as other men are ; and if
alffioftall regard their lets favoured brethren
with fcorn, and “ fay, Stand by thyfelf,- come
“ not near to me, for I am .holier than thou
and condemn thofe, who admit not their pre-
tentions and difcountenance their conceits, as
unconverted unregenerate tinners; it is no
more than might have been expedted from
men, who depreciate God’s holy ordinance,
deny its fandtifying efficacy, and convert the
workings of a feverith brain, or the impulfe of
vifionary feelings, into the operation of the
Spirit of truth.
Such a dodtrine the Enthufiaft may teach,
and the deluded multitude may follow. But
it was a very different regeneration, for which
P Enthufiafm of Methodifts, &:c. vol. ii. p. 3, 140.
*1 Wefley’s Farther Appeal, p. 130.
e c 2388	Regeneration &c.
Paul prepared the Gentiles, when he was fenf
to “ open their eyes, and to turn them from
“ darknefs to light, and from the power of
“ Satan unto Godand it was a very diffe-
rent vifion to which he was obedient, when he
repelled the charge of infanity by fpeaking
forth the words of truth and fobernefs; and
forced from the royal Jew that memorable
and difinterefted confeflion, cc Almofl thou
“ perfuadeft me to be a Chriflian.”
Now unto God the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Gboft, three perfons in the unity of one
Godhead, be all honour and glory for ever.
Amen.
1 Afts xxvi. 18.DISCOURSE VII.
Matt, xviii. 2, 3.
And Jefus called a little child unto him, and fet him
in the midft of them,
And faid, Verily I fay unto you, Except ye be con-
verted, and become as little children, ye Jhall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven.
ALL the difpenfations of Providence are tem-
pered by an harmonious principle; and in the
moral, as well as in the natural, world, every
effect has an evident relation to its caufe. In
operations, whether intellectual or material,
it is irrational to exped limilar refults in cafes,
between which an important difference pre-
vails, as to the powers of the agent, the dif-
pofition of the patient, and the numerous con-
tingent circumflances, by which they are re-
fpeCtively modified. ;
Eye-witneffes of the life, miracles, and re-
-furredtion of Chrift; capable from their per-
fonal obfervation of demonftrating the fulfil-
c c 33 go A fpedal and injlantaneous Convcrjion
ment of ancient prophecies; armed themfelves
alio with miraculous power, and endued by
the Holy Ghoft with the faculty of fpeaking
the language of every nation under heaven;
the Apoftles preached the doctrines of Chrif-
tianity to men, whofe fenfes bore teftimony
to the fupernatural endowments of the preach-
ers : and thus “ in the demonftration of the
“ Spirit and of power,” they converted multi-
tudes to a fteadfaft belief in Chrift, and to
confequent holinefs of living. But therefore
to fuppofe that the eloquence of a mere human
preacher, affifted only by the ordinary visita-
tions of divine grace, is to be followed by the
immediate conv'erlion of multitudes' of finners,
to whom the truths of the Gofpel have been
long familiar, to uniform habits of Chriftian
purity, were as grofs an abfurdity as to fup-
pofe, that a peafant could verify the bdaH of
Archimedes, and move the earth; or that an
aflronomer could realize the fiction of romance,
and divert the fun from his orbit.
The do&rine of converfion, as it is delivered
by fome of our modern fectaries, is fo much
at variance with tine more fober, more ration-
al, ajpd (I trull) more evangelical doctrine of
the national clergy; and it is fo vehemently
enforced as abfolutely hecelfary to falvation,
and the preaching of it is reprefented as fo in-
difpenfable a criterion of the preaching of thenot neceffkry for Chriftians.	3gi
Gofpel*, that it of courfe claims a place in the
prefent inquiry; and it is fo clofely connected,
and by fome perfons fo thoroughly identified
with regeneration, which was examined in my
laft difcourfe, that it naturally prefents itfelf
for the fubject of our prefent reflections.
Converfion, according to our notions, may
not improperly be faid to confift of a rational
convidtion of fin, and fenfe of its wretchednefs
and danger; of a fincere penitence and forrow
of heart, at having incurred the difpleafure of
a holy God; of fteadfafi: purpofes of amend-
ment with the blefling of the divine grace; of
a regular and diligent employment of all the
appointed means of grace; and of a real change
of heart and life, of affeCtions and conduCt,
and a refolute perfeverance in well-doing.
The triumph of fuch converfion as this is
not attended by alternations of extreme joy
and defpondency; of the molt ecftatic rapture,
and the molt gloomy defpair; fometimes by
heavenly exultation, and fometimes by the
agonies of hell. It has little of what is bril-
liant and dazzling to decorate; little of what
.is magnificent and impofing to dignify and
exalt it. It cannot be defcribed as intended
by the Lord to fet the world in a flameb: the
■ i '
1 See Whitefield’s Eighteen Sermons, p. 130.
k Whitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 300.	j
C C 43Q2 Afpecial and injlantaneom Qonyerjian
<minifter, who is God’s inftrument to effedt it,
cannot be pompoufly reprefented to be carried
as on eagle’s wings'; or be elevated into a
comparifon with Jolhua, going from city tp
city, and fubduing the devoted nations : its di-
redtion cannot be faid to be marked out by a
lign from heaven, as the cloud employed by
Providence to condudl the people of Ifrael on
their march through the wildernefsd: its pro-
grefs cannot be defcribed to be terrible as an
army wdth banners': its effedts cannot be ex-
tolled into a rivalry with the fuccefs of the
vjdtorious and imperial Conftantinef. But if
its operations are flow, they are certain ; if its
effects are milder, they are more fecure; if its
conquefts are lefs extenfive, and it draws a lefs
numerous crowd of fuppliants at its chariot-
wheels, it exerts a more permanent dominion
over thofe, whom it has fubdued. Unambi-
tious of earthly diftindfion, and contented with
doing good, its throne is the humble and con-
trite fpirit, and its fceptre is righteoufnefs and
peace.
But I am anticipating remarks, which might
appear more pertinent after the comparifon,
tvhich I propofe to inftitute ip the prefent
c Whitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 367.
d Ibid- vol. i. p. 370, 407,451, 477,
c Ibid, vol. i. p. 398.
f Wefley’s Farther Appeal, p. 92.303
* ’ not necejjary for Chriftidns.
dificourfe, between the fcriptural and method-
iftical notions of converfion. The refult will
probably authorife us to cpnclude, that by de-
clining to adopt the latter, and by reprefenting
converfion with a very different complexion
from thofe artificial colours, with which it has
been difguifed by the enthufiaft, we are af:
cribing to it its legitimate charader, and main-
taining the fimplicity of the Gofpel and “ the
“ truth as it is in Jefus.”
“ Except ye be converted, and become as
“ little children, ye fhal.l not enter into the
“ kingdom of heaven:” fuch was our Saviour’s
Warning to the unbelieving Jews ; and it was
a warning highly neceflary to be impreffed,
not upon them alone, but upon men of every
defcription to whom the Gofpel was originally
preached. The Gofpel militated againfl the
prejudices, the pride, and the corrupt paffions
of all men: nor, unlefs they were fubdued
and fuperfeded by humility, docility, modefty,
fimplicity, and that comparative innocence,
which are the moft diflinguifhing qualities of
childhood, could it be effedually received.
Among the Jews, he who oblfinately refilled,
and he who more adively perfecuted, the
faith of Chrifl; the Pharifee, who commended
his own righteoufnefs, and trufled to an exad
performance of the ritual ordinances of the
law; the Sadducee, who denied a refurredion;304 A fp&cial and injiantaneous CotlverJion
the Scribe, who was zealous for the Mofaic
inftitutions ; even the difciple, who was am-
bitious of fitting on the right hand or on the
left of his Matter, in what he expected would
be a temporal kingdom; and generally every
child of Abraham, who was habitually and
fondly attached to the national belief of the
perpetuity of their exclufive privileges: among
the Gentiles, thofe who were fpoiled and fe-
duced by philofophy and vain deceit; the
fCeptic, who doubted, and the infidel, who
denied, the exiftence or the providence of a
fupreme Being; and the idolater, who wof-
Ihipped the creature more than the Creator,
and changed the glory of the uncorruptible
God into an image made like to corruptible
man: and univerfally, both among Jews and
among Gentiles, thofe who were living under
the dominion of fin, or were not duly con-
vinced of the neceffity of a Redeemer : every
man, who was fubje& to prepofleflions fuch
as thefe, (and they comprife almoft every foul
of man that breathed,) mull have been con-
verted from his errors whether in principle or
in practice : his heart mud have been opened,
and foftened, and rendered capable of receiving
frefh and totally different impreffions, before
he could become a believer in the truth, or a
performer of the duties, of the Gofpel.
Every man, who now alfo is under the in-not necejfaryfor Chrijlians. 3Q5
fluenee of fimilar prepofleflions, muft now alfo
undergo a fimilar change. Every unbeliever
and every finner, although made by baptifm a
member of Chrift and a child of God, muft be,
in a certain fenfe, converted, if he would ulti-
mately fucceed to his inheritance of the king-
dom of heaven. But to fancy, that every
Chriftian whatever muft experience a conver-
fion in order to be in a ftate of falvation :—to
aflert, with the Arminian Founder of Method-
ifm, that “ he who knows no time, when he
“ had need of fuch a. vaft and mighty change
“ as a change from darknefs to light, from the
“ power of Satan unto God, from death unto
“ life, may by this alfo know, if he give him-
“ felf leave to think, that he is not born of the
V Spirit, that he has never yet known God,
“ but has miftaken the voice of nature for the
voice of God®:”—to fuppofe, with his Cal-
viniftic competitor, “ that in every Chriftian
“ congregation there are two forts of people,
“ fome that know Chrift, and fome that do
“ not know him, fome that are converted, and
“ fome that are ftrangers to converfionh;” and
to aflert that “ every perfon muft be converted
or be damned, and that they who die in an
s Wefley’s Sermons, vol. i. p. 157.
h Whitefield’s Works, vol. v. p. 338.896 A Jpecial and injlantaneous ConverJion
“ unconverted ftate mull be damned for ever’:*’
—to contend, as is ftated to be the opinion of
our felf-denominated evangelical brethren by
their Apologift, that “ in order to a ftate of
“ falvation a change of mind, of views, and
“ difpofitions mull be effected in every perjorv,
“ wherever born, however educated, or of
“ whatever external conduCtV—this is a con-
ceit, which revelation warrants not, and which
reafon and experience difclaim.
That no man, however near he may ap-
proach to the perfection of the Chriftian cha-
racter, and however lovely an example he may
exhibit of the beauty of holinefs, is abfolutely
perfeCt and free from the dominion of ftn, I
readily admit, and fhall hereafter have occa-
fion to contend. Every man has been un-
doubtedly guilty of “ fins, negligences, and
“ ignorances,” for which he will be brought
to account, and will need the atoning blood of
the Redeemer. But fome humble Chriftians
alfo undoubtedly there are, who, having been
once regenerated by water and the Holy Spi-
rit, have fo followed his heavenly motions, and
improved his fanCtifying graces; have fo pur-
sued the calm and blamelefs tenour of their
' Whitefield’s Eighteen Sermons, p. 124, 292.
k Overton’s True Churchmen, 8cc. p. 160.' ' not neceffary for Chrijlians. ' 2>Q%
way; have preferred that childlike fimplicity
of charadfer, and that childlike innocence of
conduit, that their angels may not bluth to
behold the face of their heavenly Father.
Such was the converfation even under the
Jewifh law of Zacharias and Elizabeth, “ who
“ were both righteous before God, walking in
“ all the commandments and ordinances of
“ the Lord blamelefs And if the miniftra-
tion of Mofes, which was in comparifon a
miniftration of death, was thus glorious, how
ftiall not the miniftration of Chrift, which is
the miniftration of the Spirit, be rather glo-
rious ? How ftiall not the covenant of God be
eftablithed, wherein he hath bound himfelf by
an oath to Abraham, that he would “ grant us
“ a power to ferve him in holinefs and righ-<
teoufnefs all the days of our lifem?”
And are we to be told that Chriftians, fuch
as thefe, muft experience an intire, change of
heart, a thorough converfion of their ways ?
It is not to afcribe any merit to their righ-
teoufnefs ; it is' no prejudice to the precious
efficacy of the Redeemer’s blood, or to the
all-fufficiency of the Holy Spirit, (God forbid!)
to fay that they need no converfion. By that
blood they have been purified from the origi-
nal corruption of their nature; by that blood
1 Luke i. 6. a Cor. iii. 7,8.	m Luke i. 76.3QS A fpecial mid injiantancous Converfion
they have been cleanfed of their actual fins;
by the Holy Spirit of God they have been re-
generated ; his preventing grace hath con-
ducted them ; his affifting grace' hath coope-
rated with, and given effeCt to their zealUus
endeavours to perfevere in the courfe of piety
and virtue ; his fanCtifying influence renews
and invigorates them day by day. Let God have
all the glory of their continuance in theft?
Chriftian career: but let it not be judged ne-
ceflary that they fhould undergo " a change of
mind, of views, and difpofitions,” when that
change muft be from holinefs unto fin; Jet
them not be fubjeCt to a converfion, which
mull be the very reverfe of turning them from
darknefs unto light, from the power of Satan
unto God.
It is the remark of a learned Prelate, to
whofe labours in the difcharge of a weighty
and important office many of us have been in-
debted for inftruction in found theology, that
“ we are not told in Scripture, as we-are now
“ imperioufly called upon, to divide our hear-
** ers, being believers in Chriftianity in com-
“ mon, into the clafles of converted and un-
1‘ converted. There is indeed a converfion
“ from infidelity; or a converfion from fin, or
“ from any particular fin, or courfe of finning.
“ He which converteth a finner from the error
“ of his way (fo faith St. James molt divinelynot neceffary for Chrijiians. 3QQ
u> in a far other ftrain, and in the true fpirit of
“Chriftianity) fhall fave a foul from death,
“ and fhall hide a multitude of fins. But that
“ among men, baptized as Chriftians, taught
“ from their infancy to believe the do6trines
“ and prabtife the duties of Chriftianity, a fpe-
“ cial converfion alfo at fome period of their
“ life is neceflary to damp them true Chrif-i
“ tians, is an unheard-of thing in the Gofpel,
“ and is plainly a novel inftitution of man.
V Thus taken it is a fpurious fubftitute for the
“ true hinge of Chriftianity, repentance ; with
“ which in Scripture we find it conjoined as
“ one and the fame : Repent, and be con-
“ verted, that your fins may be blotted out”.”
: To reprefent converfion, then, as univerfally
neceflary to all Chriftians, becaufe it was uni-
verfally neceflary to all men, before they be-
came Chriftians, or becaufe it is neceflary to
all, who, whether through unbelief or impiety,
have become apoftates, as it were, from the
religion which they profefled, is a diftinguifhed
and fundamental error in the methodiftical
creed. And it is likely to redound very little
either to the advancement, or to the honour,
of genuine Chriftianity, thus to confound thofe
who are eftranged from that faith or obe-
dience, which are the duty of its profefl'ors,
■ Bp. Randolph’s Charge at Bangor, 1808. p. 16.400' A jpedal and injlantaneous GoitOerJion
with thofe, who having remembered their Cre-
ator and devoutly fubmitted to be taught of
him from their youth up, have confcientioufly
Endeavoured both to believe and to live, as if
becometh the followers of Chrift.
• In defcribing converfion as neceffary to every
profeffor of the Gofpel, fome of our felf-deno-
minated evangelical brethren appear to err in
common with our more extravagant accufers:
for, notwithftanding the more fober and quali-
fied language of one, who feems to ftep for-
ward as the advocate of their caufe, and whom
I.always wifli to mention with honour for his
Ghriftran moderation % their profefled, and (if
I miftake not) their more accredited advocate
affirms, that “ in order to a ftate of falvation
“ fuch a change muft be effected in every per-
“ fon, wherever born, however educated, or
V- of whatever external conduit.” In the' na-
ture of the thing, however, and in the method
of its being effected, where previous habits of
irreligion and worldly-mindednefs render it
neceffary, I trufl we do not materially differ;
for my own part, cbnfidering it in the light,
in which it is reprefented by the former of
thefe writers, or underftanding with the latter,
that it confifts in “ the ailual reformation of
e,c the heart and character ; that the author of
o See Zeal without Innovation, pages 96. and following.401
r not neceffary for Chrijlians.
*
'* this happy change is the Holy Spirit, but
“ that it is generally effected, and is always to
be fought after, in the diligent ufe of the ap-
“ pointed means of grace; that it is no in-
“ llantaneous operation, which fi nifties the
“ whole bufinefs of religion at once, but that
“ it is the ferious commencement of a work,
“ which it requires the vigorous exertions of
“ the whole life to completepcontidering
converfion, I fay, in this light, I can cheer-
fully concur with our brethren in maintaining
the neeeffity of fuch a change to every one;
who is fatisfied with mere nominal Chriftia-
nity, or with any thing Ihort of true Chriffiarl
holinefs both of heart and life; although I
cannot but be of opinion that we are adhering
more clofely to the limplicity of evangelical
truth, whilft, with our venerable Church, wd
imprefs the neeeffity of fuch a change upori
our hearers by the appellation of a true re-
pentance ; and that we are at the fame time
more free from caufing perplexity in the minds
of thofe, who are of themfelves little capable
of diferimination and that we more unequi-
vocally difcountenance the unwarranted con-
ceits, by declining the phrafeology, of enthu-
fiafm.	“
To proceed: As the Methodifts err in re-
p Overton, p.. 162, 163,
n d402 A fpeciat arid injlantaneous Coawerjton
fpe<5t of the extent, by multiplying the fub-
jects, of converfion; they err no lefs in refped;
of the rapidity, with, which it is to be effe&ecb
It is reprefented as an operation, which is
completed always fuddenly; very frequently
in a moment; inftantaneoufly, and with the
rapidity of lightning. “ The Gofpel,” faid one
of their leaders, “ like its Author, is the fame
“ yetlerday, to-day, and for ever; and if preach-
“ ed as it ought to be, will prick numbers to
tc the heart, and extort the cry of the trem-
“ bling gaoler, What muft I do to be laved?
" as furely now, as it did feventeen hundred
“ years ago. Thefe are the fudden and fur*
“ priling effects I always detire to have ; and
“ I heartily pray God,” he adds, addreffing
himfelf to a contemporary Prelate, “ your
u Lordthip and all your clergy may always fee
“ fuch etfedls in confequence of their preach-
“ ingq.” And more fully, in order that the
notion of an inftantaneous change may not
appear deficient in parallels and unfupported
by the authority of Scripture, we are informed
by the other great leader of the fchifm* who
once entertained doubts concerning the doc-
trine, of which he afterwards became a deter-
mined advocate, “ I could not comprehend
“■ what was meant by an inllantaneous work ;
9 Whitefield’s Works, vol. iv, p. 14.not necejfary for Chri/lians.	40S
*? I could not underftand, how this faith could
“ be given in a moment; how a man could at
“ once be thus turned from darkfiefs to light;
“ from fin and mifery to righteoufnefs and joy
“ in the Holy Ghoft. I fearched the Scriptures
*	“ again, touching this very thing, particularly
“ the Acts of the Apoftles; but to my utter
" aftonithment found fcarce any other in-
“ fiances there of other than inftantaneous
"converfions; fcarce any other fo flow as that
“ of St. Paul, who was three days in the pangs
" of the new birth'.” *
Now that we may not lofe by fuch a fum-
ihary reference to Scripture the benefit of that
light, which a more ample examination of the
ihfiances there recorded is admirably calcu-
lated to fupplyj we will take a view of fome
of the moft finking examples, which it con-
tains, of fudden and infiantaneous converfion :
carrying with us at the fame time this, not
unimportant, remark, that the converfions
there recorded are for the moft part, if not in-
tirely, converfions of Jews and Heathens, that
i£ of unbelievers, to a belief in the Chriftian
revelation* and not of hardened tinners to ha-
bits of piety and virtue. Their converfion in-
deed was followed by the fruits of a Chriftian
r Wefley’s Journals, N°. II. p. 92. Coke’s Life of Wef-
ley, P-143-
d d 240 i A fpecial and injlantaneous Converjion
faith ; but the converfion itfelf was a turning
from darknefs unto light; from the obfeurity
of heathen fuperflition, or the comparative
twilight of the Jewilh revelation, to the Chrif-
tian Dayfpring, which vifited them from ort
high : which firft enlightened their under-
ftandings, and then guided their feet into the
’ way of peace.	•
; In the firft place then, I obferve, that, where
the converfion was fudden or inftantaneous, it
was the confequence of miraculous evidence to
the truth. When the preaching of Peter on
the day of Pentecoft added to the Church
three thoufand fouls, they were men, who had
been “ amazed and confounded” by the effu-
fion of the Holy Gholt, and the fupernatural
gift of tongues’. When five thoufand men be-
lieved the word preached by Peter and John,
it was whilft they were " filled with wonder
“ and amazement” at the reftoration of him,
who had been lame from his mother’s womb*.
It was the fight of the paralytic, who had
been reftored to health by the word of Peter,
which occafioned all the people of Lydda and
Saron to “ turn unto the Lord".” It was the
blindnefs inflicted by Paul on Elymas the for-
qerer, which made the Proconful of Afia “ be-
lieve, in aftonifhment at the dodtrine of the
* Aft? ii. * Ibid. iii. iv. u Ibidvix.
* f)not necejjary for Chrijlians.	405
¥‘ Lord*.’' It was the fupernatural earthquake;
and the compofure, little lefs fupernatural, of
Paul and Silas, which forced from the jailor at
Thyateira his earned: inquiry, “ Sirs, what fhall
“ I do to be favedy? It was “ the light from
“ heaven above the brightnefs of the fun,” and
the voice of “ the heavenly vifion,” which con-
verted Paul himfelf from an active perfecutor,
into a mod: zealous propagator, of .the truth*.
Such are the mod: driking examples, which’
the evangelical hidory affords, of fudden or
indantaneous converdons. And need I infid
more fully on the caufes, to which they are to
be immediately referred ? Need I repeat a for-
mer obfervation, that, where fuch caufes do
not exid; fuch effe&s are not to be expected ?
And am I not warranted in affirming, not-
withdanding the pretentions which fome of:
the abettors of modern enthufiafm have ad-
vanced, that fuch caufes do not at p refen tf
exid ?
. In cafes fuch as thefe, the chain of interro-
gatories employed heretofore by the Puritan,
and now adopted by the Methodid, might
eafily have been anfwered; and the convert'
might have didin&ly fpecified the place, the
year, the month, the day, nay the very hour of *
the day, wherein he was wrought upon by the
*
* A£tsxiib y Ibid.Xvi. 2 Ibid. ix. xxii. xkvi,
d d 34o6 A fpecial and injlantaiieous Conversion
divine grace. But even in the primitive ages
of the Church, we perceive the juftice of our
felefTed Lord’s remark, that “ the kingdom of
“ God cometh not with obfervation*;” and that
more frequently it is “ as if a man fhould caft
“ feed into the ground, and thould fleep, and
“ rife night and day, and the feed thould
“ fpring and grow up, he knoweth not how\”
Agreeably to this, it is to be noticed, fe-
condly, that tome of the converfions, fpecified
in the Acts of the Apoftles, were more gradu-
ally effected, than thofe which have now been
cited.i And it is equally worthy of notice, and
it is precifely what a fober inquirer would
eixpedt, that thofe are the very converfions,
which were not wrought by the immediate
interpofition of miraculous power, but were
the confequence of a cool and deliberate atten-
tion to lefs overbearing evidence. If the conr
verfion were wrought by a miracle, it, mull,
one would fuppqfe, be inftantaneous : if re-
fulting from the deductions of reafon, it mufl
in courfe be flower and more gradual.
Impreffed with the “word of exhortation”-:
delivered by St. Paul, but perhaps not tho-
roughly perfuaded by his doctrine, the Gen-,
tiles of Antioch “ befought that the fame
“ words might be preached unto them the
•
* Luke xvii. 20.	b Mark iv. 26, 27.• not neceffary ifor Chrifliahs. 40}
“ next fabbath-dayc.” The interval was pro-
bably employed in meditations and inquiries
on the fubject of his difcourfe : and when, on
the appointed day, the Apoflle refumed his ar-
gument, and tendered to the Gentiles the fame
falvation in Chrift, which he had offered to
the Jews, we read that “ they were glad, and
“ glorified the word of the Lord; and as many
“ as were ordained, believed as many as
were difpofed by previous preparation for eter-
nal life ; as were fit or well-difpofed for the
kingdom of heavend. When Paul preached in
the fynagogue of Theffalonica, fome Jews be-
lieved ; not inftantly, upon his firft add'reffing
them ; but when “ on three fabbath-days he
“ had reafoned with them out of the Scrip-
“■ tures ; opening and alledging, that Chrift
“ muft needs have fuffered, and rifen again
“ from the dead ; and that this Jefus, whom I
preach unto you, is Chrift V’ And at Berea
“ they received the word with readinefs of
“ mind, and fearched the Scriptures daily,
“ whether thole things were fb. Therefore
“ many of them believednot fuddenly, for
that their convi&ion was gradual, the paffage5
unqueftionably indicates; not being “ brought
“ to God by force,” as Whitefield affirms of40$ A Jpqeial and injldytaneous Converjion
his moderft converts'; nbt “ finding God irre-
“ fiftibly adiing upon their foul,” as Wefley.
pronounces of believers, that “ the grace which
*.* brings faith and thereby falvation into the
“foul is irrefiftible at that moment8;” not
wrought upon hy the Spirit, of God, operating
independently of, and in a manner diftinguifhed
from evidence, and argument, and moral fua-
fion ; but fubfequently to, and in confequence
of, their daily inveftigation of the Scriptures,
and ingenuous eomparifon between them and
the doctrine of the Apoftle.1
Thefe examples may, I truft, be regarded as
juft fpecimens of the converfions, which pre-
vailed in the primitive ages of Chriftianity, and
which are recorded in the Adts of the Apo-
ftles;: nor are they mutilated, or diftorted,* toJ
give colour to a favourite fyftem. To me they
appear to mark out a very evident line of dif-
tindtion between .two different kinds of con-
verfion ; the one being rapidly effedted by the ’
oyerbearing evidence of the finger of God; the
other being the flow and progreflive refult of
a deliberate attention to the ordinary, methods
of convidtion, and a willing and rational ac-
quiefcence in that refult. This kind of con*
{ Whitefield’s Eighteen Sermons, p. 94.
s 'yVefley’s Journals,.^0, V. p. 107.not necejfary for Chrijiians.	40g-
verlion belt agrees with the teliimony of Ire-
nasus, that “ God redeems men from the apo-.
“ liate fpirit not by force, but by perfualionh;”
and with the notion, whieh others of the an-:
cient Chriftians give of faith, conlilting of
deliberate alfent of the undei’ftanding, and a
free con fen t of the will. “ Faith,” faithCle-
ment of Alexandria, “ is a fpontaneous ac-J
“ ceptance and compliance with divine reli-
“ gion1.” And, “To be made at firli,” faith"
Jultin Martyr, “was not in our power: but'
“ God perfuadeth us to follow thole things
which he liketh, chooling by the rational
“ faculties, which he hath given us ; and fo'
“ leadeth us to faith	:v
Examples of the latter kind it is furely moll5
reafonable to exped, in times fubfequent to*
the age of miracles. Where the miraculous"
teliimony has ceafed, it is to be expelled, that"
the inllantaneous effed Ihould ceafe alfo : and
as to the particular example of St. Paul, which
A ——ea quae funt fua redimens ab ea (foil, apoftafia)
non cupn vi,---fed fecundum fuadelam ; quemadmodum
decebat Deum, fuadentem et non vim inferentem, acci- .
pere, quae vellet. Iren. lib. v. cap. I.
■ ‘ ILfi;	IxatnOf ’efi, Ssocrs€=i«f iruyxaraSsrig 8tc.
Clem. Alex. Stxom. ii. p. 265. See Barrow’s Works.
( k To fjisv ctpyr^v yEve&aj ex rip-ETEpov jj»• to Se e%xxo\e$r\<raf
oij <fi\ov ouiTcp, aipou/ieve; Si’ euv avro; eSwpycraTO Koyixwv Suva--
p.iaiv, ■STEi^ei re, xai eij wifiy ayei *jp.a;. Jujl. Mart. Apol. ii.
P-58-410 A fpecial and injiantaneous Converjion
we have already feen cited, and on which the
fupporters of this novel doctrine of converfion,
are much difpofed to dwell, I adopt the re-
mark of an invaluable writer on this and its
kindred topics, that “ the converfion of St.
“ Paul was not according to the common
“ way and rule, ,but extraordinary ; in regard.
“ whereof he may very well ftyle himfelf an
“ abortive. For the ordinary courfe is not for
“ the kingdom of heaven to offer violence to'
V us, and take us by force ; but for us to do fo
“ by it1.” “The difpenfation of the Gofpel,”
fays the fame judicious writer, “ which is the
“ miniftration of the Spirit, goes forth doubt-
u lefs with a mighty power of conviction ; but
“ how far it works upon particular perfons af-
“ feCted under the influences of it, is not fo
“ eafily.to be refolved. There are in the con-
“ verfion of finners cafes extraordinary, which
“ muli not be drawn into example, nor preju-
“ dice*the general rule, as in St. Paul, Auftin,
“ &c. But ordinarily, that there is fome dif-
“ pofition and terhper of mind, more apt than
** others to receive the effectual impreflions of
“ it, is moft certain. Such is the honest and
“ good heart in the parable; fuch are the
“ honeft and meek, and the poor in fpirit:
fuch as do the truth and the will of God, fo
M	. . - .
1 Examination of Tilenus, p. 273.■ notmcejfaryforChriJlians. ’.411
** far as.their information ferves them; fuch
K are the weary, and heavy-laden, and the
“ like ; they are refembled to theep, and to
*i babes; and are faid to be of God, to have
u learned the Father, and to know him. Thefe
" are faid to be ordained, that is, difpofed, and
“ in a fit pofture for eternal life ; and of this
<f ingenuous and noble temper were the people
“ of Berea. They were, as it were, in the
Cf fuburbs or confines, not far from the king-;
e< dom of God ; and upon the firtt call by the
,f word of grace, they obeyed and ftept into
<ritm.”	..
? Not that I would be underftood to aflert;'
that Providence may not perhaps, even in the
prefent day, be fometimes pleafed to interpofe
in a manner more aweful and imprefiive, than
is agreeable to the ordinary courfe of his pro-
ceedings; and to arreft the tinner in his career
of infidelity or wickednefs; and to turn him
from darknefs unto light.
- But it is the error of enthufiafm to invert
the order of God’s proceedings; and to miltake
that for, the rule, which in reality contlitutes
the exception. Under the influence of Metho-
difm, which, has befcn again and again repre-
fented; by its founders and its difciples, as an ,
extraordinary difpenfation, of Providence, “ in
?b;; ' ! •	■ -
m Womack on Falfe Principles,,p. 327.412 A fpedal and injlantaneous Converjion
“ favour of which God wrought a new thing
“ upon the earth fupported by the evidence
of even “ greater things than the railing of
“ dead bodies to life";” andfuch, that “ if men'
“ will not believe the evidence God has given
“ that he fent it, neither Would they believe*
“ though one rofe from the dead0;” men are*
taught to expert thefe inftantaneous and irre-
filtible converlions, as matters of courfe and of
necefiity. “ Are not all thefe tilings,” de-
mands its Calviniltic Founder, after giving his
own colouring to the examples of miraculous
converlion recorded in the A6ls, Are hot all
“ thefe things written for our learning? Is not
“ God the fame yefterday, to-day, and for
“ ever? And may he not now, as well as for-'
“ merly, reveal his arm and difplay his power,
“ in bringing tinners home to himfelf, as fud-
“ denly and inllantaneoufly as in the firft
“ planting of the Gofpel Churchp ?” The con-
fequence muft naturally be, a carelefinefs about
growing in grace, and a negled; of the out-
ward regular means : and this carelelTnefs and
riegle6t are augmented by their being oftenta-
tioully reminded of thofe, who are faid to have
been recovered from the moll fettled defpair
and the moll excruciating horror by a kind of
u J* <	' .	•	;	1
n Wefley’s Sermons, vol. vi. p. 66.
° Whitefield’s Works, vol. iv. p. 18. vol. i. p. 50.
P Ibid, voh iv. p. i6j.	• ’413
\ not necejfary for Chrijlians. I-
fupernatural interpofition, after having in vain
habitually praCtifed all the means of grace q;
and of others, who are faid to have been im-
pelled to wean themfelves from inveterate
wickednefs, and to embrace a religious life, by
a firong preternatural agency, without having
praCtifed thofe means at allr.	;
It is true, we hear them telling their de-
luded followers, that they ought to be con-
verted 5 expoliulating with them for not choof-
ing to be converted, and for putting off their
converfion, for not turning to God direCtly; in-
treating them to repent and be converted: Yet
wherefore? when in almoft the fame breath
they tell them, that the Author of this conver-
fion is the Holy Ghoft; that it is not their
own free will; it is not moral fuafion ; that5
nothing fhort of the influence of the Spirit of
the living God can efFeCt this change' in their
hearts’.
•: Yet it was by outward and ordinary means,
by evidence and arguments and moral fuafion,
that converfions of the ordinary kind were ef-
fected by the Apoftles themfelves. Such we
have feen to be the cafe with refpeCt to the
' s Wefley’s Journals, N°. III. p. 15,32,54.
r .See Enthufiafm. of Methodifts, fee. vol. ii. p. 146.
Wefley’s Journals, N°. III. p. 109.
s Whitefield’s Eighteen Sermons, pages 118. and fol-
lowing.'1 •! ■!
414 A fpecial and inftantaneous Cowierjion
Gentiles of Antioch, and the Jews of-Theflalo-
nica and Berea. And fuch was the mode
adopted by Paul, when “ the Lord opened the
“ heart” of Lydia of Thyateira, not to believe,
but “ to attend to the things fpoken by” the
Apoftle1; and by Philip, when he unfolded to
the Ethiopian eunuch the memorable prophecy
of Ifaiah, and “ began at the fame fcripture,
“ and preached unto him Jefus
Even when miraculous atteftations were con-1
ferred in immediate aid of their miniftry, the
Apoftles employed found and fober arguments
to convince the reafon ; and directed their ef-
forts to enlighten the underftandings, rather
than to excite the pafiions and feelings, of their
hearers. The fermon of Peter, which was oct
cafioned by the aflonifhment confequent upon
the miraculous gift of tongues,, was occupied
in convincing the inquiring multitude, that
there was no illulion in their claim to infpira-
tion ; that it was a completion of one of their
ancient prophecies, feveral others of which had
alfo been fulfilled in the perfon of Chrift; and
in preffing on their minds the miraculous a6ts
of his life, and his refurre&ion, and afcenfioni
into heaven. It was with fimilar arguments,
that he wrought upon the minds of the five
thoufand, who flocked together on the cure of
4 A£ts xvi.
u A6ts viii.not nccejfary for Chri/lians.	413
the lame man. And the converiion of Corner
lius, the firft fruits of the Gentile world, which
had been begun by a fupernatural vifion, vouch-
fafed him in confideration of his adts of devo-
tion and charity, correfpondent to the propor*
tion of knowledge which he poilefled; was
promoted by Peter bearing witnefs to the mi-
racles and refurredtion of Chrift*.
Very unlike thefe words of truth and fober-
nefs is the character of that preaching,, which
the miffionary of Methodifm, protefting as he
does again ft the operation of moral perfuafion
upon the fouly, employs for the inftrpment of
his inftantaneous converlions. Reafon is left
to dumber on her poft ■ and her authority is
fuperfeded at leaft, if not annihilated, while,
with language the moft portentous, enforced
by the moft vehement articulation and the
wildeft extravagance of gefture, he gives the
rein to the imagination, alarms the feelings,
and ftimulates the paffions ; now exciting an
ecftatie love for Chrift in terms of rapture, of
which, it hath been truly obferved that “ en-
“ thufiafts. and pious myftics have been re-
“ markably fondz,” but which more become a
preacher of the Koran, than of the Gofpel^
x A&s x.
y Whitefield’s Works, vol. i. p. 113.
** Jortin’s Remarks on Ecc. Hift, vol. ii. p. 81.jll 6 A fppeidl dnd injlantaneous Converjion
now dwelling with horrible delight on the
fer'rorjs of God’s wrath, and figuring to the
fhrinking mind, with a minute and frightful
particularity, the agonies of hell and the tor-
ments of the damned.
The effedt correfponds with its caufe. But
I, dare.not lay before your eyes fpecifie and
detailed examples of thofe formidable fymp-
toms, which accompany the converfion of the
difciple, and teftify the efficacious power of
the teacher. Alternate extremes of weeping
and of. laughter ; fobs and fhrieks and groans
and wailing and gnafhing of. teeth ; the voice
now flifled by agony, and now buriling forth
in tones of execration^ blafphemy, and defpair;
tremors, and faintings and droppings to the
ground, as if flruck by lightning and thunder ;
palenefs and torpor; convulfions and contor-
tions, as in the pangs of death, as out of the
belly of hell; things terrible to behold; too
horrible to be borne, and which words cannot
defcribe: fuch are the fymptoms of conver-
fion, which the very preachers, who have ex-
cited. them, have gloried to furvey, have ,ex-‘
ulted and triumphed in enumerating1. : **
*■ See Wefley’s Journals, N°. III. p. 32, 36, 50, 51, 52,
53> 54> 55, 56, 61, 6*> 7 b 74, 75, 79, 8b 95, 98> Scc-Ssc.
Enthufiafm of Methodifts, 8tc. vol. iii. p. 23. and following
pages. Ibid. p. 135,136.	>	■nat mcejfary for GkrijUans. «	41 7
f A fcene more melancholy hardly- prefented
tOj the powerful imagination,, of Miltonb,
when he defcribed, as the mod joathfome con-
fcquence and mod- compendious- tedimony of
human corruption, his vifionary lazar-houfe,-
el -------rwherein were laid	- ;
Numbers of all difeas’d ; all maladies.	•; ... , •.
. Ofghaftly fpafm, or racking torture, qualms 4
, Of heartfick agony,----
Convulfions, epileplies,—--
Demoniack phrenzy, moaping melancholy,
Arid moonftruck madnefs------
' Dire was the tolling, deep the groans; defpair’'
' Tended the tick, bufieft from couch to couch.
But . they are very different fenfations from,
thofe of triumph and exultation, which.he at-
tributes to the confcious author of luch mifery,
when he reprefents him exclaiming,
.. O.miferable mankind, to what fall
Degraded, t.o what wretched date referv’d!
-------t---------------Can thus
*.* > 1 f ~	^ - ■ , ■ •- - .	.t
The image of God in man, created once :	:
So goodly and eretd, though faulty iince,
" To filch unfightly fufferings be debas’d, W'*’
' Under inhuman pain’s ? Why fhould not man, s
Retaining dill divine fimilitude	’ ■ <
In part, from'fuch deformities be free, ;	•	;
. And fordiis Maker’s image, lake exempt?
Such fentiments have undoubtedly paffed
b This paragraph was not delivered from the pulpit.
e e•418 A fpecial and injtantaneous Converjion
through the minds of many confiderate men,
on perufing the annals of modern enthuliafm ;
and contemplating their nature, fallen indeed
and corrupted, but renewed, and repaired, and
rendered capable of being conformed again ter
the image of Chrift, thus cruelly debafed to
the extreme point of degradation.
And are we to be referred to Scripture for
parallels to fuch extravagances as thefe ? Are
we to be fent to Scripture for examples of
men in a ftate of intellectual defolation, re-
duced to a level with the very beafts that pe-
rilh, in order that they may be clothed with
finlefs perfection, and revel in the aflurance of
happinefs ? Is not this more like making them
pafs through fire to Moloch, than leading
them with willing fteps to reft upon God’s
holy hill ?
The Bible however is before us: let us turn
to the cafes of converfion which it commemo-
rates j and let us take them for the criterion of
our opinions. And what refemblance to thefe
enormities, which are deferibed as the frequent
proofs and fymptoms of converfion;—or even
to thofe pangs and travails of foul, which, we
are taught, that all experience before a tho-
rough converfion is effected in the heartc;—
c Whitefield’s Short Account of God’s Dealings with
the Rev. George Whiteiield, p. 73.not necejfary for Chrijiiam.	41 g
to'thofe “ dreadful conflicts,’^ that “ plowing
“ up of the heartd,” which the enthufiaft tells
us " muft take place in us, or we lhall never be
‘‘prepared for the kingdom of heaven;”—
what refemblance to thefe extravagances (hall
we difcover in the compunction of the con-
verts on the day of Pentecoft, which led to
the rational inquiry, “ Men and brethren,
“what {hall we do?” and was followed by
*their “ gladly receiving the word, and being
“ immediately baptized?” What refemblance
to thefe extravagances do we perceive in the
alarm of the keeper of the prifon, which filled
him indeed with a trembling anxiety for his
falvation, but which did not difable him from
liftening to the word of the Lord, and attend-
ing carefully on its preachers, and embracing
the Gofpel on a conviction of its truth ? What
iymptom of an alienated mind do we difcern
in the confiderate behaviour of Sergius Paulus ?
or in the collected language and calm joy of
the Ethiopian eunuch ? or in the reafonings
and inveftigations of the Jews at Thefialopica
and Berea ? or in the exultation and praifes of
the lame man, or in the wonder and amaze-
ment of thofe who beheld his cure, at Jerufa-
lem ? of in the gladnefs and thankfgivings of
the Gentiles at Antioch ? or in the attention
'■H*
d WhitefieldgS Eighteen Sermons, p. 94. >
E e 2-426- A jpedal and injlantaneous Contierjion
and humility of Lydia at Thyateira ? or in th^
temperate conduct of the centurion and'his’
houfehold at Caefarea, or of the multitude at
Lydda and Saron ? Or, that we may meet the
enthuliaft on his favourite and ftrongeft ground/
what features of refemblance can we trace be-
tween the converfions of the difciples of Me-
thodifm, and that of the Apoftle St.Paul? We
have authority for affirming, that, after Paul
had recovered from the inftantaneous effe6t of-
“ the heavenly vifion,” which met him on
the w-ay, and he was led by the hand and
brought into Damafcus, “ he was three days
‘‘ without fight, and neither did eat nor drink;”
that he prayed ; and that he was vifited with
a fupernatural notice of the approaching refto-
ration of his fight. But on what authority is
it affirmed, that during thete three days he
continued, not only tick in body, but “ under
“ great agonies of foul'/’ labouring (according
to the phrafeology of enthufiafm) in the pangs
and travails of the new birth ? That the -re-
pentance of St. Paul for his perfecution of the
Gofpel was fincere and perfect, and that the
diftrefs of mind which he experienced on a
difcovery of his error, however “verily he had
“ thought with himfelf” that he had been in
• the line of his duty, was intenfe, no man per-
e Enthufiafin cf Methodifts, 8te. vol. iiij p'T35-421
*■. not necejffaTy for Chrijlians.
'haps in his tenfes will doubt. That his re-
pentance was of that character, which is in-
tended by great agonies of foul, and, by the
pangs and travails of the new birth; much
lefs that it was accompanied with thofe fright-
ful Symptoms, to which we are Peeking a
Scriptural parallel, hardly any one in his
fenfes, with the plain narrative of Scripture
before his eyes, would venture to affirm. Nor
-does it redound to the credit of that man’s
foundnefs of understanding, or piety and hu-
mility of heart, who could deliberately com-
pare a young ferpale enthufiaft Struck down
by the power of God’s wordf, hy which the
jelater meant to denote the efficacy of his own
preaching, to Paul arretted in the career of
his perfections by a fupernatural light, and
falling to the earth under the piercing expostu-
lations of the Almighty.
On the prefumption of this comparifon,
contittent as it is with the general ttyle of its
employer, I forbear tq enlarge. The com-
parifon itfelf however naturally induces a re-
flection as to the characters of thofe perfons,
of whom the converts recorded in the evan-
gelical history confided, and of thofe, who
havefwelled the catalogue of the victims of
modern delufion.
- f Whitefield. See Enthufiafm of Methodifts,.&c. vol.iii.
P.x35:
E e 3422 A Jpecial and injlantaneous Conversion
It was the obfervation of Origeng, that “ if
“ any one would candidly conftder the Chrif-
“ tians, they could produce him more who
“ had been converted from a life not the
“ worft, than from a very wicked courfe: for
“ they,” he adds, ** whofe confcience fpeaks
“ favourably in their behalf, are difpofed to
" wifh that our doctrine concerning the future
“ rewards of goodnefs may be true; and fo are
“ more ready to alfent to the Gofpel than pro-
“ fligate men.” And Jortin, who quotes the
obfervation, judicioufly remarks upon it; "I
“ know it may be faid, that among the firft
“ Chriftians there were feveral, who had led
“ bad lives before: but there are many de-
" grees of wickednefs; and there is no reafon
“ to fuppofe that thefe tinners were for the
“ moft part of the worft fort; and though
“ fome perfons, who have been very wicked,
“ may become very good, and fuch were found
" amongft the firft Chriftians, yet where the
“ exceptions are few, the general obfervation
“ is not affe&ed by them; for thus much is
R 'Hfieis Se, ei rif xaTttvorjo-eq ij/iiov euyva>pt.ova>s ro c&qohtjim,
vrteiovas £X°^ev ®r«gasT)0’«f TOtif om onro yotkeitts vsotm /Siou, yirep
Tpuj onto ej-wtefUTcov aptoigmipiotTCDV, EffiypevJ/stvraj. xa/ yap iae$v-
xottrtv oi rot xpeiTTOVot ecturotg owEyvimtOTE;, euyoptevot ctk^dij avtstf
Tot Kt]pu<r<rofj,ei/ot inept mis uiro row ©sou tois xpetTroatv afioi&jj,
tToifjtOTEpov <ri)yxetTotTi$e&otf rots Asyo/XEVoij, araga tou; inotm
■ftoySripuis fieStuixoTcts. Orig. contra Celf. Kb. iii. fe£t, 63.
Op. tom. i. p. 490. Paris. 1733.not neceffbry for Chriftians, 423
■"■certain, that an honeft mind is a great help
“ to underftand the truth; that the pradtice of
“ morality leads to the practice ofChriftianity;
“ and that, lince converfion is brought about
“ by fteps, and revealed religion is founded on
“ natural religion, he who is. moved to era-
'■ brace the Gofpel, mud: be firft fenfible pf
“ the difference between good and evil, truth
and falfehood, virtue and vice; muff love
“ the one and abhor the other; muff; repent
■ ■ of his former tranfgreffions, and receive the
“ facred knowledge which is offered to him
“ with gratitude, and a firm refolution of per-
“ forming his duty. He therefore who can
*5 call evil good, and good evil, who is totally
“ corrupted in heart and underflanding, is re-
“ moved to an infinite diftance from God and
“ righteoufnefs, has no ears to hear, and no
“ eyes to fee, not even to fee miracles, fo as
“ to be inftrudted and amended by them
Agreeably to this found remark, which is
wel| ^worthy the attention of thole who are
for depreciating moral goodnefs and entertain-
ing favourable hopes of the hardened finner,
St. Luke has incidentally mentioned certain
traits in the characters of the primitive con-
verts, which will materially affift the propofed
comparifon, We find them refpedtively de-
h Jortin’s Difcourfes and Remarks, vol.i. p. 7,
e e 4424 A fpe'cial and injlahtaneous Cofwerjion
fcribed as “ devout men,” “ worlhipping God;”
diligent in “ fearching the Scriptures;” will-
ing to be guided in the fearch by the well-
informed ; liftening to reafon; and “ receiving
the word with all humility and readinefs of
“ mind.” The Proconful of Alia was a pru-
dent man, as well as defirous of hearing the
word of God. The Ethiopian eunuch, whofe
probity and wifdom are attefted by the great
authority delegated to him, and the unlimited
confidence repofed in him, by his fovereign,
“ had come to Jerufalem for to worfhip, and
“ was returning, and fitting in his chariot read
“ Efaias the prophet;” an employment, un-
doubtedly indicating a religious and a reflect-
ing mind. Cornelius was “a devout man,
“ and one that feared God with all his houfe;
“ which gave much alms to the people, and
prayed to God alway.” The life of Paul,
whom it is the practice with certain religionifts
to reprefent as on a level with “ drunkards,
“ fabbath-breakers, whoremongers, adulter-
“ ers, unclean wretches as ever trod on the
“ ground 1;” and who has been fomewhat
coarfely and irreverently ftigmatifed as “ that
“ notorious perfecutor Saulk,” as “ a flagrant
“rebel,” and as “a devil incarnate1;” had
>	Whitefield’s Eighteen Sermons, p, 177.
k Whitefield’s Works, vol. v. p. 367.
>	Evangelical Magazine, July 1806. p. 299, 298.'425
. -not necejjary for Chr.ijiians.
been “ ftriCt according to the ftraiteft feCt of his
“ religion:” “touching the righteoufnefs which
“ is in the law, he was blamelefs;” “ con-
“ tinually living in all good confcience before
“ God,” and. even in the perfecution of the
Church of Chritl aCting under a falfe, but ltijl
a fincere, perfuafion, that he was engaged in
the execution of his duty, his heart was fervent
and zealous, his mind capacious, vigorous, and
well-ftorcd.	>
Now in all thefe traits of character (and
they apply in different degrees to mod, if not
to all of the cafes which have been patfing
before us) there is no tendency to irregular
and enthufiaftic feelings ; no predominance of
the imagination over the judgment; no de-
ficiency in natural underftanding; no want, or
contempt, of intellectual improvement; no
weaknefs in fhort to encourage a fulpicion,
that perfons, endowed with fuch qualities,
would be feduced by infufiicient argumenta-
tion to embrace a new religion; or be impelled
by a terrified confcience to a precipitate adop-
tion of the faith in a moment of defperation,
and to take refuge from the wages of fin in a
groundlefs or imperfeCt converfion.
Had the characters of the primitive converts
indeed been fuch as we are fuppofing, and as
they are fometimes fondly reprefented; had
they confided of “ favage jailors and of felons426 A Jpecial and injlantaneous C&%verJion
in prifonm,” (whereas in truth it does not
appear from the facred narrative, that there
was any favagendfs in the difpolition of the
jailor at Thyateira, or that any felons at all
were converted,) there might have been occa-
(ion for that ftridture upon the body at large,
which Zofimus pafled upon Conftanline, that
he chofe Chrillianity as the only religion,
which promifed impunity and pardon for his
enormous pradticesWhat was really the
cafe with refpedt to their characters, we have
feen upon the teftimony of Origen, correfpond-
ing with the reprefentations of Scripture. The
inftrudtion, delivered by our Saviour to his
Apoftles, £t into whatfoever city or town ye
“ lhall enter, inquire who in it is worthy0,”
is wrell illuftrated by the circumftances of the
primitive converts: for it was not without
reafon that Pothinus, the immediate fucceflor
of Irenseus, when the Praefedt demanded of
him, Who was the Chriftians’ God? replied,
If thou be worthy, thou flialt know : inti-
mating that the mytleries of the kingdom of
heaven were made known to thofe, who were
by previous habits of piety, proportioned to
their opportunities, and by the ingenuoufnefs
Evang. Magazine, May 180&. p.301.
n Barrow’s Works, vol. ii. p. 63.
0 Matt. x. 11.	, *«.not necejfary for Chrijlians. 427
and docility of their tempers, well dilpofed to
receive itp.
The perfons, who have been moll affe&ed
by the impulfes of modern enthuliafm, and
who conftitute a large proportion of its con-
verts, are probably of a different defcription,
in point either of intellect, or of previous ha-
bits, or of both. They have been arranged in
feveral divilions by an author, who made an
ample inquiry, and poffeffed a clear inlight,
into the nature of the cafe: I lhall therefore
adopt his claffification in fuppofing them to
conlill in a great meafure of “ young perfons,
*' who are arrived neither to ripenefs of reafon,
“ nor folid conftitution of body; women,
<e who (notwithftanding fome exceptions) may
“ without offence be called the weaker veffels;
“ perfons of a fickle and inconliftent humour;
*e perfons, though pioully inclined, yet of weak
“ judgment or weak nerves ; perfons diforder-
“ ed with hypochondriac fumes, and melan-
“ choly vapours, and divers other peculiar dif-
“ tempers ; perfons of lively parts and brific
xt fancy, though in a perfect Hate of health,
“ yet deficient in a folid and fettled judgment;
“ perfons of an amorous complexion ; perfons
“ of bad principles, as hypocrites, thofe of a
“ vain and ambitious mind, or of an imperti-
P See Barrpw’# Works, vol. iii. p. 337.428 A fpecial and injiantaneous Converjion
*' nent and unwarrantable curiofity; and laftly-,
<c perfons of profligate lives and libertine len-
“ timentsV’ Such perfons appear moft ad*
apted both by constitution and by habits, fox'
Yeing wrought on by the modern methods,
.and for experiencing, the modern fymptoms,
of converfion; and fuch perfons the annals of
enthufiafm enumerate amongft the moft pro-
minent of its converts.
If among this defcription of perfons, and
efpecially if among thofe. in the laft divifion,
'fome have been effectually, fincerely, and per-
manently converted to pious fentiments and
.virtuous lives, God forbid I thould endeavour
. to detradfc from the credit of thofe, to whofe
exertions it may be due. Enthufiafm indeed
and fchifm, fpiritual delulion and religious,fac-
; tions, are laden with too monltrous an accu-
mulation of evil, to fuffer me to entertain a
with,.that they thould be robbed of whatever
-commendation they may incidentally merit.
Yet I cannot withhold an opinion, that little
:is gained to the caufe of pure Chriftianity, if
.men are refcued from fins of one character,
,only to fall into, thofe of another ; if conver-
sion from' fenfual wickednefs is followed by
.Spiritual pride, calumny, detradtion, prefump-
*....................... -
<3 Bp. Lavington’s Enthufiafm of Methodifts and Pa-
pills compared, part iii. p. 190-^204.:tv>T not necejfary for Cfhrvftians.
iron; by mutuaBjealrtulies, disputes, and di-
visions within their own Societies, and art
overweening fcorn and intolerance towards
thofe that are without.	' <’
It is however to be feared that methodiftieal
conversion does not always terminate in con-
fequences no more mifchievous than thefe *
but that; whilft it ingrafts the fpiritual, it fails
of lopping away the fenfual, tins. Impulfes
Suddenly and violently impreSTed upon the feel-
ings, where the reafon is not engaged in theif
Support, are naturally evaneScent ; and will
probably yield to the reviving opposition of
early, favourite, and inveterate habits.	-'*•
It is painful, and it may appear uncharita-
ble, to dwell upon Such a topic as this; but
the caufe of pure religion is promoted by art
exposure of the'mifchief and erroneous pre-
tentions of fuperftition. It might be fruitlefs
alto to attempt expoting them, and to deny
the efficacy of methodiftical conversion, if I
truSled the caufe to lefs exceptionable evidence
than that of the Founders of Methodifm them-
felves. But furely no objection can be made
to the acknowledgment- of Whitefield1, that
there were among his followers “ many muSh-
“ room converts, many perfons that are at-
ways happy, happy, happy, and never were
-	- r Whitefield’s Eighteen Sermons, p. 87,131, 246.*430 A Jpecial and instantaneous Comerjion
“ miferable; who hear the word with joy,
** and in a time of temptation fall away ;
“ that made him cautious now, which,” fays
he, “ I was not thirty years ago, of dubbing
people converts fo foon that “ there were
“ others, who, although they may have been
“ converted twenty or thirty years ago, were
“ perverted then, and flood in need of a fur-
f‘ ther conyerfion to clofe Chriftianity with
“ Godand others, “ who although they
•“ were really converted, were ftill conformed
“ to the world, were ftill lukewarm, had ten
“ thoufand things that their own hearts muft
“ tell them they wanted to be converted from;
“ who could go to a public-houfe, and play at
“ cards, and the like, and yet blefs God they
“ were converted; who had been arretted by
“ God’s grace, even after converfion, when
“ they were damning their own fouls :”—nor
can any reafonable exception be taken againft
the equally plain confelhon of Wefley, that
there were among his difciples “ tinners of
“ every kind, and the great ftumbling-block
“ by them that fay and do not. Such I
“ take for granted,” he fays, “ will be among
“ us, although we purge them out as fall as
we can: perfons, that talk much of religion;
“ that commend the preachers, perhaps are
“ diligent in hearing them ; it may be, read
“ all their books, and ting their hymns; and431
'	not necejfary for Chrijtians.
" yet no change is wrought in their hearts*;
** Were they of old time as lions in their
“ houfes ? They are the fame Hill. Were
“ they (in low life) flothful, intemperate ?
" Were they tricking or difhoneft, overreach-
** ing or oppreflive ? or did they borrow and
“ not pay ? The Ethiopian hath not changed
“ his Jkin. Were they (in high life) delicate,
** tender, felf-indulgent ? Were they nice in
“ furniture or apparel ? Were they fond of
“ trifles, or their own dear perfons ? The leo-
“ pard hath not changed her fpots. Others
“ there are, in whom there was a real change.
“ But it was only for a feafon. They are now
*■ turned back, and are twofold more the chil-
" dren of hell than before5.”
Nor is the effect upon the mind more bene-
ficial, than that upon the heart. The under-
ftanding, not having been enlightened previ-
oufly to converfion, ftill continues under a
cloud of darknefs, which the opinion of en-
joying exclufive fpiritual privileges, and the
contracted notions, to which that opinion
gives birth, with refpeCt to the merciful dif-
penfations of Providence, are not calculated to
remove. The Spirit converted their hearts;
and the Spirit will guide their underftandings
into all truth. The means of inftruCtion are
* Wefley’s Farther Appeal, p. 130.432- A Jpecial and injlantancous COnverfion
as little prized as the means of grace. * They1
are wifer than their unconverted teachers; and*
as for human learning!, they deteft and ; abhor
it as a diabolical'invention, at enmity with the*
wifdom that is from above/ Prejudice fup->
plies an anfwer to every argument; and pride
is an infurmountable barrier againft conviction.’
In love with error, and doling their eyes*
againft the truth, an infulated text, of Scrip-
ture, torn perhaps from its context,, imper-
fectly underftood, and violently diftorted into
a correfpondence with their confined prepof-
feflions, is fufficient to intrench a favourite
doCtrine, and to ferve as an impregnable bul-
wark againft the whole accumulated force of*
the Gol’pel.	-
- For the mind to be thus perverted is a cafe
of ordinary occurrence; experience confirms
the pofition by daily examples of its truth'.
Sometimes however the Ibock is more dif-
afitrous; and inftead of partially obftruCli'ng,
or contracting, the current of the underltand-
ing, has forcibly wrefted it from its channel..
Irrational and unchriltian, not to fay unna-.
tural, doubts and perplexities; a dilbelief of
God and of Chrift; madnefs, fometimes ex-
patiating in unbridled licentioufnefs, and fome-
times convulfed with laughter amid fevereft;
woe; vitions of defpair, wherein the patient
believes himfelf. rejected by God, plunged into433
Utter darknefs, and actually tormented in hell;
or vifions of exultation, in which he fancies
that he is plunged into the Deity, and identi-
fied with God1; fuch is the intellectual de-
folation, the darknefs, and the bondage, into
which the converted have been betrayed; a
darknefs, which hath been felt by every fa-
culty of the inward man, and a bondage,
wherein the iron hath entered deep into the
foul.
But let us throw a veil over thefe gloomy
images of the corruption, the perverfenefs, and
the infatuation of human nature. Neceflary
as they are to be exhibited, as fatal examples
of the pernicious tendency of error, they are
too melancholy to be contemplated with com-
pofure. The mind recoils from contemplat-
ing them ; and feeks repofe and confolation
in that fcene of harmony, and gladnefs; of
gratitude, and devotion ; of fober delight, and
rational exultation; of “ love, peace, and joy
“ in the Holy Ghoft,” which is reprefented in
the page of the Evangelift ; when “ they that
“.gladly received the word were baptized, and
“ continued lleadfafily in the Apoftles’ doc-
“ trine, and fellowship, and in breaking of
4 See Wetley’s Journals, N°. I, II. p. 133. N°. III.
p.109, N°. V. p. 81. Account pf Samuel and Thomas
Hitchens, p. 4, xa, 18, 19. Enthufiafm of Methodifts,
part ii. p. 112. part iii. p. 7, 8, 9,45, 46, 88,93,4, 3,6.434 A fpecial and injhmtaneous Comperjlon
“ bread, and in prayer;” when “ the multi-
“ tude of them that believed were of one
“ heart and of one fouland “ continuing
“ daily with one accord in the temple, and
“ breaking bread from houfe to houfe, did eat
“ their meat with gladnefs and finglenefs of
“ heart; praifing God, and having favour with
“ all the people.”	>k
The foregoing comparifon will, I truft, have
made it appear, that there are few points of
refemblance between that inftantaneous and
violent convertion, which the Methodifts con-
lider as neceffary to falvation ; and that fort
of convertion recorded in the ACts of the Apo-
llles, to which the Methodifts themfelves refer,
as affording authorities and parallels to their
conceit.
In the firft place then, we are furnithed by
this comparifon with a ftrong negative argu-
ment againft fuch converfions. For if they
were not wrought in the early ages of the
Gofpel, it is furely reafonable to infer, and the
inference I apprehend would be conceded by
their advocates, that in the prefent age they
are neither neceffary nor profitable.
The argument however, which the fore-'
going comparifon fupplies, is not merely ne-
gative; for, fecondly, the reflections, to which
it gives rife, authorife us pofitively to contend,
that neither the rapidity of fuch converfions';1 not necejfary for Chriflians. 435
nor the means employed to effeCl them ; nor
the Symptoms, by which they are accompa-
nied ; nor the diSpofitions, to which they are
peculiarly adapted; nor the consequences, by
which they - are followed ; are agreeable to
the general economy of Providence in his
dealings with mankind.
; We may therefore hold ourfelves acquitted
of any dereliction of evangelical truth, if we
decline inforcing inftantaneous converfion, as
nec.effary to the Salvation of Chriftians. And
if, on the contrary, we warn our hearers
againfl being deluded by Such fanciful, irra-
tional, and unfcriptural conceits; if we ad-
drefs them as beings, formed in the image,
after the likenefs of God, and although la-
mentably fallen indeed, and partakers of a
nature effentially corrupt, yet flill endowed
with reafon, the glorious inheritance derived
from their gracious Creator; if we endeavour
to convince their underftandings, and thereby
to alarm their fears, and animate their hopes ;
if'We labour to perSuade their minds of the
neceffity of a Redeemer to reconcile them to
their offended God, and fill their hearts with
a devout affection and veneration for Him,
who paid the price of their redemption ; if
we imprefs on them the awful truth, that the
wages of lin, notwithftanding the Sacrifice of
F f 2436 A jpedal and injlantaneous Converjion
Chrift, and notwithftanding their admiffion
into his Church, will eventually be death, un-
lefs it be heartily repented of through faith in
the blood of the Redeemer, and followed by
reformation and amendment of heart and
life; if we perfuade them not to rely on ftrong
internal impulfes, but to make diligent ufe of
the appointed means of grace; and if we thus
encourage and aflift them, not to expert a
fudden change of heart, but, under the guid-
ance of the revealed will of God, and with the
preventing and aflifting grace of the Holy
Spirit, gradually to build themfelves up in
faith and holinefs, and fo to grow unto an
holy temple of the Lord: we may then in-
dulge the pleating reflection of a good con-
fidence, that we are preaching the doCtrine of
Peter, who called upon the Jews to “ repent
“ and be converted, that their fin§ might be
“ blotted out;” that we are imitating the ex-
ample of Paul, who was fent unto the Gen-
tiles “ to open their eyes, and to turn them
“ from darknefs unto light, and from the
“ power of Satan unto God $” and that we
are fulfilling the intention of our blefled Sa-*
viour, when he required, that tinners thould
“ be converted, and become like little children,
“ if they would enter into the kingdom of
“ heaven.”437
not necejfary for Chrijiians.
Now unto “ the blefled and only Potentate,
“ the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who
“ only hath immortality, dwelling in the
" light which no man can approach unto;
“ whom no man hath feen, nor can fee; to
“ him be honour and power everlafting. A-
te	»>
“ men.DISCOURSE VIII.
Matt. v. 3.
Blejfed are the poor in fpirit; for theirs is the kingdom
.	of heaven.
The revelation, which God hath been pleaf-
ed to manifeft of his will, is intitled to our un-
qualified obedience, univerfally and in all its
parts : nor can we willingly, without guilt
and danger; commit a breach of one of his
“ leafi: commandments.” Whatever dodtrine he
may difclofe, it is our duty to receive it: what-
ever precept he may ena£t, it is our duty to
obferve it: whatever quality he may recom-
mend, as calculated to render us lefs unworthy
of his favour, and whatever blefling he may
promife, as a teftimorly of his favour, it is our
duty, and will be for our intereffc, to cultivate
the one, and to afpire after the other. Still
there is no irreverence in affirming, that the
feveral gifts and graces of Providence, pro-
ceeding as they all do from the fame divine
f f 4440 AJp&rance of eternal Salvation
mind, and favouring of their heavenly original,
are marked by feveral degrees of excellence:
as in the heavens, the work of God’s fingers,
the glory of the fun is greater than the glory
of the moon ; or as "one ftar differeth from
" another flar in glory.”
It will be no difparagement then to the
other Chriftian graces, if I remark, that the
quality on which a blefling is pronounced in
my text, and the recommendation of which is
peculiar to revealed religion, is exhibited in the
holy Scriptures under a form of lingular love-
linefs, and encompaffed with an appropriate
degree of luftre. It is not only placed by our
Saviour, in whofe perfon it was embodied, at
the head of the beatitudes ; but its fpirit is
diffufed through all the reft. It is that quality,
to the pofleflors of which the Golpel is elpeci-
ally preached : to which the vifitations of di-
vine grace are efpecially promifed3: and the
heart, which is tempered by its influence, is
defcribed as the favourite abode of that “ high
“ and lofty One, which inhabiteth eternity,
“ whofe name is Holyb.”
The heart, in which this heavenly quality
refides, bears evidence to its power by a life of
habitual devotion and fubmiflion to God : it
acknowledges, that it is ahfolutely unworthy
* Jam. iv. 6~. i Pet, v. 5.
b If. lvii. 15.441
and unjtnning Perfe&ion.
of God’s favour, but through the merits of
Chrifi:: and that it is altogether incapable of
performing the fervices, to which the promife
of that favour is annexed, but by the help of
the Holy Spirit: even with the help of that
Holy Spirit, it confefles the original corruption
of its nature to be fo inveterate, that it is un-
able to perform the will of God without nu-
merous lapfes and teftimonies of imperfe&ion;
and, fearful of falling ultimately from grace,
and anxious to make its calling and election
fure, it is diligent in working out its falvation
with fear and trembling.
Such will be the fentiments, and fuch the
condu6l of one, who is lincerely “ poor in fpi-
“ rit.” Feeling his own infirmity, he will
feel the poffibility, and will dread the confe-
quences, of “ a righteous man turning away
“ from his rightepufnefs, and committing ini—
“ quity, and dying in itnor will his humi-
lity permit him to exult in a full aflurance of
everlafting falvation, or in an unfpotted and
finlefs perfection, until hope fhall be fwallowed
up in fruition ; until faith lhall be annihilated
in the completion of the promifes; and charity
lhall be releafed from the image of the earthy,
and be inlhrined in the image of the heavenly,
Adam; be purified from the alloy of mortality,
and fee the Creator face to face.
Thefe remarks are fuggefted to me by re-442 Jjffurance of eternal Salvation
fle&ing, how incompatible this favourite qua-
lity of our Saviour is with thofe extravagant
notions, which are interwoven with the mo-
dern dodtrine of converfion ; and which repre-
fent the true Chriftian as exalted to a ftate of
infallible aflurance of his everlafting happinefs,
and of dominion over every outward and in-
ward tin. The true Chriftian is indeed elevated
by faith in his Redeemer to an eminence,
from which he may look down upon the
ftruggles, the errors, and the failures of his
brethren with comparative ferenity: but to
reprefent him as a difinterefted fpedlator of
the fcene, inafmuch at leaft as being perfon-
ally exempt from its difficulties and dangers ;
as releafed from the corruption and infirmities,
which flefh is heir to g and as trampling under
foot all the fears, the doubts, and apprehen-
fions incident to mortality: to reprefent him,
in the language of Whitefield, as “ emboldened
“ under the fenfe of his interelt in diftinguifh-
“ ing love to give the challenge to all his ad-
" verfaries, whether men or devils, and that
“ with regard to all future as well as prefent
“ attempts to deftroyc—to reprefent him
with Wefley, as “ faved from his fins, the root
“ as well as the branches as c£ made free
from outward fin,” “ from evil thoughts and
c Whitefield’s Works, vol. iv. p. 64.443
and urijinning Perfection.
‘/evil tempers;” as enjoying “a diffinH ex-
“ plicit affurance that his fins are forgiven,”
an affurance often “ excluding all kinds of
“ doubt and fear concerning his future per-
“ ieveranced—to charadterife him, in the
words of fome celebrated minifters of our’
Church, as “ certain that God will love him.
“ and keep him unto the end;” as “ ftanding
“ fecure on the edge of the whirlpool, no lon-
" ger within the reach of the tide, and behold-
“ ing the folemn profped; of thoufands Hill;
“ ingulphed;” as “ removed from the region's-
“ of doubts and fears, ftorms and clouds, and
“ refting fafe in a condition of abfolute fere-^
“ nity and quiet0:”—is to indulge in the vi-‘
lions of fancy, and to borrow the poet’s deli-"
neation of a fcholar of Epicurus, rather than
to trace a refemblance from the oracles of
truth, of a good foldier of Jefus Chrift. What-%
ever caufe of delight and felf-gratulation fuch
an one may feel, in his own (late of compara-
tive fecurity, Hill he has reafon to apply to
himfelf the folemn warning of his Redeemer,
and to “ watch and pray that he enter not into
“ temptation ;” and to acknowledge in his
own cafe, as well as in that of the Apoftles, to
/	•' • r , :	; ,	v., J ;	. ,
d Wefley’s Sermons, vol. iv. p. 340. vol. iii. p. 11, 23,
231.
e Hawker’s Zion’s Pilgrim, p. 2. Mafon’s Spiritual
Treafury, edited by Romaine, p. 113.444	AJfurance of eternal Salvation
whom the warning was originally addreffed’;
that however “ willing may be the fpirit, the
“ flefli indeed is weak.”
The origin of the doCtrines, to which I am
calling your attention, as profefled by fome
Methodifts, is of a modern, and by others, of
a very recent date. Aflurance, as taught by
Whitefield, for he exprefsly condemned the
doctrine of perfection as a “ monftrous doc-
“ trine V’ appears to be a part of the predeftina-
rian fcheme, according to the opinions of Cal-
vin ; who, in this particular entering upon
ground, which had not been occupied by Auf-
tin, contended, that “ true and laving faith was
“ a conflant principle, and could not be loft;
“ and therefore that they who were confcious to
“ themfelves of having fuch a faith, were even
“ now already aflured of everlafting falvation ;
“ notwithstanding” (as he confefled) “ they
“ might fall into very grievous fins8.”
With Wefley the combined doCtrines of af-
furance and perfection were derived from a
different quarter: and it is now about feventy
years, a long period indeed in the life of man,
but a mere point in the exiltence of thofe fa-
cred truths, which, like their divine Author,
are “ the fame yefterday, and to-day, and for
f Whitefield’s Works, vol. iii. p. 337.
s Brandt’s'Hift. of the Reformation, vol. ii. book xviii.
P-33.445
and imjinrimg Perfe&ion.
t* everh,” that they were firft introduced a-
mongft us. It was then that the Founder of
Methodifm1, hearing it affirmed by one of the
fed: .of Moravians, which had been eftabliffied
in Germany not twenty years before, that
“ true faith in Chrift has theie two fruits in-
“ feparately attending it, dominion over fin,
i‘ and conftant peace from a fenfe of forgive-
“ nefs, was quite amazed, and looked upon it
“ as a new gofpel.” Confulting the Scriptures
however upon this point, which (he tells us)
“ he had before been taught to conftrue away,
“ and converting with fome living witnefles,
“ who teftified of their own perfonal exped-
ience, that a true living faith in Chrift is in-
“ feparable from a fenfe of pardon for all paft,
“ and freedom from all prefent fins, he was
“ now thoroughly convinced.” On a fubfe-
quent vifit to the Moravian fettlemeht, he was
much ftrengthened by the religious experience
of feveral holy men, with whom he converfed
during his ftay in this truly Chriftian place.
“ One of thefe gave him at his requeft a defi-
“ nition in writing of the raAjypacpoqia vuqm?,
“ the full aflurance of faith, in the following
“ words, Requies in fanguine Chrifti; firma
“ fiducia in Deum, et perfuafio de gratia di-
h Heb. xiii. 8.
* See Wefley’s Journals, N°. I. and II. p. 103, 144.
Coke’s Lifebf Wefley, p. 156—167..346	AJfurance of eternal Salvation
“ vina; tranquillitas mentis fumma, atque fere-
V	nitas et pax; cum abfentia omnis defiderii
“ carnalis, et ceflatione peccatorum, etiam in-
ternorum. He added, teftifying at the fame
“ time it was his own experience, Verbo, cor
quod antea inftar maris turbulenti agitabatur,
‘c in fumma fuit requie, inftar maris fereni et
“ tranquilli. Repofe in the blood of Chrijl; a
“ firm confidence in God, and perjuafion of his
“ favour; ferene peace and fieadfafi tranquil-
“ lity of mind, with a deliverance from fiejhly
“ (unholy) dejire, and from every outward and
V	inward fin. In a word, the heart, ivhich be-
‘■‘fore was tojl like a troubled fiea, ivas Jlill and
quiet and in a fiveet calm. This,” continues
lais biographer, “ was the firft account Mr.
“ Wefley had heard from any man living as
“ his own experience, of what he had before
“ learned from the Oracles of God. And as
“ by the former teftimonies he was encouraged
ft to hold faft the beginning of his confidence,
V	fo by this he was ftimulated to prefs for-
V	wards after all the privileges of his high
“ calling, that his joy might be full.”
Now with refpect to the experiences of
other men, which appear to have had a
weighty efFe6t on his mind in the prefent in-
ftance, and which he had previoufly acknow-
ledged as a conclufive evidence for inftanta-
neous'converfion,.! fhall fay no more on the-- and unjinning Perfection.	447
prefent occafion, than to proteft againfi: its be-
ing admitted, as the criterion of a religious
dodtrine. It is neither a pillar of a cloud to
lead us the way, nor a pillar of fire to give us
light. Inftead of being a beacon to guide, it
is a meteor to dazzle and perplex us. But as
by referring to the Oracles of God, by honour-
ing his dodtrines .with the appellation of the
“ old faith of the GofpelV' he propofes for his
opinions a fure criterion, the only infallible
rule of the truth, I fhall endeavour to fhow
what fupport the Scriptures afford to each of
the dodtrines in queftion. The intimate con-
nection of thefe dodtrines with the fubjedts of
fome former difcourfes, will prevent the ex-
amination from being regarded as an irrelevant
dfigreflion, even if the remarks, which will in-
cidentally occur, fhould not bring it fo flridtly
within the line, marked out for our more im-
mediate inquiry.
■ I. In the firit place, then, I ftate it to be a
tenet of Methodifm, in both of its great divi-
fions, that true faith in Ckrijl produces a full
and infallible assurance of everlajiing pardon
and falvation, often conveyed in a fenfible
manner, and in many, very many perfons, ex-
cluding all doubt and fear concerning their
future perfeverance. And fo ftrongly has this
k Wefley’s Journals, N°. V. p. 43.448 Affurance of eternal Salvation
tenet been inculcated, that one of the Founder^
of the fed pronounced, that “ it is a dreadful
u mitlake to deny the do&rine of aflurances
that “ alTurance of eternal falvation is one of
“ the privileges of Chrilt’s followers and
that “ to hear of a Chrift dying for tinners,
“ will only increafe our damnation, will only
“ fink us deeper into hell, unlels we have
“ ground to fay, by a work of grace wrought
c< in our hearts, that the Lord Jefus hath
“ brought this home to us1—that another
<c wilhed all perfons mad, who were not af-
“ lured of forgivenefs m —and that a third
confidered “ a diftintft explicit atTurance that
“ his fins wrere forgiven the common pri-
£t vilege of real Chriftians,” and affirmed of
one, who “ hoped only for falvation, without
“ being abfolutely allured of it, that that per-
“ fon was already in a Hate of damnation”.”
It is furely unnecelfary to remark, that a
d'odtrine ought to be revealed in the moll clear
and pofitive terms, and to be recognifed in the'
holy Scriptures, as an efiential article of faith,
1 Whitefield’s Fiftli Journal, p. 17. Works, vol. v.
p. 347. Enthuliafm of Methodifts, &c. vol. i. p. 43. vol. iii.
P- 4> 5-
m See Enthufiafm, &c. vol. iii. p. 4. The name of the
perfon here alluded to was Seward.
n Wefley. See Outranks Extracts, p. 77. Enthufiafm,
&c. vol. iii. p. 5. See alfo Hampfon’s Life of Wefley,
vol. iii. p. 51.not the Privilege of a true Chrijlian. 44 Q
inftead of depending on the controverted in-
terpretation of a few difficult texts, before an
individual can be warranted in thus authorita-
tively pronouncing on its merits, and uttering
anathemas againil thofe, whofe opinions may
not correfpond with his own. I would how-
ever at prefent infill on this point the rather,
becaufe it evidently appears to be the general
tendency of the facred writings, to reprefs and
correct all prefumptuous imaginations ; and to
encourage that poornefs of fpirit arid thofe
congenial qualities, which would divert us from
confidently relying on our own fecurity, and
ftimulate us to “ work out our falvation with
“ fear and trembling.” Befides it is a prin-
ciple, which like the former cannot be too
often repeated, or too forcibly impreffed, or
too carefully guarded, as one of the fiecureft
bulwarks of the truth, that extreme caution
ftiould be obferved in the interpretation of the
fnore difficult pafl’ages of Scripture, left we be
feduced into the adoption of tenets, irrecon-
cileable with its general tenor, and fubverfive
of its fundamental truths.
Some of thefe paffages will prefently be of-
fered for your obfervation. Meanwhile I wilh
to fuggeft a few confiderations, which appear
to exhibit the dodtrine in a very queftionable
lhape.
It affords then, on the firft general view, a
°g450 AJfurancc of eternal Salvation
ftrong prefumption agajnll the truth, of the
doctrine, that this affurance of falvation is fup-
pofed to be effected as an accompaniment of
the inllantaneous conversion, which was ex-
amined in my laft difcourfe; and that, con-
fequently, it is an operation of fuch a fudden,
rapid, and violent nature, as is not agreeable to
the general order of God’s proceedings with
mankind °.
A farther prefumption to its difcredit is af-
forded by this reflection, that it frequently
bears the mark of enthufiafm, Stamped on its
very forehead. For what more appropriate de-
nomination can be given to the belief of that
myfterious and inexplicable instrument, by
which it is frequently faid to be conveyed ;
whether it be “ a voice,” (inward or outward
its hearers feem not to have afcertained,) “ pro-
“ nouncing forgivenefs to the finneror an
apparition of Chrift, “ now lying in the man-
“ ger, and now crowned with thorns, and
“ clothed with the purple robe ; now hanging
“ on the crofs, and now ilanding on the right
“ hand of God; exhibited in a bodily form
“ to the mental, as plainly as it could be feen
4‘ by the material, eyep.”
0 Enthufiafm of Methodifts, &c. vol. i. p. 43.
P Wefley’s Sermons, vol. i. p. 161,165,333. Journals,
N°. 1. and II. p. 138. N°. III. p. 34- N°. VII. p. ioo>not the Privilege of a true Chrijlian. 451
It is moreover far from a recommendation
of this aflurance as a fcriptural do&rine, that it
is merely an affair of feeling : (“ I felt faith in
" Chrift,” fays one of the leaders of the fe6t;
“ and an aflurance was given me that he had
" taken away my fins, even mine11" I know
" numbers,” reports the other, " whole falva-
" tion is written upon their hearts, as it were
"with a fun-beam1:”)—of feeling, which
" may be as truly felt and difcerned as any
" imprefiion from without can be felt by the
" body; which may as furely be felt by the
“ believer, as Naaman felt, that he was cured
" of his leprofy, or the woman in the Gofpel,
" that the was cured of her bloody iflues—
of feeling too, let it be obferved, not the refult
of, but diftinguifhed from, a rational convic-
tion, that they are in the way of falvation,
fuch as would be warranted by a confcientious
comparifon of their hearts and lives with the
precepts of the Gofpel.
It is a confequence, wdiich might naturally
be expected, that fuch a feeling Ihould often
prove delufive. One of its great advocates has
N°. XIV. p. 86, 91. N°. XV. p. 35. Whitehead’s Life,
p. 113.. Whitefield’s Further Dealing, p. 33.
S' Wefley’s Journals, N°. t» p. 105.
1 Whitefield’s Fifth Journal, p. 17. JEnthufiafm, &c.
toI. i. p.43.
1 Whitefield’s Works, vol. v. p. 369.
G g 2452 AJfwr.ance of eternal Salvation
readily allowed, that “ fome of his followers,
“ who had not aflurance of falvation, prefump-
<£ tuoully imagined they had it'.” He would
probably throw the blame upon the prefump-
tion of the individual: let it however be can-
didly confidered, whether it is not rather at-
tributable to the nature of the dodirine itfelf.
And let it be farther confidered, whether the
mere feeling of aifuranee has not an obvious
and natural tendency to fofter arrogance, fpi-
ritual pride, and a general negledt or contempt
of the prefcribed duties of a religious and vir-
tuous life.
Further, it is a convincing proof of the pre-
fumptuous character of the dodtrine, that it
nourifhes lofty and vain conceits of fpecial vi-
fitations; of “a holy familiarity” with God;
prompting men to think and affirm, that he
hath fignally revealed himtelf unto them, and
diredfs them fupernaturally how to adt j that
they “ meet and talk with God, as a man
" talketh with his friend;” that they are “ad-
“ mitted to a degree of that holy and familiar
“ converfe and communion with God, with
“ which the Prophets and Apoftles were fa-
“ vouredV’ “When familiarity with God,”
* Letter to the Author of the Enthufiafm of Methodifts,
&c. by G. Whitefield, p. 31.
n Whitefield’s* Works, vol. v. p. 40, 337. vol. i. p. 195.
vol. iv. p. an.not the Privilege of a true Chrijlian. 453
faith the pious and eloquent Bilhop Taylor,
" fhall be efteemed a privilege of lingular and
“ eminent perfons, not communicated to all
“ the faithful, and is thought to be an admif-
“ lion to a nearer intercourfe of fecrecy with
£< God, it is an effect of pride. Familiarity
with God is nothing elfe but an admiffion to
“ be of God’s family, the admiffion of a fer-
“ vant or fon in minority ; and implies obe-
dience, duty, and fear on our parts; care,
“ and providence, and love on God’s part.
“ And it is not the familiarity of fons, but the
** impudence of proud equals, to exprefs this
“ pretended privilege in even, unmannerly,
“ and irreverent addreffes and difcourfes. And
“ it is a fure rule, that whatever heights of
“ piety, union, or familiarity, any man pre-
" tends to, it is of the devil, unlefs the greater
“ the pretence be, the greater alfo be the hu-
'£ mility of the man. The higheft flames are
“ the mofl; tremulous : and fo are the molt
“ holy and eminent religious perfons more full
“ of awfulnefs, and fear, and modefty, and hu
“ mility*.”	■1)J-
Nor do the obje<flions to the dodfrine of af-
furance flop here : for, like Calviniftic election,
whilll on the one head it leads to unreafon-
able prefumption, on the other it expofes lefs
x Life of Chrift, part i. fe&. 5,
Gg3454	Affurance of eternal Salvation
ardent minds to a defpondency equally un-
reafonable. “ When fuch a confident affurance
“ is made a certain mark of grace, and the
want of it as certain a mark of damnation,
“ what” (it has been well demanded) “ can
“ be done by the weak, the modeft, the hum-
“ ble, and the melancholy, who cannot wind
“ themfelves up to the higheft pitch of felf-
“ conceit and prefumption ? They will of
“ courfe fall into fears and doubts and defpera-
“ tion, as perfons in a reprobate condition ;
“ becaufe they have not the fame experiences
“ with others, not only of knowing and feel-
“ ing, but actually feeing Chrift taking away
“ their fins5'.”
Nor fbould it be omitted in this curfory re-
view of its demerits, that it is not productive
of full and uninterrupted fatisfaCtion to thofe,
who are allowed to be really poffeffed of it.
“ It is true,” faid an earlier and more tempe-
rate advocate of the doCtrine, who is not to be
Confounded with the abettors of modern en-
thufiafm, “ It is true among Chriftians, fome
“ may not have this affurance at all, and none
“ have it at all times. As in a walk, that is
“ fhaded with trees and checkered with light
“ and thadow, fome tracks and paths in it are
“ dark, and others are funfhine, fuch is ufually
y Enthufiafm of Methodifts, &c. vol. iii. p. 6.not the Privilege of a true ChriJUan. 455
“ the life of the raoft allured Chriftian. Some-
“ times he walks in the light of God’s coun-
“ tenance, and rejoices in the fmiles of his fa-
“ vour ; and at other times he walks in dark-
" nefs, and can fee no light; he Heps out of
,c the bright manifeftations of God’s love into
** the umbrages of fad and cloudy apprehen-
“ lions concerning his prefent Hate of grace,
“ and his future Hate of glory. So that fome
“ Chriftians never have any full aflurance at
■*' all, and no Chriftian hath this full aflurance
<c at all times Agreeable to this, with refpedl
to the occasional failure of the aflurance which
they pretend to, is the language of our modern
enthufiafts. We have it on the confeflion of
thofe, who “ have felt an infallible aflurance of
“ everlafting falvation,” that they have, at pe-
riods fubfequent to their admiflion into this
ftate, been " fubjecft to manifold evil fuggef-
“ tions, and dangerous temptations; have been
“ exceedingly troubled and perplexed ; have
“ alternately fainted and exulted, defponded
“ and prefumed ; have feared that they had
“ deceived themfelves, and greatly doubted
** whether God would not lay them afideV’
This is a natural effect of thofe vifionary,
....  •• Lii-i<«.,	1 i">tii iul‘sb- ..
z Bp. Hopkins’s Works, vol. ii. p. 524. 8vo.
a See various eSfadts from the works of Whitefield
and Wefley in the Enthufiafm of Methodifts, &c. vol. ii.
p. 76,82. vol. iii. p. 8.456 AJfurance of eternal Salvation
I venture to call them thofe magical, rap-
tures,
Which in a pleating flutnber lull the fenfe,
And in fweet madnefs rob it of itfelf:
but it is very unlike indeed to that “abundant
“ hope,” that “ peace and joy in the Holy
“ Ghoftb,” which, the Gofpel teaches us, ac-
company and reward the righteoufnefs of the
humble and contrite fpirit; to that “ peace of
“ God which palfeth all understanding,” which,
the Gofpel promites, thall “ keep the hearts
“ and minds” of the faithful “ through Chrilt
“ Jefusc.” Such however was the avowed
condition of the founders of Methodifm, the
ttrenuous advocates of the doctrine. What
then mutt we think of an aflurance, which in
tome inftances is readily allowed to be liable
to be mittaken; and which, in others, where
it is real, is neverthelets admitted, on the con--
feffion of its fondett patrons, to be incontiftent
with, and contradi6tory to itfelf ?
But waving thefe confiderations, let us come
nearer to the point, and examine the particular
lcriptural authorities, by which the doctrine, is
fuppofed to be eftablithedd. In the firlt place
then we are referred to the aflertions of St,
Paul, that “ the Spirit itfelf beareth witnefs
b Rom. xv. 13. xiv. 17.	c^hil. iv. 7.
d See Wefley’s Journals, N°. I. p. 93. WhitefielcTs
Letter, p. 32.not the Privilege of a true Chrijlian. 457
“ with our fpirit, that we are the children of
“ Godeand that we muft “ know our own
“ felves how that Jefus Chrift is in us, except
“ we be reprobatesfand to the fimilar afl’er-
tions of St.John, that “ he that believeth on the
“ Son of God hath the witnefs in himfelf8
that “ we know that we are of God, and the
“ whole world lieth in wickednefsh;” and that
“ hereby know we that we dwell in him, and
“he in us, becaufe he hath given us of his
“ Spirit1.”
God forbid we fhould deny the comfortable
do&rine, which is really conveyed by thefe
and fimilar declarations of Scripture! But
what is that doctrine? Evidently it is, that
“ as many as are led by the Spirit of God*/’
acting in obedience to his heavenly motions,
in conformity to his revealed will, “ they are
“ the fons of God they continue in full poG
feflion of thofe privileges of adoption, to which
they were admitted when they were “ born
“ again ;” and they enjoy an inward teftimony
of their continuance in that ftate, a teftimony
conveyed to their hearts by the influence of
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth ; and they
are filled by Him with “ all joy and peace in
“believing.”
e Rom. viii. 16.
h i John v. 19.
f 3 Cor. xiii. 5.
‘ Ibid. iv. 13.
S 1 John v. 10.
k Rom. viii. 14.458 Affurance of eternal Salvation
What now are the privileges, to their pof-
feflion of which, teftimony is thus borne ‘by
the Spirit? A promife of forgivenefs of fins,
and of everlafting happinefs: a promife, which
will eventually be realized, provided they con-
tinue to be led by the Spirit, and to aft in a
manner worthy of their adoption, as the fons
of God. If indeed their continuance in that
ftate were certain, their affurance of future
falvation alfo might be full and infallible. But
if it be poflible for them to fall from their pre-
fent righteoufnefs, the teftimony to their fu-
ture happinefs alfo muft be limited and pro-
vifional.
Still do not the Scriptures fpeak of true
Chriftians poffeffing “ a full alfurance of faith1?”
Undoubtedly they do; and of their poflefling
" a full alfurance of hope m.” But this is not
to fpeak of their poflefling a full alfurance of
eternal falvation. God hath given to mankind
certain promiles; and “ as he is faithful that
“ promifed",” we have a full alfurance of
faith, we do intirely and infallibly believe,, that
he will pferform his promifes. The promifes
are made to his faithful fervants; and we may
have a full alfurance of hope, we may hope
with intire and unerring confidence, that if we
be faithful on our parts, we lhall “ through
1 Heb.x. 22. m Heb. vi. n. n Heb. x. 43.not the Privilege of a true ChriJUan. 4.59
*	faith and patience inherit the promifes.”
4 Truth it is,” as our Reformers difcreetly ex-
>refs the dodtrine of Scripture, “ that in the
‘ facraments inftituted by Chrift, we may
*	conftantly believe the works of God in them
4 to our prefent comfort and application of
4 his grace and favour, with aflurance alfb
that he will not fail us, if we fall not from
4 him. Wherefore fo continuing in the Rate
4 of grace with him, we may believe undoubt-
4 edly to be faved0.” Comparing our lives
with the law of God, having 44 the teftimony
of our confciencep,” that they are in gene-
ral correfpondence with that law, and trufting
in the atonement made by the blood of Chrift
for our fins; with refpeft to our prefent ftate
we -may have the witnefs of the Spirit in our-
felves, creating a full aflurance of faith and
hope ; or, as the Homily exprefles it, We may
44 have a fure truft and confidence in God,
44 that by the merits of Chrift our fins are for-
44 given, and we reconciled to the favour of
44 God.” But with refpe<ft to our future ftate
vve cannot, at leaft on fcriptural grounds we
cannot, entertain fuch an aflurance. 44 Foraf-
14 much as our own frailty and naughtinefs
44 ought ever to be feared in us,” (I quote the
0 Neceffkry Doctrine, 8cc, Declaration of Faith.
P 2 Cor. i. 12.460	AJfurance of eternal Salvation
words with which our Reformers follow up
the paflag'e lately laid before you,) “ it is
“ therefore expedient for us to live in con-
“ tinual watch and continual fight with our
“ enemies, the devil, the flelh, and the world,
“ and not to prefume too much of our per-
“ feverance and continuance in the Hate of
“ grace, which in our behalf is uncertain and
“ unftable. For although God’s promifes made
“ in Chrifi be immutable, yet he maketh them
“ not to us but with condition, fo that his
“ promife Handing, we may yet fail of the
“ promife, becaufe we keep not our promifeq.”
Our receiving a crown of glory depends on
our enduring temptation'.” Our being ad-
mitted into everlafiing happinefs depends on
our perfevering in obedience. “ He who
“ fhall have perlevered even unto the end,”
faith Cyprian, “ that man fhall be faved:
“ whatever fhall have been before the end is
“ a Hep, whereby we are afcending to the
“ height of falvation, not the goal, whereby
“ the fummit of the pinnacle is already attain-
“ eds.” Unlefs we be allured, that we fhall
1 Neceflary Doftrine, &c. as above.
r James i. 12.
s Cumque fcriptum lit, qui perfeveraverit ufque in finem,
hie falvus erit; quicquid ante finem fuerit, gradus eft,
quo ad faftigium falutis afeenditur, non terminus, quo
jam culminis fumma teneatur. Cyprian. de.Unit. Ecclef.
p. 2of ed. Paris. 1726.not the Privilege of a true Chrijlian. 461
ndure temptation unto the end, we cannot be
flared of receiving a crown of glory : unlefs
/e be allured, that we cannot fall from ouf
ate of obedience, we cannot be afiurecl that
re fhall continue in a ftate of falvation. But,
s St. Auftin affirms, “ divers have had given
them that faith, that charity, that juftifica-
: tion, wherein if they had died, they fhould
: have been faved, who yet were not faved
nd, “ whether any one has received the gift
: of perfeverance is uncertain, as long as he
‘ continues in this life; .no one is fo known
‘ to himfelf, that he can be fecure of his con-
‘ verfation to-morrow. In this world and in
‘ this life no"foul can be fecure'.” And the
earned Barrow affirms “ the unanimous con-
1 Erant itaque in bono, fed quia in eo non pertrian-
erunt, id eft, non ufque in finem perfeveraverunt, non
;rant, inquit, ex nobis. Augiiflin. de Cor-r. et Grat. cap. ix.
Neque ait, et ne veniatis ad viam juftam; fed ne per-
;atis, inquit, de via jufta; quid oftendens, nifi eos efle
;ommonitos qui jam ambulant in via jufta, ut in timore
Deo fervidnt, id eft, non altum fapiant, fed timeant ? Ibid.
Quis enim ex multitudine fidelium, quamdiu in hac
nortalitate vivitur, in numero prEedeftinatorum fe efle
prsefumat ? Ibid. cap. xiii.
Propter hujus utilitatem fecreti, ne forte quis extollatur,
Ted omnes etiam, qui bene currunt, timeant, dum occul-
tum eft qui perveniant; propter hujus ergo utilitatem
fecreti credendum eft, quofdam de filiis perditionis, non
accepto dono perfeverandi ufque in finem, in fide, quae
per dile&ionem operatur, incipere vivere, et aliquandiu462 AJfurancc of eternal Salvation
“ fent of all Chriftendom for fifteen hundred
“ years to have been againft the do&rine, that
“ no man being once in God’s favour can ever
“ quife lofe it":” a confent perfe&ly at har-
mony with Scripture, which is too explicit to
fuffer us confiftently to doubt the poflibility of
a ” righteous man turning away from his
“ righteoufnefs, and committing iniquity, and
“ dying in it to the final ruin of his foul
and which conveys that poflibility under no
trivial form, in the exhortation, which it in-
joins on all men, to “ work out their own
“ falvation with fear and trembling11,” and,
“ feeing we ferve that God, who without re-
“ fpe& of perfons judgeth every man accord-
“ ing to his works, to pafs the time of our fo-
“journing here in feary;” in the blefiing,
which it pronounces upon “ the man that
“ fearetb always1;” and in the folemn warn-
ing, which it rmprefles on prefumptuous con-
fideliter et jufte vivere, et poftea cadere, neque de hac
vita, priufquam hoc eis contingat, auferri. Ibid.
Utrum quifque hoc (perfeverantiae) munus acceperit,
quamdiu hanc vitam ducit, incertum eft. Ejufd. de Bono
Perjev.
Nec fibi quifquara ita notus eft, ut fit de fua craftina
converfatione fecurus.----In hoc rnundo et in hac vita
nulla anima poffit efle fecura. Ejufd. Ep. 121. ad Pro-
lam.
u Barrow’s Works, vol. ii. p. 51.
1 Phil. ii. ia. y 1 Pet. i. 17.
z Prov. xxviii. 14.not the Privilege of a true Christian. 463
idence, “ let hirp, that thinketh he ftandeth,
‘ •take heed left he fall\”
Still however are we not exhorted by an-
fther Apoftle to “ give diligence to make our
‘ calling and ele&ion fureb?” Undoubtedly
ive are. But whatever foundation the exhort-
ftion may lay for our prefent aflurance, pro-
vided we “ give all diligence to add unto our
‘ faith the Chriftian virtues'” which are in-
jpined, it is in truth fo far from warranting
i certain afturance of our future falvation, that
its obvious import is, to reprefent that falva-
tion as conditional; as an effect to be wrought
by our diligence; as dependent upon it; and
as contequently not fecure, until our feafon of
probation fhall be terminated, and “ an entrance
“ fhall be miniftered unto us abundantly into
“ the everlafting kingdom of our Lord and
“ Saviour Jefus ChriftV’ Such is the doctrine
of St. Peter in the paflage before us:—fuch is
the do&rine of St. James in a paflage which
has been lately adduced:—fuch is St. John’s
doctrine, when he admonilhes his converts,
“Look to yourfelves, that we lofe not thofe
“ things which we have wrought, but that we
“ receive a full reward':”—and fuch is St.
Paul’s, in paflages too numerous to efcape
tj. <
* iCor.x. ia. b aPet.i. io. c Ibid. ver,5, 6,7.
A a Pet i. 11.	« a John 8.464 AJfurance of eternal Salvation
attention, and too pointed to be mifunderftood;
paflages, which largely exemplify the faying
of Jerome, that “ as long as we live; we are
“ engaged in a warfare; and as long as we
“ are in a warfare, our victory cannot be cer-
“ tainf.” Agreeable alfo to the precepts and
warnings, which that great Apoftle imprelfes
upon his converts, is the exhibition which he
gives of his own feelings and expectations.
Though he had “ once entered within the
“ veil, and leen unutterable glories,” he de-
fcribes himlelf, in common with lefs favoured
Chriftians, as engaged in “ a race” and in “a
“ warfare;” as ltriving with the moll earnelt
and unremitted affiduity againft his natural
appetites, left he flhould be judged unmeet for
the prize; and as “ following after, if by any
“ means he might attain unto the refurreCtion
“ of the dead.” “ Brethren, I count not my-
“ felf to have apprehended; but this one thing
“ I do, forgetting thofe things which are
“ behind, and reaching forth unto thofe things
“ which are before, I prefs toward the mark
“ for the prize of the high calling of God in
“ Chrift Jefus5.” Is this the language of a
f Quamdiu vivimus, in certamine fumus, et quarhdiu
in certamine, nnlla certa eft viftoria, quse etiam Apo-
ftolo fortiflime praslianti, in futuro fseculo refervatur. Hie-
ron. adv. Pelag. lib. ii. Op. Bafil. tom. ii. p. 383.
E Phil. iii. it, 13.not the Privilege of a true Chri/lian. 465
man, who felt an infallible qffwrance of ever-
lafting falvation ? Is this the language of one,
on whofe heart falvation was written as with
a fun-beam f This was the language of St,
Paul, when he “ knew that he ffiould abide
“ longer in the flefhh:” when indeed it was
revealed to him, that he was about to put off
his earthly tabernacle, he breaks forth into a
ftrain of more unqualified confidence, con-
fcious that he had ftriven lawfully, tempe-
rately, and zealoufly for the maftery, and that
he had perfevered in “ enduring hardnefs, as
“ a good foldier of Jefus Chrift1.” This conduct
of the Apoftle, to whom we may refer for the
moft fatisfa&ory explanation of his own ex-
preffions of “ the affurance of faith” and “ of
“ hope,” is ftrongly and memorably to our
purpofe. It ffiows the prefumption of an or-
dinary .Chriftian, cherifhing an infallible affu-
rance of eternal happinefs, during his mortal
career; and it is a glorious example of devout
exultation at its clofe. It admoniihes us, that
to pronounce our final falvation certain, is, as
the great, Fathers of our Church affirm, “ to
<c triumph before the victoryk;” is to lay
hands upon the prize before the race is run;
to “ take up the crown, which lies at the foot
h Phil. i. 24, 25.	‘2 Tim. ii. 3.
k Neceffary Doctrine, &c. Declaration of Faith,40® Aflumnce of eternal Salfcatioh
“ of thb throne of grace, arid irreverently to
“ place it upOn our own heads'.” And at the
feme time it teaches us, that he, Who has
trbdden in the Apoftle’S fbotfteps, and like
him “ endured unto the end,” may then, arid
not till then, adopt his triumphant exclama-
tion, “ I am now ready to be offered, and the
“ time of my departure is at hand: I have
“ fought a good fight; I have finifeed my
“ courfe; I have kept the faith. Henceforth
“ there is laid up for me a crown of rightebuf-
“ nefs, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
“ fhall give me in that day1".”
Inconfiftent as an infallible affurance df fu-
ture happiriefs is with the notion of a ftate of
trial, under which the whole Chriftian life is
reprefented up to its very clofe; there are ne-
verth'elefs two particular views Of Chriftianity,
with which this doblrine is in unifbn; I mean
thofe of the Predeftinarian, and the Perfebtiori-
ift :—the Predeftinarian, who, believing in the
abfolute decrees of God, if he be once per-
fuaded that he is in the number of the elebt,
will of courfe be perfuaded, that he cannot
fall from grace, but muft ultimately be laved;
—-and the Perfebtionift, who, believing that a
true Chriflian is delivered from every flelhly
' See Bp. Taylor’s Life of Chrift, p. 365.
m a Tim. iv. 6,7,8.not the Privilege of a true Chrijlian. 467
and unholy defire, and from every outward
and inward fin, if he be once convinced, that
he is received into favour with God, will be
allured that he lhall not forfeit it, but is in a
Hate of abfolute fecurity.
As minifters of the Church of England,
“ receiving the promifes of God in fuch wife
“ as they be generally fet forth in holy Scrip-
“ ture",” and believing that “ after we have
“ received the grace of God, we may depart
“from grace given, and fall into fin°:” and
farther aflenting to her doctrine, that “all
“ men, although baptized and born again in
“ Chrift, yet offend in many things, and if we
“ fay we have no fin, we deceive ourfelves,
“ and the truth is not in usp:”—concurring, I
fay, in thefe feveral pofitions laid down by the
Articles of our Church, it is not probable that
we fhould be influenced in our judgment by
the opinions, either of the Predeftiparian, or
of the Perfe&ioniff.
The incorre&nefs of the view of Chrifti-
anity entertained by the former of thefe, has
been already expofed in the courfe of the fore-
going inquiry. It therefore needs not to be
examined at prefent, as whatever fupport it
may lend to the doctrine of affurance, is over-
thrown together with the bafis, on which it
H Art. 17.	8 Art. 16.	p Art. 15-46s	Unjinning Perfection
refts. An expofure of the fallacy of the other
opinions, by which a true Chriftian is repre-
fented to have attained a dominion over Jin, an
unfpotted and unjinning perfection, was pro-
pofed at the outfet of the prefent difcourfe,
as a fubjedt of our inquiries on this occafxon :
and to that I fhall accordingly proceed.
II. Now for general purpofes, and with a
common inquirer after truth, it might be fuffi-
cient to Hate broadly, as one of the plaineft
and mod: vital principles of the Bible, in the
words of the Article juft cited; that “ Chrift
“ was made, like unto us in all things, fin only
“ excepted, from which he was clearly void
“ both in his flelh and in his fpirit ; but that
“ all we the rejl, although baptized and born
“ again in Chrift, yet offend in many things:”
for furely it is a palpable mifreprefentation of
the obvious fenfe of the Article, to interpret it
as meaning no more than that ‘ If we fay,’ as
the Pelagians and Pharifees, * that we have no’
original or actual ' fin,’ i. e. that we are like
Chrift in either of thefe refpedts, our concep-
tion, infancy, childhood, youth, and age, being
all taken into the account; ‘ we deceive oufr-
‘ felves, and the truth is not in usq.’ As the
s Wdley’s Plain Account of Chriftian Perfection, p. 16.
Fletcher’s Laft Check to Antinomianifm. Works, volVvi.
P- 4»-	'not the Privilege of a true Chriflian. 469
ido^lrine however of the indwelling of fin in
believers has been denied, even where it might
have challenged fupport, by men engaged in
the miniftry, and prdfeiling attachment to the
doCtrines, of our Church, it becomes neceflary
to trace the oppofite tenets through their fe-
veral fteps: and it will probably be thefimplefl:
and the moll fatisfa&ory method, to follow
the direction of that authorifed declaration,
wherein the doCtrine of perfection was laid
down, methodifed, and fupported, at the firft
annual Conferences of the preachers in Wef-
ley’s connection; and according to which we
are told by his accredited biographer, that it
has “ continued unthaken even to the prefent
“ dayr.”
It is contended then, that “ the immediate
“ fruits of juftifying faith are peace, joy, love,
“ power over all outward fin, and power to
“ keep down inward fin —that “ in being a
“ perfeCt Chriltian is implied, the loving the
“ Lord our God with all our heart, and with
“ all our mind, and foul, and ftrength—that
“ without doubt this implies, that all inward
fin is taken away —and that “ we thould
“• expeCt to be faved from all fin before the
“ article of death.” This was the form, in
r Coke’s Life of Wefley, p. 367, 270, 278, 279. Wef-
ley’s Account of Chriftian Perfe&ion, p. 30. and following,
H h 3470	Unjinning Perfe&Hofi
which the doctrine was exhibited, when firlt
publicly acknowledged: to the fame effect, but
in language fomewhat more forcible, efpecially
as to the indifpenfable neceffity of fuch per-
fection, it has been alferted in a more recent
publication, that “ Chrift by the power of his
“ grace and Holy Spirit lhall deftroy fin, root
“ and branch, in every believing foul. From
'' all your filthinefs, and from all your idols
“ will I cleanfe you, &c. Such is ptefent fal-
" vation, falvation in this life from the guilt,
“ power, and being of fin; and whofoever is
“ not thus joyed, from Jin here, will not be J'rned
“ from hell hereafter” A ltrange and a bold
affertion ! But let us proceed to the proof of a
doCtrine, thus folemnly and refolutely main-
tained.
By way of evidence we are firtt adored, that
there is dear fcripture promife of this do-
minion over fin. To the queftion, Is there
any clear fcripture promife of this, that God
will fave us from all fin ? -the anfwer is re-
turned in thefe Words': “There is: in the
“ ] 3oth Pfalm, He.Jhall redeem IJrael from
“ All his iniquities. This is more largely ex-
“ preifed in the prophecy of Efcekiel; Then
s Methodift Magazine, Jan. 1803. p. 13.
4 Wefley on Chriftian Perfection, p. 32, ‘Coke's -Life
of Wefley, p. 279, 280.not the Privilege of cl true (fhriflian. 471
■ * will I fprinkle clean mater upon you, and ye
“ Jhall be clean; front all your filthinefs, and
“from all your idols I will cleanfe you—1 will
“ alfo fave you from all your uncleannejfes.
“ No promife,” it is laid, “ can be more clepr.
“ Equally clear and exprefs,” it is added, “ is
“ that ancient promife, The Lord thy God wM
“ circumcife thine heart, and the heart of thy
“feed, to lyve the Lord thy God ivith all thy
“ heart, and vvith all thy foul."
With refped. now to the tirft of theft paf-
fages, “ He fliall redeem Ifrael from all his ini-
“ quitiesin what manner, I would afk, was
the Lord to redeem him? Read the foregoing
portion of the Pfalm, and efgecially reflect
upon that verfe, in which the Pfalmitl addrefles
the mercy of the Almighty; “ If thou, Lord,
“ fhouldeft mark iniquities, Lord, who fliall
“fta,nd ? Bpt there is forgivenefs with .thee.”
.—And let the dqptrine be decided by a cqn-
flftent reply to this queftion, whether the Lord
was to redeem Ifrael from all his iniquities, by
giving him dominion over tin, or by extending
to him mercy and forgivenefs ?
As to ,the promife contpiqed in the prophecy
ipflSzekiel, qle^r beyond cpmparifon as it is re-
prefented to ,be, a doubt may reafonably be
entertained, as to its obje<ft ; and a fentiment
much ftronger ,than a doubt, as to its .applica-
tion to the dodlrine in queftion. At leaft,
h h 4472	Unfinning Perfection
before it can be admitted as evidence to that
doctrine, let us be certified, whether the pro-
phecy has yet been fulfilled, or ftill waits for
its accompliftiment:—whether it points to the
reftoration of the Jews from the Babylonilh
captiVity, or to their general converfion to the
Chriftian faith :—if to the former deliverance,
whether it does not relate to them collectively,
purified from idolatry and other national im-
pieties, and fanCtified by a general fteadfaft pro-
feflion of the true faith;—otherwife, whether
it can be faid to have been ever literally ful-
filled at all;—whether they can be faid to have
been ever cleanfed from all their filthinefs, to
have been faved from all their uncleanneiles:
—if to the latter deliverance, whether it does
not denote the faerament of baptifm, by which
through the atonement of Chrift they, in
common with other true believers, are to be
cleanfed and faved from their former fins. It
is remarkable, and it will ferve to elucidate
this queftion, that the fame, or nearly the fame
expreffion is employed by St.John, when he
is fpeaking of forgivenefs of paft fin, not of
intire freedom froqi fin in time to come: “ If
“ we confefs our fins, God is faithful and juft
to forgive us our fins, and to cleanfe us from
“ all unrighteoufnej,su.”
Similar queftions arife, with regard to the
11 i John i. 9.not the Privilege of a true Chriflian. 47 3
more ancient prophecy of Mofes, which is de-
fcribed as “equally clear and exprefs” with the
other. Has it hitherto been fulfilled or not ?
—If it has, we may affirm on the authority of
later Prophets, that it was not a promife of
perfonal, at leaft not of literal, perfection.—If
it has not been fulfilled, which appears the
more ^probable cafe, it may be contended, that
a prophecy, delivered exclufively to the Jews,
which has not hitherto been completed, and
of which, until it lhall be completed, the pre-
cife import cannot be decifively afcertained,
cannot reafonably be admitted as a rule of
belief in matters, which relate to Chriftians in
general. Or if it be contended, that ttiefe
promifes relate to the fpiritual Ifrael, “ the
“ children,” not of the blood,but “of the faith,
“ of Abraham,” on what authority is their
completion affigned to this mortal flate, in-
ftead of being referred to that ftate of full and
final juftification, of intire and unmixed fan&i-
fication, which the blood of Chrift has pur-
chafed in another world for all thofe, who
ftudy with humility and diligence to fubmit to
his Gofpel in this?
The dodtrine however being thus eftabliffied
(as is fuppofed) on the authority of the Old
Teftament, it is next affirmedx, that “ afler-
x Wefley on Chriftian Perfection, p. 32, 33. Coke’s
Life of Wefley, p. 280.474	Unjinning Perfection
“ fions anfwerable to this occur in the New
“ Teftament, and that they are laid down in
tc the plained: terms. So in the firti epiftle of
“ St. John, For this purpofe was the Son of
“ God manifefted, that he might dejiroy the
“ works of the devil: the works of the devil,
“ without any limitation or reftridion ; but all
“ fin is the work of the devil. Parallel to
“ which is that affection of St. Paul, Chrijl
“ loved the Church and gave himfelf for it,
“ that he might prefent it to himfelf a glorious
“ Church, not having fpot or wrinkle or any
“ fuch thing, but that it Jhould be holy and
“ without blemijh"
If now the former of thefe tenets fpeaks of
the deftrudion of fin to be effeded in this
world; and .if we adopt the comment, which
followsfft, and underhand all fin without re-
ffridion or limitation, the purpofe of Ch rift's
■manifeftation is plainly not accornplithqd. All
fin has not been deftroyed by it in this world.
But it is intended perhaps by the commen-
tator, all fin in the true Chriftian. Where then
is it affirmed, that the deftrudion of fin, even
in him, is to take place in this world ? Death,
as well as fin, is .among the works of the devil:
and it was to deftroy dqatfi, as well as fin, tba|t
the Son of God was manifefted. N,dw iff the
conqueft over fin muff be complete in this
world, why not the conqueft over dpath ? Thenot the Privilege of a true Chri/lian. 4 75
conqueft indeed over each will finally be com-
plete : the detlru&ion of each (blefled be God
through our Lord Jefus Chrift !) is inevitable:
but the declaration of the Apoftle affords not
the flighted: authority for affirming, either that
fin will be totally extirpated from any child of
Adam, or that “ death will be fwallowed up
“ in victory, until this corruptible fhall have
“ put on incorruption ; until this mortal fhall
“ have put on immortalityy.”
Then alfo, and not till then, fhall “ he who
“ loved the Church, and gave bimfelf for it,
“ prefent it unto himfelf a glorious Church,
“ not having fpot or wrinkle or any fuch
“ thing; but holy and without blemifh.” For
confider an inftant, what is the confequence of
the Perfect ionift applying this paffage in a
literal fenfe to Chrill’s earthly Church. If the
Church be ftri<ftly holy and uriblemifhed, jail
the parts of it mult be fixidtly holy and un-
bJemilhed alfo. (He muft therefore exclude all
thofe, who fail ffiort of a fpotlefs and unfin-
ning purity, from being members of Chrift’s
Church in this world. An egregious departure
from Scripture, which exprefsly aflerts, that
that Church Ihould contain members <of every
kind2; and an arrogant and uncharitablef*re>-
fumption, furpaffing that .of the RomifhChurch,
y i Cor.«v.,54>i55*
2 Matt.txiii.47,48.476	Unfinning Perfection
in proportion as the pale of the Perfe&ionift is
more contracted than hers.
The true intent of fuch paflages' as thefe
is well exprefled by one of our excellent Re-
formers, in the true fpirit of that Gofpel, whofe
purity he died to maintain. “ Chrift faved us
“ not from fin,” faith the venerable Latimer,
“ fo that we ihould be without fin, that no fin
“ ihould be left in our hearts: he faved us not
“ from fin, in taking it clean away from us, fo
“ that we ihould no more be inclined to it.
“ But rather the power and ftrength of fin he
“ hath fo vanquiihed, that it £hall not be able
“ to condemn thofe, which believe in him ;
“ for fin is remitted and not imputed to be-
“ lievers. So he faved us from other calami-
“ ties; not taking them clean away, but rather
“ the power of them, fo that no calamity nor
“ mifery Ihould be able to hurt us that are in
“ Chrift Jefus. And likewife he faved us from
“ death ; not that we ihould not die ; but
“ that death ihould have no victory over us,
“ nor condemn us ; but rather to be a way
“ and entrance into falvation and everlafting
“ life8.”
But to proceed: “ the New Teftament” (it
is added) “ affords a farther ground for expeCt-
“ ing to be faved from all fin, both in thofe
a Latimer’s Sermons, vol. ii. p. 804.not the Privilege of a true Chriflian. 4 77
“ prayers and commands which are equivalent
“ to the ftrongeft afiertionsY’
“ Such are, firft, the prayers which it con-
“ tains for intire fandtification ; which, were
“ there no fuch thing, would be mere mockery
“ of God.” What? is it mere mockery of God,
to pray that we may be " delivered from evil,”
from which we are finallv to be delivered, and
mf
towards our deliverance from which we are
required to make a daily progrefs ? Is it mere
mockery of God, to pray that we may be
“ fandtified wholly,” when we are finally to
attain to that ftate, and ought to be daily ad-
vancing towards it ? What would it be, if we
were to pray for a partial deliverance from
evil, for the attainment of partial holinefs ?
What would it be, if we were to fupplicate
the Author and Giver of all good, partly to re-
leafe us from the power, and partly to devote
us to the dominion, of our fpiritual adverfary ?
if we were to implore the God of holinefs,
partly to cleanfe us with his Spirit, and partly
to leave us fubjedt to impurity ? Surely there
is no infult to the Almighty in praying that
we may be “ filled with all the fulnefs of
“ God,” although we may at prefent be in-
capable of receiving all, that he is able and
willing to give. Rather it is our duty to pray
b, Wefley and Coke, as above.4?8
Unjinning PerfeSion
for the higheft grace ; to fubmit our wills to
his in the accomplithment of our petitions;
land to be contented with that meafure, which
he in his wifdom flhall beftow.
Our Saviour, the great exemplar of our con-
duct, as well as “ the head corner-ftone” of our
hopes, in his extreme agony prayed to his
heavenly Father, “ Father, if thou be willing,
'* remove this cup from me; neverthelefs not
“ my will, but thine be done.” Conliftently
with the purpofe of his incarnation, the obje&
of the prayer was impoffible to be attained.
But the prayer was not regarded as a mockery
of God. Although it failed of procuring intire
deliverance, which could not be granted, it in-
fured an inferior bleffing which could. The
eup ftill remained for him to drink: but “there
“ appeared an angel unto him from heaven,
“ ftrengthening him” to drink it. Such, we
humbly tru'd, is the light, wherein the Al-
mighty regards our prayers for intire fan&ifi-
cation. Although he declines conferring on
us that, which in our mortal date we cannot
receive ; he accepts our prayers to the extent,
to which they can be efficacious, and beftows
on us that “ meafure of grace,” which we are
capable of receiving.
But further, we are told “ there are com-
“ mands in Scripture to the fame effe6t. Be
“ ye perfect, as your Father, ivhich is in hea-not the Privilege of a true Chri/lian. 47 q
“ vein, is perfeS. Thou Jhalt lone the Lord thy
“ God with all 'thy heart, and with all thy
“foul, and with all thy mind." And it is add-
ed, that “ if the love of God fill all the heart,
“ there can be no fih there.” A pofition as
trite, as it is irrelevant.
With refpeCt to the former proof here al-
leged, it is plainly a mifapplication of a text,
which in its original ufe is defigned to injoin,
not uhiverfal perfection, but the cultivation of
that particular quality of mercy, on which the
context is employed. Yet as the word does
certainly occur in a more general fenfe, it may
be ufeful here to remark, that it never appears
to mean a date of abfolute perfection in this
World: but either fuch a progrefs in the Chfif-
tian life, as in the natural life diftinguifhes a
full grown man from an infant or a child:—
(“ in malice be ye children, but in underftand-
“ ing be men,” tsAsioi ymSs, be perfeCtc;—
“ every one that ufeth milk is unfkilful in the
«•* word of righteoufnefs, for he is a babe : but
“ ftrong mfeat belongeth to them that are of
“ full age,” to them that are perfeCt, TeAeiuvL'e
t?iv *1 select Tfopti, “ even thofe who by reafon of
“ ufe have their fenfes exercifed to difcern
" both good and evildtill we all come in
“ the unity of the faith and of the knowledge
c 1 Ccfr. xlv. 20.
d H6b. V. 14.480	Unjinning Perje&ion .t
“ of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto
“ the meafure of the ftature of the fulnefs of
“ Chrift, that we be no more children * j” us
civtyct. -reXtiov, a phrafe employed by the claffical
writers of Greece, to denote a man of full age,
as diftinguiihed from a youthf:)—or it means
fuch a farther improvement, fuch an abfolute
perfection in holinefs and happinefs, as will
attend the true Chriftian in that “ general af-
“ fembly and church of the firftborns,” where
“ the fpirits of juft men (hall be made per-
“ fecfta perfection, which, St. Paul inftructs
us, he had not already attained; and did not
expect to attain, until he thould receive “ the
“ prize of the high calling of God in Chrift
“ Jefus at the refurrection of the dead\” The
Scriptures unqueftionably fpeak of Chriftian
perfection : but from the bare ufe of the word,
without attending to its proper fignification,
to argue for a ftate of freedom from fin in this
world, is to take a thadow for a fubftance; is
to be delighted with contemplating a bubble,
which breaks and vanilhes at the touch.
With refpect to the other example, to what
does the argument amount? “ We are com-
“ manded to love the Lord our God with all
our heart, and with all our foul, and with
e Eph. iv. 13.
f See Parkhurft’s Lex. in voc. TeXeio?.
s Heb.jdi. 23.	h Phil. iii. xi, 12.not the Privilege of a true Chrijlian. 481
“ all our mindand it is aflumed that “ the
“ commandment,” which requires us to love
God in this manner, “ is equivalent to the
“ ftrongeft aflertion,” that we are capable of
doing it.
If this interpretation of the commandment
proves any thing, it certainly proves too much.
The commandment is given to Chritlians ;
therefore Chriftians are capable of fulfilling it:
the commandment was given to the Jews ;
therefore the Jews were capable of fulfilling it.
How then does this comport with the declara-
tions of the Jewifh Scriptures, that “ there is
“ no man that finneth not*“ that a clean
“ thing cannot be brought out of an un-
“ cleank and that “ no man living fhall be
<c juftified in the fight of God1 ?”
Why however is it neceflary to fuppofe, and
where is the force of the argument which fup-
pofes, that a perfect command on the part of
God mull imply the poflibility of perfect obe-
dience on the part of man ? If indeed a failure
in obedience were to be followed by punith-
ment from the divine difpleafure, it might be
argued perhaps from the juftice and goodnefs
of God, that man is able perfectly to obey.
But if punilhment be awarded to thofe alone,
who fail of exerting their talents, and if a
■ *
* x Kings viii 46. k Job xiv. 4.	1 Pf. oxlii.482	Unjinning Perfe&icm
mean of reconciling them to God for their na-
tural and unavoidable deficiencies be provided
by the atonement of Chrift, there is no incon-
fiftency in the lawgiver’s enacting a law, which
• injoins perfe&ion, even though the perfons,
for whom it is defigned, be incapable of tho-
roughly obferving it. At the fame time it is a
proof of the divine wifdom and goodnefs, that
our exertions are Simulated by being directed
to fuch a mark, as renders neceflary the full
employment of all our powers: and it is a
teftimony alfo of the divine holinefs, which
might have fuffered degradation, had there
been propofed for the model of our conduct any
thing lefs than a perfect law. “ The Law,” as the
foregoing fentiments are expreffed in a work,
which fpeaks the opinions of our Reformers,
“ The Law, requiring fuch abfolute perfec-
“ tion, fets forth to the pious a mark, at which
“ they may aim, and a goal, for which they
“ may ftrive; that by daily advances they may
“ ftruggle to draw near to complete upright-
“ nefs : for this mind and will the pious under^
“ take under the conduft of the eternal Godm.”
ra Principio Lex tam exafitam vitae perfe&ionem flagi-
tans, quafi fcopum piis, ad quem collimare, et metam, ad
quam eniti conveniat, deraonftrat, ut ad fummam reftitu-
dinem in dies proficiendo magnoconatucontendant; hanc
enim mentem voluntatemque Deo immortali duce pii fuf-
cipiunt. Noelli Catechifmus. Enchir. Theol. vol. ii. p. 69..not the Privilege of a true Chriftian. 483
And again, “ In enacting the Law, God had
“ regard, not fo much to what we might be
“ able to perform, who of our own fault are
“ burdened with infirmity, as to what might
“ be worthy of his own righteoufnefs. For
“ whereas none but the moft perfect righteouf-
“ nefs could be pleafing to God, it was meet
“ that that rule of life, which he propofed,
“ fhould be altogether perfeCt0.”
But further : The holy Scriptures abound in
examples to encourage us, as well as in pre-
cepts to inftruCl us: and undoubtedly, if a ftate
of perfection be attainable in this world, there
are in Scripture examples of perfons, who have
attained it. “ There are,” reply the advocates
of the doCtrine0. ** St. John, and all thofe, of
“ whom he fays in his firfl epiftle, Herein is
“ our love made perfeB, that we may have
“ holdnefs in the day of judgment, hecaufe as
“ he is, jo are we in this world."
That the paflage may appear to authorife
the aflertion, if underllood in a literal and un-
qualified fenfe, it were fruitlefs to deny : and
n In Lege ferenda Deus non tam quid nos praeftare
poflemus, qui noftra culpa imbecillitate laboramus, quam
quid ipfius juftitia dignum eflet, fpeftavit. guum vero
Deo non nifi fumma juftitia placere poflit, earn vivendi
normam, quam ipfe defcripfit, omnino perfeftam efle opor-
tuit. Noelli Ctttechifmus. Enchir. Theol. vol. ii. p. 68.
0 Wefley on Perfection, p. 34. Coke’s Life of Wefley,
p.-484	/ Unjinning Pcrfe&im
it may at the fame time be admitted, that this
probably is not the only paflagd in the epiftle,
which may be thought to fanCtion the fame
opinion. Without recurring however to the
general tenor, or to any other portion, of
Scripture, St. John himfelf fupplies us with an
anfwer to the remark. Apparently aware that
his fentiments might be mifapprehended, and
defiring to guard them againft mifapprehen-
fion, he has in the commencement of his epi-
ftle borne ftrong, clear, and. decided: teftimony
to the univerfal weaknefs of human natures
and in behalf of himfelf, and of all thofe to
whom he writes, and generally of all the fons
of Adam, or (which w ill be equally ftrong to
our purpofe) of all the followers of Chrlft, he
protefts againft any claim to that perfection and
freedom from fin, which, notwithftanding his
unequivocal renunciation of it, is moft unwar-
rantably fattened upon him.' “ If we fay that
“ we have no fin, we deceive ourfelves, and
“ the truth is not in us. If we confefs our
“ fins, he is faithful and juft to forgive us our
“ fins, and to cleanfe us from all unrighteouf-
“ nefs. If we fay that we have not finned, we
“ make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
I am aware it has been affirmed, that in this
paffage “ the tenth verfie fixes the fenfe of the
" eighth : ‘ If we fay that we have no fin' in
“ the former, being explained by ‘ if we faynot the Privilege of a true Chrijlian. 485
“ we have not finned’ in the latter verfep.” I
am content however to leave the interpreta-
tion to the unfophifticated judgment of any
ingenuous mind : and forbear to detain you
with a comment.	;
In this inquiry concerning the Chrijlians
freedom from Jin, I have followed the line
marked out by the advocates of the doctrine.
The arguments, which have been advanced,
have consequently been limited to thofe parti-
cular views, in which they have thought pro-
per to exhibit it; doubtlefs confidering thofe
views to be moil favourable to their caufe. I
have accordingly declined infilling upon its
glaring abfurdities and incongruities, whether
in a rational, a moral, or a religious view. .1
have not referred to fome Chriftians, who have
been guilty of grofs enormities, the fame in
kind, though not fo great perhaps in degree,
as that of the fanatic, who “ throwing away
“ the Bible exclaimed, I am good enough; I
" will never read or pray more : I don’t defire
“ to be any better than I am’.” I have not
animadverted on that fpiritual pride, and that
contempt of their fellow Chriftians, which are
likely to be wrought in thofe, who confider
*
P Wefley’s Account of Chriftian Perfection, p. 16.
Sermon on the fame, vol. iii. p. ai.
s Wefley’s Journals, N°. TV. p. 66. Enthufiafm of
Methodifts, &e. vol, iii. p. 6a.
i i 3486	Unjinning Perfection
themfelves as advanced to perfection, and
others in an imperfeCt, abjeCl, or reprobate
ftate\ I have not noticed the efFeCts, very
different from the fruits of Chriftian charity,
which this perfuafion is laid to have produced;
inciting thofe, who are under its influence, to
introduce difcord and confufion into their fo-
cieties, and to fill the minds of others with
prejudices againfl: thofe infidels, as they call
them, who will not allow them to be fo per-
fect as they pretend8. I have not cited the
confeffion made by the great Patron of this
doCtrine concerning the “ pride and enthu-
“ fiafm,” to which it appeared likely to give
birth ; and the tumult and confufion, which
actually enfued ; when the fpirit of enthufiafm
broke forth ; while fome “ began to take their
“ own imaginations for impreflions from God,
“ and thence to fuppofe that they fhould never
“ die and fome “ ran into other extrava-
<c gances, fancying they could not be tempted,
u that they fhould feel no more pain, and that
“ they had the gift of prophecy and of difcern-
■“ ing of fpiritsand others took upon them to
fix the precife day on which the world fhould
come to an end ; and others again, “ who
“ thought themfelves pofleffed of perfection,
r See Enthufiafm, &c. vol. ii. p. 24, 25.
» Hampton’s Life of Wefley, vol. iii. p. 60.not the Privilege of a true Chrijiian. 48 7
“ were manifeftly wanting in refignation, gen-
“ tlenefs, goodnefs, fidelity, meeknefs, tem-
“ perance. I have not adverted to the irra-
tional expedients, to which the maintainers of
the do&rine have been driven in its fupport “:
—the contradictory fuppofition, that a man
can be fubject to fins of infirmity and ftill can
be deemed perfect:—the belief, that a man
can be delivered from every fleftily defire and
from every outward and inward fin ; and the
“ denial, that he can be abfolutely perfect31
—the ftrange inconfiftency of fuppofing “ mif-
“ takes” and “ infirmities” and “ defects,” “ a
“ thoufand namelefs defects,” “a thoufand in-
" firmities necelfarily connected with fleflh and
“ blood, wherewith the corruptible body more
“ or lefs preffes down the foul,” in one “ fanc-
“ tified throughout in body,” who “ has all the
“ mind that was in Chrift, and always walketh
“ as he walked ;” who has “ a heart renewed
“ in the whole image of God, the full likenefs
“ of him that created itand who “ doth the
** will of God on earth as it is done in heaveny:”
—and the prefumptuous dilemma which they
have been compelled to form in their defence,
* Wefley on Perfeftion, p. 54,56, 79.
u Hampton’s Life of Wefley, vol. iii. p. 60.
x Coke’s Life of Wefley, p. 335.
y Wefley’s Account of Chriftian Perfection, p. 14, 26,
38,39, 41, 103.
z i 4488
Unjinning Perfection
either that there was inward corruption in our
Lord, or that the fervant can be as his Matter,
and confequently incorrupt \ I have not enu-
merated the' various contradictory pofitions, ,
into which they have been betrayed by their
zeal for this doCtrine, at one time attributing
to it properties, which at another they have
been compelled to qualify or to deny \ I have
not mentioned the feeming inconfiftency of
the Founder of Methodifm, who had long
patronifed the doCtrine, who had fhown on
every occafion the molt decided partiality to
thofe who profefled it, and who for many years
feldom preached a fermon without largely
infilling on it, and yet never could be per-
fuaded to profefs it himfelfb. I have not comr
mented on the unfcriptural diftinCtion, which
it introduces, between common and accepted
believers; between thofe of a lower, and thofe
of a more favoured, clafsc, 1 have not brought
forward to view the language of prefumption,
held by the PerfeCtionift, affirming himfelf, to
have “ no temper contrary to love, no defire
“ contrary to the will of Goddto be “ quite
“ free from evil propeqfities, pride, and irre-
* Enthufiafm of Methodifts, &p, vol. i. p. 45,47.
a See Wefley’s Account, &c. p. ax, and the notes.
b Hampfon’s life of Wefley, vol. iii. p. 56.
c Ibid. p. 55.
4 Wefley’s Journals, N°. XV. p.35.not the Privilege of a true Chriftian. 489
“ gular. paflions, and never during a long feries
of years to have loft that fanCtification for a
“ moment';” to be faved not only from the
guilt, but alfo from the defert, of puni£hmentr.
I have not contrafted with this the language
qf humility, wherein the moft pious and vir-
tuous men have been accuftomed to acknow-
ledge their own imperfection. I have not
dwelt upon the language, wherein St. John,
and the other Apoftles, and all the facred wri-
ters defcribe the Chriftian courfe as a continual
growing in grace, and uniformly fpeak of men,
even of the moft perfeCt, as guilty of occafional
fins. I have not adverted to the conceflion of
the advocates of the doCtrine, that the perfec-
tion for which they contend was not enjoyed
by the generality of believers before them, nor
by thofe to whom St. Paul wrote his- epi-
ftles, nor by St. Paul himfelf, when his former
epiftles were writtens. I have not laid before
you inftances of thofe frailties, not to mention
thofe more grievous fins, which have ftained
the purity of fuch as the Scriptures hold up to
our imitation, as the moft juft and the moft
perfeCt men. Nor have I enlarged on the con-
current teftimony of Prophets and Apoftles,
e Methodift Magazine, Jan. 1803. See Outram’s Ex-
tracts, p. 18.
f Wefley’s Sermons, vol. i. p. 220, 221.
e Wefley’s Account of Chriftian Perfection, p. 31.4go
Uvjinning Perfe&ion
and on the general tenor of the Old and New
Teftaments, which reprefent the facrifice of
Chrift as neceflary to every man, not only to
purify him from original corruption, but alfo
to make continual atonement for adual fins.
Each of thefe topics would fupply an ample
field for difcuflion: I fhall be fatisfied however
with having thus curforily fuggefted them to
your minds, trufting that the previous remarks
will have been fufficient to fbow the fallacy of
an opinion peculiar to a comparatively fmall
body of Chriftians, and novel as it is peculiar.
I call it a novel dodrine; for fuch I apprehend
it to be amongfi: us, although in former ages it
has not been without its advocates. “ The
“ Montanifts,” as Bifliop Lavington has re-
marked in the words of the Hiftorian of that
fed, " took themfelves to be perfecth:” and the
learned Barrow obferves, that “ there have in-
“ deed been feds of men, fuch as the Nova-
“ tians, and the Pelagians, who have pretended
“ to perfedion and purity : but thefe men,”
(continues that powerful and copious divine
in terms of animadverfion, well deferving the
attention of the modern Perfedionift,) “ But
“ thefe men, one would think, did never read
“ the Scripture ; did never confult experience;
h Enthufiafm of Methodifts and Papifts compared, yol, i.
p. 6. See alfo Outram’s Extracts, p. 9.not the Privilege of a true Chriftian. 491
“ did never refled: on their minds; did never
" compare their pradice with their duty ; had
“ no confluence at all, or a very blind and ftu-
“ pid one. Who can Jay, I have made my
“ heart clean, I am pure from Jin, was a quef-
“ tion of Solomon, to which he thought no
“ man could anfwer affirmatively of himfelf.
“ If I jujlify myfelf my own mouth Jhall con-
“ demn me; if I Jay, I am perfect, it Jhall
“ prove me perverj'e, was the afleveration of
“ that perfon, whofe virtue had undergone the
“ fevered: trials. In many things we offend all; *
“ was the confelfion of an Apoftle, in the
“ name of the wifeft and bed men
It will be elucidating by a beautiful example
the fcriptural notions of aflurance and perfec-
tion ; of perfedion, to which the Chridian is
daily drawing more near, and of aflurance
not vouchfafed unto him until the clofe of his
mortal life; if I call to your recolledion the
lad moments of a “ moft learned, mod humble
“ and holy man,” a man of faintlike and apo-
ftolical fimplicity. “I have lived^” faid he, “to
“ fee this world is made up of perturbations,
“ and I have been long preparing to leave
“ it, and gathering comfort for the dreadful
“ hour of making my account with God, which
“ I now apprehend to be near. And though
•*>
1 Barrow s Works, vol. iii. p. 239.402	Unjinniiig Perfection
“ I have by his grace loved him in my youth,
“ and feared him in mine age, and laboured to
“ have a confcience void of offence to him and
“ to all men; yet, if thou, O Lord, be extreme
“ to mark what I have done amifs, who can
“ abide it ? And therefore where I have failed,
“ Lord, fhow mercy to me: for I plead not
“ my righteoufnefs, but the forgivenefs of my
“ unrighteoufnefs, for his merits who died to
“ purchafe a pardon for penitent tinners. And
" fince I owe thee a death, Lord, let it not be
“ terrible, and then take thine own time: I
“ fubmit to it! Let not mine, O Lord, but let
“ thy will be done ! With which expreflion,”
adds his biographer, “ he fell into a dangerous
“ Humber, dangerous as to his recovery; yet
" recover he did, but it was only to fpeak
" thefe few words: God hath heard my daily
“ petitions; for I am at peace with all men,
“ and he is at peace with me: from which
" bleffed affurance I feel that inward joy,
“ which this world can neither give nor take
“ from me. More he would have fpoken; but
“ his fpirits failed him ; and after a Ihort con-
“ fliff between nature and death, a quiet ligh
“ put a period to his laft breath, and fo he fell
* “ afleep.”
Such were the dying fentiments of a man,
whom his. biographer charafferifes by great
learning, remarkable meeknefs, godly timpli-not the Privilege of a true Chrijlian. 493
city, and Chriftian moderation: whom his con-
temporaries efteemed as moft capable of “ teach-
“ ing learning by inftru&ion, and virtue by ex-
“ ample whom not this Univerlity alone,
but our Church and Nation, have uniformly
efteemed, as one of their brigbteft luminaries ;
and to whole merits the teftimony of two fuc-
ceffive monarchs has been fan&ioned by the
approbation of the good, the wife, and the
great; who have concurred in adopting the
appellation, that his fovereigns had bellowed,
and in tranfmitting his honour to pofterity as
“ the learned, or judicious, or reverend, or ve-
" nerable Hooker
Virtually difclaiming the modern do6frine
of aflurance, by declaring that “ the iftrongeft
“ in faith that liveth on the earth, has always
“ need to labour, drive, and pray, that his af-
“ furance concerning heavenly and fpiritual
“ things may grow, increafe, and be augment-
,c edand difclaiming the modern do<drine of
perfedlion by an humble acknowledgment of
his own unrighteoufnefs, he bore his teftimony
to the truths, which I have been endeavouring
to eftabliflh, even before the oppofite herefies
had taken root amongft us. With lingular
gratification I dole the prefent difcourfe by
k Ifaac Walton’s Life of Hooker. Works, Oxford ed.
P- 9°; 25, 79) 6o-4Q4	Unfinning PerfeSion, &c.
fuch an atteftation to the foundnefs of the te-
nets, which I have been deducing from the
Oracles of God : for I cannot confider it as a
matter of trifling moment, that they are thus
incidentally fupported by one, whofe heart was
the living picture of that poornefs of fpirit, to
which is promifed the blefling of the kingdom
of heaven ; and whofe mind was of a capacity
to trace the operations of law, emanating from
the bofom of the Creator, and diffufing har-
mony throughout his works
Now unto " the high and lofty One that in-
“ habiteth eternity, whofe name is Holy; who
“ dwelleth in the high and holy place, with
“ him alfo that is of a contrite and humble
“ fpiritunto Him be glory and dominion
for ever!
1
1 See Eecl. Polity. Conclufion of the firft book.DISCOURSE IX.
i Cor. ix. 16.
Though I preach the Gofpel, 1 have nothing to glory
of-, for necejjity is laid upon me: yea, wo is unto me,
if I preach not the Gofpel.
At the commencement of thefe Ledlures, to
the conclufion of which we are now rapidly
advancing, the words, that have been juft re-
cited, were fele&ed for your attention; be-
caufe I was defirous that our minds might be
impreffed, at the outfet of the propofed in-
quiry, with a due*fenfe of the folemnity of the
charge, into the grounds of which it was my
defign, with God’s blefling, to examine: a
charge, as was then remarked, which, if it
were fubftantiated, muft involve us in the
guilt of corrupting, or renouncing, “ the truth
“ as it is in Jefusand which muft in confe-
quence expofe us to the “ wo,” (as it is ex-
prefled in the text,) to the “ curfe,” (as St.
Paul elfewhere expreftes it,) denounced on496	Concluding Difcourje.
thofe, who “ preach not the Gofpel” of our
Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift.
Alive to the refponfibility, which attaches
to us as minifters of the Gofpel, and to the
tremendous punifhment which awaits us, if
we wilfully pervert or abandon the true evan-
gelical faith; I have endeavoured to give a
juft fcriptural expofition of thofe more promi-
nent fubjeCts, on which the charge in queftion
is principally founded; to detail the particulars
of the charge, as alleged by our accufers; to
ftate, what I apprehend to be, the fubftance of
our teaching on the controverted points; and
to defend and vindicate our teaching by that,
which alone can be pleaded in its defence,
namely, the pure and unadulterated word of
God. The feveral fubjeCts of the conditions
of man’s juftification ; of his predeftination to
life or death ; of the efficacy, and percepti-
bility, of the operations of the Holy Spirit; of
regeneration; of converfion;'*of aflurance; and
of perfection; have been thus fucceflively pro-
pofed to your thoughts: not, (for I would
here repeat what was faid in my introductory
difcourfe,) not for the purpofe of fuperfeding,
but of encouraging, more full and more mi-
nute inveftigation in thofe, for whofe benefit
thefe LeCtures appear to have been principally
defigned. Whilft, therefore, I attempt to draw
the attention of the younger part of my hear-4*| General Remarks,	,497
Crs to the foregoing topics, in order that they
hiay be the better enabled to perform their
. jriinifterial duties with fuccefs; let me intreat
them to profecute the examination by the
light of the facred Scriptures; aflifted by thofe
human aids, which have been fo largely vouch-
fafed by a bountiful Providence to this coun-
try, and the ftudy of which it is a prominent
objed of our academical inftitutions to pro-
mote,
A, late excellent Prelate, who contributed
much to the ornament and fpiritual edification
Of our Univerfity, in which he occupied a dif-
tinguifhed poll, in a difcourfe from this place
remarked, that c< as herefies make their peri-
“ odical revolutions in the Church, like cdmets
“ in the heavens, to fhed a baleful influence
“ on all about them, the time feemed to be
“ coming, when Antinomianifm was to be
“ again rampant amongfi: us. And what won-
*f der” (he adds) “ that this or any other he-
refy Ihould be introduced and propagated,
“ if men, inftead of having recourfe to the
“ catholic dodors of the ancient Church, and
“ to fuch of oUr divines as have trodden in
“ their fleps, will ext rad their theology from
“ the latefi: and lowelft of the modern fedaries,
“ thus beginning where they Ihould end: if,
“ inftead of drawing living water for the ufe
“ of the fandnary from the frefii Iprings of
k k498	Concluding DifcouVfe.
“ primitive antiquity, they take up with fudh
*' as comes to them at fecond or third hand
" from the lake of Geneva: if the fpirit of a
“ Cyprian, exerted in the maintenance of the
“ vigor Epifcopat&s'and the conftitution of the
“ Church, be accounted for bigotry and nar-
“ rownefs; and Clement and Ignatius pafs for
“ but very moderate divines, when compared
" with the new lights of the Tabernacle and
" Foundery. Should this method of ftudying
“ divinity prevail, to the exclusion of the
" other, there will foon be neither order left
“ in the Church, nor certainty in the faith*.”
The feafon of anarchy and inftability, which
this excellent Prelate fo pathetically anticipat-
ed, appeairs to be gaining ground upon us with
rapid ftrides: whilft men, defpifing all eccleft-
aftical fubordination and difcipline, all unity of
" mind arid judgment,” and efteeming them-
felves wifer than their teachers, tenacioufly
adhere to fuch pradtices and opinions as are
right in their own eyes; or rather fuch, as are
agreeable to their own inclination and conceit.
Thus fedtarifm, in all its manifold variety off
forms, is perpetually inlifting frefh profelytes,
who are diftinguiflied, rather by hoftility to
the national faith, than by attachment to any
fettled fyftem of doctrines; and of whom it
* Bp. Horne’s Sermons* vol. r. p, 66.General Remarks. ,	499
Way more eafily be affirmed, what they are
not, than what they are. Meanwhile the ac-
cufation againft the clergy, that the Gofpel is
not preached in the Church, is circulated with
unremitting affiduity:—’by fome, whofe fu-
perior knowledge might reafonably have le4
us to expedt from them a more enlarged cha-
rity:—and by others, who are alike unac-
quainted, both with the true fcope of the Gof-
pel, and with the doctrines of the national
clergy ; and in whofe excufe it might be
pleaded, that " they know neither what they
“ fay, nor whereof they affirm,” were not their
ignorance accompanied with a high degree of
fpiritual pride; with a fupercilious contempt
of others; and an overweening efteem for
themfelves. The coarfe and crude attacks of
this latter clafs of our aflailants has not pro-
voked me to a reply. My remarks have been
almoft intirely confined to thofe, whom a more
liberal education, or a legitimate appointment
.to the miniftry, or the refpe&ability of their
perfonal characters, has rendered fitter objeCt§
of notice; although fome of them have not
unfrequently diigraced themfelves by language,
totally unworthy of an enlightened, or a reli7
gious mind. The principal fpecific forms, un-
der which the accufation is. conveyed again#
us, have been examined in the foregoing lec-
tures. It will be my objeCt, in this concludr
k. k 25od	Concluding Difcouffe.
ing difcourfe, to offer fome remarks on th£
general chara&er of the charge.
I. Fird, then, I obferve, that the charge
Alleged againd the national clergy, that they
are not preachers of the Gofpel, is arrogant
and prefumptuous. It is fo with refpe<d to
thofe, who make it:—men, oftentimes “ of
“ the lowefl: of the peopleoftentimes defi-
cient in the ordinary means of procuring in-
formation ; and proportionally rude and ig-
norant :—men, at the beft, “ of like paffions”
and like infirmities with thofe, whom they
condemn ; pofiefled of no fuperior natural en-
dowments, of no fuperior opportunities for the
acquifition of knowledge, and (notwithdand-
ing the pretenfions, which fome of them have
made to apodolical authority) of no fuperior
Ipiritual gifts. It is prefumptuous, again, with
refpedt to the d'o&rines, on which it reds.
Take, for inftance, the do&rine of abfolute
Jjrededination, that which is the mod com-
monly and the mod vehemently urged. “ The
“ five difputed points,” fays a learned writer,
much converfant in thefe controverfies, <c The
“ five difputed points, which in thefe lad
“ tidies are reproached by the name of Armi-
** nianifm, had more or lefs exercifed the
“ Church in all times and ages, efpecially after
“ the breaking out of the Pelagian herefies,
v* when all the niceties thereof were moreGeneral Remarks.	so?
thoroughly canvaflecj. Neither the piety and
f‘ fobriety of the primitive times, nor the au?
“ {hprity of the popes, nor the commanding
“ fpirit of Luther, nor the more powerful name
.?* of Calvin, have prevailed fo far, but that the
“ (Church, and every broken fragment of it,
t‘,hath found fome fubdivifipp about thefe de-r
“ bates V’ Whence then this fancied infalli?
bility, wherewith our accufers aflume the cha-
racter and office of the judge, and confidently
pronounce fentence in their own behalf?
Whprefore, upon queftions notorioufly much
controverted, and therefore, it is to be pre-r
ftuned, of fome difficulty and perplexity, do
they aflun^e the prerogative ,pf deciding, as in
a cafe of no difficulty or intricacy , at all ? Is it
confiftent with modefty, with humility, with
decency, thus to condemn without appeal, not
pnly the great body of the jEnglifh clergy,
againft whom they more immediately direCt
their attacks; but fome alfo of the moft glo-
rious names, which fhed a luftre on the annala
pf the Chriftian Church ? I fpeak not of the
earjieft fathers of the Church, whole opinions
have been proved to run with a full current
againft thofe of Calvin and his followers : yet;
feeing their authority afide, numerous and
no^le is the catalogue of thofe, who have un*»
b Heylyn’s Hiftoria Quinquarticularis. Preface.
K k 3502	Concluding Difoourfe. .
equivocally diflented from the do&rines of
abfolute predeltination, partial redemption, and
irfefiftible grace; and wht) muft unqueftion-
ably lhare in the fentence of condemnation,
■which is confidently pronounced upon us. We
reft our defence indeed upon the declarations
of' Scripture: but in the interpretation of
Scripture, the judgment of learned men de-
fences, and demands, attention. And furely
the names of Chtyfoftom and Jerome; of Me-
lancthon/and Arminius, and GrotiiiS; of La-
timer and Cranmer; of Jackfon, and Taylor,
and. Leflie, and Beveridge, and Barrow; might
abate1 the confidence of the abfolute Predeffi-
narian ; and moderate his afperity in the con-
demnation of opinions, for which fuch advo-
cates have flood forward in their fupport.
- But even allowing the Calviniftic doctrines
to be probably true, Hill is it not prefumptu-
ous, we may atk, to reprefent the preaching of
them as the criterion of minitlerial fidelity; and
to condemn thofe, who forbear to preach them,
as guilty of apollafy from their profeffion ? “ I
“ hold,” faid the learned Mede, “ that commu-
“ nion is not to be broken but for fundamen-
“ -tals; of which kind I take none of the difFe-
rences between the Calvinifts and Lutherans
*■ to bec.” A belief in thefe myfterious armies
> c Jofeph Mode's Works, book iv. p. 866.General Remarks.
503
will hardly be judged neceffary to falvation.
If true, they are involved in fuch obfcurity,
that a man (it is prefumed) may fafely doubt
concerning them, or even be ignorant of them
altogether. Now the edification of the hearers
Ihould be the meafure of the preacher’s doc-
trine: affuredly therefore thofe doctrines, which
jt is not neceffary for the people to believe, it
cannot be neceffary for the preacher to inforce.
Nay, of the neceflity, or even of the expedi-
ency of inforcing them, let Calvin be the
judge, when he pronounces, “ Should any one
<e thus addrefs the people, If ye believe not,‘it
V is becaufe God hath already predeftinated
“ you to deftru&ion,”—yet what is this but
to preach pure and confiftent Calvinifm ?-—
that man not only cherifhes flothfulnefs, but
" alfo gives encouragement to find.” At the
fame time of this we may be certain, that,
whatever the Apoftles thought on thefe points,*
they manifefted.lefs anxiety to amufe their con-
verts with mere fpeculative doftrines, f£ which
“ minifter queftions, rather than godly edify-
ing*,” than to build them up in the practice
of a holy life, eftablilhed on faith in the Re-
d Si quis ita plebem compellet, fi. non creditis, ideo
fit, quia jam divinitus exitio prsedeftinati eftis, is non
modo ignaviam fovet, led etiam indulget malitiae. Culv,
7nfi. lib. iii. cap.xxiii. left. 14.
1 * lTim..i. 4.	* • ■■■*	.. „5.0-4"	Concluding Difcourfe.
deemer; and that indead of employing lan*
guage, which might afford occafion for felf-
conceit or defpondency, for careleffnefs or *
unclear.nefs of living, they uniformly addreffed
themfelves to the tinner, as to one capable of
repenting and being forgiven; and to the
fkint, as to one, capable of “falling from his
“ oWn ffeadfaftnefs,” and finally “ coming
“ lhort of lalvation.”
“ For my own part*” faid the wife and
pious Biihop Andrews, when his fentiments
were demanded on the doctrines of the Lam-
beth Articles, “ I honeftly confefs, I have fol-
?e lowed the advice of Auftin; Thefe myfieries,
“ which I am not able to open, being thut up,
?e I have gazed upon with awe: and therefore
“ for thefe fixteen years, fince I was made a
“ Priell, I have, neither in public nor in pri-*
“ vate, either difputed or preached about them;
“and even now alfo I had rather hear con-
“ cerning them, than fpeak. And indeed
♦* fince it is a flippery fubjedt, and has on each
“ fide dangerous precipices; and fince the
“ paflages of Paul, from which it is for the
“ moil; part derived, have always been reckoned
“ amongfi: thofe things hard to be underflood, of
ft which Peter fpeaks ; and fince there are not
“ many among the Clergy, who can ikilfully
“ unfold them, and very few among the peo-
“ pie, who can profitably hear them; I would
•1General Remarh.	60S
f* advife, if it were ppffible, that filence be in-
*■'joined on both tides- and that they be no|
*‘i fo loofely and crudely propounded by .every
“ one, as the cuftom is. Certainly I account
,c it much more profitable, that our people be
u inftrufted to feek their falvation in the ma-r
« nifeft precepts of a holy and faithful life, as
“ is the advice of Peter alfo, than in the fer
" crets of the divine counfel; of which an
ic over-curious examination is apt to produce
dimnefs and dizzinefs of fight, but feldotn
t‘ produces edification, at lead: in narrow
V. minds',” Such was the language of a very
- f Ego cprtq (ingenue fateor) (eeutV(s - ftpi Auguftini
confilium, Myfteria haec, quae aperire non poffum, claufa
miratusfum; et proinde per h.os 16 annos, ex quo Pref-
byter fum fadtus, me neque publice neque privatim vel
difputafie de eis, vel pro concione traflafle: etiam nune
quoquw malle de ois audire, quain dicere. Et quidenj
cum lubricus locus lit, et habeat utrinque periculofa prse-
cipitia, cumque loci Paulini (unde fere eruitur) inter Su<r-
voijfa ilia (de quibus Petrus) Temper lint habiti; cumque
nee naulti in Clero lint, qui ea dextre expedire, et per-
pajijipi in populo, qui idorjei iflius auditorcs efle poffint;
fuaderem, li fieri poffit, ut indieeretur utrinque filentium ;
nec ita paflim et crude propcxnerentur a quibufque ut
afiolet. Certo m.ulto magis expedire arbitror, ut doceatur
populus nofter faint® m fuam quasrere in manifeflis vitae
faunae et fideliter jnftkutae, (quod et Petrus fuadet,) quam
jn oc.cultis cpnfilii divini; cujus curiofa pirnis infpe&io
vertigines et fcotomata gederare poteft: et folet; aedifica-
tiones certe in anguftis ingeniis vix folet. Judicium L.
Andrews Ep. Winton. de Art. Lamb. p. 38.£o6	Concluding Difcotirfe.
excellent Prelate, a diftinguifhed ornament and
pillar of the Church, which, as the noble Hif-
torian of the Rebellion truly teftifies, he “ un-
** derftood and loved8.” Wherein the prac-
tice, which he defcribes himfelf to have fol-
lowed, and which he recommends for the'
adoption of others, is inconfiftent with the
found principles of the Gofpel, and with the
example of its infpired teachers, is an inquiry,
not unworthy the attention of our accufers:
and until it fhall be fatisfaftorily aniwered, we
may venture to queflion their modefty in con-
demning us by reafon of our forbearance as<td
the myfterious doctrines in debate.
And if the prefumption of our opponents be
great, in thus authoritatively deciding upon
fubjecls, which have long divided the opinions
of the greateft men, and in taking the preach-
ing of their own fentiments upon thefe fub-
jedls for the criterion of minifterial fidelity;
they are not lefs reprehenfible in pronouncing
fentence upon points, whereon the fentiments,
which they efpoufe, derive little or no coun-
tenance from antiquity ; or even were not at
all encouraged until fxnce the period of the
Reformation. “ The doctrine that no man,
‘‘ being once in God’s favour, can ever quite
“ lofe it,” is affirmed by the learned Doctor
S Clarendon’s Hiftory of the Rebellion, vol. i. book i. .General Remarks.	so f
Barrow, to have “ the unanimous content of
“ all Chriftendom for fifteen hundred years
** againft	What Chrift meant by be-
“ ing born of water and of the Spirit,” faith
Bithop Beveridge, “ is now made a queftion :
“ 1 fay, now; for it was never made fo, till
“ of late jears. For many ages together none
“ ever doubted of it, but the whole Chriftian
“ world took it for granted, that our Saviour
“ by tbefe words meant only, that except a
“ mart be baptized according to his intiitution,
“ he cannot enter into the kingdom of God1.”
Perfection, if it has been occafionally fupport-
ed byfome particular fedts, as by the Nova-
tiahs of old time, and certain enthufiafts about-
the age of the Reformation, has never had
any pretentions to be confidered as a dodhine'
6f the catholic Church. Whilft alTurance was-
fo far from being admitted and taught in the
primitive times, that it was not aflerted even
by that Father, “ whofe fuppofed patronage
** ftands our accufers in fo much ftead upon
** other occafionsk;” and whofe opinions fome
of them reprefent as the igfodel of their own.
Yet thefe are among the leading points, which
are made the fubjcdt of the charge againtl us f
‘ h Barrow’s Works, vol. ii. p. 51.
■ ’ Beveridge’s Works, vol. ii p. 304. .
k Barrow, ut fupra.	•508	Concluding Difcourfe.
a charge, the operation of which thus appears
not to be confined to thofe, againft whom it
is directly levelled, but comprehends a very
great majority of the whple Chriftiap world.
II. Whilft the charge is thus lliown to be
prefumptuous, it is alfo (as is the nature of all
general charges againft large bodies of men)
accompanied with much mijreprefentation, and
ijn; confequence uncharitable and unjuji. The
clergy of the Church of England confifts of
feveral thopfands of individuals ; with whofe
fe.ntiments and ftyle of preaching, otherwife
than as they are to he inferred from opr aflent
to the authorifed declarations of the Church,
it is impoffible, that they, who advance the
charge, can be acquainted, but upon fome
very difputable authority. Yet often on fpch
authority as this; and often (it is not to be
queftioned) on no authority at all, is the fen-
tence of condemnation pronounced upon us;
and we have reafon.to complain in the words
of the primitive Chriftians, which an hiftorian
of the reformed churches has applied to a per-
ieepted body in his own days, “ Our denomi-
“ nation carries a condemnation with it, with-
“ .put any convidtion of our guiltf.”
* Condemnati fumu« quia nominamur, non quia con-
vincimur. See Heylyn’s Hift. Quinquart. part i. ehap. v.
fe£t. 12.General Reindrh.
500
But thfc lihjuft and uncharitable fpirit is
ttiftced Hill more clearly, where the charge is
confidently propagated in fpite of pofitive tef- a
timony to its falfehood. Let me inftance in
one favourite form, under which it has been
frequently repeated; namely, that in our na-
tional Church “ mere heathenifh morality has
“ generally fuperfeded the preaching of the
“ Gofpel8.” Now whatever may be the iffue
of the queftion, as to the terms of our juftifica-
tion; and whether we err, or not, in afcribing
the importance, which we do, to holinefs of
life; is it to be broadly alTerted, that the ho-
linefs, which we inforce, is a mere heathenijk
morality ? Ought it to be admitted by others ?
Is it, can it be, believed by the alfertors them-
lelves?—Let us fuppofe, for the argument’s
fake, that there may have been, that there may
bC, fome amongft us, who, in their zeal to
promote the moral virtues, have not been fuf-
ficiently cautious in diferiminating between
Chriftian, and heathen, morality; in diftin-
guithing between “ works done before the
“ grace of Chrift, and the infpiration of his
" Spirith,” and thofe “ good works, which
“ Ipring out neceflarily of a true and lively
“ faith1:” in excluding our works, however
s Apology for Sunday Schools, by the Rev. Rowland
Hill, p. 27.
h Art. 13.
1 Art. i2.510	excluding Difeoutfe.
and whenever wrought, from all pretentions
to contribute a tittle towards the purchafe of
our juftification; and in aferibing our being
“ accounted righteous before' God only to the
" merit of our Lord and Saviour Jefus ChriftV’
—Let this cafe, I fay, be fuppofed; and let us
concur in the juftice of whatever feverity of
animadverfion the aceufer may infliCt upon it,
as a dereliction of the Gofpel of Chrift for the
morality of heathens; is the fame fentence
therefore to be pronounced on thofe, who,
maintaining unequivocally with the Church
the doCtrine of "juftification only for the
“ merits of Chrift by faith, and not for our
" own works or defervings,” and pronouncing
with her, that no works of ours can " put
“ away our fins, and endure the feverity of
“ God’s judgment•” with her alfo afiert, that
" good works, which are the fruits of faith,
" are pleating and acceptable to God in thrift,”
and " are the right trade and pathway unto
" heaven1?” From the metropolitan chair of
this kingdom, amid the ftudious retreats of
this Univerfity, and in one of the raoft obfeure
and retired corners of our land, the judicious
Seeker, the excellent and amiable Horne, the ve^
nerable Wilfon were proclaiming the glory of
k Article il.	■ •
1 Homily on Good Works.General RemarJcsl
211
the Redeemer,and labouring to.lead their flocks
“ betide the waters of comfort, and in the
“ paths of righteoufnefs, for his name’s fake,,?
whilft Methodifm was planted and propagated
under the fan&ion of the fpecious plea, that
“ the people were utterly ignorant of the Gof-
“ pel,” and that “ for the moralizing iniquity
“of the prieft the land mourned m.” Being
dead, they Hill fpeak in their furviving works;
and plainly enough, to expofe the uncharita-
blenefs and injuftice of our accufers. Many,
we doubt not, of their contemporaries deferve
to participate in their praife; and many, many,
we truft, ftill remain; inheritors of the purity
of their faith, if not of their talents for in*,
forcing it; and fearlefs of the aflaults of the
enemy, as long as they fhall have grace to
hold fafl: the found apoftolical method of in*
ftrudion, practifed by thefe faithful Minifters
ofOhrift.
III. The temper, with which the, charge is
urged, is agreeable to the preceding particular
in the charge itfelf: a temper, which appears
.to partake little , of that charity, which is the
diftinguifhing badge of a difciple of Chrifl:; of
.that “ meeknefs in inftru&ing thofe who op-
“ pofe themfelves,” which is the indifpenfable
duty of a fervant of the Lord. “ A whole
. . . •%
. P Whitefleld’s Works, vol. v. p. 155.512	Concluding Difcourfe.
“ body of lukewarm, prejudiced, envious, ma»
“ lignant clergy; oppofers of true vital rfeli*
“ gion ; blind leaders of the blind; heretics;
“traitors; perjured apoftates; hateful hypo-
“ crites; murderers of fouls; our Saviour’s
“ mod bitter enemies'1;”—fuch are the terms,
which the patrons of Methodifm have fcrupled
not to employ in their defcriptions of the re-
gular clergy, under the pretence of “ doing
“ God fervice.” “ Reproachful language,” faid
an heathen prince to one who had accofted
him with infolence, “ is wont to irritate the
“ mind of him, againft whom it is uttered :
“ but although thy addrefs hath been inju-
“ rious, thou haft not provoked me to be un-
“ feemly in my reply0.” The refolution is
Worthy of a Chriftian. Let us adopt it; and
“ being reviled, let us revile not again,” Yet
there is one obfervation, which I cannot with-
hold, with refpeft to the temper of our ac*
cufers; that the language of bitternefs, which
it prompts, betrays that perfecuting fort of
fpirit, which would hardly be contented with
inventive, if other weapons were in its power.
n Whitefield’s Works, vol. i> p. 389,390, vol. v. p. Vjt.
vbl. vi. p. 95. Pietas Oxon. &c. See alfo Outranks Ex-
tra£ts, p. 124—139.
0 H £eivi ’SiTrcipTirjTct, ovsiSsa xccuovra. avbgumcu Qthssi Effava-
ysiv tov §vp.ov <rv ftevroi onro't>E%a.[j.evo; y£gwjaara ev rai Aoytji 00
l*i ensitras	sv rj| ysve&ai. Herod, lib. vii.You have the word, and we have the fttvord,”
faid the Popilh Prolocutor Weftonp, when he
felt his inability to cope with the fcriptural
authorities, by which his Proteftant opponents,
the Fathers of the Englifh Church, fupported
their opinions. They had the fword; and
they ufed it. The language of our accufers
tnay warrant a with, that the fword may never
tall into their hands; left a repetition of the
feenes, which defolated the Church in a fome-
what later molt melancholy and eventful pe-
riod of our hiftory, Ihould Convince us by lad
experience, as the originals convinced our fore-
fathers ; that bigotry and intolerance are not
confined to the adherents of Popery; and
that higher degrees of charity are not always
found to accompany pretenfions to fuperior
purity of faith.
IY, It deferves to be remarked, that thej
charge is vague and undefined. Often indeed
it is alleged by men, who have as indiftindl a
notion of the Gofpel, as they have an imper-
fedt acquaintance with the preaching of the
clergy. But taking it in the moft favourable
light, as alleged by the more informed of our
accufers, it is ftill of fo fluctuating an import,
as to defy all attempts to fatisfy it. That we
do not preach the Gofpel, is the charge ad-
P- Ridley’s Life of. Bp. Ridley, book vii. p, 488.
X. 1514	Concluding T>ifcourfe.
vanced by our various enemies: a charge, td
appearance the fame with all of them, but in
fubftance irreconcileably different.
For let us reflect an inftant on the perfons,
by whom it is advanced; men, like Ephraim'
and Manaffeh combined together againft Ju*
dahq, as widely at variance with each other, as
either of them can be hoftile to us-men*
who have no other principle of harmony, than
that which united Herod and Pontius Pilate in
the perfecution of Chrift:—men, who have
exprefsly “ accufed each other, of preaching"
“ damnable and effentially erroneous doc-
“ trines, horrid blafphemies, another golpel,
“ and the like'.” What then is it poffible
that we can do', to lilence the clamour of our
accufers ? Shall we efpoufe the fentiments of
the Wefleyan Methodift? The charge will ftill
be levelled againft us by the Calvinift; and We
may be rebuked in the language of Whitefield,
when he told his rival in their fchifni, that
“ they preached two different gofpels • and
“ therefore he not only would not join with,
“ or give him the right hand of fellowfhip,
“ but wsfs refolved to preach againft him and
“ his brother, wherefoever he preached at all’.”
<1 ,If. ix. 21.
r See Enthufiafm of Methodifts, &c. part ii. Preface,
p. xxi.
® Coke’s Life of Wefley, p. 214.•' General Remarks. '	515
Shall we range ourfelves under the banners of
the Calvinift? This will hardly content the
followers of Wefley, who declared, that "“ he
“ had an immediate call from God to publilli
“ to the world, that Mr. WhitefieldV doCtrine
was highly injurious to ChriftV” k) •>	*
Or fuppofe that we could decide in favour
Of fome great divifion of our accufers; the
fame'difficulty would occur, as to the fubdi*
vifion, which we fhould adopt. Let us deter-
mine on the party of Wefley. Shall we then
attach ourfelves to thofe, who flill take the
lead in the regular connection; or to thofe,
who have feparated from it, by reafon of a di-
verfity of opinion on fome important doCtrinal
points, whereon they claim the fanftion of the
authority of the original Founder of the feCtu?
-Let us declare ourfelves of the Calviniftie
party. Shall we then maintain “ the rigours
“ of the fyftem,” in conformity with its fun-
damental principles; and agreeably to the
•ddCtrines of Calvin, and of confident Calvinifts,
and to the declarations of the Lambeth ArtF
cles: or fhall we profefs ourfelves the ad-
vocates of “ a milder and more moderate Cal-
“ vinifm,” and “ abfolutely difavovv the doc-
“ trine of abfolute decrees and abfolute repro-
v. ' *-***	'	-	■
* Nott’s Bampton Leftures, p. 248. note.
u Nightin^aje’s Portraiture of Methodifm, p. 409,481,
L 1 2$ 16	Concluding Difcoutfe.
“ bation V’ as an extravagant and' frightful
fyftem f
Or fuppofe again, that this difficulty was
furmounted; and that onr election was made;
not only of the fedt but of the fedtary, not
only of the party but of the man, that fhall
have dominion over our faith. Inconfiftent as
our aecufers are with themfelves, as well as at
variance with each other, by what rule fhall
we be guided in diftinguifhing, between thofe
opinions of the individual, which we fhall ef*
poufe, as of evangelical purity ; and thofe,
which we fhall rejedt, as a departure from it ?
Taking, for inftance, the Apologift of moderate
Calvinifm for our guide, lhall we with him af-
fert, that “ the fundamental principles, on which
“ the Calviniftic fyftem refts, are incontroverti-
“ bleor lhall we unite with him in renounc-
ing fome of thofe principles, until we have ftrip-
ped Calvinifm of its charadteriftic features, as a
lyftem of faith; and made of it a mutilated
itrudture, which its founder would have de-
rided, as the edifice of childifhnefs and folly ?
Attaching ourfelves to another celebrated
champion of our felf-denominated evangelical
brethren, fhall we teach our people that the
falvation offered by the Gofpel is “whoHy un-
“ conditional,” and irreverfibly determined by
«. Overton’s True Churchmen, &c„General Remar fa*	517
the abfolute will of God; or fhall We reprfi-
ifent it, as depending upon men’s improvement
of the opportunity of grace offeredy? With
Whitefield, fhall we preach univerfal, or par-
tial, redemption ? the defedlibility, or the in-
defedlibility, of grace ? Shall we expoftulate
with our hearers for not choofing to be con-
verted, or fhall we tell them that their con-
verfion is not of their own free will ? With
Wefley fhall we contend, that a man can
“ have all the !mind that was in Chrift, and
always walk as he walkedor fhall we
-deny that any man can bb “ abfolutely per-
4‘ fedt ?” Shall we affert, that a man cannot
-have living faith, without knowing that he
hath it? or that he may be juftified, that isr
may have this living faith, yet not know it,
till a long time after2? Shall we affirm “ the
“ condition of our acceptance with God to be
“ not our holinefs either of heart or life, but
faith alone, faith as contradiftinguifhed from
“ holinefs, as well as from good worksor
fhall We contend for a “ faith, which is ne-
“ ceffarily inclufive of all good works and all
<e holinefs2;” or fhall we maintain it as a po-
y See Hawker’s Prop againft all Pefpair, p. 18. Mi-
fericordia, p. 43,65.
z See Tucker’s Hiftoryof the Principles of Methodifm,
p. 30,32.
a See Nott’s Bampton Leisures, p. 246,
L 1 35T&	Concluding Difcourje.
iition, which cannot be “ denied without fight-
“ ing about words, that holinefs is a condition
“ of our final acceptance with Godb?”
Thefe inconfiftencies and difagreefnents of
•our accufers, not only with each other, but
'with themfelves, wall juftify us in regarding
their opinions with jealoufy ; confident, as
they all are, in fupport, each of his favourite
doctrines; and profeffing, as fome of them
have done, to have been directed to a know-
ledge of the truth, even in the minuted: cir-
'cum fiances, by a fpecial revelation from God,
Amid fuch contending claims, great delibera-
tion not only is allowable, but becomes a
duty, before we embrace any fyftem of opi-
nions, thus propofed to us, as articles of the
Gofpel faith: led: we fihould at length difcoyer,
that; like the moderate Calvinid, we are " halt-
*" ing between two opinions,” confidently at-
.tached to neither; or led:, with Whitefield,
conceiving ourfelves to be favoured at fome
future period with a more clear knowledge of
- divine truth, we fhould be compelled to re-
Itraift and recant: or led:, having laboured in
-vain for years, like Welley, ", to convert
“ others,” and teach them the truths of Chrif-
’ -tianity, we fliould after all difcover, that we
b ’	4
11 Wefley’s Farther Appeal. See Gutram’s Extracts,
p. 104.	, :.	.. >u-*General Remarks.	<519
'had “ never been converted ourfelves'.” Thus
-jftands the cafe, with refpedt to our own fatis-
fadtion: in the mean time, as to'our accufers,
before we can cherifh a well-grounded hope
of fatisfying them, they may reafonably be re-
•	quired to difplay a greater degree of harmony,
one with another, and of confiftency, each
with himfelf. Till then, we may be permitted
to adopt for our pattern the conduct of the
Lord Treafurer Burleigh, on occafion of the
complaint of the Difciplinarians, in Queen
■ Elizabeth’s time, againd the Liturgy then in
ufe. “ He demanded,” as Fuller reports it,
“ whether they defired the taking away thereof.
“ They anfwered, No; but only the amend-
“ ment of what was offenfive therein. He
“ required them to make a better, fuch as
•	“ they would have fettled in the dead thereof.
“ Whereupon, the firft claffis formed a new
“ onp, fomewhat according to the form of
“ Geneva. The fecond claffis, diffiking it,
“ altered it in fix hundred particulars, The
“ third quarrelled at thefe alterations, and re-
" folved on a new model. The fourth claffis
“ difiented from the former. Thus, becaufe
they could not agree amongfl: themfelves,”
continues the hiftorian, “ that wife ftatefman
c Wefley’s.Firft Journal, p. 78. Coke’s, Life of Wef-
ley, p-133.	'	..	:52’0
Concluding Difcoifrfe.
*■ put "them off for the prefent, until they
“ fihould prefent him a pattern with a perfect
confentV
V, I proceed to remark, that we are ac-
cufed of abandoning the doSrines of the Re-
formation; the doB 'rines of the Church of Eng-
land.
Now that fome of the opinions of our ac-
cufers were maintained by certain perfons at
the earlieft periods of the Reformation, and in
this country, may readily be allowed. The
dodfrine of perfection, for inftance, was fo
maintained, as we learn from our Articles, by
which, as well as by the Augfburg Confelbon,
it is condemned'. The dodtrine of not falling
from grace had alfo its advocates; for fo we are
informed by Bilhop Latimer, who pointedly
deprecates it, as a novel upftart opinionf. Thus
again, with regard to the Calvinittic tenets in
general; of which an hiftorian fpeaks in lan-
guage, well calculated to excite attention, from
the correfpondence, which it exhibits, between
thofe times and the prefent. “ There were
“ fome men,” he fays, “ who, in the begin-
f‘ ning of the reign of King Edward the Sixth,
** bufily ftickled in the maintenance of Calvin's
<* Fuller’s Church Hiftory, book ix. p. 178.
* Art. 15. and Confeffio Auguft. Art. 11.
f See above, Serm. v.
« ■*General Remarks.	Z2l
&
doctrines. And thinking thcmfelves to he
“ more evangelical than the rejl of their
“ brethren, they either took unto themfelves, or
had given by others, the name of Gospellers.
■	‘ Of this they were informed by the reve-
■	‘ rend prelate and right godly martyr Bilhop
“ Hooper, in the preface to his Expofition of
“ the Ten Commandments : Our Gofpellers,
“ faith he, be better learned than the Holy
“ Ghoft; fop they wickedly attribute the caufe
“ of punifhments and adverfity to God’s provi-
“ deuce, which is the caufe of no ill, as he
“ himfelf can do no ill; and over every mif-
u chief that is done, they fay, it is God’s will.
“ In which,” adds Heylyn, “ we have the men
“ and their do&rine ; the name of Gofpellers,
“ and the reafon why that name was afcribed
** unto themg.”
Thus far, then, it may be conceded, that
the doctrines for which our accufers contend,
the doctrines of Calvin efpecially, were not
without their advocates, in the age of the Re-
formation, either at home or abroad. But is
it to be underllood, that thefe doctrines formed
part of that fyftem of faith, which was gene-
rally adopted by thofe, who feparated from
the Church of Rome ? Unquetlionably they
did not. Earneftly as they were maintained
S Hift. Quinquart. part lii. chap. xvi. p. 589.522	Concluding Difcourfe.
by their great patron, whofe name they bead,
and by thofe divines, with whom he was
more clofely connected, and who (as judicious
Hooker fays) “ deemed his books almofl: the
“ very canon, by which both doctrine and dif-
cipline were to be judged11;” let it not be fup-
pofed, that the eftablilhment of thefe dodtrines
in a general view formed any part of the Re-
formation from the corruptions of Popery : let
it not be fuppofed, that thefe dodtrines did in
fadt conftitute a part of the creed of thofe,.
whether individuals or churches, whom we
are bound to regard with the moil grateful and
fond attachment.—Abroad ;—whatever may
have been the opinions of Calvin, and his ad-
herents, and thofe churches, in France, in
Switzerland, and in the Netherlands, which
were “ call according to the mold which he
" made’let it never be believed, that thofe
were efteemed the dodtrines of the Reforma-
tion, which Melandthon condemned as “ the
“ dotage of Stoicifm and the ravings of Mani-
“ chaean madnefs which the Confeffipns of
Augtburg and of Saxony unequivocally difcou-
rage; and which the Lutherans deprecate, un-
der the name of “ the Predeftinarian pefti-
** lencefrom which they thrink with even
k Pref. to Ecclef, Polity, p. 139. Oxford edit.
> Hooker,General Remarh.
523
,greater abhorrence, than from Popery itfelf;
and which they accufe of dethroning God,
t and making' the devil the object of worthip in
his dead k.—At home ;—whatever opinions
may have been efpoufed by our northern
•neighbours, who ct in eredling the fabric of
“ their own reformation, took the felf-fame
pattern1” as thofe, who had moulded them-
•felves after Calvin’s example; let it not be be-
• lieved, that thefe doctrines were ever intended
•to be fet forth for the do&rines of the Englith
,Church ; reformed as it was by men, who,
; deadfadly adhering to the fentiments of the
^primitive fathers, in the condru&ion of the
S* ’formularies compofed for regulating the faith of
■the country, chofe for their coadjutor, not Cal-
i .vin, but Melandthon; and for the model of their
; articles of faith, the language of the Augudan
Confeffion: and who have mod plainly, and un-
, .quedionably, arid repeatedly aiTerted the doc-
trines of God’s willing all men to be faved ; of
univerfal redemption purchafed by the facridce
of Chrid; of the cooperating and adiding grace
of the Holy Spirit; and of the pofiibility of
: falling from God, fo as to be utterly and dnally
!dedroyed: doctrines, by the edablithment of
which, as the learned Bilhop Bull has un-
' k See The Rehearfal, vol. iv. p. 27,48. Heylyn’s Quinq,
Hift. p. 521.	*' ■
1 Hooker.£24	Concluding Difcoutfe.
anfwerably remarked, “ the whole frame and
“ fabric of Calvinifm is fhattered and over-
“ thrown™.”
We know indeed that there was a period,
not long fubfequent to the Reformation of our
Church, and immediately fucceeding the Ma-
rian perfecution, when “ Calvinifm overfpread
“ a great part of it, as Arianifm did the eaftern
“ churches in the older timesnand an at-
tempt was made, and repeated in the follow-
ing reign, to eftablifh the predeftinarian te-
nets, as part of the faith of the country, by,
what are termed, the Lambeth Articles: an at-
tempt, we may obferve in palling, which had
evidently been fuperfluous, had the creed al-
ready eftablilhed fpoken the fentiments of the
projectors. But as well might it be contended
from the fubfequent growth of Arianifm, that
m A Calvini turn difciplina, turn doctrina, (qua part®
ipfe a Melanchthone aliifque inftaurati purioris Chrifti-
anifmi magiftris antiquioribus abierit) prorfus alienos fu^
ifle primos Reformationis noftrae Authores, fatis conftat.
. Nimirum pofitis his duabus hypothefibus, i. Chriftum
etiam eos, qui pereunt, vere redemiffe; 2. Pofle vere in
' Chriftum credentes, et per Chriftum juftificatos, a Ride et
Juftificatione, fua culpa penitus deficere atque aeternum
perire ; (quae manifefta funt atque indubitata Ecclefiae
noftrae dogmata) corruit tota Calviriifmi, qui dicitur, mo-
les et machina : quod cuivis rein vel mediocriter atten-
Henti mox liquebit. Apolog. pro Harm. p. 57.
n Heylyn’s preface.General Remarks.	$2$
the lame had been the dodtrine of the primi-
tive church; as it might be contended that
Galvinifm was “ the native and original doc-
** trine of the Church of England,” becaule
peculiar circumftances afterwards conduced td
its encouragement. The attempt, when made;
to eftablilh abfolute predeftination as an article
of the national creed, fir ft in the reign of Eliza-
beth, and then of James the Firft, was rendered
abortive (under Providence) by the wifdom of
our rulers, whofe fandtion was neceflary to its
luccefs. And God be praifed that it was fo !
Still, had it fucceeded to the full extent of its
projedtors’ withes, the qucftion, with which,
we are now concerned, would have remained
unafFedted by that refult. Our clo&rines would
Jlill be the primitive doSlrines of the reformed
Engli/h Church. The Canons of the Synod of
Dort affedt not the opinions of Melandthon,
and the declarations of the Augtburg Confef-
lion; nor identify the principles of Galvin with
thofe of the Reformation abroad : no more
would the eftablithment of the Lambeth Ar-
ticles have made thofe to be the primitive doc5*
trines of our Englith Reformation, which are
irreconcileable with our Church’s authorifed
formularies and declarations of faith, as pro-
mulgated by Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley.
YI. Connedted with the charge, that we
do not preach the doctrines of the. Reformat$26	' Concluding Difcounfe.
tion, is another form, under which the accufa-*
tion is conveyed; namely, that the dodtrines;
which we do preach, are thofe of Pdagianifm
and Popery., On the intemperance of our ac*
cufers I have already had occafton to remark :
at prefent I will add no more on that head,
than the pious and benevolent caution of Bi*
fhop Sanderfon in a feafon of much and bitter
controverfy ; “ that, if we cannot grow to be
*' of the fame belief in every thing, we might
“ at lead; be brought to fhow more charity
“ either to other, than to damn one another
“for every difference; and more ingenuity;
“ than to feek to render the one' the other
“ more odious to the world than we oughts
“ by reprefenting each other’s opinions worfe
than they are °.”
It has however been always the unfortunate
portion of thofe, who have maintained the
dodtrines, which we efpoufe, on the fubjedt of
predeftination, to be affailed with the moft un^
merited charges, and to be laid under the im^-
putation of opinions which their fouls abhor*
red. Of the maintainers of thofe dodtrines,
during the progrefs of the Reformation, it was
affirmed, “ whether with greater ignorance or
“malice,” fays Heylyn, “ it is hard to fay,
“ that there was a fynod called at Dort to
0 Bp. Sanderfon’s Works, Pref. fe£t.,3dx. ’>General.Remarks.	52 J
*' fupprefs the Arminians ; and' that the faid
“ Arminians held among other herefies, firft,
“ that God was the author of fin ; and, fe-
“ condly, that he created the far greater part of
“ mankind, only of purpofe for to damn them,
“ with feveral others of that kind : which
“ every man of reaforl knows, not only to be
“ the confequence and refult of Calvin’s doc-
“ trine ; but to be pofitively maintained and
“ taught by fome of his followersp.” By this
and fimilar artifices did fome of the early pa-
trons of Calvinifm endeavour to render their
adverfaries hateful: whilfi: the cry of Pelagi-
anifm and Popery has been tranfmitted from
Calvinift to Calvinift, of whatever age, country,
or degree : a cry (I am bold to fay) as utterly
unfounded, as that, which would condemn us
for making God the author of fin.
For what, let it be demanded, is Pelagianifm ?
Pelagius, fays a celebrated ecclefiaftical hilto-
rian, “ looked upon the dodtrines, which were
“ commonly received concerning the original
<£ icorruption of human nature, and the necef-
" fity of divine grace to enlighten the under-
“ ftanding and to purify the heart, as prejudi-
,c cial to the progrefs of holinefs and virtue,
“ and tending to lulL mankind into a prefump-
“ tuous and fatal fecurity. He maintained,
P Hift. Quinquart. part i. chap. v. p. 533.** that thefe doctrines were as feilfe, as they*
" were pernicious; that the tins of our firft pa-
“ rents were imputed to them alone, a.J. not
" to their pofterity ; that we derive no corrupt
" txon from their fell, but are born as pure and1
*f unfpotted, as Adam came out ©f the forming
" hand of his Creator; that mankind therefore
" are -capable of repentance and, amendment;
“ and of arriving to the higheffc diegrees, of
“ piety and- virtue by the ufe of their natural1
" faculties and powers; that indeed external
" grace is neceflary to excite their endeavours;
" but that they have no need of the internal
" fuecours of the divine Spiritq.” How thefe
opinions can be alCribed to men, who not
only exprefsly condemn the vanity of the Pe-
lagians- in denying " the fault and corruption
" of human naturebut who alfo believe,
that “ the condition of man after the fall of
" Adam is fuch, that he cannot turn and prei
" pare himfelf, by his own natural drength
" and good works, to faith and calling upon
" God ; and that therefore we have no power
" to do good works pleating and acceptable to
“ God, without the grace of God by Chrift
"preventing us, that we may have a good
" will, and working with us when we have
" that good will:*’—(for undoubtedly I am at
S Mofheim, vol. ii. p. 87,.General Remarks.	S2Q
liberty to alfu me, that the doctrines, to which
we folemnly affent, we do honeftly believe:)—
howt^he opinions of Pelagianifm, I fay, can be
fairly afcribed to men, who notorioufly profefs
the very oppofite belief, it is for our accufers,
if poffible, fatisfa&orily to explain : and until
they can fucceed in the attempt, we mull: be
allowed to think and to fay, that no credit is
reflected on the caufe by the employment of
fuch meafures in fupport of it; nor on its ad-
vocates, who can have recourfe to fuch mea-
fures for its fupport.
- Then again, as to the charge of Popery ; it
is a fword which cuts either way. The Papifts
have been divided on thefe points, not lefs
than the Proteftants. The difputes of the Ar-
minians and Calvinilis in the reformed churches
have been the counterpart of thofe of the
Francifcans and Dominicans in the church of
Rome. Nay, according to an obfervation in
the ufeful and elaborate work of one of the
mod eminent of my predeceffors, “ Though,”
as Bifhop Bull very juftly fays, “ the doctrine
“ of predetiination f was never thought of for
“ the four firft ages,’ nor even after that time
by the Greek church ; yet it appears to have
“ been part of the creed of the leading men in
“ the Romifti communion from the time of its
“ great advocate Auguftine to that of the Re-*
m m
/5 3 Q	Concluding Difcourfe.
" formation'.” So that, if we would reply to
a railing accufation in correfpondent language,
we might retort the charge of Popery on our
opponents.
But pa fling from this view of the fubjedt,
and admitting, (if it be defired,) that the Anti-i
Calviniftic tenets are the authorifed creed of
the Papifts, as eftablifhed by the Council of
Trent; ftill, without any attachment to the
church of Rome, and on the found principles
of Proteftantifm, it may be contended, that a
dodtrine is not therefore to be rejected, merely
becaufe it is an article of the creed of the Ro-
mifti church. If the contrary, principle be
once admitted, what thall we think of the
doctrines of the Trinity j and of the incarna-
tion, and the twofold nature, of the Son of
God; dodtrines, which we believe, unquef-
tionably in common with the church of Rome ?
*—What fhall we think of the whole of the
Apoftle’s Creed ? What of the Lord’s Prayer
itfelf? With refpedt to both of which, we
know the time, when they were condemned
and thrown afide by our Calviniftic brethren;
as rags and remnants of Popery ? “ I believe,”
faid an excellent Bifhop of our Church, who
could fpeak experimentally of the mifchievous
effedts of this practice in the difaftrous times,
* Eveleigh’s Bampton Le&ures, p. 16J. note.& _
General Uemwhs.	531'
to which I am alluding; “ I beli.eve all thofe
“ men will be found much miflaken, who
“ either meafure the Proteftant religion by an
“ oppofition to Popery, or account all Popery,
“ that is taught or pradifed in the church of
“ Rome. Our godly forefathers, to whom,
“ under God, we owe the purity of our reli-
“ gion, and fome of whom laid down their
“ lives for the defence of the fame, were fure
“ of another mind; if we may, from what
“ they did, judge what they thought. They
“ had no purpofe, nor had they any warrant,
** to .let up a new religion, but to reform the
“ old; by purging it from thofe innovations,
“ which in trad; of time, fome fooner, fome
later, had mingled with it, and corrupted it,
“ both in the dodrine and worfhip. Accord-
“ ing to this purpofe they proceeded, without
“ conftraint or precipitancy, freely and ad-
“ vifedly as in peaceable times, and brought
“ their intentions to a happy end; as by the
" refult thereof, contained in the Articles and
** Liturgy of our Church, and the prefaces
“ thereunto, doth fully appear. From hence
“ chiefly, as I conceive, we are to take our
“ beft fcantling, whereby to judge what is,
“ and what is not, to be efteemed Popery.
“All thofe dodrines then, held by the mo-
“ dern church of Rome, which are either con-
“ trary to the written word of God, or but
Mm2532	Concluding Difcourfe.
“ fuperadded thereunto, as neceffary points of
“ faith, to be of all Chriftians believed un-
“ der pain of damnation; and all thofe fu-
“ perftitions, ufed in the worfliip of God,
“ which either are unlawful, as being con-
“ trary to the word; or being not contrary,
“ and therefore arbitrary and indifferent, are
“made effentials, and impofed as neceffary
“parts of worfhip: thefe are, as I take it,
“ the things, whereunto the name of Popery"
“ doth properly and peculiarly belong'.” Upon
fhe principles, thus clearly and fatisfaclorily
laid down, we may be contented to reft our
defence, as to the prefent point; little foli-
citous, whether our opinions be, or be not, the
fame with,thofe of the Papift, provided they be
agreeable to the Scriptures of truth. In the
mean time, prefuming upon the corre&nefs
of the defcription of Popery, thus delineated
by Bithop Sanderfon, we may fuggeft it to
the contideration of our Calviniftic brethren,
whether the importance, which they attach
to their peculiar tenets, as neceflary points of
the true evangelical faith, does not breathe
fomewhat of a Popifli fpirit: and farther we
may requeft them to confider, whether the
temper, with which Calvin and his Proteftant
followers, both at home and abroad, in former
5 Bp. Sanderfon’s Works, Pref. fe&. 15.General Remarks.	533
and in the prefent times; have maintained their
tenets, is not congenial to the temper of their
brethren in the church of Rome; who have
been dittinguithed, as for their attachment to
the predeftinarian doctrines, fo alfo for their
zealous patronage, and adtive promotion, of
the lnquitition \
VII. After all; meeting our accufers upon
the ground of their own charadieriftic and
avowed principles, as advocates of abfolute
predeftination and irrefiftible grace; we may
demand of them, What condudt they would
with us to adopt ? The end of every man, you
affirm, is predeftinated by a divine decree,
which has irreverfibly determined, not the
end only, but the means. It is determined
then, what individuals among our hearers thall
be faved; and what part thall be performed
by us in order to their falvation. In the firft
place, indeed, our own convertion is neceflary;
for, according to your apprehentions, we are
ourfelves in an unconverted date. Then, fe*
condly, if converted ourfelves by the retiftlets
grace of God, which we are utterly unable
either to forward or to retard, tlill we can do
nothing towards the convertion of others, but
that which is abfolutely decreed. Upon youi*
principles, every argument, exhortation, and
‘ See Heylyn’s Quinq. Hift. part i. chap. vi. p. 535.
Mm3
i534	Concluding Difcoufje.
remonftrance, which you can employ, for the
convidion either of us, or of your hearers, is
nugatory and foolifh. It is altogether of thfe
will of God, the tinner may plead, whether I
thall be faved or not: you may call upon me
to believe and repent; but I cannot have
either faith or repentance, unlefs it be the will
of God for me to have them ; and if that be
his will, I thall have them, whether I will or
not. And to the fame effed may we argue,
and the moll acute Calvinitt may be chal-
lenged to reply to the argument, If it be the
will of God, that my mind thould be en-
lightened, and I become a preacher of the Gof*
pel, I thall be fo; if not, I thall not. Here then
the matter may be left, with the obfervation
of a great Statefman in the days of Queen
Elizabeth, when the attempt was firft made to
eftablith among# us the dodrines of Calvin,
embodied in the Lambeth Articles. Having
feverely condemned the prefumption of thole
divines, who ventured on “ dangerous defini-
“ tions,” and “ dared to make decrees, with*
“ out legal authority, concerning the moll
“ weighty queftions, on which, for many
“ ages, the moll learned men had never been
“ able to agree; it was not difficult,” he faid,
“ to dilcover, what was the aim of thofe, who
“ had been moll earned: in this affair. For
** thus they think and teach; that everyGeneral Remarks.
535
" human a&ion, whether it be good or evil, is
*-* bound by the law of an unchangeable de-
“ cree: nay, that this necetlity is impofed on
“ the very wills of men, fo that men cannot
“ will, otherwife than they do. If which
“ things be true,” he continued, " moft auguft
" Sovereign, in vain do I and the other faith-
“ ful fervants of your Majefty, long and cau-
“ tioufly confult on what is needful to be
“ done for your and the kingdom’s benefit:
“ fince upon thofe things, which neceflarily
“ come to pafs, all confultation is manifeftly
“ abfurdY’
u At magnus ille vir (qua erat prudentia) facile intelli-
.gens, pericnlofas efle definitiones in controverfiis adeo de-
certatis, vehementer factum hoc omne improbavjt; dixit-
que effefturum fe ut ejus autores confilii fui poeniteret.
Nec fefellit promiffi fidem. Reginam quippe convenit,
ac gravi oratione demonftrat, in his quae ad ftatum reli-
gionis pertinent, per Angliae leges neminem pofie nifi ex
auftoritate Regjnae, et quidem accedente parliamenti con-
fenfu, quicquam decernere. Neque id fruftra inftitutum.
Magnum enim efle in animos humanos regnum religionis,
et facillime eo obtentu in partes iri et fa£tiones. At nunc
paucos .Theologos aufos decreta facere de graviflimis
quaeftionibus, fuper quibus multis jam a fseculis inter
eruditiflima ingenia convenire nunquam potuerit. Neque
obfcurum, quo tenderent, qui hoc impetraflent: nam eos
ita exiftimare atque docere, Quicquid gereretur rerum hu-
■manarum, honum id mahimve eJJ'et, id omne confiringi lege
'immutabilis decreti; ipjis quoque hominum voluntatibus
hanc impojitam necejjitatem, ut aliter quam vellent, homines
vellt non poJJent. Quae fi vera (inquit) funt, Domina Au-
m m 4*530	Concluding Difcoiirfe.
, I have thus brought to a conclufion the in-
quiry, which was propofed at the commence-
ment of thefe Ledtures. The motive, with
which they were undertaken, was a fincere
defire, with the blefiing of Almighty God> to
maintain againft gainfayers the found orthodox
dodtrines of that Gofpel, which we are ac-
cufed of corrupting or forfaking; and at the
fame time to contribute my aid, however
feeble, that (as Epifcopius pleaded for himfelf
and his brethren at Dort) “ the Church might
" not be traduced, by reafon of the private
“ conceits of fome of her MiniftersV’ Whe-
ther my objedt will in any degree have been
attained; whether it will have appeared, that
the great body of the national dergy are af-
failed with unmerited cenfure; whether any
individual, either among our enemies or among
our friends, will have been recalled or pre-
ferved from error, or confirmed or reeftablilhed
in the truth; at lead: I truft, that nothing, in
the profecution of the inquiry, will have ef-
caped me, unworthy of the aflembly, which I
addrefs■ or of the ftation, which I occupy; or
guftiffima, fruftra ego aliique fideles Majeftatis tuae mi-
niftri, quid in re quaque opus fit fafto, quid ex ufu futu-
rum fit et Regni et tuo, fufpenfa diu confilia verfamus,
cum de his quae eveniunt neeefiario, ftulta fit plane omni«
confultatio. Artie. Lambeth. Hijl. p. 6.
* Hales’s Letters.General Remarks<	537
of the caufe, which I efpoufe; and That the
attempt itfelf will not be deemed deferving of
reprehenfion, when it is confidered, according
to the beautiful language of a late learned
Divine, that “ it was defigned, flight and im-
“ perfeCl as it is, for the fervice of Truth, by
“ one who would be glad to attend and grace
•“ her triumphs; as her foldier, if he has■ had
“ the honour to ferve fuccefsfully under her
“ banners; or as a captive, tied to her chariot
“ wheels, if he has, though undefignedly, com-
ft mitted any offence againft: hery.”
In the mean time, however this may be,
there are two important practical remarks,
fuggefted by the foregoing inquiry, which de-
ferve to be imprefled upon our minds, as con-
taining matter, not only of general moment to
us in our profeffional characters, but alfo, in
the exifting temper of men’s minds, of great
fpecial obligation.
And, firft, confidering the adivity of our
enemies, and the propenfity, which they dili-
gently fofter, to difparage the clerical cha-
racter, we fhould be ftimulated more than
ever, to “ take heed to ourfelves” by a diligent
difcharge of the duties of our profeflion, and
by a ftriCt attention to our perfonal conduCt,
Of our parifhioners, and of mankind in ge-
y Jortin’s Remarks on Eccleliaftical Hlftory. Preface.#1
J38	' Concluding Difcourje.
neral,$be great bulk are not capable of decid-
ing on controverted topics, but they are alt
able to judge of external conduct. By careful
Attention to their intereds, both temporal and
fpiritual, we may attach them to our perfons;
and thus, by natural confequence, to our mi-
nidry: and it will be no difficult conclution
for them to draw, that inafmuch as we labour
to " do the will of God, we know of the doc-
** trine, whether it is of God.”
Secondly, The fame confideration Ihould
operate on us as an additional caution, to
“ take heed to the dodtrine to preach the
Gofpel of Chrid in its original purity and dm-
plicity. Truth lies between the feveral ex-
tremes of Antinomian licentioufnefs, and mere
morality ; of irrefiftible grace, and unadided
free-will. This is the path, in which we ihould
endeavour to walk; ever remembering, that
the right method of confuting erroneous opi-
nions is not by maintaining the oppoiite errors,
but by fetting forth, and contending for, the
true evangelical faith. Condudt, fuch as this,
is bed; adapted, under the favour of a bountiful
Providence, to edablith our friends, and to de-
feat our enemies. They, who accufe us with
an honed confcience and a meek and Chridian
fpirit, may thereby be induced to withdraw
their oppofition, at lead to be temperate in
urging it; to forbear from being adtive adver-general Remarks.	53g
faries, if they cannot be prevailed on to be^
come cordial friends. Whilft, as to others,
provided we afford them no juft occafion of
offence, the refponfibility of the divifions and
heart-burnings, which they promote, will fall
upon their own heads. “Wo unto him,” faith
our Lord, “ by whom the offence cometh!”
God forbid, my brethren, that it fhould come
by us! Within thefe hallowed walls, on the
Very fpot, where we are now affembled, the
Fathers of our Reformed Church refilled the
power and malice of their perfecutors, and
bore refolute teftimony to “ the truth, as it is
“ in Jefus.” Within the precindts of our
Univerfity, they fealed that teftimony by their
blood. Men indeed they were, not exempt
from the weaknefs and imperfections of their
nature ; but they were men, fecond to none,
whom Almighty God ever fent in his mercy
to blefs a favoured land, either in natural abi-
lity ; or in acquired learning; or in the Chrif-
tian graces of humility and meeknefs; or in
the patience, wherewith they inveftigated the
truth; or in the fortitude, with which they
defended it, through difgrace and tribulation;
during temptation and perfecution; amid im-
prifonment, in the flames, and unto death.
May God Almighty give us grace to ferve him
faithfully, as they did ; to tread fteadfaftly in
their footfteps; and to “ bear up the pillars”540	Concluding Difcourfe.
of thpt'Ghurch, of which they laid the foun-
dation. And never, never may we fupply juft
occafion for the charge, that we have forfaken
their example; nor incur the heavy “ wo”
denounced by the Spirit of truth, on thofe
who “ preach not the Gofpel” of Chrift!
Now unto him, “ God manifeft in the flefli;’'’
unto him, who is “ over all, God blefied for
“ evermore;” unto him, in the unity of the
Father and the Holy Spirit, three perfons and
one God, be all bleffing and honour and glory
and power, henceforth and for ever. Amen.
THE END.
ERRATUM.
P. 376. 1. 9. for controvertible read convertible.Lately publijhed by the fame Author, and to be had of
Mejfrs. Rivington, and other Bookfellers ;
I.	A STEP IN THE TEMPLE; or a familiar and eafy
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TECHISM, in gueftion and Anfwer. For the Ufe
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II.	TWO DIALOGUES ON BAPTISM; containing,
I. Inftructions for Perfons of riper Age, previoufly to
Baptifm; a. Remarks on the Baptifm of Infants.